GAY TIMES meets Mair Howells and Nessie Appleton Smith, the South London-based couple behind Dogs and their Dykes: a family portrait series depicting sapphics and their furry friends.
IMAGES COURTESY OF DOGS AND THEIR DYKES COVER IMAGE FEATURING TEDDY, LILY AND SJ The stereotype of the feline-loving lesbian is so well-trodden that it’s been the subject of countless queer memes and was even the subject of a 2019 exhibition (yes, we’re not kidding).
There’s a reason for this: cats have long been associated with witches, spinsters and so-called ‘deviants’, just like lesbians were.
In order to reclaim this stereotype, dykes and sapphics throughout history reappropriated the cat symbol in feminist and queer zines and posters.