When I was about nine, I typed the word “lesbian” into Internet Explorer search bar on my parents’ desktop computer after a girl at school told me I looked like one. (It was the week before I was going on holiday to South Africa and being the practical kid I was, I’d asked the hairdresser to cut my hair very short.) What came up were a bunch of ads featuring naked women doing things that I was too young to see.
About three years later, I typed the phrase “am I a lesbian?” into the same search bar after getting a crush on a schoolmate. Some teen sites were helpful and reassuring, but I’m still haunted by the message board where another girl had asked the question and had been subjected to slurs and even a death threat for merely asking the question.
But do you know what I’d have found really useful on both of those occasions? An actual lesbian website. Yes, CosmoGirl did tell me that some girls are gay and there’s nothing wrong with them, but I’d have freaking loved to find a site that was written by queer women. And you know what, I’d still rather check out a lesbian site today. That’s why I’ve rounded up 18 of my favorite lesbian sites for you and I’ve even separated them by category to make it easier to find what you want.
Lesbian Culture Sites
To be honest, the majority of sites included in this section could also be included in any of the below categories, but because these lesbian websites touched on so many sectors, I had to make an entirely new section for them.
Curve
This is the website for the US’s best-selling lesbian magazine, which focuses on celebrity interviews, pop culture, style, travel, entertainment, advice, and news. They do tend to focus on American pop culture, but every once in a while, you can find reviews or recaps of queer media from other countries.
Autostraddle
It would be a lie to tell you that “the world’s most popular lesbian website” is solely an entertainment site because they cover politics in-depth on the regular. (The personal is political.) However, the majority of the content is focused on film, TV, and relationships. They also have some of the sharpest, funniest TV recaps that I’ve ever read.
Lesbian
This aptly named site has a little bit of everything, from travel to health to music. Lesbian aims to bring together the best of the lesbian world to empower lesbians around the globe. They focus mainly on entertainment and events but dedicate a substantial portion of their site to activism by and for queer women.
Also, they have a chatroom function to allow you to talk to other readers about the article you just read or life in general.
Qwear
How do you dress like a lesbian? Well, the short answer is however you please, but the long answer requires perusing this queer style site. Want to know how to accessorize a suit? Trying to find the right plus-size jeans? Wondering if you can pull off androgynous clothing? This is the site for you.
Queer Fat Femme
Bevin Branlandingham is the oracle for all things queer, from dating to fashion to art, but all from the perspective of a plus-size woman. Her goal is to help people love themselves, regardless of whether they fit in with society’s narrow standards for female beauty.
A Bicycle Built For Two
Confession time: I have never planned a wedding, but it looks hella hard. I first realized that when I served as a bridesmaid at age 14 and it hasn’t gotten any easier since. If you are looking for some incredible inspiration and support when planning your special day, check out this lesbian wedding blog.
Mombian
It’s a lifestyle site for LGBTQ+ moms featuring parenting advice specifically relating to issues queer women face (“Will this school teach my kids that their moms’ relationship is wrong?”), as well as the universal (“How do I get my kids to do their math homework?”). It also features a hefty dose of news relating to LGBTQ+ parents, like the Appeals Court case on discrimination against same-sex foster parents shown in the image.
Lesbian Entertainment
The vast majority of entertainment caters to straight men, with women and queer folks being considered a niche market. These sites want to point you in the right direction.
KitschMix
This lesbian website focuses heavily on entertainment. It was created by a lesbian couple to showcase the diversity of creativity by LGBTQ+ women to boost media representation and increase support for queer female artists.
Lesbian Reading Room
What could be better than lesbian lit? Lesbian lit written by lesbians, of course. This site provides reviews and news about the latest books featuring LGBTQ+ women or written by them. Perfect if you and your gals want to set up a book club or if you’re just looking for a recommendation before your next flight.
Lesbrary
What could be better than one lesbian book site? Two lesbian book sites. Twice a month, Lesbrary brings together all of the articles written about lesbian literature across the web so you have all the info in one place. Plus, it allows you to search by genre if you’re looking for a recommendation.
Dorothy Surrenders
If you’re looking for a pop culture guide from a lesbian perspective, check out this blog from Autostraddle contributor Dorothy Snarker. She updates daily with short and funny posts about entertainment featuring and/or created by queer women.
