To date, I've had the pleasure of working with participants self-identifying as Aggressives, studs, Butch women, transgendered, transvariant, and FTM. The Sophisticated Aggressive Gents group brought the first models to the project; calls to Pacific Islander and Asian groups are adding new elements, in the coming months.

In Lo's AfterEllen.com piece, the author forwards the argument that films like Boys Don't Cry "effectively lifted masculinity out of the realm of lesbianism (the boyish Brandon declares that he’s not a 'dyke') and moved it into the medicalized arena of transgenderism. This has rendered many butch lesbians invisible as transgender issues become prominent both in local gay communities and nationally."

Transgenderism is not "medicalized." Transsexuals often are. As I've stated repeatedly in forwarding this project: I will not promote any sense of conflict or competition in our communities. Masculinity in women is not, as Lo states, associated with "transgenderism." There are plenty of old school butch women aligned with the Claiming Masculinity project, just as there are FTMs.

Clockwise from top left: Dre, Renair Amin, Paris, Meg, PJ Whitt, Puffie

It's time we got to know one another: the beauty is in the difference.

Everything wonderful in our varied cultures is declared "dead" or "passé" every few years.

That's never stopped us from being who we are. It's not going to stop us now.

I have the very great fortune to document the pride in the communities who know this best.

Emmanuela de León is Contributing Editor and Artist in Residence for Standards: International Cultural Studies, the longest standing journal for cross-cultural studies on the web. Her photography has been exhibited extensively, and she has her own gallery at Dust Jacket Press. http://www.dustjacketpress.com/EMMANUELA/claiming.html

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