R&B queen Kehlani’s coming out story encouraged me to reminisce on my own story of coming out and delve into some of the roles Black lesbians have played in popular culture over the years from TV and movies to queer literature.
Tag: Queer Women
Naya Rivera: How “Glee” Helped Femme Lesbians Feel Seen
Naya Rivera’s tragic passing earlier this year has prompted many to look back on her legacy on “Glee.” In the years since its departure from the airwaves, Rivera’s portrayal of Santana Lopez is still making an impact in the lives of lesbian and bi women. As one of the few lesbian TV characters to ultimately have a happy ending, her story was ground-breaking and impactful from start to finish.
The Very Queer History of the Suffrage Movement
The women’s suffrage movement allowed women to re-examine, question, and begin to systematically rebel against the many restrictions they had lived under for centuries—including oppressive gender and sexual norms.
LGBTQ Media Representation Increases Acceptance: “Good for Business, Good for the World”
“The findings of this study send a strong message to brands and media outlets that including LGBTQ people in ads, films and TV is good for business and good for the world,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD.
Sappho’s Series of Lesbian Poets: Charlotte Mew’s Rebellious Music
“I try to imagine being with Charlotte Mew on March 24, 1928, the day she killed herself. Let me befriend her. Let me do and say things to ease her pain and save her.
“I’m a lesbian poet from the year 2020, Charlotte, who adores your poems, how they transform your torment into art.
“If I couldn’t save Mew on that day in 1928, perhaps I could save her poems.”
Sappho’s Series of Lesbian Poets: Mary Meriam’s Gorgeous Rage
Coming out doesn’t make you at home in the world; nor, certainly, does sex. You need bonds beyond sex: a community, a culture, a shared set of obsessions. “Love on the March,” Alex Ross, The New Yorker 11/12/12 When I was a young lesbian in rural New Jersey in the ‘70s, I was completely lost […]
COVID-19: A Black, Queer, Feminist Grounding and Call for Self and Community Care
“I believe in us. I believe in you. I believe in myself. While, I don’t know how, and I don’t know when; I know—just like my ancestors knew—that we will find a way through: as long as we remember who we are and what we are capable of.”
Sappho’s Series of Lesbian Poets: Naomi Replansky’s Answer to Alienation
Do we read poems searching for answers? Do we write poems searching for answers? In the case of Naomi Replansky, yes and yes.
This Process is Freedom: The Ms. Q&A with Lesbian Separatist and Anti-Klan Organizer Trella Laughlin
“Ask yourself: What does it take to become a really trustworthy person? The honest answer to that will change you. And this cannot be done at the exclusion of getting into the streets. We fooled ourselves into thinking it was one or the other. We must become a revolutionary person.”
Sappho’s Series of Lesbian Poets: Vi Khi Nao’s Body of Language
Vi Khi Nao is a prolific, prize-winning author working in poetry, fiction, film and cross-genre collaboration.We talked about her two “sapphic” books—The Vanishing Point of Desire and Swans in Half-Mourning—and, knowing she’d give me brilliant answers, I also asked her two questions almost impossible to answer.