Two-thirds of lesbians delay coming out because of harmful stereotypes, study finds
More than two-thirds of lesbians said they put off coming out because of negative stereotypes about them, a new study has found.
Being perceived as ‘cringey or awkward’ was found to be the most common reason for not opening up about their identity at 30%, followed by a belief that their sexuality was seen as ‘wrong’ by others at 25%.
Fears about lesbians being ‘taboo’ or ‘embarrassing’ also contributed to this at 23% each, with other harmful stereotypes about being ‘masculine or butch’, ‘over-sexualised’ or ‘unattractive’ following on at 22%, 19% and 16%, respectively. “I came out as bisexual at 15, lesbian at 17, and non-binary at 19,” said Mara, a 20-year-old ambassador for LGBTQ+ young people’s charity Just Like Us, speaking as part of the research. “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.
People would also often ask questions about my sexuality and try to assume things before I even properly knew myself. Boys would often try to ask rude questions, and girls would be disgusted at the idea of a lesbian.” It was also determined that 12% delayed coming out over ‘man-hating’ tropes some link to being lesbian, with 9% being put off by concerns of people being ‘old-fashioned’ and 4% by some perceiving the community to be ‘anti-trans’.
