This 'Baby Dyke' Instagram Account is Absolutely Adorable

Introducing @babydikes...

23-year-old, Los Angeles-based filmmaker Nicole Santiago (pictured here) was looking at a baby picture of her girlfriend one night when the idea to create a 'baby dyke' Instagram account popped into her head. We interviewed Nicole to learn more about the inspiration for @babydikes and why visibility for queer women is so important.

Head over to @babydikes' official Instagram to see more adorable baby photos of queer women, and use the hashtag #babydike to contribute your own photo to the project.

Why did you start the @babydikes Instagram account?

Nicole: I was looking at baby pictures of my girlfriend (pictured here) and suddenly the idea popped in my head. I told her, and she loved it. On a deeper level, I wanted to create a project where we could all share a little bit of our history in a fun way and showcase the wide spectrum of style, culture, and background that queer women come from.

Why is it important to create visibility for queer women?

Nicole: A huge chunk of our society doesn't think of gay people as children. A large percentage still believe that being gay is some choice that you make at a certain point in your life, so I wanted to show queer women as children to show that our gayness has always been a part of us; to show a different side of queerness that society doesn't see.

Why did you choose to use the word "dyke?" Do you identify as a "dyke?"

Nicole: Well, growing up in a private, conservative school, that was a bad word reserved only to insult tomboys and outcasts. After coming out as an adult, older lesbians often would call me a 'baby dyke.' We use that phrase in our community as a term of endearment for young lesbians, so I thought it would be a cool play on words. Baby Dykes...literally. So yes, I identify as a dyke. I love that word now.

If you could have any famous queer women contribute their baby photos to @babydikes, who would you choose?

Nicole: Dead or alive? I'll do both. Dead, would have to be Mercedes de Acosta. A modern one would have to be Sarah Paulson.