Enjoy your visibility

Lesbian subjectivity has always been the victim of a process of invisibilization, stigmatization, and stereotyping implemented – in a structural and systemic way – by the dominant sexist, patriarchal, and chauvinist culture.

Lesbians don't exist in public/political space and discourse, and this is demonstrated by the fact that, in language and in common perception, the word "lesbian" is still considered an insult. "We manage to be sexist even in discrimination."“ wrote Claudio Rossi Marcelli, underlining how even the’gender-specific hate speech, offers us a vast array of words with which to call gay men, denigrating them, while using only one to label women who love women, simply as lesbians.

Lesbian subjectivity is defined by denial. The rhetoric of the "manufactured male" is a clear example of a narrative that disqualifies lesbian women, placing them at the lowest rung of the social ladder.

In a country that targets women by controlling their bodies, limiting their self-determination, and violating their acquired rights and freedoms, lesbians are a minority within a minority who experience firsthand the double and triple stigma of being lesbian women and lesbian trans women.

Research highlights how much more difficult it is for lesbians to be visible. The choice to relegate their homosexuality to an individual and private sphere, finding a comfort zone in their relationship, is too often driven by fear. Fear of being insulted, ridiculed, belittled. Fear of losing jobs and opportunities. Lesbians are burdened by the social pressure of compulsory heterosexuality, the lack of positive role models with whom they can identify, and the stereotypical image of them as individuals who betray the norm, embodying a non-conforming femininity that is not anchored in imposed gender roles and expressions. Lesbians are the recipients of low-level policies that fail to meet their needs in terms of prevention, sexual health, and access to parenthood. They are not protected by measures to combat gender-based violence, which they experience as lesbian women and lesbian trans women; nor are they supported by employment policies capable of guaranteeing equal economic and career opportunities. All of this affects and hinders their public coming out. For this and much more, even today, coming out as a lesbian and being visible is a political act. Visibility is the instrument of a revolution that re-signifies and socializes lesbian subjectivity, transforming lesbian women into resistant existences, capable of creating new imaginations and narratives that speak of freedom and liberation.

To celebrate Lesbian Visibility Day, the Arcigay Women's Network conceived and created the social media campaign "ENJOY YOUR VISIBILITY. SHOW YOUR PRIDE, TELL IT!" The campaign's protagonists are the women of the Arcigay Women's Network, who photographed themselves in playful and collaborative situations to share the joy they feel in being lesbian and visible, each in their own way. The campaign's message is direct: it's time to come out and enjoy your visibility, the right to be yourself. Being visible is a choice for happiness that can be made with fun and pride, because homosexuality is not a fault, it's not something to be ashamed of, it's not a burden, and it can no longer be a source of pain or discomfort.

So what are we waiting for? Let's enjoy our visibility, show it off with pride, and tell the world about it. How? By sharing a post on social media that explains what visibility means to us. We can use a photo, a phrase, a song, a quote, or even write our own memories of our coming out or the beauty and power of our visibility in small, everyday gestures and situations. Just remember to always use the hashtag #Lezbevisible.

We are ready, are you? Ready to go, #Lezbevisible. 

The campaign “ENJOY YOUR VISIBILITY. SHOW YOUR PRIDE, SPEAK ABOUT IT!” It was made by Gianni Redi (Chimera Arcobaleno – Arcigay Arezzo) with the precious collaboration of Andrea Foti Delfino And John Romeo Bova (Arcigay Reggio Calabria I Due Mari) and Greta Sartarelli (Pansexual Movement Arcigay Siena).