Lesbian Visibility Day falls on April 26th, and is a day to celebrate the experience of being a lesbian and raise awareness to the real issues lesbians face in the community.
Lesbian is the first letter in the LGBTQIA+ acronym, and has traditionally meant a woman who has sexual or romantic attraction to other women. Today, a lot of non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals also call themselves lesbians, and the term lesbian has sometimes been broadened to include both female and non-binary attraction. Like many parts of the queer experience, calling yourself a lesbian is a personal choice. If you find yourself drawn to and represented by this term, chances are it’s the right one for you!
Lesbians face a number of unique challenges, from being hypersexualised in the media and forced under the male gaze, to experiencing microaggressions in the workplace, society and even in personal relationships. The beautiful thing about affirming days like Lesbian Visibility Day is that they create something called ‘affirmative visibility’ meaning that it is specially made to showcase the positive aspects of this sexuality!
Here’s what some lesbians have to say…
Being a lesbian:
As a lesbian, I can't conform to the heteronormative paradigm, unlike most other people. Many people therefore don't understand how being a lesbian is even possible, when men are portrayed as essential to womanhood. Visibility is important for me, because it urges people to try not to view me through a false lens, rather, to do away with the lens altogether. -Anon, 19
Some myth busters for you:
Lesbians aren't man hating women (well most of us aren't). No, we're not lesbians because "we haven't met the right man yet" we're lesbians because WE LIKE WOMEN AND NOT MEN! -Anon
Lesbian fun fact:
The L comes first for a reason! The widely known acronym LGBT that was once known as GLBT was deliberately changed to honour lesbians who were the primary caretakers, nurses and blood donors for gay men during the AIDS crisis. -Anon
Some resources for you:
QLife provides anonymous and free LGBTIQ+ peer support and referral for people in Australia wanting to talk about sexuality, gender, bodies, feelings or relationship: https://qlife.org.au/
LGBTQ Domestic Violence Awareness Foundation: A specific LGBTIQA+ DV support service/ foundation, available nation-wide: https://www.dvafoundation.org/
ReachOut Articles:
Now that you know a little bit about Lesbian Visibility Day, what do you think you can do to support your LGBTQIA+ peers?
