Alesbian is ahomosexualwoman orgirl.[3][4][5]: 48 The word is also used as an adjective for women in relation to their experiences, regardless of theirsexual orientation; or as an adjective to associate nouns with female homosexuality.[4][5]: 22
The term lesbian is a derivative of the island of Lesbos, the Greek island home to ancient poetSappho. Relatively little in history was documented to describe women's lives in general or female homosexuality in particular. The earliest mentions of lesbianism date to around the 600s-500s BC, including Sappho's poetry.
Lesbian relationships and attractions, along with gender nonconforming behaviors more often displayed by lesbians, have been treated in different ways throughout different ages and cultures. While there is a longer documented history of lesbian behavior and relationships throughout different cultures, the idea of a 'lesbian' as a category of person distinct from other women emerged in Europe around the turn of the 19th century. Lesbians' current rights vary widely worldwide, ranging from severe abuse and legal persecution to general acceptance and legal protections.
Modern polls often estimate lesbians to be 1-3% of the population (i.e., 2-6% of women). Lesbian social movements often advocate for legal changes (such as anti-discrimination protections, child custody protections, and legal civil unions or marriages), as well as for cultural, familial, and religious acceptance of lesbian orientations and relationships.
The wordlesbian is thedemonym of the Greek island ofLesbos, home to the 6th-century BCE poetSappho.[3] Some of Sappho's surviving poetry discusses her love for other women.[6]: 47–49
Before the mid-19th century,[7] the wordlesbian referred to any aspect of Lesbos, including atype of wine.[a] A shift of the word to describe erotic relationships between women had been documented in 1870.[9] In 1875, a critic referred toBaudelaire's poem "Delphine and Hippolyte" (a poem about love between two women, and without reference to Lesbos) as "Lesbian".[10] In 1890, the termlesbian was used in the National Medical Dictionary as an adjective to describetribadism.[11]
The termslesbian,invert andhomosexual were interchangeable withsapphist around the turn of the 20th century.[9] The use oflesbian in medical literature became prominent; by 1925, the word was recorded as a noun to mean the female equivalent ofsodomite.[9][12]
Sexuality and identity
Lesbian community flag introduced in social media in 2018, with the dark orange stripe representinggender variance[13][14]Lesbian feminist flag consisting of alabrys (a double-bladed axe) within the invertedblack triangle, set against aviolet-hue background. The labrys representslesbian strength.[15]Lesbian flag derived from the colors of thelipstick lesbian flag design[16][17]
Prenatal androgen exposure correlates with same-sex sexual behavior in women.[18] Biological characteristics known to be affected by prenatal hormone exposure have been shown to vary by sexual orientation in women.[19][20] The finding that digit ratios (one characteristic affected by prenatal hormone exposure) differ between lesbian and heterosexual women has been replicated in cross-cultural studies.[20]
Neuroimaging studies have found differences between heterosexual and homosexual women in neurological structures, including both those known to be affected by prenatal androgen exposure[21] and those not known to be affected by prenatal androgen exposure.[22][23] A later meta-analysis concluded that the small sample sizes and small number of studies meant that findings were inconclusive as of 2021.[24]
Genetics also play a role; around 20% of the variance of sexual orientation in women is controlled by genetics.[25]
Lesbian identity formation
When a woman realizes she is a lesbian, it may cause an "existential crisis". When a woman was raised in an environment with negative stereotypes of lesbians, she may need to work through these stereotypes and prejudices to come to terms with her orientation.[26]: 93
Lesbians in modern times share an identity that parallels those built on ethnicity, including the concept of group heritage and group pride.[27]
Compared to gay men, lesbians more often developed their sexual self-concepts either alone or in intimate relationships, instead of in communities, and disclosed them less often.[26]: 153
Self-identification and behavior
Some women experience a consistently lesbian orientation. Other women experience varying degrees of fluidity in their orientation.[28]
Lesbians who have never been with men may be referred to as "gold star lesbians." Lesbians who had sex with men before coming out may face ridicule from other lesbians or identity challenges with regard to defining what it means to be a lesbian.[29]
Some researchers observe that behavior and identity sometimes do not match: self-identified straight women may have sex with women, or self-identified lesbians may have sex with men.[5]: 22 [30]
Several studies have found that the sexual behavior and attractions of exclusively-lesbian women are significantly more likely to be aligned with their identity than those of exclusively-heterosexual women. These included studies of reported attraction throughout the fertility cycle, and direct measures of arousal towards different imagery.[31]
The importance of sex
A 1983 survey asked couples "About how often during the last year have you and your partner had sex relations?". The survey found that long-term lesbian couples named lower numbers than long-term heterosexual or homosexual male couples.[32] This conclusion became known as "lesbian bed death".[33] Numerous critiques were leveled at the study, including that the language could be misinterpreted to mean "heterosexual intercourse", and that the survey sample was limited to a biased sample of self-identified lesbians in 1983.[34]
Researchers report that lesbian and heterosexual women are just as likely to view achieving orgasm as important,[35] and that the two groups report statistically equivalent rates of overall sexual and romantic satisfaction.[36][37] The research suggests that lesbian women tend to achieve said satisfaction through higher quality rather than more frequent sex, and that they engage in different romantic andsexual scripts than heterosexual women.[37][35]
There has been extensive debate as to what qualifies a historic relationship as 'lesbian'. In 1989, an academic cohort named the Lesbian History Group wrote:
Because of society's reluctance to admit that lesbians exist, a high degree of certainty is expected before historians or biographers are allowed to use the label. Evidence that would suffice in any other situation is inadequate here... A woman who never married, who lived with another woman, whose friends were mostly women, or who moved in known lesbian or mixed gay circles, may well have been a lesbian. ... But this sort of evidence is not 'proof'. What our critics want is incontrovertible evidence of sexual activity between women. This is almost impossible to find.[38]: 184
Female sexuality is often not adequately represented in historical texts and documents. Until very recently, much of what has been documented about women's sexuality has been written by men, in the context of male understanding, and relevant to women's associations to men—as their wives, daughters, or mothers, for example.[39]
The lives of ancient Greek women were in general little-documented.[39] In a notable exception, in the 500s BC, Sappho of Lesbos wrote extensive poetry regarding her love for other women, fragments of which survive.[40] A writing from the 600s BC, documenting Greek girls singing to each other, includes flirtatious lyrics.[41]
Some male-written works reference lesbianism. One example, from the 300s BC, is the tale of the four-legged humans told byAristophanes inPlato'sSymposium.[42][b] Another example, from the 100s CE, is theDialogues of the Courtesans, where a female character talks about being seduced by two lesbian characters.[43]
In visual culture, historian Nancy Rabinowitz notes that some ancient Greekred vase images portray women in affectionate or erotic scenes.[44]: 27–28 [39]
In first century sources, accounts of lesbian characters include the story ofIphis and Ianthe, related in theMetamorphoses;[45]: 79–86 a story, related by the fabulistPhaedrus, aboutPrometheus exchanging the genitals of different men and women;[46] and a satirical figure of a masculine woman who has sex with women, named Philaenis, related in the epigrams ofMartial.[47][45]: 98–99
In the ruins of Pompeii, a Roman town destroyed in 79 CE, archaeologists discovered a love poem graffitied onto a wall.[45] The poem is written with feminine declensions for both speaker and addressee, and identified archivally asCorpus Inscriptionum Latinarum 4.5296.[48]
A love spell from 3rd or 4th century CE Roman Egypt was written to enchant a woman named Gorgonia to fall in love with a woman named Sophia.[45]: 89–92
Ancient Americas
Both male and female homosexuality were known inAztec culture. Although both were generally disapproved of, there is no evidence that homosexuality was actively suppressed until after theSpanish Conquest.[49] Female homosexuality is described in theFlorentine Codex, a 16th-century study of the Aztec world written by the SpanishFranciscan friarBernardino de Sahagún. It describes Aztec lesbians as masculine in appearance and behavior and never wishing to be married.[49] The bookMonarquía indiana byFray Juan de Torquemada, published in 1615, briefly mentions the persecution of Aztec lesbians: "The woman, who with another woman had carnal pleasures, for which they were calledPatlache, which means: female incubus, they both died for it."[49][c]
The earliest law against female homosexuality appeared in France in 1270.[38]: 191 In Spain, Italy, and the Holy Roman Empire, sodomy between women was included in acts considered unnatural and punishable by burning to death, although few instances are recorded of this taking place.[6]: 130 The earliest such execution occurred inSpeier, Germany, in 1477.[38]: 190
Forty days'penance was demanded of nuns who "rode" each other or were discovered to have touched each other's breasts. An Italian nun named SisterBenedetta Carlini seduced other nuns when possessed by a Divine spirit named "Splenditello"; as punishment, she was placed in solitary confinement for the last 40 years of her life.[38]: 190
In England, female homoeroticism was so common in literature and theater that historians suggest it was fashionable for a period during theRenaissance.[50]: 1 EnglishwomanMary Frith has been described as lesbian.[51]
Ideas about women's sexuality were linked to contemporary understanding of female physiology. Thevagina was considered an inward version of the penis; in lesbians, nature was thought to be trying to right itself by prolapsing the vagina to form a penis.[50]: 12 The idea of hermaphroditism became synonymous with lesbianism. A longer, engorged clitoris was thought to be used in lesbian sex. Penetration was the focus of concern in all sexual acts, and a woman who was thought to have uncontrollable desires because of her engorged clitoris was called a "tribade" (literally, one who rubs).[50]: 14–16 For a while, masturbation and lesbian sex carried the same meaning.[6]: 129
Tribades were simultaneously considered members of the lower class trying to ruin virtuous women, and representatives of an aristocracy corrupt with debauchery. Satirical writers began to suggest that political rivals (or more often, their wives) engaged in tribadism in order to harm their reputations.Queen Anne was rumored to have a passionate relationship with her close advisorSarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough. When Churchill was ousted as the queen's favorite, she purportedly spread allegations of the queen having affairs with her bedchamberwomen.[6]: 137 Marie Antoinette was also the subject of such speculation between 1795 and 1796.[50]: 17–18
Homoerotic elements in early literature were pervasive, specifically the masquerade of one gender for another to seduce an unsuspecting woman. Such plot devices were used inTwelfth Night (1601),The Faerie Queene (1590), andThe Bird in a Cage (1633).[50]: 1–11, 22–24 During the Renaissance, some women put on male personae and went undetected for years or decades. These women have been described astransvestite lesbians.[52][53] Some historians view cases of cross-dressing women to be manifestations of women seizing social power, or their way of making sense out of their desire for women.[54]: 51–54
In the 1600s, QueenChristina of Sweden had a tendency to dress as a man, abdicated the throne in 1654 to avoid marriage, and was known to pursue romantic relationships with women.[55]: 54–55
Catharine Linck and other women who were accused of using dildos, such as two nuns in 16th century Spain executed for using "material instruments", were punished more severely than those who did not.[38]: 191 [54]: 51–54 Linck was executed in Prussia in 1721.[54]: 51–54
1700s
Two marriages between women were recorded inCheshire, England, in 1707 (between Hannah Wright and Anne Gaskill) and 1708 (between Ane Norton and Alice Pickford) with no comment about both parties being female.[50]: 30 [6]: 136
In 1709, English aristocratLady Mary Wortley Montagu, wrote to Anne Wortley: "Nobody was so entirely, so faithfully yours ... I put in your lovers, for I don't allow it possible for a man to be so sincere as I am."[55]: 119
The Swiss woman Anne Grandjean, disguised as male, married and relocated with her wife to Lyons, but was exposed by a woman with whom she had had a previous affair and sentenced to time in the stocks and prison.[54]: 51–54
In the 1700s, English poetAnna Seward had a devoted friendship withHonora Sneyd. Sneyd was the subject of many of Seward's poems. When Sneyd married despite Seward's protest, Seward's poems became angry, and she continued to write about Sneyd long after her death.[55]: 132–136
Also in the 1700s, English writer and philosopherMary Wollstonecraft was attached to a woman namedFanny Blood. Writing to another woman, Wollstonecraft declared, "The roses will bloom when there's peace in the breast, and the prospect of living with my Fanny gladdens my heart:—You know not how I love her."[55]: 139 [d]
TheLadies of Llangollen, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby. The two women had a relationship that was hailed as devoted and virtuous, after eloping and living 51 years together in Wales.
