This Is What A Lesbian Looks Like:

Digital Exhibit

In June 2023 The Curve Archive held an open call for digital submissions for our This Is What A Lesbian Looks Like photography contest! We proudly followed the legacy of representation, self-expression, and creativity found in Curve magazine's lesbian life photo contests.

We invited community members to submit photos expressing who they are and how they self-identify, letting folks title their photos by filling in the phrase “This Is What A ____ Looks Like.” We hoped this would let people know that — in addition to lesbians — queer women, trans, non-binary folks, and others should feel encouraged to participate and are welcome in our Curve community. We received fabulous descriptions and titles varying from “This is what a mermaid looks like” to “This is what a Trans Femme Lesbian Feminist looks like” to “This is what a Pansexual, Polyamorous, Badass Queen looks like.”

All of the submissions are proudly displayed in this digital exhibit in order of submission. 

To learn more about Curve magazine’s legacy of lesbian life photo contests, read the Curve Quarterly article about it at www.curvemag.com!

 

Winners

I'm wearing a stone wall tshirt, with a Rainbow Ribbon skirt indigenous individuals wear for events and ceremonies with a traditional sash belt. I'm wearing traditional buckskin leggings with my moccasins. I'm holding my whitecane.
This is what a Blind Dine' Lesbian looks like
cool/cunty black lesbian wearing layers of jackets, going from leather to jeans to silk, with hoops earrings and a fanny bag, she's surrounded by artworks and red lights.
This is what a black lesbian look like
Photo of a smiling person in front of trees with orange blossoms. Xie are bald and wear a yellow t-shirt with three small images of cacti and jam on it
This is what Agender looks like

Honorable Mentions

White woman with tattoos sits wearing purple bra and green underwear sitting on a hotel bed with a pink blanket, white sheets, and green tufted headboard with two pillows with a wall mounted light in the right corner.
This is what a queer, grieving eldest daughter looks like
Close up of face. Jules grabbing their face while making a scream-like face. Wearing a beanie and muscle tee. Blue hues in the left side and pink hues on the right side.
This is what queer latina looks like
Photograph of a brown woman standing back to back beside the drag king version of herself
This is what a lesbian woman of color exploring drag looks like

See where in the world all of the submissions came from! 

All submissions for the
This Is What A Lesbian Looks Like
photography contest

Black and white photo of a smiling person wearing all black, casually leaning against a wall. Self-description: professional photo shoot to introduce myself into the film and television industry via dedicated platforms.

This is what a lesbian in the film industry looks like

Smiling person wearing a grey hoodie holding up two small beige dogs next to their face. Self-description: national dog rescue

This is what a lesbian rescuer looks like

Smiling woman with short, white hair on a bema for her Bat Mitzvah. She holds a book, wears tallit, and is wearing a purple outfit.

This is what a 66 year old Bat Mitzvah looks like

Photo of woman with short, white hair with hand resting on the side of her face in a pensive pose . She wears red lipstick, purple glasses, earrings ring and bracelet, and a turquoise blouse. Self description: after a 100 pound weight loss.

This is what a white Jewish lesbian mother of a black child looks like

Black and whiter photo of woman with short hair, tattoos, and pierced lip outside. She is tipping her striped fedora, holds a pack of cigarettes in her right hand, and is wearing a black tank top and checkerboard belt. Self-description: this is what a stud looks like.

This is what a Lesbian looks like

I'm wearing a stone wall tshirt, with a Rainbow Ribbon skirt indigenous individuals wear for events and ceremonies with a traditional sash belt. I'm wearing traditional buckskin leggings with my moccasins. I'm holding my whitecane.

This is what a Blind Dine' Lesbian looks like

Smiling woman at the 2019 Stonewall 50 Pride March on 5th Avenue in NYC. She wears tinted glasses, a rainbow hat, and is surrounded by multicolor balloons.

