Reneé Rapp says her last Google search was for the fabled ‘Lesbian Masterdoc’ – but what is it?
Reneé Rapp as Leighton in The Sex Lives of College Girls. (Katrina Marcinowski/HBO Max)
Many LGBTQ+ people have reported questioning their sexualities from a young age. Googling “Am I gay?” (or “Lesbian Masterdoc PDF”) to understand their desires and attraction is a formative experience for many of us.
When people are questioning their identities, it can be confusing and emotionally difficult.
Sometimes though, Google doesn’t have all the answers, even though the company would like us to believe otherwise. That’s where the Lesbian Masterdoc comes in.
Even celebrities have been known to consult the legendary document. In 2023, singer Kehlani shared that the fabled doc helped her to figure out her sexuality before she officially came out as a lesbian.
More recently, bisexual American singer-songwriter – and star of the 2024 musical Mean Girls – Reneé Rapp revealed in an interview that her last Google search had been for the Lesbian Masterdoc.
What is the Lesbian Masterdoc PDF?
The Lesbian Masterdoc is a 30-page document that was originally written by Tumblr user Anjeli Luz in 2018. It claims to help people figure out whether they are a lesbian or not.
The document has 20 sections, with information ranging from ‘What is Compulsory Heterosexuality‘ to ‘Conflicting Feelings About Men’.
It is designed to be a supportive guide for those who are questioning their sexuality and includes a list of signs to look out for and yes/no statements to help you understand yourself.
In 2020, Luz told VICE that the document was created as “a tool of self-reflection” for herself and others.
How did it become so well-known?
The document first gained popularity on Tumblr, spreading across various blogs in the website’s heyday. The document was originally a Google Doc but has since been turned into a PDF that lives on in Reddit threads and on TikTok.
Despite the fact it is now six years old, search interest for the Lesbian Masterdoc remains high. The hashtag #LesbianMasterdoc on TikTok has nearly 20 million views and videos talking about the Lesbian Masterdoc on TikTok have racked up hundreds of thousands of views.
It is easily accessible and extremely easy to understand for young people who are not well-versed in queer and LGBTQ+ theory.
Should you trust the Lesbian Masterdoc?
Understanding and defining your sexual or romantic identity can be very difficult. Even in a world that has become more accepting of LGBTQ+ people, many of us still face stigma and discrimination from family, friends, coworkers, and strangers.
Asking questions about who you may love can be both impactful and life-changing. Even though a PDF can’t really tell you definitively if you are gay or not, the questions and information contained within the Lesbian Masterdoc can be a good starting point.
At the end of the day, the Lesbian Masterdoc PDF is a useful resource for those looking for an easy and comprehensible explanation of these big topics, but should not be used as the final say in whether you identify as LGBTQ+.
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