The document summarizes an ELIT 10 class discussing the novel Stone Butch Blues and introducing two authors, Bruce Coville and M.E. Kerr. It provides an overview of Stone Butch Blues, notes the passing of transgender author Leslie Feinberg, and excerpts several passages analyzing themes in the novel like conformity, violence, cruelty and coping. The class agenda includes discussing the novel, introducing the two authors, and posing questions for critical analysis of LGBTQ texts.

1. ELIT 10 CLASS 18

2. Discussion
Stone Butch Blues
Author Introductions:
Bruce Coville
M. E. Kerr
AGENDA

3. Leslie Feinberg: A Transgender Lesbian
Warrior of the Greatest Caliber
September 1, 1949 – November 15, 2014

4. QUESTIONS THAT A LGBTQ CRITIC ASKS
1. How does the literary text illustrate the problematics of
sexuality and sexual "identity," that is, the ways in
which human sexuality does not fall neatly into the
separate categories defined by the words homosexual
and heterosexual?
2. What elements in the text exist in the middle, between
the perceived masculine/feminine binary? In other
words, what elements exhibit traits of both?
3. What elements of the text can be perceived as being
masculine (active, powerful) and feminine (passive,
marginalized) and how do the characters support these
traditional roles?

5. PRESENTATION:
STONE BUTCH BLUES
 Stone Butch Blues (1993) is a legendary novel about a
working class butch woman who struggles to find herself as
she works in factories and blue collar jobs in the 1960s. Part
autobiography, the book introduced Feinberg as a pivotal
voice in the LGBT and has continued to be cited as one of
the most important pieces of written work about lesbian
women.
 Leslie Feinberg, 65, passed away last Monday. Ze died from
c omplications r elated to “multiple tic k -borne co-infections,
including Lyme dis ease.” Her los s is a s ignificant marker in
LGBTQ history.
 Feinberg described hirself as a "white, working class, secular
Jewish, transgender lesbian." Feinberg preferred the use of
"ze/hir" pronouns. Feinberg's last words were reported by the
Advocate to be "Remember me as a revolutionary
communist .”

6. WHY DOES CONFORMITY MATTER?
 “ I didn’t want to be different. I longed to be everything
grownups wanted, so they would love me. I followed all
their rules, tried my best to please. But there was
something about me that made them knit their
eyebrows and frown. No one ever offered a name for
what was wrong with me. That’s what made me afraid it
was really bad. I only came to recognize its melody
through this constant refrain: “Is that a boy or a girl?””
(Feinberg 13)
 “For a moment in that mirror I saw the woman I was
growing up to be staring back at me. She looked scared
and sad. I wondered if I was brave enough to grow up
and be her.” (21)
 “Whatever the world thought was wrong with me, I
finally begun to agree they were right. Guilt burned like
vomit in my throat.” (Feinberg 23)

7. WHY THE VIOLENCE?
 “Par t of the nightmare was that it all s eemed s o matter of fac t. I
c ouldn’t mak e it s top, I c ouldn’t es c ape it, and s o I pr etended it
was n’t happening. I look ed at the s k y, at how pale and plac id it
was. I imagined it was the ocean and the clouds were white -
capped waves” ( 41).
 “ I never told you what they did to us down ther e -queens in one
tank, stone butches in the next -but you knew. One at a time they
would drag our brothers out of the cells, slapping and punching
them, locking the bars behind them fast in case we lost control
and tr ied to s top them, as if we c ould. They’d handcuff a br other ’s
wrists to his ankles or chain him, face against the bars. They
made us watc h. Sometimes we’d c atch the eyes of the ter rorized
victim, or the soon-to-be, c aught in the vis e of tor ture, and we’d
s ay gently, “ I’m with you honey, look at me, it’s OK, we’ll tak e you
home” (Feinberg 8).
 “ They c uffed my hands s o tight behind my bac k I almost c r ied out.
Then the cop unzipped his pants real slow, with a smirk on his
face, and ordered me on my k nees” (10).

