Lesbian VISIBILITY Day April 26th


International Lesbian Visibility Day is upon us, not that it's going to get much notice. This Day, and in some places Week, goes by without much fanfare unless you already have it in your calendar. I've been thinking about the concept of visibility and lesbian and what that might mean in practical terms these days. How do we lesbians 'do' visibility when we're not doing Dykes-on-Bikes etc in the Mardi Gras Parade? When Australia's notorious and injurious 2017 Plebiscite on Gay Marriage/Same Sex Marriage worked up a head of furious indignation in certain "NO" quarters, I took to wearing a lesbian badge as a proud visible identifier - something I hadn't done since the 70s and 80s.

As an older lesbian I don't really look like a lesbian any more - partly because, as an older woman I've become completely invisible - unless I start making a big fuss about something: at the drinks bar, in the queue, or just walking along the blasted footpath! I had a sort of androgynous look in my young dyke days (and we were proud to call ourselves that, as well as gay, lesbian or queer - but we quite liked the dyke word). I wore monkey boots, jeans (sometimes of bright colours), a shirt, herringbone jacket, short hair, earrings. Androgynous, not butch. I was a real softy, and never lived up to my Hardy name! I worked with a professional gay theatre company, Gay Sweatshop, in London doing theatre about being gay, being seen as gay/lesbian, and we toured all over the UK with our positive, brave, visible (for some confronting) - message. We're here, we're Queer, get used to it. 

The most important thing I did to be Visible was to wear a lesbian badge, or a queer badge, and/or feminist badge. So if anyone looked twice they could read my lapel, shirt or earring. I dug out my old badges today, and show them here. Some are dated, of course, gender and sexuality is far more fluid today - but the political messages hold good. Happy Lesbian Visibility Day, Week - existence.



And finally, because this is about badges, and because tomorrow, in Oz, we have ANZAC day, which commemorates all those who gave, or supported those who gave up their lives, health, wellbeing during World War 1. Inevitably, we also remember all those who followed and suffered, in various capacities, in subsequent horrors. My mother, Patricia, served in the Womens Land Army during WW2. She once got shot at by a rogue Nazi plane when she was riding her bike down a country lane. He missed, which is partly why I'm here today. Here's her badge to honour her service:


https://www.amazon.com.au/Secretive-Life-Sara-Hardy-ebook/dp/B09DKLSH93 


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