Alec Butler (born Audrey Butler; 1959) is a Canadian playwright and filmmaker.

Life and career

Butler was born in 1959, and is

two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-varia ...

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

and

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical b ...

. Butler uses ''they''/''them'' and ''he''/''him'' pronouns.

Assigned female at birth Sex assignment (sometimes known as gender assignment) is the discernment of an infant's sex at or before birth. A relative, midwife, nurse or physician inspects the external genitalia when the baby is delivered and, in more than 99.95% of bir ...

, he initially presented as a

butch lesbian Butch is most often a term used to describe a lesbian, or sometimes a bisexual woman, who exhibits a masculine identity. Since the lesbian subculture of 1940s America, "butch" has been present as a way for lesbians to circumvent traditional gen ...

before

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

the late 1990s. Before he came out, his work was published under his birth name. He was a nominee for the

Governor General's Award for English-language drama The Governor General's Award for English-language drama honours excellence in Canadian English-language playwriting. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry or drama was divided. Because the awa ...

in 1990 for his play ''Black Friday''. He has also worked on artistic projects with

The 519 Church St. Community Centre The 519, formerly known as The 519 Church Street Community Centre, is an agency of the City of Toronto. A Canadian charitable, non-profit organization, it operates a community centre in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontari ...

as their first artist-in-residence. He was named one of Toronto's Vital People by the Toronto Community Foundation in 2006. He identifies as having

Miꞌkmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the n ...

heritage.

Plays

* ''Shakedown'' * ''Cradle Pin'' * ''Radical Perversions: 2 Dyke Plays'' (1990) * ''Black Friday'' (1990) * ''Claposis'' (1990) * ''Hardcore Memories'' (1993) * ''Medusa Rising'' (1996) * ''Trans Cab'' (2005) Books: * ''Radical Perversions: two Dyke Plays by Audrey Butler'' published by

Women's Press The Women's Press was a feminist publishing company established in London in 1977. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, the Women's Press was a highly visible presence, publishing feminist literature. Founding In 1977, Stephanie Dowrick cof ...

, 1991 * Novella called ''Rough Paradise'' published May 31, 2014 by Quattro Books

Films

* ''Trans Mission: Get Yer Motor Runnin''' – One-man show at A-Space, Toronto, 2003. * ''Misadventures of PussyBoy: First Love / Sick / First Period'' – Screened at many queer film and video festivals, ''First Love'' won the Charles Street Award for emerging video and film makers in 2002 at the InsideOut Festival. * ''Audrey's Beard'' – Named one of the top ten films about transitioning by Curve magazine. * ''5 Seconds of Fame'' – Commissioned by Toronto's Pride Committee for Pride Toronto, 2007. * ''My Friend, Brindley'' – Works in progress; experimental doc about human rights activist and painter, Kathleen Brindley. * ''Darla's Goodbye'' – Short film based on a short story of the same name published in ''Red Light: Superheroes, Saints and Sluts''. * ''Trans Cabaret: The Video''

References

1959 births 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Film directors from Nova Scotia Canadian LGBT dramatists and playwrights Living people Canadian non-binary writers Intersex non-binary people Writers from Nova Scotia 21st-century LGBT people Non-binary dramatists and playwrights {{Canada-playwright-stub