Reply #3: What I've noticed

[Ayesha]

At 28, I'm somewhat in the middle generation wise, but what I've noticed is that older generation lesbians have a lot more of a belief that the world is against them. One woman I know who is in her early 40's is always going on about how invisible, persecuted, etc. she feels as a lesbian in her everyday life, and it doesn't ring true to my experiences at all. Maybe if we were in Alabama, but this is L.A. fergodsake. Practically everyone we've met here has been accepting of us. There are a lot of shallow, nasty people here, but most of them don't care if you're gay or straight, they care if you have the fashionable car and the designer clothes. Considering that the aforementioned friend has a hairstyle that should have gone out with the 1980's, perhaps *that's* why she gets negative reactions from people.

That brings up another difference I have noticed. Older generations of gay people seem to hold on to and fit stereotypes more; I'm not sure what purpose it serves for them exactly, as to me it seems like a hindrance to being accepted. Young people treat their sexual orientation as just one aspect of their identity, and are less bound by roles like butch and femme, styles of dress, that sort of thing. When looking at a group of gay and straight teens, you can't always tell which is which. I don't mean that gay people are becoming more like straight people, but rather that there's more diversity in gender expression and style across orientations. I personally think that's a good thing.