This is what a lesbian looks like

Photo of a smiling child in the 70's, wearing a striped shirt and posing confidently. Self-description: My mother Janice Freet took this photo of me at age six or so. To those who say that young people can’t know who they are, I grew up to be the Femme Trans Lesbian I knew I was in the 70’s. Believe kids who say they know who they are!

This is what a future Trans Femme Lesbian Feminist looks like

I was in the last class to graduate from Mills as a Women’s College in May 2022. When I graduated High School in 1988, I couldn’t have gone to Mills as a Trans Woman. Now I’m an English Professor at my former junior college.

This is what a Trans Femme Lesbian Feminist looks like.

A photo of a Queer women that she took of herself, with a pink shirt on. Behind her is a mirror with little lights placed around its edges.

This is what a Late to Life Queer looks like

Woman in white shirt, blue shorts, hat and sunglasses on a lush, green hike. Self-description: three time cancer survivor and I’m out conquering the world one hike at a time. Thanks to my girlfriend.

This is what a lucky lesbian looks like

cool/cunty black lesbian wearing layers of jackets, going from leather to jeans to silk, with hoops earrings and a fanny bag, she's surrounded by artworks and red lights.

This is what a black lesbian look like

Woman sitting in car shining brightly in her authenticity. Resting her chin on her hand with tattoos.

This is what a pansexual looks like!

Selfie of woman with short hair, shaved on the sides, pierced nose, wearing clear-framed glasses. She is wearing a maroon blouse with flowers on it and has tattoos on her chest and near her ear. Self-description: Just a selfie after getting a new hair style.

This is what a Bisexual looks like

Photo of a smiling woman with short white hair, sunglasses, and blue linen shirt. She is sitting on a porch and a beach with clear blue water is behind her. Self-description: A happy single Lesbian on holiday in the ‘White Isle’…life is all about embracing the challenges 😌

This is what Ibiza baby 💃 looks like

A red haired Butch in a leather jacket and many many face piercings looks up and admires the cherry blossoms of Central Park

This is what a Butch Mexican Lesbianese looks like

Photo of woman with short dark hair sitting on a stage bare of anything except a chair and small table with a box and papers on it. She wears a brown over-shirt, red turtleneck, and dark pants. Self-description: I played a lesbian in my solo play Cyma's Story.

This is what a lesbian actor portraying a lesbian onstage looks like

Photo of a magazine page titled "The Pride Guide" with a black and white picture of two smiling women on a moped triumphantly raising a thumbs-up. A sign on the bike says "SUBURBAN DYKES ON A MOPED." Self-description: Well, I Still have the Bike! 😜

This is what “Suburban Dyke on a Moped” SF Pride 1991 looks like!

Photo of two people embracing on the side, smiling next to the back of a Subaru Forrester that has the word "Les-baru!" written in the dirt of the back window. Self-description: Me, My “Lesbro” & “Lesburu”!

This is what a “Lesburu” looks like

Photo of two women kissing at their wedding. One has long brown hair and wears a red dress, the other has very short brown hair and wears a black blazer and jeans. They are next to a pile of wood and bin front of leafy trees. Self-description: The day I got married to my wife (I'm on the left)

This is what a married couple looks like

Screenshot of a selfie of a woman with long brown hair, purple lacy tank top, and glasses atop her head in the sun. Self-description: This picture is how I see myself, sun side is happy and other half has had a past.

This is what a Lesbian looks like

Photo of woman with short dark hair standing and smoking a cigarette with her hand on her hip. She wears a patterned tank top and white pants that are not fully pulled up to her hips. Self-description: Positano, Italy...I wish I could remember who took this photo...lol

This is what an Italian Dyke looks like

Close up of face. Jules grabbing their face while making a scream-like face. Wearing a beanie and muscle tee. Blue hues in the left side and pink hues on the right side.

