Are you queer and feel underrepresented in your local queer scene? Well, you should keep an eye out for a society making waves on campus, Liverpool University’s very own Butch Society. Created by butch lesbians, for butchers and their appreciators, this group is dedicated to creating a non-judgmental community for masculine display sapphics.
In the past, organizations like the LGBTQ+ Society have done incredible work to create a queer space on campus, but sometimes direct representation is necessary. When there’s so much sexuality and identity in a group, it’s nice to think that you have a chance to connect directly with people like you.
Does making queer friends, doing arts and crafts, and discovering hidden gems of the local lesbian scene sound good? Then you are in the right place.
The Liverpool Tab spoke directly to Butch Soc’s amazing founding committee: Society President Eleanor, Treasurer Penny and Jess, Social Secretary, about all things representation, loneliness and identity.
Here’s what they had to say about the society and why you should join – and what it’s like to be one of two countries.
‘Your society includes all lesbians, why was it important to you to call it Butch Society?’
Jess, a social secretary and second-year English student, told The Liverpool Tab: “Well, society is really about butch identity… it’s a very different experience being butch, we wanted a place where we could avoid being judged”.
The society was formed so that lesbians who present as masculine can meet and connect with each other.
Even within the sapphic community there are misunderstandings about what Butch means. The committee talked about being treated like men when dating – presenting differently is also generally socially stigmatized, even though this identity has existed for a long time.
These unique feelings of isolation prompted the group to take the plunge and introduce a much-needed butch scene to the college campus.
Penny, the association’s treasurer, is a second-year biological sciences student at the University of Liverpool. She shared an emotional view of her life inside and outside society: “There’s lesbian loneliness, and then there’s loneliness.”
Although they are called Butch Soc, the founders wanted to keep it open to anyone who wants to learn about butches and lesbian history. Much of the queer experience can be learned through, well, experience, but the idea that the work stops undermines the long history of queers who fought to get where they are today.
The group has read groups of gender theorists such as Judith Butler and intends to talk about some of the identities encapsulated in the butch identity, such as stalks and trans-masks. Although lesbians are one community, discrimination affects everyone differently. It is important that we have a sense of dialogue that this society creates.
Eleanor, now in her third year, shared how she had wanted to make Butch Soc a reality since she started studying philosophy and politics at university, but her challenge was finding enough members for the committee. Last year he, Penny and Jess met for a night in Liverpool’s pride quarter and the rest is history. Some things are just meant to be.
And call them pioneers because they are one of only two Butch Socs in the country!
This year they achieved their stand at the Liverpool University Societies Fair and have since held regular social events shared with their Instagram page.
“Do you think younger people are losing motivation to seek out and create strange spaces?”
“I would say it’s normalized (right) in social groups, but not on a larger scale where we need representation the most,” the association’s president told The Liverpool Tab.
Eleanor talked about how being queer is becoming more of a norm in friend groups and casual social settings. But settling for acceptance and not making connections with other queer people is likely what leads to phenomena like “lesbian loneliness.”
“There’s definitely more representation in 18+ settings,” said Eleanor. You just have to look for them. The committee has been hard at work putting it together catalog From the best and most approved places in the UK.
However, queer and lesbian-specific sober social events are much less frequent.
In the generation of young people, who are still sober and curious, alcohol-based gatherings and joint events can be an obstacle for many. Jess explained to us that most of the queer book clubs and sober social events they’d been interested in were often over an hour’s drive from the city.
The committee has made sober social issues a big focus of their community. So far they have hosted a patch making night, made some amazing clay creations and hosted a book club and board game night which won them praise and success from all over Liverpool. Jess told The Liverpool Tab that “the majority of non-alcoholic socials have meant that people have made genuine connections”.
While the lesbian world is growing with new events popping up all the time, finding them can be difficult. Butch Soc has done the heavy lifting for you and provided a comfortable space to actually make friends – not just black out Jägerbombs. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course…
To combat the city’s lack of queer spaces, the club is hosting a Switch Social this Saturday, and tickets are sure to fly.
‘Which events have you been most proud of so far?’
Penny and Jess were unanimous about their best club event to date – “Butler, for sure,” they said.
The pair told how they felt the committee’s reading group on Judith Butler’s poststructuralist work, Gender Trouble, was a moment of “productive conversation” in their community.
Speaking to The Liverpool Tab, Eleanor discussed that the theory was quite complex so it was good to break it down as a group.
For him, as president of the club, it was the first social patchwork of which he was most proud.
“I looked around and thought, there are so many people here, people care about this!”
If you’re into everything from crafts to wild nights out, make sure you get a membership on the Liverpool Guild of Students website. The more official members they have, the more support they can get from the university itself.
‘As founders, what do you hope for the legacy of the Butch Society?’
“It would be nice to see it continue after graduation,” said Eleanor.
All groups emphasized that they did not want the work to end with them. The community they build is not just because they have this space exclusively for them, but because everyone feels now and in the future that they have space to be themselves.
They’ve worked hard to build connections within the local queer scene, such as party legends Switch, as well as staying in touch with Manchester’s Butch Revival.
Strengthening relationships at these events gives students more opportunities to be aware of lesbian life in the Northwest region.
In terms of the future of the society, the committee said it would be great to have guest speakers. They want to use the group as an opportunity for activism by participating in demonstrations to feel they are making an impact in the city and beyond. Not only fun, they also have layers…
If you’re queer, you’re missing out if you don’t join Butch Soc. The committee has consistently organized social events almost every week, so there is always something to sink your teeth into.
Opportunities to get discounts on Liverpool’s best queer nights and make lesbian friends to craft with; the time is now and it is golden.
Everyone says, “Thanks Butch Soc, we love you Butch Soc!”