This year Lesbian Visibility Day has been celebrated across Turkey with a social media campaign using the hashtag #lezbiyenaçılmagünü (#lesbiancomingoutday). Lesbian individuals are encouraged to shout out to their celebrity crushes in honour of lesbian visibility. A group of lesbians have launched the campaign through a twitter account, asking fellow lesbians not to keep their love to themselves. The hashtag has become a trending topic in Turkey, with love messages to both local and international celebrities. Although there have been discriminatory remarks using hate speech with the same hashtag, this has not stifled the lesbian community’s enthusiasm to celebrate the visibility of their identity.
To mark April 26th, KaosGL has published a pamphlet “Don’t Hold Back, Say It: Lesbian”. The publication consists of a glossary of terminology, a brief history of the word “lesbian” and of self-organizing practices of lesbians, a list of frequently asked questions to lesbians, a discussion of stereotypical representations of lesbianism and a summary of the organization’s annual story competition celebrating lesbian love. The Turkish pamphlet can be viewed through this link.