Contemporary butch identity in the United States can include any and all expressions of female masculinity and is rooted in a pluralism of both essentialist and socially constructed identity formations. This thesis examines how U.S. butch identities and communities have been formed by and through interwoven discursive forces over the last one hundred years and these identities and communities have persisted despite mainstream disapproval and cultural erasure. This research explores instances of butch resilience by asking, ???What experiences of resilience and survival strategies do individuals attending a conference focused on the subject of butch identity describe???? In order to answer the question, participants at the 2011 Butch Voices Conference were asked to share their perspectives on butch identity and community and give information about their own identifications. Their responses indicated evidence of psychological resilience as they performed cultural disidentifications to survive and thrive as marginalized subjects.
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