8. WHY THE CRUELTY?
 “Either eat me or eat my s hit, bulldagger.”
 “ I c alled him later that night and he r ac ed over. “ J ack s et
yo u u p , J e ss.” […] I h a d tr o uble fo llowing wh a t Du ffy wa s
s a yin g. It wa s n ’t ju s t th a t my min d wa s h a z y with p a in killers,
I d id n ’t wa n t to u n d e rstand” ( 9 2).
 “ ”You k now”, Duffy added, “ I don’t think I r eally r ealized how
hard it is for you. I know what jerks the guys at work can be
s ometimes.”……..”Bu t wh e n I we n t to th e h o s pita l with yo u , I
s aw h ow th e y tr e ated yo u , h ow th e y ta lk e d a b o u t yo u ,” h e
rubbed his face. When he looked back at me, I saw tears in
h is e ye s . “ I fe lt s o h e lp le ss yo u k n ow? I k e p t ye llin g a t th em
that you were a human being that you mattered, and it was
lik e th e y we r e n’t lis te ning to me” ” (93).

9. WHAT’S THE DAMAGE?
 “ I drifted in and out of consci o u s n es s. I rememb e r Theres a
propping me up against a brick wall in the precinct parking lot and
assessing the damage with her eyes. she chewed her lower lip and
finger e d the blood y places on my shirt” (136) .
 “ Jacqu e l i n e touche d my cheek. “Al’s right, really. It’s selfis h of us
girls, I guess. We want you to be strong enough to survive the shit
you take. We love how strong you are. But butches get the shit
kicked out of their hearts too. And I guess we just sometimes wish
there was a way to protect your hearts and keep you all tender for
us, you know? ”” (37)
 “Deep down, my insides seethed. I knew I was stone, too. It was a
home alarm system that didn’t seem to have an on -off switch. Once
instal led, the sirens went off and the gates shut, even if the
intrud e r was lovin g” (94 )
 “The lonel iness became more and more unbearable. I ached to be
touche d. I feared I was disap p e ar i n g and I’d cease to exist if
someo n e didn’t touch me” (185).

10. HOW DOES JESS COPE?
“This time I didn’t try to hide my excitement. I
was passing.” (172)
“At first, everything was fun. The world stopped
feeling like a gauntlet I had to run through. But
very quickly I discovered that passing didn’t just
mean slipping below the surface, it meant being
buried alive. I was still me inside, trapped in
there with all my wounds and fears. But I was
no longer me on the outside” (173).
“I know the difference between what I can’t do
and what I refuse to do!”

11. QHQ: FIRST HALF
Q: What is the significance of Feinberg
starting the novel with an intimate letter from
Jess to Theresa?
Q: Why is the ring so important to Jess?
Q: If Jess hadn’t been confined to a Mental
ward, how differently would the story have
turned out?

12. QUESTIONS THAT A LGBTQ CRITIC ASKS
1. How does the literary text illustrate the problematics of
sexuality and sexual "identity," that is, the ways in
which human sexuality does not fall neatly into the
separate categories defined by the words homosexual
and heterosexual?
2. What elements in the text exist in the middle, between
the perceived masculine/feminine binary? In other
words, what elements exhibit traits of both?
3. What elements of the text can be perceived as being
masculine (active, powerful) and feminine (passive,
marginalized) and how do the characters support these
traditional roles?

13. Author Introduction: Bruce Coville
 Bruce Covil le writes books
for children. He was born in
Syracuse, New York, in
1950. His family lived in
farm territory, about twenty
miles north of Syracuse.
Bruce grew up around the
corner from his
grandparents' dairy farm.
He is married and has three
kids.
 In the short story “Am I
Blue,” A fairy godfat h er
named Melvin helps Vince,
a boy being bullied and
“gay bashed ,” deal with his
sexual confusion.

14. Author Introduction: M. E. Kerr
 Marijane Meaker (M. E. Kerr's real
name) was born in Auburn, New
York and attended the University of
Missouri. She is quite successful as
a writer of young adult books.
 “We Might As Well Be Str angers”
tells the story of Alison, who has
just come out to both her Holocaust -
survivor grandmother and her
mother. Having been oppressed,
Alis on’s gr andmother r elates to her
struggle while her mom has trouble
c oming to terms with her daughter ’s
sexuality.

15. Reading
 “Am I Blue?” by Bruce Coville
 “We Might As Well Be Strangers” by
M.E. Kerr
Post # 18 QHQ from either
short story: Before 6 on
Tuesday Night. No kidding.