Category: Feminism
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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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Every lesbian is born this way. Our sexual orientation is not fluid.
I had crushes on women and girls when I was a kid. My mum would take me to the local country town supermarket. While she shopped, I’d follow the same female worker around each time, just to bask in her essence. I would forget where I was. Forget about what junk food I wanted. I…
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The JoJo Siwa Saga: When lesbianism is denied a definition
I want to preface the recent news on JoJo Siwa by saying that if a woman genuinely thought she was a lesbian – because she’d never been attracted to a male before – only to come out as bisexual (or “queer” as JoJo did), once she discovers she actually is attracted to men, then whatever.…
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I was there: Canada’s Stonewall, the Brunswick Four
Women had fewer choices in 1974. We were excluded from the “trades” where you could actually make a decent wage. We couldn’t get bank loans to start businesses without a man’s signature. The courts were taking children away from their mothers because their mothers were lesbians… It wasn’t good, and we were making a fuss.…
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Off the Calendar: What does Trump’s billionaire boys’ club mean for lesbians?
I’m the first to admit that I find months dedicated to the classes I belong to, such as Pride month, performative and kind of cringe. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against Pride gatherings or even the odd parade here or there, so long as capitalists do not sponsor them. They don’t really give a…
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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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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.