This is what queer latina looks like

Two queer women. Woman on the left has long blonde hair and wears tortoise shell glasses. The woman on the right has short, dark brown hair and wears orange glasses

This is what a queer couple looks like

White woman with tattoos sits wearing purple bra and green underwear sitting on a hotel bed with a pink blanket, white sheets, and green tufted headboard with two pillows with a wall mounted light in the right corner.

This is what a queer, grieving eldest daughter looks like

Photo of woman sitting down, painted to fit into the wall, which is painted with different colors stemming from her stomach and extending to the edge of the photo. Self-description: THECeNTRE - Installation, bodypaint and a lot of handwork. In this photo the light is coming from the belly centre and spreading in the room.

This is what a rainbow soul looks like

Photo of woman with short blond hair wearing a lilac dress, lilac textured coat, and lilac fannnypack in front of a lilac wall. Self-description: Lilac represents transformation, intuition, creativity and spiritual power. Purple expresses gender as a combination of female and male energy because it is a mix of the traditional girl and boy colours. It is associated with the fluidity of non-binarity and with sexual and gender diversity. Lilac is a softer – more naive – version of purple. It awakens playfulness and gives us a feeling of tenderness and care. I do not see naivety as something negative; it allows us to think out of the box. I am aware of our binary thinking and I am interested in the space where it converges, where it becomes complex. I use the colour lilac as a playful phenomenon of the boundary: where it naively comes together, where it is fluid.

This is what a bisexual Lilac Queen looks like

Portrait wearing red and grey flannel shirt and knit grey hat while holding black and tan miniature dachshund wearing a brown sweater. A sun with rainbow rays in background.

This is what a Latina vegan stem lesbian (with a wiener) looks like

Screenshot of a selfie of a smiling tan woman displaying the Shaka symbol. She has short hair and is in front of a caricature and race paraphernalia. Self-description: Just finished the 60 mile/3day survivor walk.

This is what a cancer survivor Lesbian looks like 😊😊

Photo of a smiling long-haired blond woman in a grey top in front of a white background. Self-description: Just a quick snap selfie as I was getting my groove back after a divorce.

This is what a lesbian looks like

Photo of smiling woman with short brown hair and green eyes wearing a black blazer in front of a black background. Self-description: This is what a Jewish, 81 year old, comic/activist looks like.

This is what an Activist looks like

Back of head and torso of person with short dark hair wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, locking their green nail-polished hands behind their head with their right elbow up and left elbow down at an angle. On the back of their neck is a tattoo symbolizing androgyny. The background of the image is lavender.

This is what an andro-dyke-feminist looks like

Andro-dyke with short salt and pepper hair sitting on a drum throne with legs spread wearing black pants and a black and white over-sized furry rock n roll sweater which matches her hair. She is holding a pair of drum sticks vertically in her left hand and is wearing a metal dog-tag with an image of a snare drum on it.

This is what an andro-dyke-feminist drummer looks like

Photo of person log shirt, brown vest, and hat, crossing their arms in front of a home being built. Self-description: circa 1990 I was hired to help build this home on lesbian land

This is what a bisexual carpenter looks like

Woman with flat top dark hair in a polka dot pajama gown and robe posing standing with one leg resting on a couch. Self-description: I designed and sewed the pajama gown and the robe. I was glorying in a flat top haircut at the time.

This is what a tradeswoman looks like

Woman with short hair smiling and giving a thumbs up to the camera. She wears a colorful long coat and is at a parade. Self-description: Parading around in my Pussy Max jacket during the Fiesta Flambeau in beautiful San Antonio

This is what a lesbian looks like

Women in sparkly fitted dark and light dress standing in front of fountains at night in Vegas.

This is what a sexy, Adele loving Lesbian looks like.