Henry Fielding wrote a pamphlet titledThe Female Husband in 1746, based on the life ofMary Hamilton, who was arrested after marrying a woman while masquerading as a man, and was sentenced to public whipping and six months in jail.[54]: 51–54
The Irish Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby were nicknamed theLadies of Llangollen. Butler and Ponsonby eloped in 1778, to the relief of Ponsonby's family (concerned about their reputation had she run away with a man)[55]: 75 to live together in Wales for 51 years and be thought of as eccentrics.[6]: 227–229 Their story was considered "the epitome of virtuous romantic friendship" and inspired poetry by Anna Seward andHenry Wadsworth Longfellow.[50]: 45–46
1800s-early 1900s
Intimacy between women was fashionable between the 17th and 19th centuries, although sexuality was rarely publicly acknowledged. (Photographc. 1900.)
Re-examining romantic friendships
During the 17th through 19th centuries in the West, a woman expressing passionate love for another woman was fashionable, accepted, and encouraged.[6]: 136 These relationships were termedromantic friendships,Boston marriages, or "sentimental friends".[58] These relationships were documented by large volumes of letters written between women. Any sexual components of the relationships were not publicly discussed. Romantic friendships were promoted as alternatives to and practice for a woman's marriage to a man.[55]: 74–77
In a rare instance of sexuality being the focus of a romantic friendship, two Scottish schoolteachers in the early 19th century were accused by a student of visiting in the same bed, kissing, and making the bed shake. The student's grandmother reported the teachers to the authorities, who were skeptical that their actions were sexual in nature, or that they extended beyond the bounds of normal friendship: "Are we to say that every woman who has formed an intimate friendship and has slept in the same bed with another is guilty? Where is the innocent woman in Scotland?"[6]: 233
Around the turn of the 20th century, the development of higher education provided opportunities for women. In all-female surroundings, a culture of romantic pursuit was fostered in women's colleges. Older students mentored younger ones, called on them socially, took them to all-women dances, and sent them flowers, cards, and poems that declared their undying love for each other.[55]: 297–313 These were called "smashes" or "spoons", and they were written about quite frankly in stories for girls aspiring to attend college in publications such asLadies Home Journal, a children's magazine titledSt. Nicholas, and a collection calledSmith College Stories, without negative views.[57]: 255 Enduring loyalty, devotion, and love were major components to these stories, and sexual acts beyond kissing were consistently undescribed.[55]: 297–313
Faderman calls this period "the last breath of innocence" before 1920 when characterizations of female affection were connected to sexuality, marking lesbians as a unique and often unflatteringly portrayed group.[55]: 297–313 Specifically, Faderman connects the growth of women's independence and their beginning to reject strictly prescribed roles in the Victorian era to the scientific designation of lesbianism as a type of aberrant sexual behavior.[54]: 45–49
Notable relationships
In the 1800s, English DiaristAnne Lister, captivated by Butler and Ponsonby, recorded her affairs with women between 1817 and 1840. Some of it was written in code, detailing her sexual relationships with Marianna Belcombe and Maria Barlow.[59]: 390
In the 1800s,Edward De Lacy Evans was born female in Ireland, but took a male name during the voyage to Australia and lived as a man for 23 years in Victoria, marrying three times.[6]: 224
American poetEmily Dickinson (1830-1886) wrote over 300 letters and poems to Susan Gilbert, who later became her sister-in-law, and later engaged in another romantic correspondence with Kate Scott Anthon.[57]: 145–148
American freeborn Black womenAddie Brown andRebecca Primus left evidence of their passion in letters: "Nokisses is like youres".[6]: 234 They wrote openly about their sexual affection for one another, and despite their working-class economic status their writings survived, both of which are unusual for the time.
In 1870, American Alice Baldy wrote to Josie Varner, "Do you know that if you touch me, or speak to me there is not a nerve of fibre in my body that does not respond with a thrill of delight?"[6]: 232
In the early 1900s, the unmarried professorJeannette Augustus Marks atMount Holyoke College, lived with the college president,Mary Woolley, for 36 years. Even while unmarried and living with a woman, Marks discouraged young women from "abnormal" friendships and insisted happiness could only be attained with a man.[6]: 239 [e]
In 1909, Percy Redwood created a scandal in New Zealand when she was found to beAmy Bock, who had married a woman from Port Molyneaux; newspapers argued whether it was a sign of insanity or an inherent character flaw.[60]
History of sexology (late 1800s-early 1900s)
In research on "inversion", German sexologistMagnus Hirschfeld categorized what was normal sexual behavior for men and women, and therefore categorized to what extent men and women deviated from these "ideal types".[6]: 168 SexologistsRichard von Krafft-Ebing from Germany and Britain'sHavelock Ellis wrote some of the earliest and more enduring categorizations of femalesame-sex attraction, approaching it as a form of insanity and debating whether change was possible.[55]: 241–242
The work of Krafft-Ebing and Ellis was widely read and helped to create public consciousness of female homosexuality.[f] In the absence of any other material to describe their emotions, homosexuals accepted the designation of different or perverted, and used their outlaw status to form social circles in Paris and Berlin.Lesbian began to describe elements of a subculture.[6]: 178–179
Early 1900s
Berlin's thriving lesbian community in the 1920s publishedDie Freundin magazine between 1924 and 1933.
