Lesbian Sheroes

Melissa Etheridge

Melisa Etheridge is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, activist, and lesbian. Her debut album was published in 1988; she avoided using sexed pronouns in her songwriting for years due to being closeted. In January of 1993 Etheridge came out as a lesbian at the Triangle Ball, an LGB focused celebration of Bush’s inauguration. In September 1993 she released an album titled “Yes I Am” featuring the hit song “I’m The Only One.” In this album she bravely used female pronouns for her love interests, embracing her lesbianism and acting as a role model to girls and women. ​

Tracy Chapman

Tracy Chapman is a lesbian American singer-songwriter and a multi-platinum, four-time Grammy Award-winning artist. Although Chapman herself has never once spoken of her personal life outside of her writing, she has been outed as a lesbian by former lovers and well-meaning gay magazines. Her hit song “Fast Car” has long been considered a lesbian anthem, as the message of a genderless couple leaving their hometown to find a better life together in a different city is relatable to many lesbians. Chapman’s work has had an impact on lesbians and lesbian culture that has spanned across decades. 

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Lily Tomlin

Lily Tomlin is an American actress, comedian, singer, writer, and producer. She got her start in comedy skits and performing in off-Broadway shows, later becoming the first woman to appear solo in a Broadway show. Most known for her role in Grace and Frankie, a popular LGB show, Lily Tomlin has long been a role model for lesbians. In 1975 Time Magazine approached Tomlin, wanting her to come out on the cover. She denied the offer, as she did not want to “play their game.” In 2013 she got married to the love of her life, Jane Wagner. As she continues playing the role of Frankie, her legacy and positive impact on lesbians carries on.  

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Magdalen Berns

Magdalen Berns was a British Youtuber, activist, boxer, software developer, and lesbian. She produced a series of YouTube Videos in the 2010s focusing on women’s rights, gender identity, homosexuality, and lesbian rights. Before dying in 2019 of brain cancer, Berns had begun a movement; she inspired countless lesbians to begin speaking the truth and fighting for what was important. Even after her death her videos continue to receive new views, reaching people across the world. ​

Lea DeLaria

Lea DeLaria is an American actress, comedian, jazz singer, and self-proclaimed dyke. She got her start in the San Francisco comedy scene, loudly proclaiming her sexual orientation from the start. Most known for her visibly butch role as Boo in Orange Is The New Black, DeLaria has long been an icon and role model to lesbians young and old. ​

Martina Navatilova

Martina Navatilova is a lesbian Czech-American former professional tennis player and coach. Considered to be one of the best tennis players of all time, she has won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 major women's doubles titles, and 10 major mixed doubles titles. Shortly after she moved to America in 1981 Navatilova was outed by New York Daily News as bisexual. Within a few years she had reidentified herself as a lesbian, becoming one of the first openly gay athletes. In 2020 Martina Navatilova joined other female olympians to form the Women’s Sports Policy Working Group, the main goal of which is to find a compromise on transgender inclusion in female sports and to respond to Joe Biden’s Equality Act.

Stormé DeLarverie

Stormé DeLarverie was a black gender non conforming lesbian credited as the woman who began the Stonewall Riots. As a drag king living in New York City, she was a regular at the underground gay bars. On the night of June 28, 1969 DeLarverie was at the Stonewall Inn when police raided the bar. According to witnesses the officers roughly escorted her from the bar to the police vehicle, with her repeatedly escaping and once again being grabbed and dragged through the crowd. As the police brutalized her, Stormé shouted to the crowd “Why don’t you guys do something?” At that moment officers grabbed DeLarverie and heaved her into the vehicle, causing the crowd to become explosive. Before her death in 2014, she was quoted saying that “It was a rebellion, it was an uprising, it was a civil rights disobedience – it wasn't no damn riot.” Stormé DeLarverie’s brave contribution to the gay rights movement will never be forgotten by the lesbian community. 

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Clare Balding

Clare Balding is an English broadcaster, journalist, and author. Fearing the impact her sexual orientation would have on her career, Balding stayed closeted for nearly 10 years while working at the BBC. Since coming out as a lesbian in 2003 she has presented six Olympic Games, the Paralympics, Wimbledon, and Sports Personality of the Year. She now presents for BBC Sport, Channel 4, BT Sport, and is the president of the Rugby Football League. She proves to lesbians that it is never too late to come out and you can still achieve your goals while sharing your true self with the world.

Julia Beck

Julia Beck is an American radical lesbian activist. Beck had a short-lived term on the Baltimore, Maryland LGBTQ Commission due to her refusal to use preferred pronouns. She has since gone on to speak out about gender identity ideology and the harm it does to women on the national stage. In 2019 Julia testified before the House Judiciary Committee in opposition of Biden’s ‘Equality Act.’ She continues to fight for the rights of women and lesbians.

Alix Dobkin

Alix Dobkin was a Jewish lesbian singer and feminist activist most known for Lavender Jane, a musical group that she formed with Kay Gardener. Together they recorded the album “Lavender Jane Loves Women” - the first album ever produced entirely by women. As a regular performer at MichFest Dobkin spoke out about the importance of female only spaces, asking “who is this movement supposed to benefit the most?” Though Alix died in 2021 due to a brain aneurysm and stroke, her work will live on forever in the lesbian community. ​