Carter brings 'Butch Boi' to museum

Directed and produced by C.C. Carter, “The Butch Boi Chronicles” opened to an eager crowd June 3 at the National Museum of Mexican Art.

Two years in the making, Carter explained in her introduction how she wanted to create a space and show with which butches and their femme partners could find a connection. “Chronicles” brings to the forefront the cultural, historical and personal lives of butch lesbians.

Bringing together 16 readers from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds for this one-time show, the play touched on topics from butch icons (such as Leslie Feinberg and Bessie Jackson) to strap-ons, academic theories on sex and gender and those awkward gynecology exams. Dressed in red T-shirts with black ties printed on them, each actor read the scripted pieces with passion and excitement.

The highlight of the show was Kit Yan’s spoken word pieces. Yan delivered to the crowd phenomenal original work about finding where his trans body fits within the butch and lesbian communities, as well as deciding which bathroom to enter—a topic with which most of the butch actors can commence. In “Third Gender,” Yan declared, “my gender is a boy who looks like a girl who likes boys.”

While the show ran three and a half hours long with just one five-minute break, the audience—who appeared to be composed mostly of friends and lovers of the people involved with the show—held strong through the play’s end. Interspersed with impromptu dancing on stage and candid moments in which the readers spoke directly to audience members, “Chronicles” provided laughs and understanding of the butch community. Presented by the Lesbian Leadership Council and the Chicago Foundation for Women, “Chronicles” hopes to be a Chicago-centric show in the future.