From the 1890s to the 1930s, American heiressNatalie Clifford Barney held a weekly salon of artistic celebrities in Paris, where lesbian topics were the focus. Combining Greek influences with contemporary French eroticism, she attempted to create an updated and idealized version of Lesbos in her salon.[62]: 234 Salon attendees included prominent lesbian artists such as novelistRadclyffe Hall,[63]: 48 artistRomaine Brooks; writerColette, writerDjuna Barnes, and social hostGertrude Stein.[64]: 153–167
Berlin had a vibrant homosexual culture in the 1920s, and about 50 clubs catered to lesbians.Die Freundin Magazines like (The Girlfriend) andGarçonne (akaFrauenliebe (Woman Love)) were aimed at lesbians and maletransvestites.[6]: 241–244 These publications were controlled by men as owners, publishers, and writers. Around 1926,Selli Engler foundedDie BIF – Blätter Idealer Frauenfreundschaften (The BIF – Papers on Ideal Women Friendships), the first lesbian publication owned, published and written by women. In 1928, the lesbian bar and nightclub guideBerlins lesbische Frauen (The Lesbians of Berlin) byRuth Margarite Röllig[65] further popularized the German capital as a center of lesbian activity. Clubs varied between large tourist attractions to small neighborhood cafes. The cabaret song"Das lila Lied" ("The Lavender Song") became an anthem to the lesbians of Berlin. Although it was sometimes tolerated, homosexuality was illegal in Germany and law enforcement used permitted gatherings as an opportunity to register the names of homosexuals for future reference.[66] Magnus Hirschfeld'sScientific-Humanitarian Committee, which promoted tolerance for homosexuals inGermany, welcomed lesbian participation, and a surge of lesbian-themed writing and political activism in the German feminist movement became evident.[62]: 230–231
In 1928, Radclyffe Hall published the novelThe Well of Loneliness. The novel's plot centers around Stephen Gordon, aninvert woman. The novel was intended to be a call for tolerance for inverts by publicizing their disadvantages and lack of control over the condition.[55]: 320 The novel's trial for obscenity was described as "the crystallizing moment in the construction of a visible modern English lesbian subculture" by professor Laura Doan.[67]
Newspaper stories frankly divulged that the book's content includes "sexual relations between Lesbian women", and photographs of Hall often accompanied details about lesbians in most major print outlets within a span of six months.[67] Hall reflected the appearance of a "mannish" woman in the 1920s:short cropped hair, tailored suits (often with pants), andmonocle that became widely recognized as a "uniform".[67]
In the United States, the 1920s was a decade of social experimentation, particularly with sex. This was heavily influenced by the writings ofSigmund Freud, who theorized that sexual desire would be sated unconsciously, despite an individual's wish to ignore it.[54]: 63–67 Freud said that while most people have phases of homosexual attraction or experimentation, he attributed exclusive same-sex attraction to stunted development resulting from trauma or parental conflicts.[62]: 242 [g] Freud's theories were much more pervasive in the U.S. than in Europe. Large cities that provided a nightlife were immensely popular, and women began to seek out sexual adventure. Bisexuality became chic, particularly in America's first gay neighborhoods.[54]: 63–67
No location saw more visitors for its possibilities of homosexual nightlife thanHarlem, the predominantly African American section ofNew York City. White "slummers" enjoyedjazz and nightclubs.Blues singersMa Rainey,Bessie Smith,Ethel Waters, andGladys Bentley openly sang about affairs with women.[54]: 71 [69] Homosexuals began to draw comparisons between their newly recognized minority status and that of African Americans.[54]: 68 Among African American residents ofHarlem, lesbian relationships were common and tolerated, though not overtly embraced. Some women staged lavish wedding ceremonies, even filing licenses using masculine names with New York City.[54]: 73 Most homosexual women were married to men and participated in affairs with women regularly.[69]
Across town,Greenwich Village also saw a growing homosexual community; both Harlem and Greenwich Village provided furnished rooms for single men and women, which was a major factor in their development as centers for homosexual communities.[38]: 181 The Village attractedBohemian intellectuals who rejected Victorian ideals. Homosexuals were predominantly male, although figures such as poetEdna St. Vincent Millay and social hostMabel Dodge were known for their affairs with women and promotion of tolerance of homosexuality.[55]: 82–83 Women in the U.S. who could not visit Harlem or live in Greenwich Village were first able to visit saloons in the 1920s without being considered prostitutes. The existence of a public space for women to socialize inbars that catered to lesbians "became the single most important public manifestation of the subculture for many decades", according to historianLillian Faderman.[54]: 79–80
Great Depression
The primary component necessary to encourage lesbians to be public and seek other women was economic independence, which virtually disappeared in the 1930s with theGreat Depression. Independent women in the 1930s were generally seen as holding jobs that men should have. Most lesbians in the U.S. found it necessary to marry, engaging either in traditional marriages or "front" marriages to a gay man where both could discreetly pursue homosexual relationships.[54]: 94–96
The hostile social attitude led to the formation of small, close-knit, bar-centric communities in large cities. Women in other locales typically remained isolated. Speaking of homosexuality in any context was socially forbidden. Slang terms referred to openly gay people as "in the Life".[54]: 105–112 [h]
Homosexual subculture disappeared in Germany with the rise of the Nazis in 1933.[6]: 191–193
American First Lady from 1933 to 1945,Eleanor Roosevelt, exchanged rings with and wrote daily letters to journalistLorena Hickok, expressing her love for Hickok, using endearments, and expressing a desire to kiss her.[55]: 297–313
World War II
Women's experiences in the work force and the military during World War II gave them economic and social options that helped to shape lesbian subculture.People who did not conform to Nazi ideals were considered asocial, imprisoned, and identified with ablack triangle. Lesbians were deemed asocial.Many lesbians reclaimed the symbolism of thepink triangle, though the Nazis only applied it togay men.
The onset ofWorld War II caused a massive upheaval in people's lives as military mobilization engaged millions of men. Women were also accepted into the military in the U.S.Women's Army Corps (WACs) and U.S. Navy'sWomen Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). Unlike processes to screen out male homosexuals, which had been in place since the creation of the American military, there were no methods to identify or screen for lesbians; they were put into place gradually during World War II. Despite common attitudes regarding women's traditional roles in the 1930s, independent and masculine women were directly recruited by the military in the 1940s, and frailty discouraged.[71]: 28–33
Some women arrived at the recruiting station in a man's suit, denied ever being in love with another woman, and were easily inducted.[71]: 28–33 Sexual activity was forbidden andblue discharge was almost certain if one identified oneself as a lesbian. As women found each other, they formed into tight groups on base, socialized at service clubs, and began to use code words. HistorianAllan Bérubé documented that homosexuals in the armed forces either consciously or subconsciously refused to identify themselves as homosexual or lesbian, and also never spoke about others' orientation.[71]: 104
The most masculine women were not necessarily common, though they were visible, so they tended to attract women interested in finding other lesbians. Women had to broach the subject about their interest in other women carefully, sometimes taking days to develop a common understanding without asking or stating anything outright.[71]: 100
Women who did not enter the military were aggressively called upon to take industrial jobs left by men, in order to continue national productivity. The increased mobility, sophistication, and independence of many women during and after the war made it possible for women to live without husbands, something that would not have been feasible under different economic and social circumstances, further shaping lesbian networks and environments.[54]: 129–130
In Germany, there was no explicit law against lesbianism. Lesbians who were Jewish, Roma, or politically dissident, were persecuted primarily for these other characteristics.[72] Prior to 1939, lesbians were imprisoned as 'asocials', which was "a broad category applied to all people who evaded Nazi rule."[73] Asocials wereidentified with aninverted black triangle.[72] In the 1990s in the U.S., some lesbians used the black triangle symbol as an identifier, and the pink triangle was also used for the combined lesbian-gay movement.[73]
Postwar
The 1957 first edition ofThe Ladder, mailed to hundreds of women in the San Francisco area, urged women to take off their masks.
Following World War II, a nationwide movement pressed to return to pre-war society as quickly as possible in the U.S.[74] Partially due to the increasing national paranoia aboutcommunism and the pervasiveness of psychoanalytic theory, the U.S. government began persecuting homosexuals around 1950. The government fired open homosexuals and began a widespread effort to gather intelligence about employees' private lives.[62]: 277 The U.S. military and government conducted interrogations of women's sexual histories.[54]: 150–155 State and local governments followed suit, arresting people for congregating in bars and parks, and enacting laws againstcross-dressing for both sexes.[74]
Postwar practices to eliminate homosexuals from public service positions also began to Australia,[75] Canada,[76] and the UK.[50]: 109–114 A section to create an offence of "gross indecency" between females was added to a bill in the United KingdomHouse of Commons and passed there in 1921, but was rejected in theHouse of Lords, apparently because they were concerned any attention paid to sexual misconduct would also promote it.[50]: 109–114
Concurrently with government persecution, in 1952, homosexuality was listed as a pathological emotional disturbance in theDiagnostic and Statistical Manual.[62]: 247 The view that homosexuality was a curable sickness was widely believed in the medical community, general population, and among many lesbians themselves.[77]
Very little information was available about homosexuality beyond medical and psychiatric texts. Community meeting places consisted of bars that were commonly raided by police, with those arrested exposed in newspapers. In response, eight women in San Francisco met in their living rooms in 1955 to socialize and have a safe place to dance. When they decided to make it a regular meeting, they became the first organization for lesbians in the U.S., titled theDaughters of Bilitis (DOB). In 1956, the DOB began publishing a magazine titledThe Ladder.[78]The Ladder was mailed to hundreds—eventually thousands—of DOB members discussing the nature of homosexuality, sometimes challenging the idea that it was a sickness, with readers offering their own reasons why they were lesbians and suggesting ways to cope with the condition or society's response to it.[77] British lesbians followed with the publication ofArena Three beginning in 1964, with a similar mission.[50]: 153–158
Though marketed to heterosexual men,lesbian pulp fiction provided an identity to isolated women in the 1950s.
