From carabiners to cargo shorts, style choices that were once surefire signs of queer identity are now just as popular with straight girls as they are with sapphics. How, then, are gay girls meant to spot each other in public?
So lamented one lesbian on X. “How are lesbians supposed to recognize each other if straight girls are wearing jorts and carabiners and listening to Chappell Roan and Reneé Rapp now,” they wrote in a now viral post.
Other sapphic folks were quick to reply with a few ideas. There are still some aesthetic markers you can use, they said, like growing out body hair…
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…or wearing accessories with sapphic symbols. Scissor-themed jewelry, anyone?
buy a scissors necklace
— riley ౨ৎ SABRINA 10/19 💓 (@alltooriley) July 1, 2024
necklace pic.twitter.com/Ovp0c9LWEh
— robyn 🦷 (@dreabbinor) July 1, 2024
Others suggested looking to behaviors rather than style choices. Check out what she’s reading: if it’s by someone like Virginia Woolf, it could be a good sign.
And still others noted that there’s a certain look lesbians will give you that straight women never will.
The obvious solution, though, is simple: try talking to people. If you want to know if somebody’s gay, directly asking is always the best way to get an answer. Yes, it can be awkward — but blindly guessing at people’s sexuality can be even worse.
Still others pointed out that the whole conversation is something of a non-issue. There’s much more the being queer than the way you look or the artists you listen to. Lesbians come in all shapes and sizes, and the queer community is all the better for it.
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