Visibility and Beyond

By Sara Popkin

Lesbian Visibility Day celebrates all lesbians. It is a day for the lesbian community to celebrate our experiences with love and community and share our appreciation for each other. 

Serendipitously, my birthday falls on the same date as Lesbian Visibility Day. I take this coincidence as a sign to reflect on my lesbian identity and what it means to be visible.

My lesbianness shapes who I am, how I love, how I present myself, how I overcome.

I am a lesbian, and I am proud to be a lesbian. What does it mean to be visible? I think of when I watched The L Word in high-school, and saw in Shane’s character the lesbian I wanted to dress like. With pride so visible, excluding confidence, I wanted to be her.

I want to be that visible. I wish to be the role model who I never had. Not early enough. To tell me that being a lesbian is beautiful.

I hope this connects with you, dear reader, I hope you know that being a lesbian is beautiful. You don’t need to be out of the closet nor watch The L Word to be visible, coming out to yourself alone is a feat, and that TV show has not aged well in many respects.

We must fight so that all lesbians are seen, understood, and celebrated. Lesbian Visibility Day is about our collective visibility, our shared identity, and our love. Lesbian identity is beautiful.

I am joyous to celebrate my lesbian identity on the same day that I celebrate the anniversary of my birth. I was born this way, as Lady Gaga wisely says “No matter gay, straight, or bi / Lesbian transgender life / I’m on the right track, baby/ I was born to survive.” We are all born as unique individuals. Born this way, nonbinary lesbians and transgender lesbians are a vital part of our community. I encourage the usage of the contemporary lesbian flag, whose creator is inclusive of nonbinary lesbians and transgender lesbians.

The contemporary lesbian flag, which is known as the “Sunset” lesbian flag due to its gradient from orange to purple hues, was designed by Emily Gwen in 2018. The colors on the flag represent different aspects of the lesbian experience: gender nonconformity, independence, community, unique relationships to womanhood, serenity and peace, love and sex, and femininity.

Every individual’s experiences are unique. Each lesbian brings valuable perspectives to the lesbian community. All lesbian identities are beautiful.

– Sara Popkin is studying Peace & Justice Studies and Economics at Wellesley College.