Early working-class lesbian subculture in the U.S. and Canada developed rigid gender roles. These roles dated back toHarlem andGreenwich Village in the 1920s.[50] In this subculture, a couple was defined as "dichotomous individuals, if not male and female, then butch and femme".[54]: 167–168 Although many municipalities enacted laws againstcross-dressing, some women (butches) would socialize in bars dressed in men's clothing and mirroring traditional masculine behavior. Others (femmes) wore traditionally feminine clothing. Butch and femme modes of socialization were so integral within lesbian bars that women who refused to choose between the two would be ignored, or at least unable to date anyone, and butch/butch or femme/femme romantic relationships were unacceptable.[54]: 167–168
By the 1950s and 1960s, the roles were pervasive and not limited to North America: from 1940 to 1970, butch/femme bar culture flourished in Britain, though there were fewer class distinctions than in lesbian communities in the U.S.[50]: 141–143 [54]: 170–174 Butch and femme were considered coarse by American lesbians of higher social standing during this period.[54]: 175–178
Regardless of the lack of information about homosexuality in scholarly texts, another forum for learning about lesbianism was growing. A paperback book titledWomen's Barracks describing a woman's experiences in theFree French Forces was published in 1950. It told of a lesbian relationship the author had witnessed. After 4.5 million copies were sold, it was consequently named in theHouse Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials in 1952.[79] Its publisher,Gold Medal Books, followed with the novelSpring Fire in 1952, which sold 1.5 million copies. Gold Medal Books was overwhelmed with mail from women writing about the subject matter, and followed with more books, creating the genre oflesbian pulp fiction.[79]
Between 1955 and 1969, over 2,000 books were published using lesbianism as a topic, and they were sold in corner drugstores, train stations, bus stops, and newsstands all over the U.S. and Canada. Literary scholar, Yvonne Keller created several subclasses for lesbian pulp fiction, to help highlight the differences between the types of pulp fiction being released.[80] Virile adventures were written by authors using male pseudonyms, and almost all were marketed to heterosexual men. During this time, another subclass emerged called "Pro-Lesbian". The emergence of pro-lesbian fiction began with authors seeing the voyeuristic and homophobic nature of virile adventures. With only a handful of lesbian pulp fiction authors were women writing for lesbians, includingAnn Bannon,Valerie Taylor,Paula Christian, andVin Packer/Ann Aldrich. These authors focused on the relationship between the women instead of writing sexually explicit material, defying the standards of the "virile adventure" model.[80]
The differences between virile adventures and pro-lesbian covers and titles were distinct enough that Bannon, who also purchased lesbian pulp fiction, later stated that women identified the material iconically by the cover art.[81] Pro-lesbian covers were innocuous and hinted at their lesbian themes, and virile adventures ranged from having one woman partially undressed to sexually explicit covers, to demonstrate the invariably salacious material inside.[80] In addition to this, coded words and images were used on the covers. Instead of "lesbian", terms such as "strange", "twilight", "queer", and "third sex", were used in the titles.[82] Many of the books used cultural references: naming places, terms, describing modes of dress and other codes to isolated women. As a result, pulp fiction helped to proliferate a lesbian identity simultaneously to lesbians and heterosexual readers.[83]
Second-wave feminism / Late 1960s-1980s
The social rigidity of the 1950s and early 1960s encountered a backlash as social movements to improve the standing of African Americans, the poor, women, and gays all became prominent. The gay rights movement and the feminist movement connected after a violent confrontation occurred in New York City in the 1969Stonewall riots.[6]: 212–216
From the late 1950s to the 1970s, thesexual revolution took place, and many women took advantage of their new social freedom to try new experiences. Women who previously identified as heterosexual tried sex with women, though many maintained their heterosexual identity.[54]: 203
From the 1960s to the 1980s, the movement ofsecond-wave feminism developed. Lesbianismas a political identity grew to describe a social philosophy among women, often overshadowing sexual desire as a defining trait. Different groups and authors defined "lesbian" as "the rage of all women condensed to the point of explosion".,[26]: 70 "a woman-identified woman who does not fuck men. It does not mean compulsory sexual activity with women.",[50]: 177 or "a woman whose primary erotic, psychological, emotional and social interest is in a member of her own sex[...].".[84]: 7 Women who subscribed to this philosophy dubbed themselveslesbian-feminists. In the ideal society, named Lesbian Nation, "woman" and "lesbian" were interchangeable.[54]: 218–219
Separatist feminists expressed their disdain with an inherently sexist and patriarchal society, and concluded the most effective way to overcome sexism and attain the equality of women would be to deny men any power or pleasure from women. Many believers strove to separate themselves physically and economically from traditional male-centered culture.[54]: 218–219 As equality was a priority for lesbian-feminists, disparity of roles between men and women or butch and femme were viewed as patriarchal. Lesbian-feminists also eschewed the perceived chauvinism of gay men; many lesbian-feminists refused to work with men, or take up their causes.[54]: 210–211
Although lesbian-feminism was a significant shift, not all lesbians agreed with it. Lesbian-feminism was a youth-oriented movement: its members were primarily college educated, with experience inNew Left and radical causes, but they had not seen any success in persuading radical organizations to take up women's issues.[26]: 11 Many older lesbians who had acknowledged their sexuality in more conservative times felt maintaining their ways of coping in a homophobic world was more appropriate.[85] Lesbians who believed they wereborn homosexual, and used the descriptor "lesbian" to define sexual attraction, often considered the separatist opinions of lesbian-feminists to be detrimental to the cause of gay rights.[54]: 217–218
In 1970, theDaughters of Bilitis folded over which direction to focus on: feminism or gay rights issues.[85]
From 1974 to 1993, the organizationSalsa Soul Sisters, today known as the African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change, was a lesbian womanist organization operating in New York City.[86]: 55
In the 1980s, a significant movement rejected the desexualization of lesbianism by cultural feminists, causing a heated controversy called thefeminist sex wars.[54]: 246–252 Butch and femme roles returned, although not as strictly followed as they were in the 1950s. They became a mode of chosen sexual self-expression for some women in the 1990s. Once again, women felt safer claiming to be more sexually adventurous, and sexual flexibility became more accepted.[89]
In 1997, Marxist political activistAngela Davis came out a lesbian in an interview withOut magazine.[90]
"Lesbians of color" is an umbrella term for Black, Latina, Asian, Arab, Native American, and other non-white lesbians. Lesbians of color have often been a marginalized group,[91] and experienced racism in addition to homophobia and misogyny.[92][page needed]
Some scholars have noted that past lesbian communities were primarily white and American, and that some lesbians of color had difficulties integrating into these communities at large. Many lesbians of color have stated that they were often systematically excluded from lesbian spaces based on the fact that they are women of color.[93] The early lesbian feminist movement was criticized for excluding race and class issues from their spaces and for a lack of focus on issues that did not benefit white women.[91]
Additionally, lesbians of color face unique sets of challenges within their respective racial communities, as communities of color often view homosexuality as a "white" lifestyle and see the acceptance of homosexuality as a setback in achieving equality.[92][page needed] Lesbians of color, especially those of immigrant populations, often hold the sentiment that their orientation adversely affects assimilation into the dominant culture.[91] Within racial communities, the decision tocome out can be costly, as the threat of loss of support from family, friends, and the community at large is probable. Lesbians of color are often exposed to a range of adverse consequences, includingmicroaggression, discrimination, menace, and violence.[93]
Audre Lorde,Barbara Smith, andCherrie Moraga are cited as major theorists within the various lesbians of color movements for their insistence on inclusion and equality, from both racial communities and white lesbian communities.[91]
The many intersections surrounding lesbians of color can often contribute to an increased need for mental health resources. Lesbians of color are more likely to experience a number of psychological issues due to the various experiences of sexism, racism, and homophobia.[94] Mental health providers often useheteronormative standards to gauge the health of lesbian relationships, and the relationships of lesbian women of color are often subjects of judgment because they are seen as the most deviant.[94]
Native North America
SomeIndigenous peoples of the Americas conceptualize athird gender for women who dress as, and fulfill the roles usually filled by, men in their cultures.[95][96] In other cases they may use different terms for feminine women and masculine women.[97] These identities are rooted in the context of the ceremonial and cultural lives of the particular Indigenous cultures, and "simply being gay and Indian does not make someone aTwo-Spirit."[98] These ceremonial and social roles, which are conferred and confirmed by the person's elders, "do not make sense" when defined by non-Native concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity.[96] Rather, they must be understood in an Indigenous context, as traditional spiritual and social roles held by the person in their Indigenous community.[98][96][99]
Tribal law can differ from colonial law. For example, the Navajo Nation'sDiné Marriage Act of 2005, which bans recognition of specifically same-sex marriages performed outside the Nation, remains in place as of 2025 despite ongoing disputes.[100][101][102]
Arabic-language historical records have used various terms to describe sexual practices between women.[103] A common one is "sahq", which refers to rubbing. Lesbian practices and identities are largely absent from the historical record. The common term to describe lesbianism in Arabic today is essentially the same term used to describe men, and thus the distinction between male and female homosexuality is to a certain extent linguistically obscured in contemporary queer discourse.[103] Overall, the study of contemporary lesbian experience in the region is complicated by power dynamics in the postcolonial context, shaped even by what some scholars refer to as "homonationalism", the use of politicized understanding of sexual categories to advance specific national interests on the domestic and international stage.[104]
Women in the Middle East have been historically segregated from men. In the 7th and 8th centuries, some extraordinary women dressed in male attire when gender roles were less strict. TheCaliphal court inBaghdad featured women who dressed as men, including false facial hair, but they competed with other women for the attentions of men.[105][103]
In the ninth century, the Muslim philosopheral-Kindi, who was born and educated in modern-day Iraq, explicitly discusses lesbianism: "Lesbianism is due to a vapor which, condensed, generates in the labia heat and an itch which only dissolve and become cold through friction and orgasm. When friction and orgasm take place, the heat turns into coldness because the liquid that a woman ejaculates in lesbian intercourse is cold whereas..."[106]
