Butch

Butch is a term used in lesbian and gay subculture to describe a lesbian, bisexual, or otherwise sapphic woman who presents masculinely. The term butch tends to denote a degree of masculinity displayed by a female individual beyond what would be considered typical of a tomboy. Butch women will often dress in masculine clothing, and typically present themselves in a more stereotypical masculine way, such as having short hair, not wearing makeup, and not shaving. Butches are also commonly thought of as having more "masculine" interests, such as sports and carpentry. Some butches will take on masculine nicknames and some will even go by he/him pronouns. Some butches will even bind their chest or take masculinizing hormones to appear more masculine. Despite this butch women are still women. They can be cisgender or transgender. It is not uncommon for butch women to face harassment or violence because of their appearance.

Butch is most commonly associated with lesbians, however any women who is attracted to women can identify as butch, include bisexual women, pansexual women, etc.

Other Terms
Some other terms that are typically synonymous with butch include: "diesel dyke" "bulldyke", "bull bitch" or "bulldagger" or simply just as a "dyke". There as several sub-categories of butch that exist.

Stone Butch
A stone butch is a butch women do not like their genitals sexually touched by their partners. They still, however, provide their partners with sexual gratification, and often experience pleasure themselves in doing so. A stone butch may receive sexual pleasure from their partner in different ways as well. They may also identify as asexual, or placiosexual.

Stud
A stud is a form of butchness that is specific to black women. They tend to be influenced by urban and hip-hop cultures.

Soft Butch
There is an emerging usage of the term soft butch, to describe someone who identifies partly, but not fully with the butch culture and/or style.