{"id":606682,"date":"2026-04-26T02:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T02:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/606682\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T02:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T02:29:09","slug":"shots-fired-at-the-white-house-correspondents-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/606682\/","title":{"rendered":"Shots fired at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Uncloseted Media published this article on April 23.<\/a><\/p>\n

By SOPHIE HOLLAND | At 13 years old, I remember looking in the mirror in my Toronto bathroom and thinking, \u201cYeah, I\u2019m a lesbian.\u201d At the time, I thought it was a dirty word. Thinking back, it could be because the first time I heard it was when a family member said, \u201cI don\u2019t know what a lesbian is, they are like aliens.\u201d<\/p>\n

And although I walked around in camouflage Crocs with a rainbow My Little Pony charm, plaid knee-length shorts and a shark tooth necklace (yes, these are all, in my opinion, stereotypically lesbian apparel!), I didn\u2019t feel like I fit the mold. The longer I thought about it, the worse I felt, so I buried my feelings deep inside.<\/p>\n

Now I am 25, and I have been out since I was 22. Three years ago, I never could have imagined that I\u2019d be working for a queer news publication and celebrating\u00a0Lesbian Visibility Week<\/a>, an annual event meant to honor and uplift lesbian perspectives and highlight the hardships our community faces. To me, LVW is so important because, frankly, it has been an absolute shit show getting here, to a place where I feel love and joy most days.<\/p>\n

I think back to the frustration of constantly being asked, \u201cDo you have a boyfriend?\u201d Of watching princess movies and seeing a broken girl only find herself when her prince charming arrives. I remember listening to music that was always about heterosexual relationships. I remember feeling left out in high school when, one by one, my friends got boyfriends.<\/p>\n

I tried the boyfriend, and I tried really hard for it to work at a large detriment to my wellbeing. I brainwashed myself into thinking I was probably bisexual, which I told my closest friends around 16 and unsuccessfully told my parents at the same age. I was probably subconsciously using this as a litmus test of their acceptance and to soothe the anxiety I felt around my sexuality.<\/p>\n

Learning to love who I am did not only come from me unraveling my internalized lesbophobia and dissecting the oppressive societal messages of heteronormativity. It came from meeting an awesome community of lesbians and queers. I found people who understood my worldview and who showed me the ropes. I no longer had to stutter over concepts like lesbian loneliness or my frustration with misogynistic straight men.<\/p>\n

They all just got it.<\/p>\n

Without this community, I am not sure if I could be as warm and confident in myself as I am today.<\/p>\n

And while I still experience homophobia, like being spat on while walking with an ex in downtown Toronto or having a stranger yell in my face \u201cAre you fucking lesbians?\u201d in Kensington Market, the joy and love still outweighs the nasty.<\/p>\n

So, as the sentimental dyke that I have become, I decided to ask a set of lesbians in my orbit \u2014 including my friends as well as Uncloseted staffers, board members and followers \u2014 if they would share a little bit about what makes them love being a lesbian. And now, I can share it with all of you. Here they are. Happy LVW!<\/p>\n

Timi Sotire<\/p>\n

Falling in love with her was a reset. I felt like a kid again, hopeful about the future. We\u2019ve had to overcome many obstacles to be together, but I\u2019d choose her in every lifetime. I was sick with a long-term health condition when we met, and hanging out with Sophia really helped me with my recovery after my surgery.<\/p>\n

Bella Sayegh<\/p>\n

Being a lesbian is one of the most beautiful things in the world. To be authentically yourself in resistance and joy is so special within the lesbian community.<\/p>\n

Parker Wales<\/p>\n

When I met Liv, I finally understood why almost every song is about love.<\/p>\n

Gillian Kilgour<\/p>\n

There is no connection quite as perfect as between lesbians, no one sees me like my lesbians do.<\/p>\n

Chyna Price<\/p>\n

There\u2019s many things I love about being a lesbian. But here are my top three:<\/p>\n

There\u2019s just a deeper understanding when it comes to being loved by another woman.<\/p>\n

The next one would be the sense of community, especially being a POC masculine-presenting lesbian. I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m cosplaying as someone else like I felt like I was doing before I came out.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s so much history going back to the 1800s on how we found and fought for our love. That fight makes me proud because it shows me \u2026 that we\u2019ve [found] ways to express our love even when it was misunderstood, illegal and deemed as madness.<\/p>\n

Hope Pisoni<\/p>\n

Before I knew I was a lesbian, romantic relationships seemed suffocating \u2014 it felt like everyone would expect me to act my part in the meticulous performance that is heterosexuality. But meeting my spouse and discovering our identities together showed me just how freeing it could be to love without a script to follow.<\/p>\n

Leital Molad<\/p>\n

It was the joy of watching the New York Sirens defeat the Toronto Sceptres at our first professional women\u2019s hockey game \u2014 surrounded by hundreds (maybe thousands?) of cheering lesbians.<\/p>\n

Angela Earl<\/p>\n

I spent years building a life that looked right. But I never felt settled, and eventually I started asking what would actually make me happy. Coming out was about more than who I love, it was letting go of everything I was told to be. The last few years have felt like coming home to a life that had been waiting for me.<\/p>\n

Tali Bray<\/p>\n

What I love about being a lesbian is what I love about being in love \u2026 the wonder and joy of \u201coh, this is what it\u2019s supposed to feel like.\u201d I love moving through the world with women.<\/p>\n

Izzy Stokes<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t fall in love until I realized that queerness was an option. My queer friends have helped me see so much more than I grew up seeing. I\u2019m so proud of us, and I\u2019m so grateful for my lesbian community.<\/p>\n

Nandika Chatterjee<\/p>\n

When I met my fianc\u00e9e is when I started to feel most like myself. That meant loving myself for who I am and embracing my identity as a lesbian. I felt free in a way I have never before. That\u2019s the long and short of it.<\/p>\n

Liz Lucking<\/p>\n

The love and joy of being a lesbian is getting to live the life I dreamed of but never thought I would get to have!<\/p>\n

Reflections<\/p>\n

As I read these beautiful entries, it\u2019s not lost on me that we\u2019re still living in a world where lesbians are more likely to struggle with\u00a0maternity problems<\/a>,\u00a0fetishization<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0compulsory heterosexuality<\/a> \u2014 not to mention the intersectional pressures of\u00a0racism<\/a>\u00a0from both inside and outside the queer community. That\u2019s part of why, according to a\u00a02024 survey<\/a>, 22 percent of LGBTQ women have attempted suicide, and 66 percent have sought treatment for trauma.<\/p>\n

So if you are a lesbian who isn\u2019t out or doesn\u2019t feel safe, I hope you read this and can glean some hope from these messages. So when you look in the mirror, you know that it\u2019s okay to release the weight \u2014 which can feel so heavy \u2014 of a heteronormative world.<\/p>\n

We still have a long fight until all lesbians can feel safe to be themselves, but this is a community that does not back away from the tough, from the joy, from being loud and from all the other things that it takes to start a small revolution.<\/p>\n

Hell yeah, lesbians! Here\u2019s to you.<\/p>\n

*I am signing off with my cat on my lap and a pride flag over my head <3.<\/p>\n

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