Lesbian

, 1891. Sappho of Lesbos gave the term lesbian the connotation of erotic desire between women. The word lesbian is the demonym of the Greek island of Lesbos, home to the 6th-century BCE poet Sappho. Before the mid-19th century, the word lesbian referred to any aspect of Lesbos, including a type of wine. A shift of the word to describe erotic relationships between women had been documented in 1870. In 1875, a critic referred to Baudelaire's poem "Delphine and Hippolyte" (a poem about love between two women, and without reference to Lesbos) as "Lesbian". In 1890, the term lesbian was used in the National Medical Dictionary as an adjective to describe tribadism. The terms lesbian, invert and homosexual were interchangeable with sapphist around the turn of the 20th century. == Sexuality and identity ==

(a double-bladed axe) within the inverted black triangle, set against a violet-hue background. The labrys represents lesbian strength.|alt= flag design Biological factors Prenatal androgen exposure correlates with same-sex sexual behavior in women. Biological characteristics known to be affected by prenatal hormone exposure have been shown to vary by sexual orientation in women. 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. and those not known to be affected by prenatal androgen exposure. A later meta-analysis concluded that the small sample sizes and small number of studies meant that findings were inconclusive as of 2021. Genetics plays a role; around 20% of the variance of sexual orientation in women is controlled by genes. 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. Lesbians in modern times share an identity that parallels those built on ethnicity, including the concept of group heritage and group pride. 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. Women who identify as lesbians and report never having been with men may be referred to as "gold star lesbians." Women who identify as lesbians and 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. Some researchers observe that self-applied identity labels and reported sexual behavior do not always align: for example, some self-identified straight women report sex with women, and some self-identified lesbians report sex with men. 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 by different imagery. Some people identify as both lesbian as well as non-binary or queer, while others eschew the label and prefer to describe themselves as queer. Additionally, some women use both the terms bisexual and lesbian as self-applied identity labels. 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. This conclusion became known as "lesbian bed death". 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. Researchers report that lesbian and heterosexual women are just as likely to view achieving orgasm as important, and that the two groups report statistically equivalent rates of overall sexual and romantic satisfaction. 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 and sexual scripts than heterosexual women. == In history ==

Women have been underrepresented in history as both writers and subjects, and lesbianism has been correspondingly under-recorded. Since the 1970s, efforts have been made to gather together and preserve lesbian history. In ancient Greece, Sappho of Lesbos wrote poetry regarding her love for other women, fragments of which survive. Other Greek references include mentions in Plato's Symposium In ancient Rome, accounts of lesbian characters include the story of Iphis and Ianthe, a myth from fabulist Phaedrus, and Lucian's Dialogues of the Courtesans.. In the Aztec Empire, female homosexuality is described in the Florentine Codex, a 16th-century study of the Aztec world, including its violent repression during Spanish colonization. Some Indigenous peoples of the Americas conceptualize a third gender for women who dress as, and fulfill the roles of men or a third sex in their cultures. In early Modern western literature, homoerotic masquerade of one gender for another to seduce an unsuspecting woman was a common plot device, seen for instance in Twelfth Night (1601), The Faerie Queene (1590), and The Bird in a Cage (1633). From the 17th to the 19th centuries in the West, it was fashionable, accepted, and encouraged for a woman to express passionate love for another woman. |218x218px In the 19th and 20th centuries, sexologists Richard von Krafft-Ebing from Germany and Britain's Havelock Ellis created categorizations of female same-sex attraction, approaching it as a form of insanity. In the 1920s, Berlin had a vibrant homosexual culture with some 50 clubs for lesbians. In the United States, the 1920s was a decade of sexual experimentation. Homosexual subculture disappeared in Germany with the rise of the Nazis in 1933. Between 1955 and 1969, over 2,000 books of lesbian pulp fiction were published in North America. From the late 1950s to the 1970s, the sexual revolution encouraged women to try varied sexual experiences. In Latin America, lesbian subcultures increased as several countries transitioned to or reformed democratic governments. However, social harassment has remained common. Cross-gender roles and marriage between women have been recorded in over 30 traditional African societies. In Africa, lesbian activities have been "shaped by silence and secrecy, oppression and repression". Historical Chinese culture has not recognized female homosexuality. ==Demographics==

