Androgynous Maternity Clothing for Butches and Others

Three years ago, a reader asked, “Where can you find pregnant butch clothing?” and many of you offered your home-grown ideas. Now, one company hopes to fill this need, with “The first androgynous maternity line for queer individuals.”

Butchbaby & Co. was founded by Vanessa Newman after conversations with her best friend, another butch, about wanting to carry children but not knowing what they’d wear. Newman, who works full-time in digital strategy and communications, then found Michelle Janayea, a student in Fashion Design and Fashion Business at Columbia College Chicago, to help make their dream a reality.

The company now has the mission “to deliver the most comfortable, androgynous maternity wear to gender nonconforming individuals everywhere.” They explain on their website:

Pregnancy belongs to all those who can carry a child; regardless of sexual orientation or gender presentation. You can be butch, you can be stud, you can be non-gender conforming, you can be trans, you can be lesbian, you can be bisexual, you can be queer, you can be straight, and you still have a right to bear children…. You have a right to choose pregnancy and feel comfortable.

The duo hope to launch a seven-piece line that will include:

• T-shirt
• Oxford button-up
• Flannel button-up
• Pullover sweater
• Signature jogger pants + jacket
• Boxer brief underwear
• Pregnancy bra

Alas, if you’re pregnant right now, you won’t be able to take advantage of their designs. They say they hope to have prototypes by late summer/early fall 2015, when they launch their crowdfunding campaign, and a beta line out by late fall/early winter 2015. Plan your inseminations accordingly!

For one woman’s experience being pregnant and butch, check out A. K. Summers’ graphic memoir, Pregnant Butch: Nine Long Months Spent in Drag (which I reviewed here), and catch more butch parents in action at Butches and Babies.

(Thanks to Jamie Hagen for the tip!)

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