Lesbian Visibility Day: Erin's reflections

Lesbian Visibility Day is celebrated annually on April 26th. This Lesbian Visibility Day, our volunteer Erin shares her thoughts.

My name is Erin, I’m 23 years old and I came out as a lesbian about 5 years ago after considering my sexuality for years. I am very open about being a lesbian and my experiences as one and how it differs to other members of the LGBTQ+ community. Realising I was a lesbian was such a freeing experience for me as I no longer felt constantly pressurised into liking men romantically and made me feel more confident in myself.

Lesbian Visibility Day means so much to me because I never saw lesbians in the media or in history - but since becoming aware of Lesbian Visibility Week/Day I have gained so much knowledge about the community and it helps me find people who have a similar experience to me and learning about other experiences.

When I was younger, I never knew that L was moved to the front of LGBTQ+ to acknowledge the help of lesbians during the AIDS crisis. Without Lesbian Visibility Day - I would have no idea this happened about how much of an impact lesbians have had on the community.

A message to my younger self:

It’s okay to not like men romantically, there’s nothing wrong with you and you are proud of your identity now. You have amazing friends who support your sexuality and the lesbian community is such a beautiful place.

LGBTQ+ Albums for you: Episode 2

There are so many brilliant LGBTQ+ artists out there, and over the next few weeks we're going to showcase some of our favourites! It's week 2 of our mini series of album recommendations, and today we're giving some love to Ryan Beatty.

Happy listening!

Kian

Calico (2023) - Ryan Beatty

True love will last and rain down on Beatty’s most recent project. With only nine tracks, this album is more novella than Great American Novel, but it tells its story of love’s deception just as heartily. Opening the album with the question: “What can I tell you?” on Ribbons, there is a distinct conversationality to this project that carves a window out of the fourth-wall so that the listener is afforded a glimpse through.

Beatty’s third instalment is a largely acoustic effort, with falsetto that glosses his lyrics in a lightness of familiarity even within his heartbreaking next question in Bruises on the Peach: “Did it ever have to do with me?” At times, Beatty’s monsooning is “Close as a kiss on the lips”, especially in the sweet Cinnamon Bread.

Soliquising spirals on with our third question to answer on Andromeda: “What stops me from sending the call, in a midnight paranoia? / Hey, that’s love after all, isn’t it?” Yet, the following Bright Red and Hunter ask no questions at all, attributing more starriness to Andromeda in retrospect. Not for long, though, as Beatty has us over at his place on White Teeth, flashing the question: “What’s our code name?” in a return to the confusion that so often follows the clarity of dreaming.

Calico’s denouement has Multiple Endings: “Was it all just a dream?” is option number one, while the alternative is “Was it all in my head?” Beatty is trying to work it out, to answer all of his own questions. Turns out, he can’t. Beatty realises this with his resounding “Oh” before leading into Little Faith. Once and for all, “What is it gonna take?” to get over this great love - going through jewellery boxes and throwing out dead plants to get to the root of it all. And when he finally does, he realises love will strike again. Have a little faith.

Standout tracks: Andromeda, White Teeth, Little Faith

Check back next week for our next album review - or send in your own favourite queer music picks! You can submit one-off blog posts or even become a regular content contributor by filling out this form!

LGBTQ+ Albums that NEED to make your Spotify Wrapped this year: Episode 1

There are so many brilliant LGBTQ+ artists out there, and over the next few weeks we're going to showcase some of our favourites! Whether you’re looking for love, hunting for a houseparty corner to cry into or searching for some sweet relief, I guarantee there is something in these projects for you. Who knows? Maybe, just maybe, you’ll find the soundtrack to the next season of your life.

Happy listening!

Kian

Silence Between Songs (2023) - Madison Beer

Let’s get stuck in at the beginning of Spinnin’ (pun intended). If you’d rather live in your dreams, this is the album for you. Beer’s dizzy Sweet Relief is a plea for escape within a pounding conundrum of beats that beg for you to stay and play the track again. If you find your way out, you’ll be met with Beer’s pivotal postulation on Envy the Leaves: “Why don’t we lie and act like the best is yet to come?”

Beer is aflame with the burning hope that it does get better on Ryder, assuring that “I know it’s hard sometimes / But you’ll be alright / Oh, we’ll be alright.” This track is a reminiscence of childhood, and an ode to better days ahead for herself and her companion. A delicate outro leads into the soulful sonnet-like survival piece Nothing Matters But You, where Beer is grateful for love and companionship, and the strength of love from another encourages her to save herself: “If you never stop me / Then I’ll just keep falling.”

The grass is greener and air is sweeter on I Wonder, as Beer wonders why and how she feels so fine all of a sudden. Things are looking up for Beer on this princess-esque bright-side ballad. Showed Me (How I Fell in Love With You) is a moody mind palace of relatability: the green eyed monster of comparison crawls out of its dungeon as Beer exhales “You walk into a room and people fall for you / How I wanna be like you.”

Contrary to how one may expect, darkness is kept at bay on both Dangerous and Reckless, with both tracks incurring a soft brush of gentle sentimentality. When a relationship is over, how do you stop loving someone? What if you can’t? Beer can’t accept it - “No it can’t be this easy to let me go.” On Reckless, Beer isn’t angry and bristling, but is cataclysmically confused. If you “swore on every star / How could you be so reckless with my heart?” And isn’t that the eternal question?

Standout tracks: Sweet Relief, I Wonder, Showed Me (How I Fell in Love With You)

Check back next week for our next album review - or send in your own favourite queer music picks! You can submit one-off blog posts or even become a regular content contributor by filling out this form!