Early reports The most extensive early study of female homosexuality was the 1953 Kinsey Institute analysis of the sexual experiences of more than 8,000 American women. Its methodology has been criticized, and that some 9% had orgasmed. In 1976, sexologist Shere Hite did a qualitative survey of 3,019 women on their sexual experiences. Hite's questions focused on how women identified and what they preferred, rather than their prior experiences. Respondents indicated that 8% preferred sex with women, while 9% said that they identified as bisexual or had had sexual experiences with men and women without indicating a preference. Population estimates • A 2023 international survey (which excluded Africa and the Middle East) found that, on average, 3% of participants self-identified as lesbian or gay • Lesbians in the U.S. form about 2.6% of the population, according to a 2000 survey. Another survey showed that between 2000 and 2005, the number claiming to be in same-sex relationships increased by 30%, possibly because people were more comfortable self-identifying as homosexual. • A survey by the UK Office for National Statistics in 2010 found that 1.5% of Britons identified as gay or bisexual; other surveys had shown the number between 0.3% and 3%. • Polls in Australia recorded a range of self-identified lesbian or bisexual women from 1.3% to 2.2% of the total population. Additionally, a 2024 ABS release stated the percentage of reported non-heterosexual orientations in cisgender women was 3.7%. • A 2016 survey in France found 4% of women identifying as gay or bisexual. • In a 2012 survey in Israel, 15.2% of women self-reported attraction to women, 8.7% reported having had a same-gender encounter, and 4.8% identified as lesbian or bisexual. • In a 2013 survey in the Philippines, 1.8% of women identified as lesbian. • A 2021 survey in Sri Lanka found that 0.5% of the population (some 1% of women) identified as lesbian. ==Health==

Disparities A systematic review conducted in 2023 found that lesbian and bisexual women were 1.5 to 2 times more likely to have asthma than heterosexual women. Additionally, they were somewhat more likely to experience back pain, hepatitis B/C, and urinary tract infections. However, they were less likely to suffer from heart attacks, diabetes, or hypertension, possibly because they avoided pregnancy in the case of the latter two conditions. Since lesbians are less likely to become pregnant, they are less likely to receive protection from pregnancy hormones against breast and other cancers. Factors Lifestyle Factors that add to risk of heart disease include the prevalence of obesity and smoking among lesbians. Lesbians are less concerned about weight issues than heterosexual women; and lesbians consider women with higher body masses to be more attractive than heterosexual women do. Lesbians are more likely to exercise regularly than heterosexual women. Social Lesbians experience negative social factors such as discrimination, stigma, and violence; policies that oppose their sexuality, such as access to marriage or employment; and lower incomes. These factors contribute to increased levels of chronic ill-health, increased misuse of alcohol and substances, reduced mobility, increased cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, and poor sleep. Lesbians may fear doctors' attitudes to their sexuality. Lesbians perceive a lower risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, and may therefore miss routine screenings such as for cervical cancer. ==Media representation==