In the tenth century, the erotic writingsJawami ` al-ladhdha (Encyclopedia of Pleasure), by Abul Hasan Ali ibn Nasr al-Katib, was written also in modern-day Iraq. It describes a committed relationship between a Christian woman and an Arab woman in pre-Islamic Iraq, and the mourning process one went through when the other died.[106]
According to the 12th-century writings of Sharif al-Idrisi, highly intelligent women were more likely to be lesbians; their intellectual prowess put them on a more even par with men.[105]
While male-written accounts of lesbianism in the Middle East exist, a 1978 treatise about repression inIran asserted that women were completely silenced: "In the whole of Iranian history, [no woman] has been allowed to speak out for such tendencies ... To attest to lesbian desires would be an unforgivable crime."[105]
A lesbian anthropologist in 1991 visitedYemen and reported that women in the town she visited were unable to comprehend her romantic relationship to another woman. Women in Pakistan are expected to marry men; those who do not are ostracized. Women may have intimate relations with other women as long as their wifely duties are met, their private matters are kept quiet, and the woman with whom they are involved is somehow related by family or logical interest to her lover.[105]
Sara Hegazi, an Egyptian arrested in 2017 for flying a rainbow flag
Individuals identifying with or otherwise engaging in lesbian practices in the region can face family violence and societal persecution, including "honor killings". The justifications provided by murderers relate to a person's perceived sexual immorality, loss of virginity (outside of acceptable frames of marriage), and target female victims primarily.[107]
Lesbians also face government persecution in the Middle East. InYemen, homosexuality is criminalized, and women can face lashings, up to three years in prison or the death penalty for consensual lesbian sex.[108][109] In 2017, the Egyptian government arrested and tortured out lesbian and activistSarah Hegazi after she flew arainbow flag at a concert.[110]
InLatin America, lesbian subcultures increased as several countries transitioned to or reformed democratic governments. However, social harassment has been common even in places where homosexuality is legal. Laws against child corruption, morality, or "the good ways" (faltas a la moral o las buenas costumbres) have been used to persecute homosexuals.[111] Lesbian groups and advocacy have faced repression in many countries where dictators have seized power, includingArgentina.[111]
Argentinian lesbian groupNuestro Mundo (NM) was created in 1969.[111]
Mexican lesbian groupLesbos was founded in 1977. In 1997, 13 lesbian organizations were active in Mexico City.[111]
InChile, the dictatorship ofAugusto Pinochet forbade the creation of lesbian groups until 1984. The first lesbian groupAyuquelén ("joy of being" inMapuche) was first founded in 1984, prompted by the very public homophobic murder of a woman.Ayuquelén worked to remove the sodomy laws then in place in Chile.[111]
InNicaragua in 1986, theSandinista National Liberation Front expelled gay men and lesbians from its midst. State persecution prevented the formation of associations untilAIDS became a concern, when educational efforts forced sexual minorities to band together. The first lesbian organization wasNosotras, founded in 1989. An effort to promote visibility from 1991 to 1992 provoked the government to declare homosexuality illegal in 1994, effectively ending the movement until 2004, whenGrupo Safo – Grupo de Mujeres Lesbianas de Nicaragua was created, four years before homosexuality became legal again.[111]
Africa
Founded in 2004 in Namibia, theCoalition of African Lesbians is a pan-Africanist, radical feminist network of fourteen nonprofits across ten African countries, working to eradicate stigma, legal discrimination, and violence against lesbians.[112]
Cross-gender roles and marriage between women has also been recorded in over 30 traditional African societies.[6]: 262 Women may marry other women, raise their children, and be generally thought of as men in societies inNigeria,Cameroon, andKenya. TheHausa people ofSudan have a term equivalent to lesbian,kifi, that may also be applied to males to mean "neither party insists on a particular sexual role".[6]: 259
Near theCongo River, a female who participates in strong emotional or sexual relationships with another female among theNkundo people is known asyaikya bonsángo (a woman who presses against another woman). Lesbian relationships are also known in matrilineal societies inGhana among theAkan people. InLesotho, females engage in what is commonly considered sexual behavior to the Western world: they kiss, sleep together, rub genitals, participate incunnilingus, and maintain their relationships with other females vigilantly. Since the people of Lesotho believe sex requires a penis, they do not consider their behavior sexual, nor label themselves lesbians.[6]: 237–238
In Tanzania, lesbians are known as or called "Msagaji" (singular), "Wasagaji" (plural), which in Swahili means grinder or grinding because of the perceived nature of lesbian sex that would involve the mutual rubbing of vulvas.[113]
Corrective rape is reported to be on the rise in South Africa.[114] The crime is sometimes supervised by members of the woman's family or local community,[115] and is a major contributor toHIV infection in South African lesbians.[114] "Corrective rape" is not recognized by the South African legal system as ahate crime despite the fact that theSouth African Constitution states that no person shall be discriminated against based on theirsocial status and identity, including sexual orientation.[116][117][118] Legally, South Africa protects gay rights extensively, but the government has not taken proactive action to prevent corrective rape, and women do not have much faith in the police and their investigations.[119][120] Local South African organizations including nonprofit "Luleki Sizwe" and TheTriangle Project, between 500 (per Triangle Project) and 3600 (Luleki Sizwe) South Africans suffer from corrective rape every year,[121][119] the vast majority of lesbians live in fear of corrective rape, and victims are less likely to report the crime because of their society's homophobia.[119]
Asia
A historicshunga woodblock printing (c. 1500) from Japan depicting two women having sex
China before westernization was another society that segregated men from women. Historical Chinese culture has not recognized a concept of sexual orientation, or a framework to divide people based on their same-sex or opposite-sex attractions.[122]: 29 Although there was a significant culture surrounding homosexual men, there was none for women. Outside their duties to bear sons to their husbands, women were perceived as having no sexuality at all.[6]: 311
This did not mean that women could not pursue sexual relationships with other women, but that such associations could not impose upon women's relationships to men. Rare references to lesbianism were written byYing Shao, who identified same-sex relationships between women in imperial courts who behaved as husband and wife asdui shi (paired eating). "Golden Orchid Associations" in Southern China existed into the 20th century and promoted formal marriages between women, who were then allowed to adopt children.[38]: 187 Westernization brought new ideas that all sexual behavior not resulting in reproduction was aberrant.[122]: 30–31
The liberty of being employed in silk factories starting in 1865 allowed some women to style themselvestzu-shu nii (never to marry) and live in communes with other women. Other Chinese called themsou-hei (self-combers) for adopting hairstyles of married women. These communes passed because of the Great Depression and were subsequently discouraged by the communist government for being a relic of feudal China.[38]: 195 In contemporary Chinese society,tongzhi (same goal or spirit) is the term used to refer to homosexuals; most Chinese are reluctant to divide this classification further to identify lesbians.[122]: 28
In Japan, the termrezubian, a Japanese pronunciation of "lesbian", was used during the 1920s. Westernization brought more independence for women and allowed some Japanese women to wear pants.[6]: 246 The cognatetomboy is used in thePhilippines, and particularly inManila, to denote women who are more masculine.[122]: 122 Virtuous women in Korea prioritize motherhood, chastity, and virginity; outside this scope, very few women are free to express themselves through sexuality, although there is a growing organization for lesbians namedKkirikkiri.[122]: 75 The termpondan is used inMalaysia to refer to gay men, but since there is no historical context to reference lesbians, the term is used for female homosexuals as well.[122]: 145 As in many Asian countries, open homosexuality is discouraged in many social levels, so many Malaysians lead double lives.[122]: 148–150
In India, a 14th-century Indian text mentioning a lesbian couple who had a child as a result of their lovemaking is an exception to the general silence about female homosexuality. According toRuth Vanita, this invisibility disappeared with the release of a film titledFire in 1996, prompting some theaters in India to be attacked by religious extremists. Terms used to label homosexuals are often rejected by Indian activists for being the result of imperialist influence, but most discourse on homosexuality centers on men. Women's rights groups in India continue to debate the legitimacy of including lesbian issues in their platforms, as lesbians and material focusing on female homosexuality are frequently suppressed.[123]
The most extensive early study of female homosexuality was provided by theInstitute for Sex Research, who published an in-depth report of the sexual experiences of American women in 1953. More than 8,000 women were interviewed byAlfred Kinsey and the staff of the Institute for Sex Research forKinsey Reports. The reports' methodology was criticized during and after its publication.[124][125][126]
Despite the criticism, the reports were unexpectedly popular. They reported that 28% of women had been aroused by another female, and 19% had a sexual contact with another female.,[127]: 453 [i] and that around nine percent of the women had orgasmed.[127]: 453–454
The report's dispassionate discussion of homosexuality as a form of human sexual behavior was revolutionary. Up to this study, only physicians and psychiatrists studied sexual behavior, and almost always the results were interpreted with a moral view.[126]
Hite Report
In 1976, sexologistShere Hite did a qualitative survey of 3,019 women on their sexual experiences, and published it asThe Hite Report. Hite's questions differed from Kinsey's, focusing more on how women identified and what they preferred, rather than their prior experiences. Respondents to Hite's questions indicated that 8% preferred sex with women and 9% answered that they identified as bisexual or had sexual experiences with men and women, though they refused to indicate preference.[128]
Hite found it "striking" that many women who had no lesbian experiences indicated they were interested in sex with women, particularly because the question was not asked.[128] Hite found the two most significant differences between respondents' experience with men and women were the focus on clitoral stimulation, and more emotional involvement and orgasmic responses.[128]
Population estimates
Lesbians in the U.S. are estimated to be about 2.6% of the population, according to a 2000 survey.[129] Another American survey showed that between 2000 and 2005, the number of people claiming to be in same-sex relationships increased by 30%—five times the rate of population growth in the U.S. The study attributed the jump to people being more comfortable self-identifying as homosexual to the federal government.[j]
A survey by the UKOffice for National Statistics (ONS) in 2010 found that 1.5% of Britons identified themselves as gay or bisexual, and the ONS suggests that this is in line with other surveys showing the number between 0.3% and 3%.[131][132]
Polls in Australia recorded a range of self-identified lesbian or bisexual women from 1.3% to 2.2% of the total population.[133]
In a 2006 American survey of 2,345 lesbian and bisexual women, only 9.3% had ever been asked their sexual orientation by a physician. A third of the women had received a negative reaction from a medical professional after identifying themselves as lesbian or bisexual.[135]
