“Lesbian” has been a fraught word in the queer community for many years. This was discussed in the mainstream recently in the BBC’s sapphic reality dating show I Kissed A Girl, where contestants were shown having an emotional conversation about their difficult relationships with the word.
“It is a word that has been taken and made negative. Growing up, it was used in a way that suggested something was wrong with you,” said Georgia, one of the contestants. “Being a lesbian is something to be so proud of, but a lot of the time I don’t really know how to … I didn’t realise how deep, and how many emotions I had attached to the fact that I struggle to actually say ‘lesbian’.”
The word “lesbian” was used throughout my own childhood in the early- and mid-2000s as a playground insult, much like “gay”. The word was not only used as an insult, but also often positioned as exclusionary.