The majority of media about lesbians has been produced by men; and the 1778 erotica ''L'Espion Anglais''. by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1893). The Parisian artist employed the association between lesbianism and prostitution. In 1928, The Well of Loneliness'' and three other novels with lesbian themes were published in England: Elizabeth Bowen's The Hotel, Woolf's Orlando, and Compton Mackenzie's satirical novel Extraordinary Women. Unlike The Well of Loneliness, none of these other novels were banned. Patricia Highsmith, writing as Claire Morgan, wrote The Price of Salt in 1951 and refused to follow this directive. and Sinister Wisdom began publication. Well-known writers who wrote on lesbian topics or about lesbian-themed plots included Rita Mae Brown, Dorothy Allison, Overt female homosexuality was introduced in the 1929 film ''Pandora's Box''. German films depicting homosexuality were distributed throughout Europe, but 1931's Mädchen in Uniform was thought unsuitable for the U.S. '', but it is transparent why Shirley MacLaine's character hangs herself.|alt=Still shot from the film "The Children's Hour", showing Shirley MacLaine looking down at the left and Audrey Hepburn to her right staring at her, in a bedroom. The words "Can an ugly rumor destroy what's beautiful?" obscure much of MacLaine's face. The 1930 Hays Code resulted in censoring of most references to homosexuality in American films. The originally-lesbian play ''The Children's Hour was converted into a heterosexual love triangle and retitled These Three. The 1933 biopic Queen Christina'' veiled speculation about Christina of Sweden's affairs with women. An era of independent filmmaking brought different stories, writers, and directors to films. Desert Hearts (1985) was directed by lesbian Donna Deitch, loosely based on Jane Rule's novel Desert of the Heart. It received a mixed reception. God of Vengeance was the inspiration for the 2015 play Indecent by Paula Vogel, which features lesbian characters Rifkele and Manke. Indecent was nominated for multiple 2017 Tony Awards. Broadway musical The 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 for Outstanding Musical. A performance from The Prom was included in the 2018 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and made history by showing the first same-sex kiss in the parade's broadcast. Jagged Little Pill featured lesbian character Jo, who is dealing with her religious mother's disapproval. Television Television began to address homosexuality much later than film. The first time a lesbian was portrayed on network television was the NBC drama The Eleventh Hour in the early 1960s, ending with the lesbian being "converted" to heterosexuality. Lesbian invisibility in TV continued into the 1970s. Police drama series could include a gay stock character to serve as a victims of blackmail or anti-gay violence, or as a criminal. Lesbians were included as villains, motivated to murder by their desires, internalized homophobia, or fear of being exposed as homosexual. One episode of Police Woman earned protests by the National Gay Task Force before it aired for portraying a trio of murderous lesbians who killed retirement home patients for their money. NBC edited the episode because of the protests. In the mid-1970s, lesbians began to appear as police officers or detectives. In 1991, a bisexual lawyer character on L.A. Law shared the first significant lesbian kiss on primetime television, stirring controversy. 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, as in Designing Women, The Golden Girls, and Friends. Recurring openly lesbian characters were seen on Married... with Children, Mad About You, and Roseanne with a highly publicized episode. The sitcom with the most significant impact to the image of lesbians was Ellen, which generated enormous publicity from the 1997 coming out episode; Ellen DeGeneres appeared on the cover of Time magazine with the headline "Yep, I'm Gay". The episode won DeGeneres an Emmy, but conservative organizations opposed it, and the show was cancelled. A popular show for adolescents was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In the fourth season, Tara and Willow admit their love for each other, without fanfare. In the 2000s came network television series devoted solely to gay characters. Showtime's American rendition of Queer as Folk ran from 2000 to 2005 with a lesbian couple as main characters. Aggressive advertising made the show the highest rated on the network. ==Chic and popular culture==

'' that marked the arrival of lesbian chic as a social phenomenon in the 1990s|alt=Cover of Vanity Fair magazine from August 1993 showing k.d. lang reclining in a barber chair with eyes closed and holding a compact mirror. She has shaving foam on her chin and is wearing an open-collar white shirt, black and white striped tie, dark color pinstripe vest and cuffed pants, and black lace boots. Supermodel Cindy Crawford is holding a straight razor to lang's chin while lang's head rests on her breast. Crawford is wearing a one-piece black bathing suit and high heel black boots, with head thrown back as her long hair cascades down her back. Lesbian visibility has improved since the early 1980s, partly due to public figures who have attracted public and press discussion of their sexuality. The primary figure earning this attention was Martina Navratilova, as she denied being lesbian, admitted to being bisexual, had very public relationships with Rita Mae Brown and Judy Nelson, and acquired as much press about her sexuality as she did her athletic achievements. Other public figures acknowledged their homosexuality, such as musicians k.d. lang and Melissa Etheridge. Madonna pushed sexual boundaries in her performances. In 1993, heterosexual supermodel Cindy Crawford posed for a cover of Vanity Fair in a provocative arrangement that showed Crawford pretending to shave k.d. lang's face. The image "became an internationally recognized symbol of the phenomenon of lesbian chic". Lesbian visibility increased again in 2009 when sexually fluid female celebrities, such as Cynthia Nixon and Lindsay 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 conceded that "only a certain kind of lesbian—slim and elegant or butch in just the right androgynous way—is acceptable to mainstream culture." ==Legal rights==

Criminalization of sexual activity Thirty-eight countries penalize sex between women, or have unclear laws that may be applied to lesbian sex. Penalties explicitly listed for lesbian sexual activity include lashings (as in Iran and Brunei) or prison sentences (as in Oman, Gambia, and Malawi), or lashes and fines (as in Mauritania). Custody and parenting 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. As of 2025, same-sex marriage is legal in thirty-nine countries. ==See also==