Lesbians delay coming out due to ‘harmful and damaging stereotypes’
metro.co.ukJust Like Us found 68% of those surveyed feared they would be perceived as ‘man-hating’, ‘over-sexualised’ or ‘anti-trans’.Around 30% feared being viewed as ‘cringey or awkward’ while 25% worried they would be viewed as ‘wrong’.Some responders worried they would be seen as ‘taboo’, ‘masculine or butch’ or ‘unattractive’.And over-sexualisation of lesbians was found to be the biggest barrier for young lesbians age 18 to 24 (36%).Overall, one in 20 lesbians delayed coming out because they could be seen as ‘anti-trans’.
This reason was cited by many in the 25-34 age category.One respondent, Niamh, explained coming out to both schoolmates and family was ’embarrassing’ at the time.She added: ‘At school it was already a rumour, and I knew people would gossip about it, and they did.
I was always scared it would get back to my sister who was at the same school. ‘At home, I didn’t really want to tell my parents, but I felt like I had to, because that’s what’s expected.’Mara, from Dudley, came out as bisexual at 15, lesbian at 17 and non-binary at 19.They added: ‘My high school experience was quite challenging at times, as the word lesbian was often used as an insult, so it was difficult to come to terms with being a lesbian when most of what I had heard about them was in a negative light.’It's still incredibly hard to be a lesbianHeartstopper review: The queer teen drama bound to transform the LGBTQ+ community foreverHarry Styles recalls feeling ‘so ashamed’ about sex before dating Olivia WildeAmy Ashenden, a lesbian and director of communications at Just Like Us, added preconceptions such as ‘anti-trans’ and ‘unattractive’ unfairly impacted the entire LGBT+ community.She added: ‘These stereotypes are rooted in misogynistic ideas.
