Elisabeth Real: “The Lesbian Lives Project”

Primafila photographer Elisabeth Real publishes the first book in her series “The Lesbian Lives Project”.

When it comes to gay rights, Switzerland is ranked 26th among 49 European countries, at the same level as Rumania. Although lesbians are generally well accepted in Swiss society, they hardly enjoy the same rights as heterosexual men and women. For example, there are no laws providing marriage equality or protection from hate speech directed at LGTBI people. This is one of the reasons renowned photographer Elisabeth Real, who has worked for Primafila in the past, started “The Lesbian Lives Project”.

“In my experience, it has become apparent that this inequality, coupled with social stigma, leads to a sense of powerlessness among lesbians and a great deal of trauma,” Elisabeth says. “It is my conviction that in order to advance as a global community, we must grant equal rights to all people as soon as possible.”

About the book

Entitled “The Lesbian Lives Project: Who We Are – Lesbian Women in Switzerland, Three Stories”, the first book of the series of three delves into the stories of Swiss lesbians, in particular, the stories of two moms living with their daughter in Winterthur, a Catholic priest who blessed a lesbian couple in his church, the outrage that followed the ceremony, and a woman who was attacked because she dates women.

About the author

Elisabeth Real is a freelance photographer based in Switzerland and specialized in corporate and editorial photography for national and international clients. At the same time, she pursues her own work, which focuses on long-term journalistic projects. Real’s first book, “Army of One“, investigating the lives of American veterans after Iraq, was published in 2013 by Scheidegger&Spiess.

Buy the first book of the “The Lesbian Lives Project” here.