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)