Stone Butch Blues 2

Story: Stone Butch Blues

Author: Leslie Feinberg

Analysis&Quote:

“It’s just incredible. I can’t believe you’ve given me a sky to sleep under. But I can’t tell if its dawn or dusk you’ve painted.”

…

Ruth rolled toward me and rested her hand on my chest. “It’s not going to be day or night, Jess. It’s always going to be that moment of infinite possibility that connects them.”

I found it interesting that in this scene, Jess had a hard time determining whether or not it was day or night. What I found more interesting was that the fact she couldn’t figure it out bothered her. I would have thought that someone like Jess, who doesn’t fit into one of two categories wouldn’t have a problem accepting something as simple as this. But at the same time, during this last part of the novel she seems to be undergoing her final change. She’s making a life for herself in New York, has a best friend, and has a steady job.

Perhaps, this unnerves her because although she knows that she fits as neither a man nor woman, she knows that she belongs somewhere. She knows that she has her own niched carved out for people like her. This is evident in the newspaper clipping she found from 1930, and the legendary Rocco. I think maybe Jess has come to an understanding that if you can’t fit your identity into one of two categories that you can create one for yourself. She even says at one point that “I was the only expert on living my own life, the only person I could turn to for answers.”

Additionally, I can’t expect Jess to be comfortable with not fitting in all the time. She did start taking the male hormones to try and fit into a place that society carved out but discovered she couldn’t do that to herself. This scene may seem insignificant but I think it’s important because it shows that Jess is still growing at this point. Even if she is finally learning to accept herself, it shows she still has learning and thinking to do about how she feels going against society’s binary system.