Were the Lesbian Artists Hiding in Plain Sight?

“Lesbian artists generally had three main options in regards to how they presented — or hid — their sexuality. The first option was to keep their orientation private and compete with male artists using subject matter that did not relate to their sexuality. The next was to participate in the feminist art movement creating work with and for women. The last option was to make lesbianism the decisive subject of their work and demand that their sexuality be seen as a part of their work. Out of these three options working within the feminist art movement generally proved to be the path of least resistance. One could participate in a community of women artists and enjoy a level playing field.”

– Melissa Huang 2012, from the paper ‘Where were the Lesbian Pop Artists?’