Lesbians are certainly oppressed, as women and as gay people, but, interestingly, a great deal of their oppression has taken the form of denying their existence or of rendering it "safe". Suzanne Pharr [Homophobia, A Weapon of Sexism. Ibid.] writes of lesbian existence,

The Other's existence, everyday life, achievements are kept unknown through invisibility. When we do not see the different. . . there is reinforcement of the idea that the Norm is the majority and others either do not exist or do not count.
(p. 58)

(return)