Feminism and Diversity
Related: About this forumLesbophobia makes gay women a minority among minorities
Earlier this year, a blog called Everyday Lesbophobia was launched by UK-based magazine editor Jane Czyzselska. Aside from chronicling her own experiences of the sexism and hostility that being a lesbian invited, it asked readers to send in their own narratives. And there were many, ranging from one where a random guy told a woman she was "too pretty" to be a lesbian, to assumptions that gay women had "unnatural hormonal imbalances", were too radical or creatures to be endlessly gawked at.
In a subsequent article for a UK newspaper, Czyzselska defines lesbophobia as "homophobia with a side-order of sexism". It's the undercurrent to most of society's interactions with lesbians, across offices, pubs and homes. And the sniggers, putdowns and sexual harassment that the blog chronicled, find resonance closer home. Gay women still stumble into daily instances of aggressive and sexist behaviour. That they are female, and attracted to the same sex, makes them targets of a curious two-layered discrimination, often more than what gay men face.
"Women don't have access to public spaces the way men do," said Chayanika Shah, member of LABIA -A Queer Feminist LBT Collective. "So lesbians generally face homophobia from known persons, unless somebody is transgressing gender norms and doesn't 'look' like a woman is supposed to." Ladies-only railway compartments are often where gay women experience nasty behaviour. Commuters stare, giggle and pass comments like "Ladka hai ya ladki hai?" (Is it a boy or girl?). There have also been instances of lesbians being beaten up and throw out of the compartment, said Shah. "People see you as someone who is transgressing the way in which a woman should be, and hence they are very violent towards you," she explained.
"It's funny how some men think it's okay to walk up and ask queer women for sex," said Giani. "It's their biggest fantasy to have sex with lesbian women, and they have a very distorted image of them." Tanya Shringarpure adds that when men at parties confess their love for lesbian porn, she laughs them off, saying, "How would you like it if I tell you I like gay porn?" The line, "I need you to make out with that guy right now," is also effective in throwing them off, she has learnt. The male phobia of lesbians, said Shringarpure, stems from the fact that they don't want to be hit on by other men.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-08-04/mumbai/41057070_1_gay-women-lesbian-woman
Skittles
(158,535 posts)"If that was true, ALL women would be lesbians."
As a gay man, I'm a lesbian, too!
Skittles
(158,535 posts)you know it too; yes INDEED
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)I hope you will consider also posting it to the LGBT forum.