For many people, the term “lesbian” holds all the power in the world.
Accepting and loving yourself as the lesbian that you are in a world that hates lesbians (and women) is one of the hardest things you can do.
This has become especially true in recent years. Not only do lesbians have to deal with compulsive heterosexuality, people associating the word with porn for straight men, and homophobic bullying around the term, but there is a whole new slew of reasons people might not identify as lesbians.
A lot of people, especially young people, have adopted very prescriptive definitions of what it means to be a lesbian, meaning that they believe if you ever find yourself attracted to anyone who isn't a woman - whether they're nonbinary, a man, trans masc, or anything else - you have no right to call yourself a lesbian. Others are avoiding the term because they think that it's been co-opted by TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists), who say that they are the only "true" lesbians. Of course, all of this is nonsense, but it still makes identifying as a lesbian an act of radical bravery and courage in today's climate.
These are just some of the amazing lesbians who are proud to use the term!
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Hayley Kiyoko
This singer is also known as "Lesbian Jesus" by her adoring fans. While she says she initially rejected labels, she's come to embrace identifying as a lesbian and hopes she can inspire others to do the same.
"I didn't want a label at all, but once I released my music, there was this outpour of support for the fact that I did like girls," she said at Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter's Pride Summit in 2019. "I learned that by embracing my label as a lesbian, I was helping normalise that for so many other people."
Photo: Getty Images
Kehlani
Kehlani had long identified as queer and bisexual, and previously had said she didn't identify as a lesbian. But then, in 2021, she posted a video clarifying how she currently identifies. "You wanna know what's new about me?" she asked in the video. "I finally know I'm a lesbian!"
Photo: Shutterstock
Brandi Carlile
One of the greatest living singer-songwriters of this generation, six-time Grammy winner Carlile came out as a lesbian way back in 2002 in an interview early in her career. Now, 20 years later, she's one of the biggest artists in country, Americana, and folk music, and one of the most famous lesbians around.
Photo: Shutterstock
Peach PRC
Peach PRC (real name Shaylee Curnow) had previously identified as bisexual when she came out as a lesbian to her fans in January 2022. After her queer song "God Is a Freak" became a viral hit, she posted a TikTok clarifying her sexuality. "I guess now is a good time to tell you all, I'm a lesbian," she said in the video. She also posted to Instagram, saying, "Came out as a lesbian today (to be fair the closet was made of glass lol)."
Photo: Getty Images
Jasmin Savoy Brown
The Scream and Yellowjackets star identifies as lesbian, queer, and pansexual, and is famous for playing queer characters Mindy Meeks-Martin in Scream and Taissa Turner in Yellowjackets.
Photo: Shutterstock
Julien Baker
Indie rocker Julien Baker had a lot of fear about coming out as a young girl raised in a religious household in Tennessee, however, when she did come out as a lesbian, her father grabbed a bible and "spent the next hour pointing out, like, 'Here's this thing that says there's nothing wrong with you and god loves you.'"
Photo: Shutterstock
Jessica Betts
Jessica Betts is more than the wife of Niecy Nash. She's also a musician and singer who won the 2005 singing competition series The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott, and a proud lesbian.
Photo: Getty Images
Dee Rees
One of the greatest living screenwriters and directors is a proud lesbian. She's released four feature films: Pariah (which is loosely based on her own teen years), Bessie, Mudbound, and The Last Thing He Wanted. She became the first Black woman nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Mudbound, and was nominated for Emmys for writing and directing the movie Bessie about queer singer Bessie Smith.
Photo: Shutterstock
Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird
These two superstar athletes both came out as lesbians and became the first same-sex couple to grace the cover of ESPN's The Body Issue. Rapinoe, a soccer player, came out as a lesbian in 2012, and Bird came out in 2017 when she announced she was in a relationship with Rapinoe.
Photo: Getty Images
Tegan and Sara
Twin musicians Tegan and Sara both identify as lesbians. They've been out since they started their music career, and most recently, their coming-of-age memoir has been made into a TV show about the two teen sisters forming a band and coming out.
Photo: Shutterstock
Brandy Clark
Clark is a talented country musician and songwriter. In addition to releasing her own music, she's also written hit songs for Miranda Lambert, LeAnn Rimes, The Band Perry, and Kacey Musgraves, for whom she wrote "Biscuits" and "Follow Your Arrow."
"I'm one-hundred percent a lesbian," Clark said in 2021. "There's no gray area. There's no man that's going to come out and say, 'Well Brandy Clark had a sexual relationship with me in my twenties.' Nope. Wasn't going on."
Photo: Shutterstock
Brittany Howard
Howard was the former lead singer of the band Alabama Shakes. With that band, she was nominated for nine Grammys, winning four. As a solo artist, she's been nominated for seven more, winning one more. She came out as a lesbian at age 25.
Photo: Getty Images
Zolita
One of the leaders of the current Sapphic Pop wave, Zolita is a proud lesbian, and sings about it in her songs. "I'm a feminist, lesbian woman and as an artist, I want to explore my experiences and write stories about them," she told Gay Times.
Photo: Getty Images
Da Brat
Rapper Da Brat didn't come out as a lesbian until she was in the public eye for around 25 years. She said she was afraid to come out as a lesbian because of the backlash she saw Ellen DeGeneres face. She's now married to Jesseca "Judy" Dupart.
Photo: Shutterstock
Left At London
Nat Puff first became famous on Vine, but now, she's better known for her impressions and musical ability. She identifies as a trans lesbian. "In true lesbian fashion, I started doing music to impress girls," she told Forbes.
Photo: Instagram (@leftatlondon)
