Category: Today
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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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Homosexual boundaries do not abuse bisexual and transgender people
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is the biggest Pride event in Australia. Since 1978, when 53 gay and lesbian people were arrested for publicly celebrating homosexuality while it was illegal, the parade and surrounding festivities have attracted participants from around the world. As the name suggests, its focus is on gay and lesbian…
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“Culturally Gay”: Are lesbians allowed to discuss popular culture?
I was a teenager when weekly celebrity gossip magazines were calling women who weighed 60kg “obese.” How quickly (or slowly) a celebrity woman could lose her pregnancy weight made headlines. Kate Moss proudly declared that her motto was, “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” You couldn’t escape it. Celebrity culture and the magazines that…
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Is Taylor Swift secretly a lesbian?
I don’t particularly care for Taylor Swift. I don’t mean this in an edgy, “ugh, Swifties are so annoying and lame,” way. She has some catchy songs. She’s a very skilled businesswoman. She remains apolitical enough, quiet enough, behaved enough, white enough and bland enough to appeal to a very wide demographic. She’s safe. She’s…
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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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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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Should dangerously homophobic countries get to host global competitions?
There is no sport more synonymous with freedom than surfing. You can fight me on this. Surfers harness the waves despite the unknown deep below, tapping into the human urge to go “weeeeee!” while somehow controlling our mortal fears. Sometimes, I can’t leave my bedroom – usually after hearing of another woman murdered by a…
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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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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…