Shormita dwells on the issue of lesbian liberation. An exclusive for Different Truths. 

It is true that lesbians also face discrimination in society. Women liking or loving each other is still a taboo relationship in a heterosexual society. A society that recognises the man-woman relationship only, hardly accepts the woman-woman relations. 

Yes, it is still odd or freakish to label it as woman-woman relationships. The traditional mindset of people is peculiar and racist which is not ready to accept such relations. However, there are extraordinary examples in society that fluently converse and highlight the lesbian lovers co-existing with heterosexuals. 

Lesbianism in Literary Works

The love relationship between women has been explored from decades ago through literary works, films, or fiction. The Price of Salt (1952) was such an example to present lesbian love in society. It was written by Patricia Highsmith.  It is one of the earliest literary works in lesbian literature, which has a happy ending. The women characters of the novel defied the stereotypical lesbian love, which is quite a revolutionary step in those times. 

Compared to today’s time, there are a lot of examples set in the Western entertainment industry. It motivates lesbians to talk about their identity at the forefront. The character of Fabiola in Never Have I Ever web series is such an inspirational character for lesbians. In her teenage years, she realised her gender identity. And openly accepts this to her family and friends. Her family, friends, and other people contently accept her queer existence.  

Mother Accepts Daughter’s Lesbianism

Parallelly, a similar type of incidence has been found in real society today. A proud mother of Indian origin residing in the small city of Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh, India) has found out that her daughter is a lesbian. This modern woman has commendably accepted her daughter’s choice and supported her bravely by fighting the stereotypical mindset of near and dear ones.

She has interviewed her daughter on her YouTube channel and talks about her initial struggle and her feelings. The girl has expressed her dilemma and feelings so smoothly to her mother and fearlessly faces the awful questions of the people. Such an instance is hard to find in a small city where people do not even accept love relationships between men-women. Thus, it proves that reel stories are certainly inspired by real-life experience. We can say that literary works are depictions of society. 

Lesbian Feminism

Initially, lesbian feminism was considered a threat to society as it was a mental disorder among females. It emerged during the 1970s and 80s and it developed parallelly with gay movements in America. It talks about the gender rights of women and promotes homosexual relations between women. Lesbian feminists not only talk about patriarchal dominance, but also focusses on the liberation of lesbian women rights.

Hence, lesbian feminism helps a lot of lesbians for gaining their sexual rights. Also, the emergence of queer theory during the late 1990s proved to be exceptional support to lesbian literature under the umbrella of queerness and the LGBTQIA+ movement. Therefore, the expansion of queer rights in all sorts of genres today is a typical and rare growth in the LGBTQIA+ community. 

References

‘In Conversation with my Lesbian Daughter.’ Bindaas Baatein, June 25, 2021. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYtqXLN9UXA)

Valk, Anne M. ‘Lesbian Feminism.’ Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/lesbian-feminism

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Shormita Bose

Shormita Bose, is pursuing PhD in English literature from GLA University, Mathura. She has completed her M.A. & B.A. from University of Allahabad. She has contributed her research article in the edited book- Human Rights: Issues, Challenges and Present Status and also written an article in the anthology -Words That Stay Forever. Currently, she is working on her own edited book- Women and Queers: The Marginalized Gender.