London’s first ‘performative butch’ contest draws hundreds in hot, sweaty night of pure lesbian joy

If you were anywhere near Peckham on Saturday evening then you might have noticed there were approximately 3.5 dykes for every square foot, with carabiners jingling against their jorts, tight white vests showing off biceps and tattered – well-loved – copies of Stone Butch Blues carried in their hands (or oversized pockets). 

At the Old Nun’s Head on Nunshead Green, London’s first ever ‘performative butch’ contest was taking place and the venue was, quite literally, filled to the rafters with butches and butch-admirers.

More than 300 queer folks crowded into the pub, filling the entire floor, all the seats and the outdoor space, as well as standing on top of booths, propping up on the bar and sticking their heads through gaps in the windows to get a good look at those performing. 

That many lesbians squashed together in one place was like one of my very good dreams, tbh.  

Run by Booters Butch Bar – which organises dyke events for butches and butch lovers – the competition was inspired by the viral ‘performative masc’ contests happening state-side, which in themselves are a lesbian spin on the ‘performative male’ tournaments that have been recently held in cities and on university campuses across the US and wider world.  

The events are playful and tongue-in-cheek, poking fun at butch and masc stereotypes in a loving way. The shtick being for sapphics to compete against each other to be the most performatively masc they can be, which might see them don multiple – or oversized – carabiners, display their muscles in little else than a sports bra or show off how many push ups they can do for a starry-eyed, cheering crowd. 

Oran Keaveney, MC of Booters Butch Bar & Diner and co-organiser of the contest, told PinkNews back in May the group ran a Booters Recruiters try-outs event in New York City and remembers wishing they had not already recruited their London team because it “would have been really fun to have a similar competitive format closer to home”. 

But then Lily Parfitt, known as lesbian jewellery-maker Curly Femme Fashion, approached Booters about running a performative butch contest to subvert the TikTok trend and Keaveney “realised our opportunity was finally here!”.

“As gender daddy Judith Butler says, all gender is a performance, so this is a chance to explore what that looks like for butches in London in the 21st century,” the co-organiser explained. 

“The emphasis was very much on showcasing butchness and using the ‘performative male’ trend as an excuse to get silly with it! 

“The energy on the night was very loving, political and rooted in our history – in part thanks to the conscious efforts of our entire butch or femme4butch team to cultivate this vibe.”

The London contest saw 42 butches sign up to compete, who showed their chops by stripping for the crowd, pulling out measuring tape, displaying feminist literature and opening up their bumbags to reveal nail clippers and trans flags. 

The crowd went wild for taped chests and heavy leather jackets teasingly slipped off and dropped to the floor as much as they did for one butch pulling a cigarette from a book and another doing a rather sensual rendition of the worm dance.

The contests were whittled down for the second round and Parfitt praised the the wide range of performers: “With so many strong contenders, from shy, poetic butches to maximalist masc lesbians, we wanted to feature a full range of butch representation”. 

The second round saw the performing butches interviewed by the judges and discuss their outfits, dating culture and what butch means to them. It was also an opportunity for the contests to get flirty with the judges, to the enthralled screams of the audience.   

The final three butches were then made to complete in a butch obstacle course which included four rounds of timed trials including putting on a strap harness, tying a tie, reading passages from Stone Butch Blues and – as previous Booters attendees might recognise – having a whip (cream) off. 

When it came to announcing the winner, the atmosphere in the room was “electric”, with Parfitt saying that contestant Hannah “had everything from the get go”. 

“As the first butch to sign up and perform, they set a high stake for everyone else. 

“But they got the crown by a hair, as fellow finalists Jupiter and Drew put up a solid challenge.” 

It was Hannah’s moving reading of one of Jess’s letters to Theresa in Stone Butch Blues which snagged them the victory and saw them proclaimed the most performative butch in London. 

“Maybe I just wanted all the butches of London in one place showing off their sexiest skills… Kidding!” Parfitt joked following the competition. “Rooted deep within my femme identity is a need to protect and love butches. So I was excited to work with Booters on this interpretation of “performative butch”! 

“We want to honour and celebrate the butch characteristics we all love so much, while creating a free event to bring the London dyke community together. 

“As a notorious crafty femme getting to create the winners “butch basket” I was just so excited to be involved!”

Prinx Silver, a DJ, drag king and the third co-organiser of the contest, told PinkNews it is important to celebrate butch culture. 

“Perform it, interpret it, and be playful with it,” he said, adding such events “give visibility to butch as a broad identity, where we welcome butches of all types, including non-binary butches, lez butches, butches on T, butches on E, Black and POC butches”.