Lesbian Day of Visibility 2021
Lesbian Day of Visibility, first held in 2008 and now an integral part of the international LGBTQ+ calendar, is a celebration of the world's diverse lesbian community.
Ruth Hunt, former Chief Executive of Stonewall, has said that "now, more than ever, we need to recognise that lesbians exist in all communities and raise the profile of diverse lesbian identities". This is why Lesbian Day of Visibility is such an important event, because it gives us the opportunity to uplift LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people from all backgrounds, and listen to their stories and experiences.
To celebrate this day, we want to spotlight some key lesbian role models at home and abroad.
Nell McCafferty was born in Derry's Bogside in 1944. She was the first of her family to go to university and after graduating she began a career in journalism which made her one of Ireland's most controversial commentators.
For over three decades Nell McCafferty has been Ireland's most provocative and interesting activist. As a member of the brilliant 1960s generation of working-class idealists politicised by class, war and sex, McCafferty, in her writing and broadcasting on everything from the hunger strikes to football, has inspired and infuriated in equal measure. Although she is an iconic LGBTQ+ figure Nell, her sexuality has remained in the background, hardly acknowledged and never discussed, until she launched ‘Nell’, her memoir of scorching honesty.
The late Edith Windsor was an American LGBTQ+ activist. Her landmark case is widely regarded as one of the most significant Supreme Court rulings in the American battle for same-sex marriage rights.
Edith was the plaintiff in the 2013 case that overturned the Defence of Marriage Act. She sued the federal government after being denied a tax refund when her wife passed away. Following her victory, Ms Windsor shared, "I felt distressed and anguished that in the eyes of my government, the woman I had loved and cared for and shared my life with was not my legal spouse but was considered to be a stranger with no relationship to me."
In 2008, when Phyllis Lyon married her partner, Dell Martin, she became part of the first legal same-sex marriage in California. In 1946, after graduating from the University of California with a degree in journalism, Ms. Lyon worked as a reporter for The Chico Enterprise-Record. She moved to Seattle in 1949 to work at a construction trade journal, where Ms. Martin was also employed. They began dating and, on Valentine’s Day in 1953, moved in together in San Francisco.
Ms Lyon's life was full of LGBTQ+ activism. In a 1989 interview, she was quoted saying, “We were trying to help lesbians find themselves. I mean, you can’t have a movement if you don’t have people that see that they’re worthwhile.” And we know that when the community pulls together, we can achieve great things.
Kelly Rakowski is the Founder of Lex, an independent space for the queer community to connect. Lex is described as a “a lo-fi, text-based dating & social app for lesbian, bisexual, asexual, & queer people. For womxn & trans, genderqueer, intersex, two-spirit, & non-binary people. For people of marginalised genders, inspired by old-school newspaper personal ads.”
Rakowski believes the queer community remains engaged because of the emphasis on language. She says, "There’s a whole vocabulary that queer people use to describe themselves. I really try to champion that. It’s just such a playful and fun way to discover yourself."
Born in Ireland, Margot Slattery was one of the key contributors to the country’s Same-sex Marriage Act, particularly in the business sphere. She also critically promoted and participated in the Diversity Charter. Her longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion has earned her awards like the Knight of the National Order of Merit and Business Leader Award, among others. She was also recognised in the Financial Times’ Top 100 OUTstanding LGBT Business Leaders for four years in a row.
Margot Slattery will join ISS World Services (ISS) as new Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion, from 1 May 2021.
Highly experienced in the facility management world as well as within diversity and inclusion, Slattery joins ISS from Sodexo Group, where she has worked since the early 1990s, most recently as Global Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer.
Síona Cahill is the former President of the Union of Students in Ireland, elected to represent 374,000 students across the Island North and South.
Síona has organised and led advocacy campaigns on Marriage Equality (including creating the branding of Make Grá The Law), registration to vote, access and funding for third level education, reproductive health and rights, sexual health and consent, and empowering women. She was recently short-listed alongside Greta Thunberg for a ‘Women in Youth Activism’ award with the European Movement for her focus on youth civic engagement and voter registration campaigning.