Photo of a person in a black shirt, camo shorts, hat, sunglasses, and rainbow flag cape stands atop a rock overlooking a body of water. She has her fist raised towards the sky. Self-description: Super Rainbow 🌈

This is what a Rodeo Cowgirl dyke lesbian looks like

Photo of a woman with short hair smiling at the the camera and throwing up the rock-on symbol. She wears a hat with SD on it, sunglasses, and stands before a Pride flag waving on a flagpole. Self-description: Shine your light! Dont stay within the lines! Ms San Diego Pride 2022 🌈 🏳️‍🌈

This is what a Cowgirl rodeo dyke butch lesbian looks like

Black and white photograph of a man with dark hair and beard looking into the camera. He sits and wear a black tank top and jeans. He holds one arm behind his head and has many tattoos. Self-description: I’m authenticly me but a work in progress

This is what a Trans Person on the Autism Spectrum looks like

Photograph of a brown woman standing back to back beside the drag king version of herself

This is what a lesbian woman of color exploring drag looks like

Photo of a person smiling at the camera, standing with a small white and grey dog in their arms. They wear a beige sweater and have short, salt-and-pepper hair. Self-description: Because I was born with a rare disease called Moebius Syndrome that prevented me from smiling with that big toothy grin, I always felt less than. Less than pretty, less than interesting, and most importantly less than desirable. The only thing I thought I had going for me was my long (blown dried bone straight) dyed blond hair that I wore long past my shoulders. On my sixty - sixth birthday I decided to free myself from the tyranny of my 30 minute daily tussle with my blow dryer and cut all of my hair off. The morning of the cut I was terrified but also exhilarated. Who would I be without my long hair? The answer came to me the moment I looked in the mirror seconds after the cut was finished. “Free.” I thought to myself, “I’m finally free.”

This is what 66 looks like

Photo of a woman with short dark hair smiling into the camera. She is wearing a white v-neck t-shirt with a gray patterned vest. Self-description: My photo was taken after my Improv performance. I call it, "After Glow"

This is what The Chapstick Lesbian looks like

Picture of a person peering over the back of a stone partition. Xie are bald, wear a yellow t-shirt, and appear to be in a park.

This is what Agender looks like

Photo of a person smiling into the camera. Xie pose in between two large stone columns, are bald, and wear a yellow shirt with a small cactus image on it.

This is what Agender looks like

Photo of a smiling person in front of trees with orange blossoms. Xie are bald and wear a yellow t-shirt with three small images of cacti and jam on it

This is what Agender looks like

Photo of a woman in a white blazer with wavy brown hair and red lipstick posed in front of a display that says "Literary Lesbians" and has article cut-outs. Self-description: Latina lipstick Lesbian writer

This is what a Literary Lesbian looks like

Black and white photograph of a woman with wavy dark hair sitting and staring into the distance. She wears a crisp white button-up and black coat. Self-description: Latina Lesbian glamour

This is what a Latina Lesbian looks like

A femme lesbian in a red dress standing next her painting

This is what a "you don't look like a lesbian" lesbian looks like

Black and white image of a taller, dark haired androgynous woman sitting in a chair with one leg bent over the arm of the chair. She has on all black with a cowboy hat and boots.

This is what a domme bisexual looks like

Person wearing cowboy hat, denim jacket and cowboy boots under blue lighting.

This is what a cowboy dyke looks like!

Person in rainbow cowboy hat, rainbow cropped top, wings, and fishnets smiles at the camera over their shoulder. Self-description: Letting my rainbow wings fly.

This is what a non-binary lesbian looks like

Woman in tie-dye shorts and neon yellow windbreaker smiles in the center of a living room. She has short grey hair and reveals a mastectomy scar with a large drawing over it. Self-description: After my mastectomy, I didn't know how I would feel about "the girls" being gone. Freedom, is what I feel and I'm just as beautiful as I was before! My wife and I have been together 35 years in June! My Rainbow Pride!!

This is what an Lesbian OG looks like

Screenshot of a smiling couple standing in front of the Kennedy Center. Both wear winter coats with a fake fur trim. Self-description: My wife and I were in DC and behind us was the Kennedy Center. We saw an opera.