When women do seek medical attention, medical professionals often fail to take a complete medical history. A patient's complete history helps medical professionals identify higher risk areas. In a 1995 U.S. survey of 6,935 self-identified lesbians, 77% had had one or more lifetime male sexual partners, and 6% had that contact within the previous year.[136][k]
Cancer
The risk factors for developingovarian cancer rates are higher in lesbians than heterosexual women, perhaps because many lesbians lack the protective factors of pregnancy, abortion, contraceptives, breast feeding, and miscarriages.[137]
Many lesbians neglect to see a physician because they do not participate in heterosexual activity and require nobirth control, which is the initiating factor for most women to seek consultation with agynecologist when they become sexually active.[138]: 359 As a result, many lesbians are not screened for cancer regularly withPap smears.[139]
Lifestyle factors
Factors that add to risk of heart disease includeobesity andsmoking, both of which are more prevalent among lesbians. Studies show that lesbians are generally less concerned about weight issues than heterosexual women; and lesbians consider women with higher body masses to be more attractive than heterosexual women do. Research is needed to determine specific causes of obesity and smoking in lesbians.[139][135]
Lesbians are more likely to exercise regularly than heterosexual women. Lesbians, unlike heterosexual women, do not generally exercise for aesthetic reasons.[140]
Sexual health
Some sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are communicable between women, includinghuman papillomavirus (HPV),trichomoniasis,syphilis, andherpes simplex virus (HSV). Transmission of specific STIs among women who have sex with women depends on thesexual practices women engage in. Any object that comes in contact with cervical secretions, vaginal mucosa, or menstrual blood, including fingers or penetrative objects may transmit STIs.[141]Orogenital contact may indicate a higher risk of acquiring HSV,[142] even among women who have had no sex with men.[134]
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) occurs more often in lesbians, but it is unclear if BV is transmitted by sexual contact; it occurs in celibate as well as sexually active women. BV often occurs in both partners in a lesbian relationship;[143] a recent study of women with BV found that 81% had partners with BV.[134]
Lesbians do not frequently transmithuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV), although transmission is possible through vaginal and cervical secretions. The highest rate of transmission of HIV to lesbians is from intravenous drug use or sex with women who have sexual intercourse with bisexual men.[138][144]
Mental
Lesbian women report feeling significantly different and isolated during adolescence.[145][26]: 153 These emotions have been cited as appearing on average at 15 years old in lesbians and 18 years old in bisexual women.[146]
More than half the respondents to a 1994 survey of health issues in lesbians reported they hadsuicidal thoughts, and 18% had attempted suicide.[5]: 70 [needs update] American studies in the 2010s and 2020s have found that LGBT people experience higher rates of mental distress, and that this relationship is mediated by experiences of rejection and adverse childhood experiences.[147]
Depression is reported among lesbians at a rate similar to heterosexual women.[5]: 69 Depression is a more significant problem among women who feel they must hide their sexual orientation from friends and family, or experience compounded ethnic or religious discrimination, or endure relationship difficulties with no support system.[26]: 157–158 Generalized anxiety disorder is more likely to appear among lesbian and bisexual women than heterosexual women.[145][l]
Studies have shown that heterosexual men and lesbians have different standards for what they consider attractive in women. Lesbians who view themselves with male standards of female beauty may experience lower self-esteem,eating disorders, and higher incidence of depression.[140]
A population-based study completed by the National Alcohol Research Center found that lesbians and bisexual women are less likely than heterosexual women to abstain from alcohol, and have a higher likelihood of reporting problems with alcohol, as well as not being satisfied with treatment for substance abuse programs.[149][non-primary source needed] Many lesbian communities are centered in bars, and drinking is an activity that correlates to community participation for lesbians and bisexual women.[5]: 81 [needs update]
The majority of media about lesbians has been produced by men;[26]: 389–390 women's publishing companies did not develop until the 1970s, films about lesbians made by women did not appear until the 1980s, and women-written television shows portraying lesbians written only began to be created in the 21st century. When depictions of lesbians began to surface, they were often one-dimensional, simplified stereotypes.[26]: 389–390
For ten centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, lesbianism disappeared from literature.[59]: 11 Foster points to the particularly strict view thatEve—representative of all women—caused the downfall of mankind;original sin among women was a particular concern, especially because women were perceived as creating life.[57]: 30–31 During this time, women were largely illiterate and discouraged from intellectual pursuit, and men shaped ideas about sexuality.[59]: 6
In the 15th and 16th centuries, French and English depictions of relationships between women, writers' attitudes spanned from amused tolerance to arousal. Physical relationships between women were often encouraged, as long as they did not supersede heterosexual relationships; there was a cultural belief that lesbian sex and relationships could not be as fulfilling as heterosexual sex and relationships.[55]: 26–29 At worst, if a woman became enamored of another woman, she became a tragic figure. Male intervention into relationships between women was necessary only when women acted as men and demanded the same social privileges.[55]: 29
In the 18th century, writings mentioning lesbianism included the 1749 English eroticaFanny Hill[150] and the 1778 eroticaL'Espion Anglais.[151]
Lesbianism became almost exclusive to French literature in the 19th century, based on male fantasy and the desire to shock bourgeois moral values.[55]: 264, 268 Honoré de Balzac, inThe Girl with the Golden Eyes (1835), employed lesbianism in his story about three people living amongst the moral degeneration of Paris, and again in later works. His work influenced novelistThéophile Gautier'sMademoiselle de Maupin, which provided the first description of a physical type that became associated with lesbians: tall, wide-shouldered, slim-hipped, and athletically inclined.[57]: 51–65 Charles Baudelaire repeatedly used lesbianism as a theme in his poems "Lesbos","Femmes damnées 1" ("Damned Women"), and"Femmes damnées 2".[59]: 435
Reflecting French society, as well as employing stock character associations, many of the lesbian characters in 19th-century French literature were prostitutes or courtesans: personifications of vice who died early, violent deaths in moral endings.[55]: 281–283 Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 1816 poem "Christabel" and the novellaCarmilla (1872) bySheridan Le Fanu both present lesbianism associated with vampirism.[55]: 277, 288–289
Gradually, women began to write, and began to write about lesbian relationships. Until the 1920s, most major works involving lesbianism were penned by men. Foster suggests that women would have encountered suspicion about their own lives had they used same-sex love as a topic, and that some writers includingLouise Labé,Charlotte Charke, andMargaret Fuller either changed the pronouns in their literary works to male, or made them ambiguous.[57]: 116–127 AuthorGeorge Sand was portrayed as a character in several works in the 19th century; writerMario Praz credited the popularity of lesbianism as a theme to Sand's appearance in Paris society in the 1830s.[55]: 263 [n]
As the paperback book came into fashion, lesbian themes were relegated topulp fiction. Many of the pulp novels typically presented very unhappy women, or relationships that ended tragically. Marijane Meaker later wrote that she was told to make the relationship end badly inSpring Fire because the publishers were concerned about the books being confiscated by the U.S. Postal Service.[155]Patricia Highsmith, writing as Claire Morgan, wroteThe Price of Salt in 1951 and refused to follow this directive.[59]: 1024–1025
Lesbianism, or the suggestion of it, began early in filmmaking. The same constructs of how lesbians were portrayed—or for what reasons—as what had appeared in literature were placed on women in the films. Women challenging their feminine roles was a device more easily accepted than men challenging masculine ones. Actresses appeared as men in male roles because of plot devices as early as 1914 inA Florida Enchantment featuringEdith Storey. InMorocco (1930)Marlene Dietrich kisses another woman on the lips, andKatharine Hepburn plays a man inChristopher Strong in 1933 and again inSylvia Scarlett (1936). Hollywood films followed the same trend set by audiences who flocked to Harlem to see edgy shows that suggested bisexuality.[158]: 27–28
Overt female homosexuality was introduced in the 1929 filmPandora's Box. German films depicting homosexuality were distributed throughout Europe, but 1931'sMädchen in Uniform was not distributed in the U.S. because of the depiction of an adolescent's love for a female teacher in boarding school.[159]: 58
Lesbianism, or homosexuality, was never spoken about inThe Children's Hour, but it is transparent whyShirley MacLaine's character hangs herself.
After the introduction of theHays Code in the U.S. in 1930, most references to homosexuality in American films were censored. The originally-lesbian playThe Children's Hour was converted into a heterosexual love triangle and retitledThese Three. The 1933 biopicQueen Christina veiled most of the speculation about Christina of Sweden's affairs with women.[159]: 58 Censors removed a lesbian scene from the 1951 filmThe Pit of Loneliness, saying that it was "Immoral, would tend to corrupt morals".[159]: 102 The code was relaxed somewhat after 1961, and the next yearWilliam Wyler remadeThe Children's Hour withAudrey Hepburn andShirley MacLaine. After MacLaine's character admits her love for Hepburn's, she hangs herself; this set a precedent for miserable endings in films addressing homosexuality.[159]: 139
The first film to address lesbianism with significant depth wasThe Killing of Sister George in 1968, which was filmed inThe Gateways Club, a longstanding lesbian pub in London. Film historianVito Russo considers the film a complex treatment of a multifaceted, openly lesbian character who is forced into silence about her orientation by other lesbians.[159]: 170–173 Personal Best in 1982, andLianna in 1983 treated lesbian relationships more sympathetically and showed lesbian sex scenes, though in neither film are the relationships happy ones.Personal Best was criticized for engaging in the clichéd plot device of one woman returning to a relationship with a man, implying that lesbianism is a phase, as well as treating the lesbian relationship with "undisguised voyeurism".[158]: 185–186 More ambiguous portrayals of lesbian characters were seen inSilkwood (1983),The Color Purple (1985), andFried Green Tomatoes (1991), despite explicit lesbianism in the source material.[160]
An era of independent filmmaking brought different stories, writers, and directors to films.Desert Hearts (1985) was directed by lesbianDonna Deitch, and is loosely based onJane Rule's novelDesert of the Heart. It received mixed critical commentary, but earned positive reviews from the gay press.[158]: 194–195 The late 1980s and early 1990s ushered in a series of films treating gay and lesbian issues seriously, made by gays and lesbians, nicknamedNew Queer Cinema.[158]: 237 Films using lesbians as a subject includedRose Troche's avant garde romantic comedyGo Fish (1994) and the first film about African American lesbians,Cheryl Dunye'sThe Watermelon Woman, in 1995.[158]: 241–242
