Run your eyes down a list of famous women who have recently come out and you’re likely to see people describe themselves as pansexual, bisexual or queer, or insist on their right not to label their sexuality at all. With one or two notable exceptions, you’d be forgiven for thinking the word “lesbian” has gone out of fashion.
New research conducted by the University of Sydney and community health organisation ACON confirms the label has declined in popularity over the past decade. In 2014, 69% of respondents to the SWASH survey described themselves as lesbian. In 2020 51% did so.
Results of the 2024 survey, due to be released in the new year, will show the downward trend has continued: just 38% of 1,436 non-heterosexual women surveyed in 2024 chose the label “lesbian”.
