“I personally choose writing for DIVA and donning head-to-toe rainbows/glitter at Pride for the, ‘Surprise! I am a massive lesbian’ effect”
BY ELEANOR NOYCE. IMAGE GENDER SPECTRUM COLLECTION.
This afternoon on Twitter, we had #LesbianVisibilityDay #LesbianDayOfVisibility, and #DIVAPowerList all trending. Oh, and #DragRace, too.
Not to be dramatic, but I think we’re taking over the world. Let’s go lesbians.
Paired with the launch of DIVA box office and of the DIVA Power List, life has never looked sweeter. Oh, and the May issue is out.
Things are happening, DIVAs, things are happening.
Lesbian Visibility Day is quite a formal term. How does one feel visible? Am I visible when I wear a flannel shirt or dungarees? Or a beanie? Is being visible attending Pride parades or using the rainbow emoji?
Here’s how Twitter has interpreted #LesbianVisibilityDay 2019.
@sophwilkinson made a very valid point about the deficit of bars for queer women in London. She Soho is fabulous, but we need more. There’s only so many times G-A-Y or Village can fill the void.
@honeylesbians, we’re so happy you’ve found your calling. Live your best life, boo.
@NikiHoneyBee and their wife made us cry a little bit with their adorable wedding photos.
…and how could we not give a lil shoutout to our Editor @seej? We see ya, and we love ya.
The truth of the matter is: there’s no one correct way to be visible. Being visible can be as simple as having the confidence to hold your girlfriend’s hand in public, or it can be as extreme as writing for an LGBTI publication or working for an LGBTI charity.
I personally choose writing for DIVA and donning head-to-toe rainbow and glitter at the annual Pride festivals in London and Brighton in an expression of, “Surprise! I am a massive lesbian”. Every little helps…
This #LesbianDayOfVisibility (or #LesbianVisibilityDay), we need to extend our solidarity, our thoughts and our activism to the lesbians who cannot be visible.
In the UK, we’ve been afforded a great many rights. If I wanted to, I could get married to a woman tomorrow. I could adopt a child; buy a house; undergo artificial insemination. The list is endless.
Sure, it took a while for us to get here, but I’m truly grateful to be living in an age where my existence is not only no longer criminalized, but I can live a normal, happy life as a woman who just happens to love other women.
In over seventy countries, it’s still illegal to be gay. Saudi Arabia; India; Bangladesh; Malaysia; Singapore. The list goes on. The Kingdom of Brunei just introduced stoning as a punishment for LGBTI sex, for goodness’ sake.
Of the fifty-three countries in the Commonwealth, thirty-seven have laws that criminalise homosexuality.
Part of being LGBTI means celebrating the achievements we’ve accomplished, the rights we’ve been afforded, and creating a sense of community which is both safe and inclusive.
However, it’s also about activism: whilst our siblings in other countries are abused, criminalized, murdered, for being who they are, we cannot be quiet. We must not be quiet.
So, happy Lesbian Visibility Day, DIVAs. Whether you’re a cisgendered lesbian; a trans lesbian; a non-binary lesbian; an intersex lesbian, or a lesbian living in a country with anti-LGBTI laws: you are loved and we are here for you.
Here’s to being visible, DIVAs.
Only reading DIVA online? You’re missing out. For more news, reviews and commentary, check out the latest issue. It’s pretty badass, if we do say so ourselves.