Lesbian News
As with most marginalized groups, the mainstream media doesn’t focus too heavily on lesbian news, which is why we have to seek out specialist sites. Sure, [insert newspaper here] might cover Ellen running for President, but they rarely cover the news items that affect lesbians on a daily basis, like a city passing anti-discrimination legislation or an increase in homelessness among lesbians. That’s why I’ve got a roundup of the best lesbian news sites.
(Oh, and just so we’re clear, Ellen is not, as of writing, running for President, but she would have my vote if she did. I wouldn’t even need to hear her policies. Just kidding, I’m not even American.)
Lesbian News
Well, this site gets right to the point with its name, doesn’t it? The Lesbian News Magazine was founded in 1975, making it the longest running lesbian publication in North America. As you can see, they cover a range of topics, including entertainment, relationships, and “femastrology”, but their primary focus is on news that matters to queer women, whether it’s about us or it affects us.
They cover mainly US news, such as Senators Tammy Baldwin and Tim Kaine trying to pass an act to protect LGBTQ youth against child abuse. However, they do write about a fair amount of international news, like the anti-LGBTQ laws in Brunei.
The Seattle Lesbian
While based in the Emerald City, this online newspaper focuses on lesbian news from all over the US and around the globe. They cover news in a range of verticals from politics to health to sport, with some fascinating columnists as well. (I particularly enjoy Diane Ponist’s blogs about raising a family.)
Lesbian Dating
As we all know, lesbians bars are few and far between, so many women who love women are turning to lesbian dating sites and apps to find the girl of their dreams. This is a complete list of all the lesbian dating sites, I’m going to run down my faves. (Plenty of girls who are multi-gender attracted gals will also use these because putting your sexuality as bi+ on other sites will involve cis men asking if you’re up for a threesome. Not with you, dude.)
HER
This dating site was made by queer women for queer women, with an increased focus on helping you get to know lesbians in your area. That’s right, instead of swiping right or hoping that a personality quiz pairs you up with the right girl, you can meet women IRL at HER-hosted events or chat with them in an in-app community.
Fem
Let’s get this out of the way first. Yes, their slogan does sound like that pop-up ad from 2004 that downloaded a virus onto your computer. I swear that’s not what this is. It’s designed by queer women for queer women and hopes to eliminate catfishing (I should have known Kate McKinnon was neither on Tinder nor in my city) by encouraging users to upload a video describing themselves.
Don’t worry shy girls, you can still make an account with just a photo and get chatting to ladies near you.
Only Women
This lesbian and bi+ website is a mix of a dating app and a social network, also built and run by a gay-owned company. They want cis and trans women to have the best dating experience and even have a bunch of blogs to help queer women navigate the dating world.
Want more lesbian dating websites and lesbian dating apps? Check out our ultimate guide to lesbian online dating.
International Lesbian Sites
If you’re visiting thing page from outside the US, don’t worry because we’ve scouted out the best lesbian sites for you. (These are also great for American women heading to these countries on holiday or for work, who want to check out the lesbian scene before traveling.)
Lesbians on the Loose (Australia)
This lesbian site focuses on entertainment, wellness, lifestyle, and news for LGBTQ+ women Down Under. (I feel like there’s an oral sex pun in there somewhere.)
The eagle-eyed among you may notice that LOTL shares a design and a slogan with Curve. That’s because they’re owned by the same parent company. This means they also share some content if it’s relevant to both an American and an Australian audience. However, the vast majority of it focuses purely on Australia.
Diva (The UK)
This is the site for Europe’s best-selling lesbian magazine and covers a range of topics from pop culture to news to social issues. But Diva also puts a focus on the things that are tough to talk about, including the problems that queer youth face, mental health for queer women, and racism in the LGBTQ+ community.
Being a British site, they do focus heavily on queer entertainment that is created for a British audience and events happening in and around London.
I hope that this has helped you find some great new lesbian websites to bookmark (and even more to binge on right now). Now, I’d like to hear from you. What is your favorite lesbian site on the list? And which lesbian site have I left off? Or what sector of lesbian life have I completely neglected to mention here? Let me know all that and more in the comments.