This is what a lesbian looks like

Underwater photo of a woman in a mermaid tail swimming with fishes.

This is what a mermaid looks like

Photo of a woman in a black hoodie with long light hair, blue eyes, and glasses, staring into the camera. She is in front of a colorful wall. Self-description: Color is life

This is what a lesbian looks like

Photo of a woman with long light hair peering over her sunglasses into the camera. She wears a tank top and has an octopus tattoo on her upper arm. Self-description: Beach lesbians!!!!

This is what a lesbian looks like

Photo of a woman with long light hair and glasses next to a brick wall. Self-description: Just another brick in the wall

This is what a lesbian looks like

Photo of a woman with long light hair peering over her sunglasses into the camera. She is in front of a red, stone background. Self-description: Lesbian on fire!

This is what a lesbian looks like

This is what Winter Grain aka two women in love playing music together looks like

This is what a lesbian looks like

This is what a land dyke looks like

Photo of a woman with short red hair and sunglasses perched atop her hand looking into the camera. The text "My story isn't over yet!" is typed in cursive at the bottom of the photo. Self-description: The Queen Sitting on Her throne looking through your soul with her eyes.

This is what a Pansexual, Polyamorous, Badass Queen looks like

Photo of a woman with short blond hair in a backwards hat leaning over a kitchen counter. She has on a black tank top and has many tattoos. Self-description: Soulful confident stem lesbian

This is what a stem lesbian looks like

Photo of woman with long curly red hair looking into camera. She wears steampunk garb; a white blouse with tight corset. Their is a rainbow graphic on the bottom right with the text "proud lesbian." Self-description: Steampunk Fierceness

This is what a Proud Steampunk Lesbian looks like!

Photo of a woman with long curly dark hair, eyes closed, and arms raised above her head. She wears a sheer, flower-patterned robe and the photo has a yellow sepia-tone filter. Self-description: I was painting in my studio when a brilliant artist friend came in and photographed me...

This is what a lesbian looks like

Photo of a woman with short brown hair holding a beer bottle and smiling into the camera. She wears a collared shirt, white jacket, and sits in front of a brick wall. Self-description: Enjoying an evening out with cousins that I had not seen in 40 years.

This is what a lesbian looks like

Photo of a woman sitting outside on a chair blowing a kiss at the camera. She wears sandals, a white blouse, sunglasses, and has blond hair up in two buns. Self-description: In this photo lesbian author and realtor Gabriella Meghan, enjoys the Arizona sunshine, while embracing her femme identity.

This is what a Femme Fatale Lesbian looks like

A self portrait photograph of a trans woman smirking at the camera lens, knowing full well this is her first self-portrait, She wears a black dress with red lace trim and a homemade necklace of charms.

This is what a witchy trans photographer looks like

Black and white photograph of a woman with short hair with her small dog on her chest. Self-description: Chronically Rare Illness Lesbian with her dog Doodle Bug

This is what a Rare Chronically Illness Lesbian looks like

Nonbinary person with blonde hair wearing rainbow shirt and tie, shorts and black boots holds a pride flag in front of water.

This is what a baby trans looks like

Selfie photo of a person with short blond hair sotting in a car wearing a blue button up and blue denim jacket. Self-description: I love fashion and expression of my sexuality is important and in our clothing also. This was taken “ just because “!

This is what a lesbian warrior looks like!

Photograph of a person with long wavy brown hair standing outside with mountains behind them and stormy clouds above. She wears white sneakers, dark pants, and dark shirt pulled up halfway to expose her midriff. Self-description: masc lesbian in the wild

This is what a lesbian looks like

Photo of long-haired person sitting on concrete steps with a skateboard with the text "Thrasher Skateboard Magazine" on it resting on their knees. She wears white sneakers, white socks, and a blue hat. Self-description: I am from San Diego and skating is one of my favorite activities. The skateboard industry is mostly represents men and it’s time that we change that.

This is what a lesbian looks like

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