Thread by @VABVOX

It's #InternationalLesbianDay!
Here is a thread on iconic lesbians in history, past and present.
I hope you will show your allyship by reading and sharing. 📌

#Lesbians have been with us for centuries.
This sweet couple was photographed in 1907.

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19th c lesbians lived together in what were called #BostonMarriages.
Some (straight) historians have tried to de-gay them and erase their lesbian sexuality, agency and history. But they were still lesbians.

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#InternationalLesbianDay

Democratic women have long been in the forefront of radical change in America.
#DrAliceHamilton was a physician, scientist, social reformer & #lesbian. Her work created #OSHA. Hamiliton focused on the health of #immigrant women.

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#InternationalLesbianDay

#EndomoniaWildfireLewis was an African-American sculptor. She moved abroad to live freely as a lesbian. Her classical work is in museums worldwide. She lived in a lesbian artists colony in Rome with actress Charlotte Cushman.

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#InternationalLesbianDay

Here is one of #EndomoniaWildfireLewis's sculptures. She worked primarily in marble. This piece is titled "The Death of Cleopatra." She sculpted images of women of history as well as women of her own time. She died in 1907.

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This one will really upset the #MAGA folks.
#KatherineLeeBates was a poet, educator & #lesbian. She wrote #AmericaTheBeautiful, a better national anthem than the one that we currently have.

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#InternationalLesbianDay

#BarbaraJordan was the 1st black member of Congress since Reconstruction, a civil rights icon and lesbian.

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#InternationalLesbianDay

#JaneAddams was one of America's most vital voices for change, for equality, for the suppressed voices of poor women, especially immigrants.
Addams founded modern social work, co-founded the #ACLU and won the #NobelPeacePrize.

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#GloriaAnzaldua was a Chicana scholar, writer, sociologist, activist, #lesbian. Her voice was so strong--I wish she were still here to raise her voice for lesbian immigrants, today.

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#InternationalLesbianDay

#MphoTutuVanFurth is an Anglican priest, feminist activist, daughter of #DesmondTutu & lesbian.
She is married to academic scholar #MarcelineVanFurth. She has faced discrimination for marrying her lesbian partner.

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Our #lesbian history spans all continents. #QuiJin 秋瑾 was a Chinese scholar, revolutionary, feminist, writer, warrior & #lesbian. She was executed July 15, 1907 at 31 for her activism.

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#InternationalLesbianDay

#LenoreChinn is an Asian-American painter, activist & #lesbian. Chinn co-founded the Lesbians in the Visual Arts and Queer Cultural Center (QCC) in San Francisco. Chinn gives lectures on lesbians & art.
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#InternationalLesbianDay

Here is another painting by Asian-American #lesbian artist #LenoreChinn because I love her work so much. She focuses on images of lesbians and people of color.

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#InternationalLesbianDay

#PratibhaParmar is a British filmmaker, here with ##PulitzerPrize winner #AliceWalker. They worked together on a film about #FGM and on a film about Walker's life. Both #lesbians are iconic as artists and activists.

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#InternationalLesbianDay

#AdrienneRich won myriad awards for her poetry. She was a life-long leftist feminist activist. Her partner of 36yrs was Jamaican-American writer #MichelleCliff.

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#InternationalLesbianDay

Bisexual Mexican artist #FridaKahlo and Costa Rican lesbian singer #ChavelaVargas, 1945
(I love this photo--Kahlo suffered extreme pain much of her life after a disabling accident she barely survived. She's so happy here.)

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#InternationalLesbianDay

Mattel debuted their first bisexual Barbie (although they erased her disability).
I wrote about it--and Kahlo--here.

#FridaKahlo, Renowned Artist, Is Your New Barbie curvemag.com/Culture/Frida-… …
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#InternationalLesbianDay

I'm not sure where this is from, but I applaud the message.
No matter how much homophobic bullies like Trump, Pence and the GOP try to suppress, oppress and erase us, we are here, we will support and strengthen each other.

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#InternationalLesbianDay

Here's the real #SpaceForce:
#SallyRide was an astrophysicist, astronaut, first American woman in space and a #lesbian.

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#InternationalLesbianDay

Among those who have been erased most often in our society are First Nations people.
#Chrystos is a #NativeAmerican/Indigenous poet, activist, two-spirit #lesbian who identifies as urban Indian. Their work is magnificent.


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#InternationalLesbianDay

Charlotte Cushman was the most popular stage actress of her time & led a wildly open lesbian life & started a lesbian artists colony in Rome.
I wrote about her for #LGBTQHistoryMonth
Charlotte Cushman’s passions on & off stage epgn.com/news/national/…
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#InternationalLesbianDay

As a young lesbian, #AudreLorde was my mentor. Her brilliance and her work--her amazon warrior radical lesbian life's work--is a lasting legacy. I wrote about when we first danced:

Dancing with Audre Lorde: A Lesbian Memory
lambdaliterary.org/features/oped/…
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#InternationalLesbianDay

When my novel #OrdinaryMayhem was published, Paige Cohen interviewed me. I spoke about how vital #lesbian writing & visibility are, how homophobic violence impacts lesbians. (The novel won the IPPY & Lambda Literary Award.)
lambdaliterary.org/features/03/30…
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#InternationalLesbianDay

I memorialize every #lesbian who died hidden in the shadows because of #homophobia, who was forced into compulsory heterosexuality, who was made to live a lie. You deserved better. We honor you by making a safer world for lesbians today. Amen.
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#InternationalLesbianDay

Please share your own lesbian icons for #InternationalLesbianDay to this thread.