The first stage production to feature a lesbian kiss and open depiction of two women in love is the 1907Yiddish playGod of Vengeance (Got fun nekome) bySholem Asch. Rivkele, a young woman, and Manke, a prostitute in her father's brothel, fall in love. On March 6, 1923, during a performance of the play in a New York City theatre, producers and cast were informed that they had been indicted by a Grand Jury for violating the Penal Code that defined the presentation of "an obscene, indecent, immoral and impure theatrical production." They were arrested the following day when they appeared before a judge. Two months later, they were found guilty in a jury trial. The producers were fined $200 and the cast received suspended sentences. The play is considered by some to be "the greatest drama of the Yiddish theater".[161][162]God of Vengeance was the inspiration for the 2015 playIndecent byPaula Vogel, which features lesbian characters Rifkele and Manke.[163][164]Indecent was nominated for multiple 2017Tony Awards.[165]
Broadway musicalThe Prom featured lesbian characters Emma Nolan and Alyssa Greene. In 2019, the production was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and received the Drama Desk Award forOutstanding Musical. A performance fromThe Prom was included in the 2018Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and made history by showing the firstsame-sex kiss in the parade's broadcast.[166][167]Jagged Little Pill featured lesbian character Jo, who is dealing with her religious mother's disapproval.[168]
Television began to address homosexuality much later than film. Local talk shows in the late 1950s first addressed homosexuality by inviting panels of experts (usually not gay themselves) to discuss the problems of gay men in society. Lesbianism was rarely included. The first time a lesbian was portrayed on network television was the NBC dramaThe Eleventh Hour in the early 1960s, which ended with the lesbian character being "converted" to heterosexuality.[169]: 7–9
Lesbian invisibility in TV continued into the 1970s, even as male homosexuality and coming-out reveals became the subject of dramas (The Bold Ones,Marcus Welby, M.D.,Medical Center). These shows allowed homosexuality to be discussed clinically, with the main characters guiding troubled gay characters or correcting homophobic antagonists, while simultaneously comparing homosexuality to psychosis, criminal behavior, or drug use.[169]: 13–44
Another stock plot device in the 1970s was the gay character in a police drama. They served as victims of blackmail or anti-gay violence, but more often as criminals. Beginning in the late 1960s withN.Y.P.D.,Police Story, andPolice Woman, the use of homosexuals in stories became much more prevalent.[159]: 186–189 Lesbians were included as villains, motivated to murder by their desires, internalized homophobia, or fear of being exposed as homosexual. One episode ofPolice Woman earned protests by theNational Gay Task Force before it aired for portraying a trio of murderous lesbians who killed retirement home patients for their money.[169]: 68 NBC edited the episode because of the protests, but asit-in was staged in the head of NBC's offices.[169]: 69
In the middle of the 1970s, gay men and lesbians began to appear as police officers or detectives. Other shows, such as the 1982Cagney & Lacey made conscious attempts to soften the two ground-breaking two female detective characters so they would not appear to be lesbians.[169]: 75–76 In 1991, a bisexual lawyer character onL.A. Law shared the first significantlesbian kiss[p] on primetime television, stirring a controversy despite being labeled "chaste" byThe Hollywood Reporter.[169]: 89
Ellen DeGeneres with her Emmy Award in 1997. Her coming out in the media, as well as her sitcom, "ranks, hands down, as the single most public exit in gay history", changing media portrayals of lesbians in Western culture.[171]
Though television did not begin to use recurring homosexual characters until the late 1980s, some early situation comedies used a stock character that author Stephen Tropiano calls "gay-straight": supporting characters who were quirky, did not comply with gender norms, or had ambiguous personal lives, that "for all purposes "'should' be gay". These included Zelda fromThe Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Miss Hathaway fromThe Beverly Hillbillies, and Jo fromThe Facts of Life.[169]: 185–186 In the mid-1980s through the 1990s, sitcoms frequently employed a "coming out" episode, where a friend of one of the stars admits she is a lesbian, forcing the cast to deal with the issue.Designing Women,The Golden Girls, andFriends used this device.[169]: 202–204
Recurring openly lesbian characters were seen onMarried... with Children,Mad About You, andRoseanne, in which ahighly publicized episode.[26]: 394, 399 By far the sitcom with the most significant impact to the image of lesbians wasEllen, which generated enormous publicity from the 1997 coming out episode;Ellen DeGeneres appeared on the cover ofTime magazine with the headline "Yep, I'm Gay". Parties were held in many U.S. cities to watch the episode, and the opposition from conservative organizations was intense.WBMA-LP, theABC affiliate inBirmingham, Alabama, refused to air the first run of the episode, citing conservative values of the local viewing audience. Even as "The Puppy Episode" won anEmmy for writing, network executives cancelled the Ellen show.[169]: 245–249
Dramas followingL.A. Law began incorporating homosexual themes, particularly with continuing storylines onRelativity,Picket Fences,ER,Star Trek: The Next Generation andDeep Space Nine, all of which tested the boundaries of sexuality and gender roles.[169]: 128–136 A popular show directed at adolescents wasBuffy the Vampire Slayer. In the fourth season ofBuffy,Tara andWillow admit their love for each other without any special fanfare and the relationship is treated as are the other romantic relationships on the show.[169]: 183–184
In the 2000s came network television series devoted solely to gay characters.Showtime's American rendition ofQueer as Folk ran from 2000 to 2005; two of the main characters were a lesbian couple. Showtime promoted the series as "No Limits", andQueer as Folk addressed homosexuality graphically. The aggressive advertising paid off as the show became the network's highest rated, doubling the numbers of other Showtime programs after the first season.[169]: 150–152 In 2004, Showtime introducedThe L Word, a dramatic series devoted to a group of lesbian and bisexual women, which ran for six seasons and was then temporarily rebooted in 2019.[172]
Chic and popular culture
The August 1993 cover ofVanity Fair that marked the arrival of lesbian chic as a social phenomenon in the 1990s
Lesbian visibility has improved since the early 1980s. This is in part due to public figures who have drawn speculation and/or comment from the public and the press about their sexuality. The primary figure earning this attention wasMartina Navratilova, who served as tabloid fodder for years as she denied being lesbian, admitted to being bisexual, had very public relationships withRita Mae Brown andJudy Nelson, and acquired as much press about her sexuality as she did her athletic achievements.[173]
Other public figures acknowledged their homosexuality, such as musiciansk.d. lang andMelissa Etheridge.Madonna pushed sexual boundaries in her performances. In 1993, heterosexual supermodelCindy Crawford posed for a cover ofVanity Fair in a provocative arrangement that showed Crawford pretending to shave k.d. lang's face.[174] The image "became an internationally recognized symbol of the phenomenon of lesbian chic".[173]
The year 1994 marked a rise in lesbian visibility, particularly appealing to women with feminine appearances. Between 1992 and 1994,Mademoiselle,Vogue,Cosmopolitan,Glamour,Newsweek, andNew York magazines featured stories about women who admitted sexual histories with other women.[171]
One analyst reasoned the recurrence of lesbian chic was due to the often-used homoerotic subtexts of gay male subculture being considered off-limits because ofAIDS in the late 1980s and 1990s, joined with the distant memory of lesbians as they appeared in the 1970s: unattractive and militant. In short, lesbians became more attractive to general audiences when they ceased having political convictions.[173] All the attention on feminine and glamorous women created what culture analyst Rodger Streitmatter characterizes as an unrealistic image of lesbians packaged by heterosexual men; the trend influenced an increase in the inclusion of lesbian material inpornography aimed at men.[171]
A resurgence of lesbian visibility was noted in 2009 when sexually fluid female celebrities, such asCynthia Nixon andLindsay Lohan, commented openly about their relationships with women, and reality television addressed same-sex relationships. Psychiatrists and feminist philosophers wrote that the rise in women acknowledging same-sex relationships was due to growing social acceptance, but also conceded that "only a certain kind of lesbian—slim and elegant or butch in just the right androgynous way—is acceptable to mainstream culture."[175]
Family issues were significant concerns for lesbians when gay activism became more vocal in the 1960s and 1970s. Custody issues in particular were of interest since often courts would not award custody to mothers who were openly homosexual, even though the general procedure acknowledged children were awarded to the biological mother.[26]: 125–126 [50]: 182
Several studies performed as a result of custody disputes compared outcomes for children of single lesbian mothers and single nonlesbian mothers. They found that children's mental health, happiness, overall adjustment, sexual orientation, and sex roles, were similar between both groups.[26]: 125–126
The ability to adopt domestically or internationally children or provide a home as a foster parent is also a political and family priority for many lesbians, as is improving access toartificial insemination.[26]: 128–129
Marriage
Before the 1970s, the idea that same-sex adults formed long-term committed relationships was unknown to many people. In the 1990s in the U.S., the majority of lesbians (between 60% and 80%) reported being in a long-term relationship.[26]: 117 Sociologists credit the high number of paired women to women's higher propensity to commit to relationships. Unlike heterosexual relationships that tend to divide work based on sex roles, lesbian relationships divide chores evenly between both members. Studies have also reported that emotional bonds are closer in lesbian and gay relationships than heterosexual ones.[26]: 118–119
^An attempt by natives of Lesbos (also called "Mytilene" in Greece) in 2008 to reclaim the word to refer only to people from the island was unsuccessful in a Greek court. Inhabitants of Lesbos claimed the use oflesbian to refer to female homosexuality violated their human rights and "disgrace[d] them around the world".[8]
^"[H]e begins by treating of the origin of human nature. The sexes were originally three, men, women, and the union of the two; and they were made round—having four hands, four feet, two faces on a round neck, and the rest to correspond. Terrible was their strength and swiftness; and they were essaying to scale heaven and attack the gods. Doubt reigned in the celestial councils; the gods were divided between the desire of quelling the pride of man and the fear of losing the sacrifices. At last Zeus hit upon an expedient. Let us cut them in two, he said; then they will only have half their strength, and we shall have twice as many sacrifices. He spake, and split them as you might split an egg with an hair; and when this was done, he told Apollo to give their faces a twist and re-arrange their persons, taking out the wrinkles and tying the skin in a knot about the navel. The two halves went about looking for one another, and were ready to die of hunger in one another's arms. Then Zeus invented an adjustment of the sexes, which enabled them to marry and go their way to the business of life. Now the characters of men differ accordingly as they are derived from the original man or the original woman, or the original man-woman. Those who come from the man-woman are lascivious and adulterous; those who come from the woman form female attachments; those who are a section of the male follow the male and embrace him, and in him all their desires centre."
^"La muger, que con otra muger tenía deleitaciones carnales, a las quales llamaban Patlache, que quiere decir: incuba, morían ambas por ello." (Monarquía indiana, transl.)
