Some days I want to be just dyke-ish enough that other lesbians might recognize me as gay, but straight people probably wouldn t. The protagonist is aware that her long hair doesn t help her to be identified as a lesbian. Theoretically, if every gay and lesbian person could be identified at every moment of every day, many problematic stereotypes would be dispelled. Everyone would see that everyone has family and friends, customers and employers who are gay. Realistically, though, I'm not so sure it would make a difference.
Racism exists even though people of color are always visible.
So while visibility wouldn t necessarily abate blind value judgments based upon some shared characteristic, it would get people to challenge their assumptions. When I identify myself as a gay person by putting a pink triangle on my backpack or wearing a gay T-shirt, I present myself as a visible minority. When I delibrately make myself visible I am more conscious of it, watching to see if strangers will treat me differently. I decorate my backpack, my bike, my outer layer with pink triangles and rainbow flags not only for my own satisfaction, but for the people who are afraid to come out of their proverbial closets, fearing they are alone. I remember how it felt to be inspired by editorials in the DP and the B-GLAD supplement, written by people who had the courage to be out at Penn.