Category: New
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Raised by Butch-Femme parents in small-town 1960s USA: Pam’s story
Pam was 2-years-old when her mother found her life partner and co-parent: a Butch lesbian Pam affectionately refers to as ‘Pap’. Pam, who is gay herself and was named after her mother’s former lover, describes a happy, normal small-town childhood that was both attacked by straight society and embraced by some friends with kind hearts.…
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Anne Lister takes ballet in new staging of Gentleman Jack
Anne Lister is not a ghost from lesbian history; her decoded diaries paint a palpably formidable figure known as the first documented modern lesbian. Her presence in the past is in tension with the societal expectations of 19th-century women–she was able to see past double-standards to forge a path she could be excited about. Anne…
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Battling for Lesbians: The Lesbian Information Service amid 1980s Homophobia in England
In 1987, I was employed as a Rural Youth Worker by Lancashire County Council (LCC). I made the mistake of coming out as lesbian at my first staff conference in 1982/3. My twelve-month probation period was extended by six months, and I could not understand why. Neither could I understand why, after applying for three…
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Betty “Who?”: Lesbian and gay solidarity is back, baby!
As someone who has spent a lot of time and energy in feminist spaces, it never fails to amaze me when non-lesbian women try to draw a wedge between lesbians and gay men. But never being attracted to the reproductive sex you’re “supposed to be,” in a world where producing offspring is upheld as humanity’s…
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Heard of the male gaze? Get ready for the lesbian lens with Halie Torris
How does a lesbian artist express lesbian sexuality in her work when lesbian desire is usually either ignored, denied, purified or assumed to be created for men? Halie Torris’ art appeals to the legions of lesbians craving sexy depictions of ourselves through a lesbian lens. Halie Torris is a lesbian figurative painter who channels emotion…
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Lesbian fetishism is not lesbian acceptance!
Lesbian fetishism is a power move resulting from the tension of uncertainty between hatred and acceptance. A trained attack dog, running on conditioned hate, will chase blood in the enemy. But there’s a space between the attack and the dog lying on its back in acceptance of its surroundings. Lesbian fetishism, like the fetishism of…
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Flamboyance and Fortitude: Butch-Femme Relationships in 2024
Butch-Femme relationships play an important role in lesbian history. What does the Butch-Femme relationship mean today?
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‘I Kissed a Girl’ is better than ‘The Ultimatum: Queer Love’
What do you think of when you read the words “I kissed a girl”? I hope it’s not the song by Katy Perry from 2008, where the singer portrays female same-sex desire as something for the male gaze. I hope it’s the recently aired BBC television show hosted by Dannii Minogue. I Kissed a Girl…
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Why lesbian separatism is not escapist
There is a false narrative in the feminist community that lesbian separatism is escapist. There are legitimate criticisms–utopianism, rigidity, alienation–but the belief that lesbian separatism is escapism, running away into the bush, leaving the rest of womankind behind to fend for themselves against patriarchy, seems to stick the most. Lesbian separatism is meaningful lesbian-centred action.…
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Why is lesbian culture and community important?
It is unequivocally healthy and normal to find a sense of belonging in your lesbianism. Many people grow roots in their marginalised cultures because the world is harsh to the oppressed and a relatable community heals us.