Lesbian

A lesbian is a homosexual woman. Lesbians are sexually and romantically attracted to other women. One might argue that one is not a lesbian (as a noun) but lesbian (as an adjective). This can depend on self-identification and varies among most lesbians/lesbian women.

Etymology

See also: Terminology of homosexuality

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The word lesbian originally referred to an inhabitant of Lesbos, an island in Greece where an ancient Greek lyric poet named Sappho lived. Some of her poems concerned love between women. Whether Sappho was a lesbian in the modern meaning of the term or a poet who described lesbians is not known. While she did write poems about love between women there is some dispute as to how her writings can be interpreted. Sappho's literary association with love between women led to the term sapphism as another term for lesbianism.

Related Topics:
Lesbos - Greece - Sappho

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Other words used to describe lesbianism over the past 200 years have included amor lesbicus, urningism and tribadism.

Related Topics:
Urningism - Tribadism

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There are many slang terms for lesbians including dyke and bulldyke. Both are almost always regarded as pejorative when used by outsiders but many within the lesbian and queer communities have reclaimed their usage.

Related Topics:
Slang - Dyke - Queer

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