It’s getting to the point where I don’t usually trust the word “lesbophobia.” I feel like I see it misused more often than not, usually leveled at other queer people (largely queer women) for... existing?

A bisexual woman taking a “how much lesbian energy do you have” Buzzfeed quiz is not “lesbophobia.”

(That’s something that just happened around the celebrity Halsey)

I’ll often see it leveled at ace people for reasons that are often unclear but probably related to how ace and lesbian people are pitted against each other.

I haven’t seen “lesbophobia” used as overtly as an anti-trans thing (I usually see “homophobia” used this way instead)

I tend to see it brought up a lot in concern about how other queer women are identifying. See the current (ahistorical) attacks on lesbian as an umbrella term, bi lesbians, or bi women saying “dyke.”

It’s all just exhausting and petty and mean.

And I do think the root meaning of the word is useful, but I don’t trust the way it’s being used. So I can be immediately on guard when I see it.

Oh also I (a lesbian) have been called lesbophobic for pointing out that our community has a transphobia problem.

Apparently I have “internalized lesbophobia” for thinking the lesbian community has been hit harder by TERFs than a lot of other parts of the community.

So “lesbophobic” often seems used to mean “any other queer woman, including other lesbians, saying I personally dislike”

Oh and when I said the lesbian community has been hit harder by TERFs, I meant that there can be a greater prevalence of radfem ideology in lesbian communities (specifically the TERF/radfem ideology as opposed to more general transphobia)

Well darn thinking about that I’m recanting my prior “doesn’t seem as overtly anti-trans” comment.