Line #15 PlayingWith/ButchLesbian


1	'''Basic Trope''': A woman who identifies as a lesbian, and (in terms of her behavior, speech, and appearance) comes across as "manly."
2	* '''[[BlatantLies Straight]]''': Alice [[BoyishShortHair wears her hair short]], eschews makeup, is rarely (if ever) seen [[HatesWearingDresses wearing a dress]], likes [[LesbianJock playing]] and watching sports, and prefers beer to fruity cocktails.
3	* '''Exaggerated''': Alice's voice is very deep, [[LadyLooksLikeADude looks like a man]] (and [[{{Bokukko}} if Japanese, Alice uses the masculine pronoun and dialect]]). She pumps iron so much [[AmazonianBeauty she has biceps the size of tree trunks]], [[StatuesqueStunner towers over a good chunk of people at six-foot-five]], has a fulfilling job involving [[WrenchWench manual labor]], and eschews ''anything'' pink, cute, or frilly (except of course her LipstickLesbian girlfriend, Betty.)
4	* '''Downplayed''':
5	** Alice is a lesbian who has [[TomboyishPonytail ponytail]] and prefers flannels, jeans, and sneakers to skirts, high-heels, and makeup products further than lip balm and sunscreen. Her interests are fairly masculine things like [[GamerChick gaming]], computer, and landscape photography.
6	** Alice looks and acts masculine, but she still has [[TomboyWIthAGirlyStreak a few "girly" hobbies]], like [[FeminineWomenCanCook cooking]], cross-stitching, and a love for babies and kittens as well. She treats this side of her personality as the ButchLesbian equivalent to RealMenWearPink if anyone can see her doing them.
7	** Alice is a [[ButNotTooBi bisexual]] {{Tomboy}} who prefers to date GirlyGirl if she decides to date a woman.
8	** Alice is a lesbian {{Bifauxnen}}.
9	* '''Justified''':
10	** Alice simply doesn't like "girly" things. She was probably like this from [[{{Tomboy}} childhood]].
11	** Alice lives in a town with a sizeable lesbian population, among whom the butch look happens to be popular.
12	** Alice is in the military, so shaves her head, wears mannish clothing, and builds muscle for practical reasons. She just happens to be a lesbian.
13	** Alice finds that visually signalling her lesbianism makes it easier to attract romantic partners.
14	* '''Inverted''':
15	** LipstickLesbian.
16	** Alice both [[LadyLooksLikeADude looks]] and [[{{Tomboy}} acts]] masculine. She's completely straight and this is not used as a subversion.
17	* '''Gender Inverted''': CampGay (if completely opposite) or ManlyGay (if only gender-inverted)
18	* '''Subverted''':
19	** BaitAndSwitchLesbians
20	** Alternatively: Tough-as-nails biker chick Alice cuts her hair short, avoids makeup like the plague... [[CampStraight and only dates men]].
21	** Alice is actually not a lesbian, but a transgender man who would rather be called Andrew.
22	** While Alice has a very masculine exterior, she turns out to have a very feminine personality and interests once you get to know her.
23	** Alice is butch and asexual.
24	* '''Double Subverted''':
25	** Alice's "boyfriend" is actually her GayBestFriend, and they're dating because they're TheBeard of each other.
26	** Alice's "boyfriend" isn't a guy at all, but a trans woman who gets frequently misgendered.
27	** Alice was joking about being a man, or [[CrosscastRole "Andrew" is just her role in theater]], or she [[SweetPollyOliver pretends to be a man]] when she goes outside with her girlfriend to avoid accusations (and even harassment) from HeteronormativeCrusader.
28	** Alice only comes across as feminine deep down because she's trying out some of her girlfriend's interests. She later decides they're not for her.
29	** That is, she's a homoromantic asexual.
30	* '''Parodied''':
31	** Alternatively, Alice is a {{tomboy}}, but not necessarily [[TheLadette "butch"]]; however, her [[OneOfTheBoys guy-pals]] suspects she's gay, which quickly becomes a RunningGag in the series.
32	** Or, Alice is a through-and-through LipstickLesbian, but the characters treat her like she's the manliest person they've ever met, solely on the basis that she's attracted to girls.
33	** When heterosexual GirlyGirl undergoes TomboynessUpgrade, she starts [[ClosetKey developing attraction toward other girls during this process.]]
34	** The tough-as-nails biker chick's name is literally "TheButcher".
35	* '''Zig Zagged''':
36	** Some days, Alice wears a dress or skirt, some days she wears pants. Some days, she drinks beer. Other days, she drinks Sex on the Beach. On Monday nights, she watches football, but on weekday afternoons, she watches a SoapOpera.
37	** Alice's friends tend to be guys, and when she's with them she tends to join in with the blokey atmosphere. But when she goes on the pull, SheCleansUpNicely.
