ENOUGH! LET’S DROWN THE SILENCE AND PUT AN END TO DISCRIMINATION!

The Insurrection of Lesbos (Founded in Ljubljana, October 2007) is an activist group which questions the purpose and meaning of public space in search of an answer to the question ‘Where in this space is there room for lesbians?’ They caution against the narrow-mindedness of a hetero-normative society which treats lesbians as inaudible and invisible. They warn that our society supports an apparent tolerance, but is tolerant only of notions, not of real, breathing people who live and work within it. When lesbians refuse to hide their sexual orientation, they become a target of ridicule, violence, and homophobic attacks. They are banished from public places. In recent years intolerance has been on the rise, partly because of the increased visibility of minority groups who have decided to react against homophobia and break the silence and invisibility: “Public space is intended for ALL, belongs to ALL, and by no means only to the heterosexual population. Personal safety, dignity, and freedom of movement and expression are the rights of EACH individual. The eviction of lesbians and gays from public places has a broader subtext: the dominance of majority and self-proclaimed “normal” society, which purges itself of all its “excesses”, the Roma population, gays, lesbians, immigrants, the handicapped…”

The Insurrection of Lesbos was formed by individual women following the infamous homophobic event of October 11th 2007 in Orto Bar (Ljubljana), during which two lesbians were banished from the club. The initiative performs and documents guerrilla street actions in order to demonstrate that public space belongs to all, lesbians included.