Curve Publisher Franco Stevens presents the key findings of an important new survey and
why they are so compelling today.
I wanted to take a moment to share some pretty eye-opening, and honestly, gut-punching, findings from our new Kantar/CURVE/DIVA Survey, which we released during Lesbian Visibility Week. It’s the largest international survey of LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary folks, and this year’s results hit especially close to home.
Let’s start with what I wish wasn’t true: nearly half of our community is facing increased harassment online, and more of our community members are worried about their safety when traveling. That’s heartbreaking and infuriating. It also makes being visible, living our lives openly and proudly, an act of pure defiance. When the world tells us to shrink, we have to shine even brighter!
The survey also reminded us that we can’t discuss LGBTQ+ visibility without considering intersectionality. A whopping 87% of U.S. respondents said acceptance of LGBTQ+ families still depends on things like race, ethnicity, and economic background. We know that’s the truth. It’s why The Curve Foundation continues to spotlight these intersections in our programming, like with our ‘Beyond the Rainbow’ panel series, so none of us are left out of the conversation.
LESBIAN VISIBILITY WEEK KICKOFF PHOTOS: LAILA ANN MARIE STEVENS
There were some bright spots, too. The U.S. leads the pack when it comes to legally married lesbian parents. That’s something to celebrate, showing just how far we’ve come.
However, here’s something that still stings: only 47% of our U.S. respondents reported having role models growing up. No wonder so many of us felt alone as kids. That’s exactly why visibility matters. It’s why we create The Curve Power List: to lift up LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary people who can inspire the next generation to dream bigger, love harder, and know they belong.
So what can we do? Keep showing up. Support events that put diverse lesbian and queer women’s voices front and center. Give what you can to groups fighting for our rights and safety, like NCLR, ACLU, HRC, GLSEN, Lambda Legal, The Curve Foundation (shameless plug), or your local LGBTQ+ center. And keep pushing for real representation in media, schools, workplaces, and everywhere else.
You can dig into the full survey HERE. I hope you’ll take a look and share it around. Because the more we know, the stronger we get… together.
In solidarity!