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Beyond Today

Beyond Today: Why are lesbian couples not taken seriously?

Why are lesbian couples not taken seriously?

BBC Radio 4 - Beyond Today, Why are lesbian couples not taken seriously?

The particular struggles faced by gay women.

PART ONE
Pride has been more visible than ever before this year, with rainbows everywhere and even LGBT sandwiches on the shelves. But while it’s a measure of progress that communities are able to publicly celebrate their identity, is a party enough? Certainly not for gay women in one area of Chile, where three butch lesbians, known locally as “camionas”, have been murdered in the past decade. Megha Mohan, the BBC’s Gender and Identity Correspondent, shares the story of one of them - Nicole Saavedra. And Tabitha Benjamin, a British musician who runs the “Butch, Please” club night, tells us how she is targeted because of the way she looks. 

PART TWO
After Melania Geymonat and her girlfriend Chris were attacked on a London bus last week they chose to share the photo of the aftermath of the attack, and their story, with the world. They wanted people to understand something about what they and other lesbian couples face, not just violence but also the subtle ways in which their relationships are undermined and laughed about by men. Melania explains why she chose to go public about the horrific incident. And couple Bex Wilson and Becky Priest talk about what it’s like for their relationship to be fetishised and misunderstood.

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Why are lesbian couples not taken seriously?

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