A Report on the Lived Experiences of LGBTQ+ Women

This executive summary highlights takeaways from a report on the experiences of LGBTQ+ women. It included the responses of 5,002 women to questions that addressed discrimination, finances, education, religion, gender and sexuality, sex, and relationships.

The respondents cite sexism as the primary form of discrimination that they face. Racism is the next most frequently cited.

LGBTQ+ women experience interpersonal violence at higher rates than straight women. They face harassment and abuse in educational settings and homophobia from religious family members. Economic precarity and disabilities complicate these confrontations further.

One of their favorite things about being LGBTQ+ women is living and loving in queer community. They find great support in their friendships with other women. Additionally, LGBTQ+ women have more sex than the general population. Forty-five percent shared that sex gives them a great deal or a lot of pleasure.

Universal healthcare, environment/climate justice, and reproductive rights, access and care are crucial issues for LGBTQ+ women. To address our needs, LGBTQ+ movement organizations must prioritize them. With these priorities, LGBTQ+ women are sending a clear message to women’s and LGBTQ+ movements: we situate our well-being within a larger world, ergo justice for LGBTQ+ women can only be achieved in context.

SOURCE: Los Angeles LGBT Center • AUTHOR: Jaime M. Grant and Alyasah Ali Sewell, et al. • LAST UPDATED: January 1, 2023