38	** Alice is first seen hanging out with Claire, who is openly lesbian, with Alice wearing a shaved head and masculine clothes. However, when asked, Alice says she's going through a depressive episode, the shave was done on impulse after her hair kept getting in her way, and the clothes belong to her boyfriend as she hadn't had the energy to do her laundry. It's then revealed that Alice is actually deeply in love with Claire and is trying to see if she would notice her if she looked more masculine, and faked having depression so [[HeteroNormativeCrusader her parents]] wouldn't question her new look. Claire then reveals she prefers Alice with her long, red hair, tight shirts, and long feminine skirts, and so Alice goes back to her old look.
39	* '''Averted''':
40	** Alice is very girly whether she's a lesbian or not.
41	** Alternatively, Alice has a gender-neutral personality.
42	** Alice is straight, but cuts her hair out of convenience and wears masculine clothing because she got them for free from a friend, and ultimately is indifferent to whatever signals her looks may send.
43	* '''Enforced''':
44	** The author is a ButchLesbian herself and puts a sort of AuthorAvatar into the story.
45	** The author wanted to include a lesbian character and seems to think that's what all lesbians are like.
46	** The author is just simply trying to defy gender norms and MaleGaze of the GirlOnGirlIsHot.
47	* '''Lampshaded''':
48	** Betty: "Being with Alice is like having a boyfriend and a girlfriend all in one! I love it!"
49	** "Now I know what Wilt Chamberlain would have been like if he was female, right down to the insatiable appetite for beautiful women."
50	* '''Invoked''':
51	** Alice discovers her interest in other girls, and decides to cut her hair and donate all her dresses to charity and trade them for baggy jeans and flannel shirts.
52	** Alice is turned on particularly by girls, so she [[TomboynessUpgrade decides to look and act more masculine]] to avoid unwanted attention and [[IncompatibleOrientation attraction]] from men.
53	* '''Exploited''':
54	** Betty is slightly unsure of her sexuality so dates Alice as a sort of middle ground between the genders.
55	** Alice uses the fact that she [[LadyLooksLikeADude looks]] and [[{{Tomboy}} acts]] masculine to [[SweetPollyOliver disguise as a man]] when she goes outside with her girlfriend to avoid accusations (and even harassment) from HeteronormativeCrusader.
56	* '''Defied''':
57	** Alice refuses to do or wear "manly" things. If other girls can't handle her girliness, that's ''their'' problem, not hers!
58	** Carol tries to kiss Danielle but Danielle gets mad that Carol attempted to do it in front of Danielle's boyfriend and rants about how just because she looks, dresses, and acts very masculine doesn't mean she's into women at all.
59	** Alice both [[LadyLooksLikeADude looks]] and [[{{Tomboy}} acts]] masculine and bisexual, [[ButNotTooBi but only sleeps with men]] to avoid being seen as one of these.
60	* '''Discussed''': "I swear I saw Alice in the background of an indie movie about gay people. I can't remember the name of it. However, I'd recognize that short haircut and those huge arms anywhere."
61	* '''Conversed''': "Every lesbian on TV I see either looks like a drill sergeant or Micky Rourke."
62	* '''Implied''': Alice plays nothing but rugby, abhors makeup and dresses, and [[AmbiguouslyGay shares same bedroom apartment with another girl, who Alice cares very deeply for]].
63	* '''Deconstructed''': Alice still has moments of insecurity; she hasn't quite figured out who she wants to be (and how to be that person) yet, and she worries about what people will think of her since [[HeteronormativeCrusader some people]] still accuse her of [[StopBeingStereotypical being too stereotypical]], [[StayInTheKitchen doesn't fit the mold of "proper" woman]], or even worse, [[CureYourGays they try to "fix" her]], that cause her FreudianExcuse habit of putting [[RealWomenDontWearDresses people who like "girly" things down.]]
64	** Or even worse, the accusations cause Alice to lose her self-confidence, start hating her boyish side, DrivenToSuicide, and the result is she [[OutOfTheClosetIntoTheFire turns back to her closeted self]], [[IJustWantToBeNormal pretends to be as "normal girl"]] as she can be, and [[ArmouredClosetGay criticizes the other girls who are suspiciously "butch" as well.]]
65	* '''Reconstructed''': Alice figures herself out and pulls herself together. She is happy with how she chooses to express herself and stops caring what people might (or might not) think. And she also learns that she doesn't have to put others down simply because their interests are not to ''her'' tastes.
66	* '''Played For Laughs''': See "Parodied." Bonus points if Alice has PermaStubble. Almost invariably leads to BlackComedy.
67	* '''Played For Drama''':
68	** A ComingOfAge story in which Alice is still trying to figure herself out.
69	** Due to her unfeminine appearance and manners, Alice goes outside, and gets beaten up, or maybe even murdered, by HeteronormativeCrusader.
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71	Back to ButchLesbian.
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73	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
74	%%

Context PlayingWith / ButchLesbian