If you spend long enough inside queer spaces online you begin to notice a strange pattern. Every time someone says “I’m a lesbian artist” or “I’m a sapphic artist” or “I just draw women kissing women for emotional stability” the comments immediately fill with other lesbians saying “same” or “lol literally me” or “I also haven’t stopped drawing sad girls in big jumpers since 2014.”
It raises a question that humanity has ignored for centuries. A question philosophers should have asked. A question scientists would study if they weren’t busy gluing sensors to dolphins.
Why are so many lesbians illustrators?
I came out of the closet far sooner than I realised I really enjoyed drawing. So, to me it would seem the sapphic nature in me forced me to pick up a pencil and draw boobs. It was undeniable and some might say my destiny.
This blog is my attempt at a serious, rigorous, scientific investigation. By 'scientific,' I, of course, mean absolutely not scientific. Not even slightly. You will learn nothing, but you will be entertained.
Throughout this article I will link to my own artwork because internal linking is good for SEO and also because I am a lesbian visual artist and naturally must hustle.
If you need to conduct further research, here are fictional references that I absolutely did not use but you may enjoy pretending I did:
- The International Lesbian Drawing Institute https://www.notarealinstitute.org
- Journal of Queer Crayon Studies https://www.fakejournalofcrayons.com
- The Sapphic Art Observatory https://www.sapphicspace.gov.fake
Please do not email them. They do not exist, much like my attention span.
Let us begin.
The historical roots of lesbian illustration
Many historians have asked the classic art world question: “Were they roommates?” However, fewer have asked the equally important question: “Did they doodle?”
Throughout history, queer art has bubbled beneath the surface. Women who loved women often expressed themselves in coded symbols, secret sketches and paintings of “friends” who they definitely weren’t just “good friends.”
We can see this spirit today in modern LGBTQ art and queer art communities, where lesbians create entire visual languages just to say “this character is gay” without writing “this character is gay.”
Examples include:
- The haircut
- The boots
- The eyebrows
- The too intense stare
This lineage continues in my own work. For educational purposes, please examine this field study:
Carabiner and Lipstick Lesbian Art Print
If Leonardo da Vinci had been a modern lesbian artist, the Mona Lisa would absolutely be holding a carabiner.
The lesbian brain: Evolutionary attraction to stationery
Some people are drawn to nature, some people are drawn to success. Lesbians are drawn to stationery.
No one knows why, all we know is that a lesbian clutching a good pen experiences a happiness level equal to that of a golden retriever who has just been told it is a good girl.
According to the highly prestigious Institute of Lesbian Neuroscribbling https://www.lesbiansketchbrain.academy.fake, there is a part of the brain called the 'Sapphic creative cortex'. This region lights up when a new sketchbook is opened or a fine liner pen produces the perfect crisp line
This is the biological foundation of lesbian visual artistic behaviour. It is not official science, but honestly it feels right.
Lesbian culture rewards drawing women constantly
Look at the internet, at TikTok, at Pinterest, look at whatever the hell X is doing now. Everywhere you go, the algorithm is gently whispering: “Draw women, draw more women, draw extremely specific lesbian scenarios like a soft butch building a shelf while a femme hands her screws in a sexually charged yet domestic way.”
Lesbian culture has a long tradition of celebrating sapphic art because we are an audience that genuinely wants to see:
- Cottagecore lesbians
- Masc lesbians
- Femme lesbians
- Hey mama lesbians
It is an endless buffet of queer art imagination.
Lesbians don’t want to explain their interests verbally
Straight people have small talk. Lesbians have “here is a drawing I made to visually communicate my emotional state because if I say it with words I will absolutely start crying”.
Illustration is an ideal medium for lesbians because it allows, clear communication, dramatic communication and possibly flirty communication. Art is the lesbian love language, orr at least one of them. The other love languages include:
- Fixing furniture
- Buying a plant together too early
-
Asking someone what their favourite childhood cartoon was so you can figure out their trauma
Anyway. Illustration solves many of these issues. It provides an emotional outlet while looking extremely cool on Instagram.
Which brings me to the next factor.
Instagram turned every lesbian into a micro studio
Lesbians used to express their creativity by carving messages on bathroom stalls. Then technology advanced and suddenly every sapphic artist could post their work online and receive 10,000 likes or 1000 saves. My personal favourite is the comment section saying “this is so me and my wife” or my heterosexual aunt saying “nice colours”.
Social media platforms became queer spaces by force. The algorithm noticed that lesbians were sharing lesbian art and said “okay fine here is more lesbian art.” The loop strengthened until Instagram essentially became a digital lesbian gallery. This has been a fantastic way to connect with my community and I really do appreciate the comments
Lesbian illustration is often born from thirst
Let us be honest, objectivity is dead. Half of sapphic art is simply a socially acceptable way of saying “I find women hot.”
This is valid and thirst is a creative force. Some of the most iconic pieces of LGBTQ art throughout history have emerged because an artist thought “what if I drew her but a little more shirtless.” Lesbians have an eye for detail and an appreciation for the aesthetic. A deep understanding of the female gaze means we are simply documenting beauty for the cultural record.
It's a public service really.
Every lesbian has a secret backlog of obsessions
Lesbians love hobbies. Deeply, passionately and frantically. But illustration is the ultimate lesbian hobby because it works for all types:
- The introverted lesbian who needs quiet time
- The extroverted lesbian who wants to show everyone her sketchbook during brunch
- The anxious lesbian who needs to draw women to stay calm
- The chaotic lesbian who starts fifty unfinished pieces and then hyperfocuses at 3 am
This makes lesbian visual artist culture incredibly robust and drawing women is the safest way to flirt
Words can be misinterpreted. But a drawing of a woman with her sleeves rolled up holding a mug of tea while staring longingly into the middle distance? This is lesbian flirting with plausible deniability. It is the perfect system.
Conclusion: The answer is everything and nothing
After this robust, absolutely not scientific, very sexy investigation, we can confidently conclude the following:
1. Lesbians are naturally drawn to drawing
2. Stationery is a sapphic weakness
3. Women are hot
4. The algorithm is gay
5. History made us this way
6. Art is easier than talking about feelings
7. Being a lesbian artist is simply part of the circle of life
If you are a lesbian thinking “should I pick up drawing” the answer is yes, you are genetically predisposed and it is, in fact, your birthright.
And if you are already a lesbian artist, congratulations on continuing this noble queer tradition. You are contributing to LGBTQ art history with every inky scribble.
If you would like to enhance your cultural understanding through further visual study, I recommend exploring my full art collection:
Caffers Art: Lesbian Art and Queer Prints