International Lesbian Day is celebrated every year on October 8. Initially, it was mainly celebrated in New Zealand and Australia. Year after year, it began to be celebrated in more than 50 countries around the world. The day is dedicated to raising awareness of lesbian women and their issues and to appreciating and highlighting the role of lesbian women.
It is unknown how this day began to be celebrated. Still, according to some sources, it was first mentioned in New Zealand on March 8, 1980, when women’s lesbian initiatives joined the march in honor of International Women’s Day and proclaimed October 8 as a day to celebrate the lesbian international day. However, it is safe to say that this day has been celebrated at least since the early 1990s. On the occasion of International Lesbian Day, various events, meetings, conferences, and holidays are organized, during which not only the issues of lesbian women are raised, but also the role of lesbian women is appreciated and highlighted both in the LGBT+ community and in society.
Many lesbians, breaking various stereotypes, won great fame and respect due to their hard work, talent, and breadth of views. Among these lesbian women are famous writers and poets Gertrude Stein, Alice Walker, Julie Ann Peters, Virginia Woolf, Vita Sackville-West, Audrey Lord, and Emily Dickinson. Interestingly, Audrey Lorde has a particular preference for writing her name in lowercase letters since, in this way, she tries to mix genres and styles. She also questions acceptable literary language, ignoring accepted literary requirements, and thereby politicizes ways to write in an academic style. Lesbians have also significantly contributed to medicine, biology, physics, chemistry, art, and many other fields.
Notable lesbian women have included physicians Sarah Josephine Baker and Louise Pierce, biologist Lauren Esposito, oceanographer Ruth Gates, marine biologist Rachel Carson, and crystallographer Nina Vedeneeva. In the field of art, there are famous singers Sinden O’Connor, Sasha Lane, Felicia Pierson, and actresses Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor, Samaria Wylie, comedians Wanda Sykes and Ellen DeGeneres.
The problems of lesbians and the stereotypes they face are intertwined with women’s issues. The problems of lesbians and the stereotypes they face are intertwined with women’s issues. Society expects women to be heterosexual, have children, and be “feminine and good-looking”. Those women who do not fit into the role assigned to them by society are often ridiculed, criticized, and even abused by family, colleagues, friends, and society. Although the term “lesbian” or any other term related to sexual orientation and gender identity does not exist in the legal norms of Armenia, lesbians are part of the Armenian society and its full members.
