Lesbophobia

“Heard the one about gay people and how good looking they are? Apparently no one remembered to tell the lesbians. Ever since DIVA first hit the news-stands 15 years ago, I’ve heard a myriad variations on this tired old theme.

We may have come a long way since 1994, when lesbians on the telly were about as rare as a politician without an outrageous personal expense account. After all now we’ve been granted equality as punters, parents and partners what’s there to grumble about?

Well sadly there’s still a few grinding issues that need addressing. The laws may have changed but age-old prejudice takes longer to break down. What I’ve noticed over the last five years at DIVA is how differently prejudice against gay men and lesbians is experienced, and how sexism underpins this.

Lesbians are still viewed as social pariahs by many, who believe women should a) look conventionally pretty and b) be available to them for sex in fantasy or reality, and that c) lesbians undermine and emasculate men. Unfortunately this prejudice is not restricted to heterosexuals, gay men and women are frequent villains, often berating ‘bad’ lesbians for not conforming to so-called conventional norms of beauty or gender expression. Two plays I saw last year written by gay men contained barbed banter about ‘unattractive butches’ and lesbians who don’t wear make-up. The subtext being that these women don’t deserve to be treated with respect.

These examples may sound like harmless banter but, like an irritating pop tune that stays lodged in the head, these ‘jokes’ have a nasty habit of sticking around in our emotional memory.

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that repetitive negative messages about ourselves are likely to contribute to low self-esteem and this may explain why lesbians are more likely than their straight counterparts to suffer from mental health issues. Half of lesbian and bisexual women under 20 have self-harmed, compared with one in 15 of teenagers in general. Gay and bisexual women under 20 are eight times more likely to have attempted suicide than teenagers generally.

Shocking figures which would be taken more seriously if it were any other section of society yet prejudice against lesbians and its attendant effects isn’t taken seriously because lesbians aren’t taken seriously.

Thankfully, there are some who do – Stonewall’s recent health survey shows the sorry extent of the problem and they as well as the many others including DIVA and The Lesbian and Gay Foundation are doing what it takes to make lesbophobia a relic of the past.”

Jane Czyzselska is Editor of DIVA, the UKs national monthly lesbian and bisexual women’s magazine.