^Wollstonecraft and Blood set up a girls' boarding school so they could live and work together, and Wollstonecraft named her first child after Blood. Wollstonecraft's first novelMary: A Fiction, in part, addressed her relationship with Fanny Blood.[57]: 55–60
^Other historical figures rejected being labeled as lesbians despite their behavior:Djuna Barnes, author ofNightwood, a novel about an affair Barnes had withThelma Wood, earned the label "lesbian writer", which she protested by saying, "I am not a lesbian. I just loved Thelma."Virginia Woolf, who modeled the hero/ine inOrlando onVita Sackville-West, with whom she was having an affair, set herself apart from women who pursued relationships with other women by writing, "These Sapphistslove women; friendship is never untinged with amorosity."[59]: 4–5
^In Germany between 1898 and 1908 over a thousand articles were published regarding the topic of homosexuality.[55]: 248 Between 1896 and 1916, 566 articles on women's "perversions" were published in the United States.[54]: 49
^A 1966 survey of psychological literature on homosexuality began with Freud's 1924 theory that it is a fixation on the opposite sex parent. As Freud's views were the foundation of psychotherapy, further articles agreed with this, including one in 1951 that asserted that homosexuals are actually heterosexuals that play both gender roles, and homosexuals are attempting to perpetuate "infantile, incestuous fixation(s)" on relationships that are forbidden.[68]
^HistorianVern Bullough published a paper based on an unfinished study of mental and physical traits performed by a lesbian inSalt Lake City during the 1920s and 1930s. The compiler of the study reported on 23 of her colleagues, indicating there was an underground lesbian community in the conservative city. Bullough remarked that the information was being used to support the attitude that lesbians were not abnormal or maladjusted, but it also reflected that women included in the study strove in every way to conform to social gender expectations, viewing anyone who pushed the boundaries of respectability with hostility. Bullough wrote, "In fact, their very success in disguising their sexual orientation to the outside world leads us to hypothesize that lesbianism in the past was more prevalent than the sources might indicate, since society was so unsuspecting."[70]
^Sexual contact, according to Kinsey, included lip kissing, deep kissing, body touching, manual breast and genital stimulation, oral breast and genital stimulation, and object-vaginal penetration.[127]: 466–467
^The study estimated the total population of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals at 8.8 million, but did not differentiate between men and women.[130]
^Another summary of overall surveys found that women who identify as lesbian, 80–95% had previous sexual contact with men, and some report sexual behavior that was risky.[134]
^Lesbian and bisexual women are also more likely to report symptoms of multiple disorders that include major depression, panic disorder, alcohol and drug abuse.[148]
^Sappho has also served as a subject of many works of literature by writers such asJohn Donne,Alexander Pope,Pierre Louÿs, and several anonymous writers, that have addressed her relationships with women and men. She has been used as an embodiment of same-sex desire, and as a character in fictions loosely based on her life.[59]: 125, 208, 252, 319, 566
^A fifth novel in 1928, American author Djuna Barnes'Ladies Almanack, is aroman à clef ofa lesbian literary and artistic salon in Paris and circulated at first within those circles; Susan Sniader Lanser calls it a "sister-text" to Hall's landmark work,[153] as Barnes includes a character based on Radclyffe Hall and passages that may be a response toThe Well of Loneliness[154]
^21 Jump Street included a kiss between series regularHolly Robinson Peete and guest star Katy Boyer in "A Change of Heart" (1990) but it did not inspire the critical or popular attention later such kisses would engender.[170]: 235
^Stevens 2000, p. 748, Symbols: "Finally, two interlocking female symbols are also often used to signify lesbianism. [...] [Venus's] sign, which once represented life, love, and sexuality, is now both a botanical and zoological symbol of femaleness, as well as the astronomical symbol of the planet Venus. Lesbian and feminist communities have also adopted the symbol, using two interlocking Venus emblems to represent lesbianism or, alternatively, the sisterhood of women"
^abLamos, Colleen (2000)."Lesbian". InZimmerman, Bonnie (ed.).Encyclopedia of Lesbian Histories and Cultures (1st ed.). New York:Garland Publishing. pp. 453–454.ISBN9780203825532.The equivocal grammatical status of "lesbian," as both noun and adjective, captures the historical difficulty and the controversy over its definition. Whereas the former names a substantive category of persons—female homosexuals—the latter refers to a contingent attribute. The use of the term to denominate a particular kind of woman, one whose sexual desire is directed toward other women, originated in the late nineteenth century with the formulation of types of sexual deviance, especially homosexuality. ...Taking "lesbian" as an adjective, however, implies that female same-sex desire is a detachable modifier, a relative characteristic rather than an essential, or core, substance. Describing an object or activity as lesbian may simply reflect its contingent affiliation or association with female homoeroticism. Such an understanding of the term was common in Western society before the twentieth century and remains so in non-Western cultures that do not sharply distinguish female homosexuality from heterosexuality.
^Diamond, Lisa M.; Dickenson, Janna A.; Blair, Karen L. (2022-01-01)."Menstrual Cycle Changes in Daily Sexual Motivation and Behavior Among Sexually Diverse Cisgender Women".Archives of Sexual Behavior.51 (1):577–588.doi:10.1007/s10508-021-02171-w.ISSN1573-2800.PMID35028805.Women with exclusive same-gender orientations reported increased motivation for same-gender sexual contact during the higher-fertility phase of the cycle, but women with exclusive other-gender orientations did not show a parallel increase in other-gender sexual motivation during the higher-fertility phase. ... As noted earlier, the same pattern of difference between women with exclusive same-gender attractions versus bisexual attractions also emerged in the small pilot study of 20 women conducted by Diamond and Wallen (2011). ... Although this suggests important similarities between bisexual women and those with exclusive same-gender orientations, other research (reviewed by Chivers, 2017) has found that self-identified lesbians show more "category-specific" patterns of genital arousal than other groups of women, meaning that they show significantly greater arousal to the stimuli that they report preferring (women) than to their nonpreferred stimuli (men).
^Nichols, Margaret (2004). "Lesbian sexuality/female sexuality: Rethinking 'lesbian bed death'".Sexual and Relationship Therapy.19 (4):363–371.doi:10.1080/14681990412331298036.S2CID143879852.
^abcdefghiNorton, Rictor (1997).The Myth of the Modern Homosexual: Queer History and the Search for Cultural Unity.London: Cassell.ISBN0-304-33892-3.
^abcRabinowitz, Nancy; Auanger, Lisa, eds. (2002).Among Women: From the Homosocial to the Homoerotic in the Ancient World.University of Texas Press. pp. 2, 11, 115, 148.ISBN0-292-77113-4.
^Bremmer, Jan, ed. (1989).From Sappho to de Sade: Moments in the History of Sexuality.Routledge.ISBN0-415-02089-1.
^abcdHewitt, Sean; Hall, Luke Edward (2023).300,000 Kisses: Tales of Queer Love from the Ancient World. Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group. p. 23.ISBN978-0-593-58244-2.
^Dekker, Rudolf M.; van de Pol, Lotte C. (1989).The Tradition of Female Transvestism in Early Modern Europe. London, United Kingdom:Palgrave Macmillan.ISBN978-0333412527.
^Brendan (January 10, 2012)."Berlin's Lesbische Frauen".Cabaret Berlin.Archived from the original on 28 May 2020. Retrieved13 June 2020. (originally published bySlow Travel Berlin)
^Tamagne, Florence (2004).A History of Homosexuality in Europe Berlin, London, Paris, 1919–1939. Vol. 1. Algora. pp. 53–57.ISBN0-585-49198-4.
^Gallo, Marcia (2006).Different Daughters: A History of the Daughters of Bilitis and the Rise of the Lesbian Rights Movement. Seal Press. p. 3.ISBN1-58005-252-5.
^abStryker, Susan (2001).Queer Pulp: Perverted Passions from the Golden Age of the Paperback. Chronicle Books, LLC. pp. 49,54–57.ISBN0-8118-3020-9.
^abRuth, Richard; Santacruz, Erik, eds. (2017).LGBT Psychology and Mental Health: Emerging Research and Advances. Santa Barbara, California:Praeger Publishing.ISBN978-1440843372.
^Vowel, Chelsea (2016). "All My Queer Relations - Language, Culture, andTwo-Spirit Identity".Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis & Inuit Issues in Canada. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Highwater Press.ISBN978-1553796800.
^ab"A Spirit of Belonging, Inside and Out".The New York Times. 8 Oct 2006.Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved28 July 2016.'The elders will tell you the difference between a gay Indian and a Two-Spirit,' [Criddle] said, underscoring the idea that simply being gay and Indian does not make someone a Two-Spirit.
^Pember, Mary Annette (Oct 13, 2016)."'Two Spirit' Tradition Far From Ubiquitous Among Tribes".Rewire.Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. RetrievedOctober 17, 2016.Unfortunately, depending on an oral tradition to impart our ways to future generations opened the floodgates for early non-Native explorers, missionaries, and anthropologists to write books describing Native peoples and therefore bolstering their own role as experts. These writings were and still are entrenched in the perspective of the authors who were and are mostly white men.
^abcdefMogrovejo, Norma (2004). "Relevancia de las lesbianas en América Latina: la recuperación de nuestra historia". In Drucker, Péter; Mercad, Enrique (in Spanish).Arco iris diferentes. Siglo XXI.ISBN978-968-23-2486-4. pp. 85–103, 281-294
^abcDi Silvio, Lorenzo (2011). "Correcting Corrective Rape: Carmichele and Developing South Africa's Affirmative Obligations To Prevent Violence Against Women".Georgetown Law Journal.99 (5):1469–1515.
^Risser, Jan M.H.; Risser, William L.; Risser, Amanda L. (2008). "Epidemiology of Infections in Women".Infectious Disease Clinics of North America.22 (4):581–599.doi:10.1016/j.idc.2008.05.001.PMID18954753.
^"Lesbian Historic Motif Podcast Episode 181 - The Anandrine Sect". 24 October 2020.The Anandrine Sect itself is first introduced—as far as I can find—in the pornographic work L'espion Anglais (The English Spy) written in 1778. This is a collection of salacious anecdotes, one of which involves an adolescent country girl who, having inclinations toward sex with women, is sent off to Paris to be initiated into an Anandrine sect. Her sponsor describes the group thus: "A tribade," she told me, "is a young virgin who, not having had any relations with men, and convinced of the excellence of her sex, finds in it true pleasure, pure pleasure, dedicates herself wholly to it, and renounces the other sex, as perfidious as it is seductive. Or, it is a woman of any age who, having fulfilled the wish of nature and country for the propagation of the human race, gets over her mistake, detests, abjures crude pleasures, and devotes herself to training pupils for the goddess." [...] [The initiation ceremony] takes place in a classical temple featuring statues of the goddess Vesta, of Sappho, and other symbolic figures.
^"The Furies Collective". National Park Services.The collective's publications set the terms of debate over the ideology, strategies and tactics, and actual accomplishments of lesbian feminist separatism in the early years of newly militant gay and lesbian activism. Their first issue of The Furies proclaimed, "We believe The FURIES will make important contributions to the growing movement to destroy sexism. As a collective, in addition to outside projects, we are spending much time building an ideology which is the basis for action." According to historian Lillian Faderman, "the Furies newspaper, which was sold at the women's bookstores that were mushrooming across America, inspired thousands of lesbian feminists to form their own collectives in cities, farms, forests, and mountains all over America and in Europe, too."
^abcdefghijklTropiano, Stephen (2002).Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV. Applause Theater and Cinema Books.ISBN1-55783-557-8.
^Capsuto, Steven (2000).Alternate Channels: The Uncensored Story of Gay and Lesbian Images on Radio and Television (1st ed.). New York:Ballantine Books.ISBN0-345-41243-5.
^abcStreitmatter, Rodger (2009).From 'Perverts' to 'Fab Five': The Media's Changing Depiction of Gay Men and Lesbians.Routledge. pp. 77–78, 81, 104.ISBN978-0-7890-3670-4.
^abcHamer, Diane, Budge, Belinda, eds. (1994).The Good, The Bad, and the Gorgeous: Popular Culture's Romance with Lesbianism, Pandora.ISBN0-04-440910-9. pp. 1, 57–77, 87–90.
Cogan, Jeanine C.; Erickson, Joanie M., eds. (1999).Lesbians, Levis and Lipstick: The Meaning of Beauty in Our Lives.The Haworth Press.ISBN0-7890-0661-8.
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