I like this label. It reminds people I'm not a playtoy for straight men. And that I have the same orientation as the stereotypical dyke. For a while I liked queer, but it now has bi/poly connotations. Even girls calling themselves gay has bi connotations at times. I'm not a fan of the word lesbian. Maybe because of internalized lesbophobia. It also reminds me of lesbian porn.
Ugh. I hate the word "lesbian" with a passion. It has strong connections to "lesbianism" (why is there no "gayism???), feminazies and porn. On the other hand, I don't like "dyke", "butch" or "femme", either. I'm just... gay. A gay female. I don't like labels though.
Calling myself a dyke feels empowering to me. I can't really explain why, it just does. It has a cool sound too.
I just identify as gay, meaning I like girls, cause that's the term I grew up with as a 90's baby. To me, the word 'dyke' when heard always seemed to have negative connotations so I don't use it. I don't use lesbian either just cause how it sounds in a sentence, it sounds weird. So i just use "I'm gay".
