This is the corner of my labrynth dedicated to my labels that are not my gender or orientation but are still relevant to my queer identity.
Some of these can be related to gender/sexuality but are not inherently related for me.
A warning that this includes slurs I reclaim for myself and that others may find upsetting.
These Labels Are:
Futch is a presentation term from the same family as femme and butch. It is somewhere in the middle between the two. The term Futch seems to have surfaced in the 90's but very well could be older than that. The earliest confirmed useage I could find came from a book published in 1992 called "Phoebe: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Feminish Scholarship, Theory and Aesthetics, Volume 4." There are many futch flags floating around out there, just like there are many femme and butch flags. I use the one posted on genderqueer-dream.tumblr.com in 2020 There are seven stripes, each with a different meaning. The dark blue stripe stands for masculine expression. The light blue stripe stands for softness. The light purple stripe stands for the freedom to love and be loved. The dark purple stripe stands for neutral expression. The light pink stripe stands for feminine presentation. The dark pink stripe stands for power and resilience. The orange stripe stands for genderfuckery.
Aurorian is a gender alignment term from the galactian system and it means that your gender alignment is fluid. Some days I feel more male-aligned, some days I feel more fem-aligned, some days I feel more neutral, some days I feel more xenic, etc. The term was coined by system-lgbt on Tumblr in 2018. The flag colours represent aurora borealis which is the namesake of ther term!
Neopronouns are pronouns other than he, she, and they. The root word "neo" means new in latin but neopronouns have been around for centuries. Xe/xem pronouns date back to the 1970's, Author of "Stone Butch Blues," Leslie Feinberg used zhe/hir pronouns back in the 1980's, thon/thons and han/hans date back to the 1800's, and "a" and "ou" pronouns were used in 1789 by William H. Marshall. I use any pronouns and honestly prefer neopronouns over others some days. I use "neopronoun user" as an actual identity because of the way my pronouns have been treated as though they are unimportant. I also think the flag designed by yourfave-uses-neopronouns on Tumblr is beautiful. The colour meanings are as follows: Green: Masculine-identifying people who use neopronouns Blue: Older pronoun sets and the history behind them White: Nonbinary-identifying people who use neopronouns Yellow: Newer pronoun sets and the happiness that comes from them Orange: Feminine-identifying people who use neopronouns
I am a dyke and I am proud of it. Dyke is a word that has been used against wlw, especially those who are gender non-conforming, for many decades if not centuries. Some people say it originated as early as 1710 and was hurled at Anne Bonny and Mary Read, two cross-dressing pirate women. By the 1960's it had entered more common usage and by the late 20th century sapphics were wearing it with pride. This is not something every sapphic is comfortable being called by any means, and it is also not something I invite just anyone to call me. I call myself a dyke because I believe in taking back the power of the word and embracing it. Wearing the word dyke with pride means that the next time it is used against me it will hurt even less. If we're close, you can call me a dyke. If we're not, understand that I call myself one and leave it at that. I invite you to do more research on the term if you still don't understand why it is an important part of my identity.
