While it would be a fundamental misunderstanding of Tender Buttons to claim what it is “about,” the text is infused with eroticism, largely inspired by Stein’s partnership with Alice Toklas. The poem as a whole is layered with sly puns and references to sexuality, and much has been made of the title and its potential reference to nipples and the clitoris—tender buttons—and female sexuality in general. As a woman growing up at the start of the 20th century, Stein was part of a society far from any widespread acceptance or tolerance of being gay. While being gay in general was cause for widespread social oppression and even violence, there was at least a thread of cultural precedent for attraction between men in the 19th century, with the aesthete movement and the Oxford of Oscar Wilde. Lesbians faced intense oppression and cultural invisibility, and Stein broke barriers not only in aesthetics but in representation as well.

One of Stein’s early short stories written in 1903, “Q.E.D.,” is notable for being one of the earliest examples of a coming out story in English literature. Additionally, Stein’s later essay “Miss Furr and Miss Skeene,” is not only a groundbreaking depiction of lesbian love but is also important for containing arguably the first published use of the word “gay” in reference to orientation.