The Lesbian Lexicon Project* is a zine that maps out queer language in a dictionary-style format. It draws upon queer language, humor, sexuality, relationships, and experiences as a way of defining queer life. Instead of defining queer identity by using traditional or academic definitions of queer terminology, the zine constructs a dictionary of queer words and phrases, creating new language out of established slang and newly created language about specific queer situations, personalities, and experiences. In the first edition I looked at, the zine reclaims language from the realm of authority, showing that language does not necessarily need to have official recognition in order to be considered real.
The Lesbian Lexicon Project resembles an archaic dictionary or encyclopedia. However, this traditional formality (woo-hoo big fancy words :P) is deliberately juxtaposed with the contents of the zine itself. General dictionaries provide formal definitions for words; this zine presents readers with something else. This lexicon consists of existing words in the queer language along with the words invented by queers to describe unnamed homosexual phenomena.
“Do you like words? Do you like being gay? Do you like gay words?”
Languages are always evolving, and many times they evolve because communities develop their own culture and means of communication. There are many words in this zine that relate to situations that would be hard to express using conventional language. By giving these experiences names, the project has made them both accessible and easy to reference. There are so many universals as queer people that it is nice to have a reference. #slanginit
The lexicon pinpoints very precise social situations. An example of this is the term “lovejail,” which is used to describe the early stage of a relationship where the partners become so wrapped up in their love for each other that they forget about their friends, families, hobbies, work, and pretty much anything else going on outside their relationship. It exaggerates a situation that most people have experienced while also providing it with a name that encapsulates the experience itself. I have heard a lot about the term “lesbian merge,” and I am told to watch out for it by older lesbians. It has become a cryptid figure in our house, so to speak. If my partner and I ever get too similar, we joke that the lesbian merge finally came to get us.
Other definitions are more concerned with the complex social relations found in queer communities. “fauxmo” refers to someone who is fake homosexual. “Funcomfortable” is an interaction when there are uncomfortable feelings that are unspoken to keep social harmony. Which I am sure we all constantly deal with every day. Or I’m just an awkward fuck who knows. Interestingly, this zine isn’t just about sex or dating. It captures the social relations that are in the community space of queers. This is something very common, and even uncomfortable, that goes on every day
“femmestache n. a mustache belonging to a femme … always sexy and should be encouraged.”
The description gold star refers to various levels of experience that one has had when it comes to heterosexuality, thus creating an imaginary hierarchy of queerness based on sexual history. The definitions mock the notion of quantifying someone’s identity through various experiences. The use of an analogy to a “Gayer Than Thou” Olympics makes this more evident. While the descriptions themselves are intentionally outlandish, the topic itself is quite intriguing since it refers to something interesting about the queer community, namely its potential to create its own expectations of authenticity despite its efforts to go against mainstream conventions of sexuality. As a term, I have always heard it deeply bashed and mocked, so as far as I have heard, this term isn’t used anymore. At least not in my queer circles.
The conflict between being part of the community and being policed for one’s identity has appeared in other entries too. “Neverwasbian” is a mockery of people who have their lesbian identity doubted due to their sexual past. At the same time, “boycation” defines the period during which a lesbian dates a man and then reasserts her gay identity. Both terms reflect the complexity of identification and labels.
“doppelbanger n. one who only fucks people who have an uncanny resemblance to themselves.’
In “pronoun showdown,” there is a description of two people talking about another individual in such a way that they use different pronouns for that individual, making the discussion more like a contest regarding who is right about the gender of that person. Rather than providing an educational discussion on gender identity, the zine shows how the conflict can be expressed.
The pink cover contains decorative, vintage-style fonts. The pages inside are printed in black and white and contain both pictures and graphics. The page with the definition of “doppelgänger,” a person who is attracted to those looking very much like him/her contains the picture of two identical people naked and holding eachother close. In this way, the image contributes to the perception of the vocabulary as something funny and cultural rather than just an encyclopedia entry.
These pages even contain a list of names, pointing to an extended range of people involved in the project. This is important since the lexicon does not represent queer language as something created by one person alone. Rather, the lexicon makes the reader think that it was the community that helped create a collective experience and vocabulary.
“Mr.McToppity n. one who is a top on the streets as well as the sheets, and proudly so.”
There is also an aspect to the project that deals with the kind of language and experience that gets preserved. The words included in the dictionary or any other form of authoritative literature determine which words are legitimized. However, the zine is different from this approach since it captures the language of a particular community without considering whether it will be part of a dictionary. Sexual language, humour, and slang are just as important to preserve.
There is something particularly valuable about preserving these kinds of everyday experiences. Queer history is not only made up of major political events, public figures, or organized movements. It also exists in the jokes people tell, the words they invent, the relationships they navigate, and the ways they make sense of their identities together. The Lesbian Lexicon Project recognizes that these seemingly small details are part of queer culture too. Its humor makes the material accessible, but its larger contribution is the documentation of a community’s language on its own terms. Rather than waiting for outside institutions to decide which words deserve recognition, the zine creates its own record. It shows that queer communities have always had ways of describing themselves, even when those descriptions exist outside the boundaries of conventional language. That’s what makes zines fucking awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
* The Lesbian Lexicon Project zine is not currently available in the digital archive.
Arabella (She/They) is interning at QZAP fall of 2026. She is an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee finishing her last year in Women’s and Gender studies. In her free time Arabella likes to spend time with her dog Magdalena and butchering the banjo.
