by Lisa Dubin
This week in Geneva, a round table highlights the invisibilisation of lesbians in our society. Meeting with journalist Alice Coffin, who talks about the lack of representation, the danger of hypersexualising clichés of the pornographic industry, and the importance of access to the media discourse
In the media, public space, government campaigns related to sexual health: Where are women who love women? A statement is shared by all actors in the community advocacy rights LGBTQI +: they remain invisible, or represented with much clichés. This state of affairs has serious consequences for their physical and mental health, and as the March for lesbian visibility announced last April in Lausanne, Switzerland is no exception.
This Saturday, November 23, in Geneva, a round table entitled " Lesbians: what struggles, what rights " will bring together Djemila Carron, doctor of law, Yolanda Martinez , president of the Geneva association Lestime, Leslie Barbara Butch, DJ and activist, and Alice Coffin, journalist and co-founder of the European Lesbian Conference. The latter has agreed to answer the questions of Le Temps
What is "lesbian invisibility", which you denounce as a journalist?
Alice Coffin: I say "lesbian invisibility" but we can also talk about "lesbophobia": terms that both represent the fact that lesbians only rarely appear in the public debate. Lesbians have been erased from journalistic narrative and history in general. In my opinion, it is necessary to question the stories we have been told, the representations we are offered, particularly in the field of journalism because it is this story of information that models reality and has an impact on the daily lives of billions of people.
How does this "invisibilisation" translate concretely?
In everyday language, the term "lesbian" is used very little, as if it were a dirty word. Second, there is very little statistical data, for example, on sexual health among women, and sexually transmitted infections * among lesbians. This leads to a whole series of other discriminations: we do not have the means to fight against these diseases. The interlocutors discard themselves: if we go to bodies that are supposed to support the right of women, we will say "oh no, you are lesbian, go see the homosexual associations." In homosexual associations, we are told "oh no, you are women so go see associations for women's rights" ... It is also a story of economy, funding. Read more via Le Temps
Round Table "Lesbians: what struggles? What rights?"
"Lesbians are not women," pioneering Monique Wittig provocatively stated in her famous essay La Pensée straight in 1978. The political and social history of lesbian thoughts is a forgotten part of history. A large number of lesbians and queer people are engaged in feminist struggles, from fights for abortion to parental leave. At a time when laws are changing to finally offer equal rights to lesbians and queer people, it is urgent to come together, beyond sexual orientations and gender identities.
Discussion with:
Alice Coffin , journalist, member of the European Lesbian * Conference
Barbara Butch , DJ and activist
Djemila Carron , doctor of law and activist
Yolanda Martinez , President of Lestime
Moderation: Caroline Dayer , researcher and trainer.
As part of a collaboration with the festival Les Créatives .