Is lesbian identity obsolete?

ABSTRACT

In this special issue we asked the question “Is lesbian identity obsolete?” We posed this provocation in order to think through what has changed about lesbian identities and their articulations in the face of recent developments—from the rise of transphobia in the name of feminism to increased income inequality and gentrification and the accompanying loss of community spaces. The special issue turned into a triple issue receiving a large number of submissions from across the world. A synthesis of the articles suggests several threads. First, lesbian identity remains important to many women across the world. Whereas some academic writing and communities in the United States have shifted toward queerness, this move is resisted among many lesbians, especially in communities outside of the U.S. Women who sustain lesbian identity must confront attacks that morph and change across time and space. Some lesbians are marginalized because they are seen as psychologically deviant, whereas others are framed as criminals; a more recent form of marginalization equates lesbianism with transphobia. To face these attacks, lesbian intellectual traditions offer an understanding of lesbian identity as political, nonessentialist, intersectional, and community grounded. The rejection of the “born this way narrative” of lesbian identity allows lesbianism to be inclusive of different configurations of gender identities including trans, nonbinary, and cis women as well as sexual orientations including bisexuality, demisexuality, and asexuality. An understanding of lesbianism as grounded in politics of inclusion and solidarity sustains the power of the lesbian movement to fight the rise of neo-fascism and the devastation of climate change.

KEYWORDS:

• Lesbian
• queer
• intersectionality
• lesbian erasure
• lesbianphobia

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Lily House-Peters for reviewing and editing numerous articles part of this three-volume special issue. Thank you to all the wonderful scholars and community leaders who edited the call for proposal and shared it with people worldwide. We are profoundly grateful for the many expert peer-reviewers who carefully read and made helpful suggestions to the authors, and thank you to the authors who submitted their scholarship and carefully engaged with reviewers’ comments. Finally, deep gratitude goes to Esther D. Rothblum, who generously mentored and helped us through every step of the way.

Declaration of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.