Defending the rights of lesbians to assert our political, sexual, and bodily boundaries

We are a group of lesbians committed to fighting against oppression, erasure and silencing of lesbians. We believe in the rights of lesbians to define ourselves and our boundaries, and to organize politically in pursuit of women’s liberation from patriarchy.

Lesbians have long faced intolerance similar to that faced by gay men and bisexual people. As women and lesbians we also experience sexist name calling, street harassment, and physical and sexual assault designed to punish us for our lesbianism. In some respects, society is more tolerant today than in the past. However today’s new, so-called progressive, LGBT politics sometimes treat the word lesbian as if it’s a dirty word, because it refers exclusively to females who are sexually attracted to other females. According to the new queer movement, such exclusivity makes lesbians "bigoted" because we don't participate in the current "diversity" of sexual and gender choice. What this means in practice is that lesbians are pressured to let go of our boundaries in order to validate the womanhood of transitioning males, or to give up our womanhood if we don't fit into femininity. The Vancouver Lesbian Collective rejects these demands.

Lesbianism is the only form of human sexuality in which women do not relate sexually to men.  That is why we are under attack. And it is also why we won't give in. When lesbians are visible and proud, we and all other girls and women have more power to determine our political, sexual, and bodily boundaries. Join us in celebrating lesbian pride!

Join us March 21, 2024 in person in Burnaby, BC

Feminists speak out: a public event resisting the harms of gender identity to BC women.

Reservations stop at 6 pm PDT Tuesday March 19

Wondering about gender self-ID in BC? Heard about the case of Amy Hamm, the nurse whose license to practice is threatened for putting up a billboard in support of JK Rowling? Been scared to question the redefinition of woman, girl, lesbian, or mother in terms of gender identity not biological sex? Come and hear why feminists think (biological) sex still matters to the rights of women in BC, including lesbians and Indigenous women.

Kathleen Stock is the author of Material Girls: Why Reality Matters for Feminism. She is a UK-based columnist for UnHerd, co-director of The Lesbian Project, and a witness for Amy Hamm, the BC nurse threatened with disciplinary action for her gender critical views.

Cherry Smiley is the author of Not Sacred Not Squaws: Indigenous Feminism Redefined. She is an outspoken BC-based (radical) feminist and artist from the Nlaka’pamux and Diné Nations who holds a PhD in Communications.

Reservations stop at 6 pm PDT Tuesday March 19