blackownedbusinessCheck it out, parents-to-be! This amazing androgynous pregnancy line is about to open, so you don’t have to compromise your look, your gender presentation, or your comfort.
butchbabyco is founded by two awesome people, Vanessa Newman and Michelle Janayea:
“The story of Butchbaby & Co. began with two best friends and a dream. I met my best friend freshman year of college. It was bromance at first sight, and after we hit it off on the first week, we knew we’d be friends forever. We dreamt of growing old together, getting married not too far apart from each other, and having children at the same time so that they too could repeat the cycle of friendship. The thing was, the both of us are butch. Whenever we envisioned our future together, the dream always stopped short at carrying children. We both knew we wanted to, but we could never imagine what we’d wear. And when we did imagine ourselves in pregnant butch attire, that’s exactly what it was— only a figment of our imaginations because these clothes didn’t exist. Then one day, it hit me: I could change that. I could create more androgynous maternity wear not just for me but for every masculine identified individual who dreams of carrying a child and looking handsome doing it. And that’s how Butchbaby & Co. was born. Out of a dream and out of a necessity for all child bearing parents-to-be to have a more comfortable alternative to the current maternity wear we are provided.
—CEO/Founder, Vanessa Newman”
BUTCH is a documentary portrait project and exploration of the butch aesthetic, identity and presentation of female masculinity as it stands in 2013-14. It is a celebration of those who choose to exist and identify outside of the binary; who still get he’d and she’d differently throughout the day; who get called-out in bathrooms and eyed suspiciously at the airport; who have invented names for themselves as parents because “Mom” nor “Dad” feels quite right; and who will generally expect that stare from the gender police trying to figure out if they are “a boy or a girl”. It is an homage to the bull-daggers and female husbands before me, and to the young studs, gender queers, and bois who continue to bloom into the present.
This project is so important! As a good friend of mine said after seeing these pictures, “this makes me feel more human.” Seeing pictures like this makes those of us who have struggled with trying to fit into the gender binary just crazy happy. It means there really is a place for us in this world; there are other people like us, and there is a possible future. Thanks to Meg for such inspiring work!
