Stud gay

Stud is a culture-specific identity that is often defined as a black masculine lesbian. As such, it is meant to be an identity label that is exclusively used by black people. Typically, a stud lesbian refers to a Black masculine presenting woman. As mentioned in the TikTok video above, it’s important to remember that this term does not apply to every Black masculine. What does “stud” mean to the LGBTQIA+ community? The term “stud” has become commonly associated with masculine-presenting women within the LGBTQIA+ community.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer

The word was adopted into African American Vernacular English (AAVE) as early as the s. But it wasn’t until the s and early s that butches, themselves at the intersection of the burgeoning civil, gay and women’s rights movements, became a more visible and viable community. A stud is typically a self-identified lesbian woman who presents in a masculine or androgynous manner, whereas a dyke is a lesbian woman who expresses herself in a more traditionally feminine way.

While both terms are used in the LGBTQ+ community, they have distinct meanings and should not be confused. The early aughts were a wild and exciting time. The internet was getting more social with more websites, forums, and communities popping up every day exposing me to new queer worlds I could explore in the semi-privacy of my home. As much as I obsessed over any queer content I could find, I still felt detached due to the lack of Black queer women — especially masculine identifying ones.

I went from not knowing any queer people — regardless of race — to seeing a whole hall of studs in my high school and I was in quiet awe of just how unapologetic they were! Studs are some of the most easily recognized queer people in our community, and because of that they often deal with the most hate.

Not all Black masculine identifying lesbians consider themselves studs, but all studs are most certainly Black.

Stud is racially specific because it was created by Black lesbians to differentiate their experiences from their white counterparts and express gender roles developed within the Black community. Studs who are thrice marginalized folks are in part influenced by the Black cishet men in our lives and the Black community — hence why stud is a racially specific term. Many studs may have unknowingly formed their masculinity and femininity in the sacred spaces where their cishet family and friends were allowed to be their full selves.

The weekend kickbacks, family reunions, the church, and even the club. Places, where everyone wore their absolute best to dance, eat, talk shit, and commune after what may have been a heavy-laden week. These spaces revealed how Black men engaged with Black women and with each other, young studs to be watched and often internalized masculinity playing out in real-time. Watching how these men would sweet-talk women, how they asserted their dominance, and even how they joked around with each other.

Those influences and learnings — the good and bad — later allowed them us to create a distinct queer identity that felt more authentic to who they were in the world. It used to be pretty rigid on who could consider themself a stud. The gift and curse of the internet is that it has allowed our queer world to grow — and the stud world certainly has along with it.

New identities, thoughts, and revelations on what masculinity is and can be have become more visible with the help of their fearless generation. Feature Images by Jakayla Toney via Unsplash. As a reformed shy kid, Kris has found her voice by sharing, centering, and celebrating her experiences as a Black Queer folks. You can follow Kris on IG kris.

Yeah it was getting outta hand with the non-Black use of stud. Thank you very much for this article. But goddamn do I wish I could ever have that much swagger…. Thanks for this important informative update to the Dyketionary. What do u call white masculine females then? Honestly just wondering if anybody has some answers! Butch was the most common but I guess now I hear masc a ton.

All the words have different connotations but can serve this area of gender presentation. Am Nigerian and seeing this have me a little peace of mind but still knowing the fact that they will never accept us in my country , hurts alot anyways thanks for d article. Thank you really very much. Your article has given me a lot of useful information.

Hope you will continue to have useful articles in the future.