MEET 100 LESBIANS CHANGING THE GAME FOR WOMEN-LOVING WOMEN

WORDS CARRIE LYELL, SOPHIE GRIFFITHS

Welcome to the Visible Lesbian 100, designed to highlight women who have made great strides for the LGBTQI community generally, but womenloving women in particular. Women who are shaping our culture and who, through their incredible work – whether in sport, music, business or politics – lift up those in our community who are most marginalised.

Visibility, of course, is hard to quantify or define. It means different things to different people. For some, it is banging the drum of change loudly and without apology. For others, their visibility is quiet and without ceremony. But all of the women on these pages have, in some way, made it a little easier for us all to come out, stay out, and express ourselves freely, and that’s why, unlike other lists, this one is not ranked. Each of these women’s achievements are of equal importance, and worthy of equal celebration. While largely UK-focussed, eagle-eyed readers will note there are actually 110 women here – acknowledging an extra 10 whose achievements cross borders and continents.

At a time when some would claim that lesbians are being “besieged by society and sidelined within the LGBT community” by trans people, these women demonstrate that the L is with the T, not in opposition to it. Side by side and hand in hand. As we have written previously, the only threat to lesbian identities is those who believe “lesbian” is for them alone to define, and seek to exclude anyone who doesn’t fit their gender-essentialist view of what it means to be a lesbian. That kind of narrow, prejudiced thinking, we believe, means that fewer and fewer women-loving women feel comfortable claiming a lesbian identity.

For those frustrated by this kind of toxic thinking, we hope you can take heart from the women on the following pages. These women are emblematic of what it means to be a lesbian in 2020. They are open-hearted, accepting, tenacious and talented, and show that lesbian is not a label to be ashamed of, but one to reclaim, celebrate and shout about.

INFLUENCER

Char Bailey. An online influencer and mental health advocate, Char Bailey uses her platform online to provide audiences with workshops on meditation, life coaching and sports performance empowerment, alongside working with UK Black Pride on education and inclusion.

Chelcee Grimes. With a career in football, the music industry and a huge social media following, Chelcee Grimes is the ultimate triple threat. Currently she plays for Fulham Ladies and has penned songs for various pop legends including Dua Lipa and Kylie Minogue.

Rose Ellen Dix. One half of popular YouTube duo Rose and Rosie, Rose has been making videos and making us laugh since 2011. With her wife by her side, she has gone on to tour the world and release both a book and documentary entitled Overshare, exploring their relationship as well as LGBTQI life.

Professor Chloe Orkin. For the past 15 years, Professor Chloe Orkin has been working as a consultant in HIV Medicine at Barts Health NHS Trust, and is currently chair of the British HIV Association. Through focussing her clinical interests around her passion for increasing HIV testing, she is a health hero in the UK.

Dr Ronx. By profession, Ronx is an A&E doctor, but her work in the media is helping even more in the LGBTQI community. She appears on children’s television show Operation Ouch! and, in doing so, is providing an aspirational healthcare practitioner figure for young audiences.

Ellen Jones. An award-winning campaigner, speaker and writer who specialises in all things LGBTQI, mental health and autism, Ellen Jones is a prominent lesbian figure. In 2017, she was named Stonewall’s Young Campaigner Of The Year after running successful campaigns tackling LGBTQI inequality in schools and online.

Sarah O’Connell. Sarah O’Connell is an actor, broadcaster, film critic, celebrity interviewer, caricature artist, and host of The Sarah O’Connell Show on YouTube. Sarah is also an experienced broadcast journalist and filmmaker, specialising in films focusing on the criminal justice system.

Jessica Kellgren-Fozard. YouTube star Jessica Kellgren-Fozard began making videos back in 2011. Best known for her vintage look, Jessica’s videos cover topics including fashion and beauty, disability, LGBTQI issues and history.

Stevie Boebi. YouTube’s leading lesbian sexpert, Stevie Boebi has been passing on her knowledge to thousands of viewers online since 2010. In her hugely popular videos, Stevie discusses relationships, sex and disability, all through her unique comedic and informative lens.

Whitney and Megan. Wife and wife duo Whitney and Megan, better known to fans as Wegan, rose to internet fame through their successful YouTube channel, What Wegan Did Next. The pair have since featured in Cosmopolitan and on TV show Say Yes To The Dress, raising awareness of issues around sexuality, disability and more.