LESBIANS! Learn more and answer our hot quiz!

Words (and collage, above) provided by Luiza Brabo. Thanks also to her girlfriend, Elena Tiso, who helped to edit this mahi 💞

As a millennial, I spent my childhood and adolescence reading teen magazines. They were a tool for selling products, nudging young girls to hate their bodies, making everything about how girls want to be more attractive for their boy crushes.

In the 90s and early 2000s, anything that defied cis heteronormativity was basically non-existent for readers in Brazil. It was confusing and embarrassing to not fit into those feminine expectations at the time, even when my country had its share of Sapphic icons (singers like Cássia Eller, Ana Carolina, and Zélia Duncan).

On sex and relationships columns, there was virtually nothing about Sapphism. On its rare occasions, the advice often recommended caution. I remember reading an article talking about a “trend” of girls kissing girls in clubs, and that “it didn't necessarily mean they were lesbians.” The writer pushed that such behaviour was just a phase, since the mag was not advocating against bi and pan erasure.

In 2003, a minor plot of a Brazilian telenovela I used to watch (Mulheres Apaixonadas, “Women in Love”) was about a high school couple, Clara and Rafaela, who faced lesbophobia as their main challenge to be together. Their happily ever after was represented by a pious peck while interpreting Romeo and Juliet for their school play at the final episode. That was a way of saying that the road of lesbianism was extremely challenging, that it should be watered down by heteronormative expectations of others, and, ultimately, that the reward was mediocre at best.

What fits the definition of mediocre at best for us lesbians was getting excited for our first kiss, a repeated topic of teen magazines, and having it with a boy. Where was all the magic people talked about? Many of us found out years later that there was nothing wrong with ourselves, it was simply a case of I kissed a girl and I liked it that made it all click.

Global successes like Xena and Buffy the Vampire Slayer were the lesbian awakenings of many millennial girls. However, they fell into the Dead Lesbian Syndrome trope (also known as Bury your Gays). This was unfortunately the most common type of queer representation, being discouraging for young Sapphics.

I am not saying that queer representation would have solved everything, as that is a neoliberal answer to the systemic issues we still face. The path would have been somewhat smoother if being straight was not shoved down our throats as the only acceptable behaviour through media. As we cannot go back in time, the best we can do is focus on making the world a better place for queer people of all ages through getting together and organising.

While we fight, we may find ourselves engaging in some nostalgia. We need a dose of whimsy these days, as we cry sometimes when we are lying in bed (just to get it all out what’s in our heads), and we’re feeling a little peculiar.

Do you think you may be a lesbian?

1. What is your perfect date idea?
1. Picnic at a nearby park.
2. Drinks at the most expensive bar.
3. Poetry reading at a cool cafe.
4. Dancing at an exclusive club.
2. What would your next tattoo be?
1. Your parents’ names.
2. A crown.
3. A snake.
4. Lyrics of your favorite song.
3. Once you find the one, how long does it take for you two to move in together?
1. About six months.
2. At least one year.
3. As soon as possible.
4. You do not like the idea of moving in with someone.
4. What do you always have in your bag?
1. Sunscreen.
2. Lipstick.
3. Nailclipper.
4. Earbuds.
5. What is your diet like?
1. Pescetarian.
2. Standard omnivore.
3. Vegan.
4. Heavy on meat.
6. What type of person is usually your crush?
1. Teacher.
2. Father figure.
3. Best friend.
4. Idol.
7. How do you dress casually?
1. T-shirt, sweatpants, sneakers.
2. Crop top, yoga pants, jandals.
3. Flannel shirt, cargo pants, boots.
4. Dress bought at an op shop, denim jacket, espadrilles.

If you answered c. at least four times… Maybe it’s time to get that septum piercing appointment!