Stone Butch Blues 1

Story: Stone Butch Blues

Author: Leslie Feinberg

Analysis&Quote:

“He said later he couldn’t watch his own flesh and blood be kidnapped by Indians.”

Jess has endured a childhood of saving, but saving implies that there is danger or something wrong. It means that there is something bad occurring and you can’t do anything about it so you must be saved. In her case, this first happened when her father “saved” her from the Indians, and when her parents tried to save her from herself. There always seemed to be something inherently wrong with her, but she couldn’t figure out why. This is evident as she recalls how people always asked her or her parents if she were a  boy or a girl.

One reason why I like this line is because it could represent the oppressive society that Jess lived in ( and even we are currently living in its residual effects). “His own flesh and blood” could easily represent the patriarchy. He views his daughter as something that he owns, and he doesn’t want her to be tainted or become impure. “Be kidnapped” could represent the fact that women are always treated as second class citizens, and are incapable of changing their situations. Although in Jess’s, case and in this particular moment, she is a child she still needed saving. But what does this imply? Why doesn’t her mother try to explain this to her? Is it because her mother was initially indifferent to her daughter since her birth? Or is it because her father being the breadwinner of the house had the final say.

“Indians” could represent the racist tendencies of society. The fact that she couldn’t be with Indians sends the message that there is something wrong with them, perhaps they need saving, and that she shouldn’t associate with them. To build on that, he uses the word “Indians” which is actually incorrect because, as Jess calls them, they are “Native Americans”. This adds to the fact that not only is the society racist, but that it is inaccurate in terms of regards to another race’s culture and identity. In this sentence is the magical trio of what is usually least wanted in a society. There are many moments in the story that shed light on the injustices and obstacles she faced. But I think in order to find the source of where all of her anger, but also compassion and kindness stems from starts with her childhood. Although this sentence is talking about how her father didn’t want her being around Native Americans, it can also be applied to how he didn’t want her continuing down her masculine path and that’s why she was sent to charm school and mental institution.

It’s not that her father was evil, but he didn’t understand how to accept something he wasn’t used to. So he tried to save her but that ended up backfiring because she clung stronger to who she felt she really was. I think her mother’s lack of input and indifference perhaps made her kinder in general, and especially to the femmes she became friends with because she understood how it felt to breakthrough and change for someone who seems to have a closed heart.  

I also think this quote brings up the starting point of when she learned there was something wrong with her, and as a result she tried to change for people while also quietly rebelling.