I’ve always preferred the word ‘gay’ over ‘lesbian’ although I don’t really care which of the many words people use. I am sure most of you know where the word ‘lesbian’ originates from. To those of you who don’t know, here are some tedious, pointless facts / opinions… that won’t change your life, on the big ‘L’ word and lesbian history according to Wikipedia…
Lesbian (lɛzbiːən) is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. Although female homosexuality has appeared in many cultures throughout time, not until recently has lesbian described a group of people.
In the late 19th century, sexologists published their observations on same-sex desire and behaviour, and designated lesbians in Western culture as a distinct entity. Historians since have re-examined relationships between women in history, and have questioned what qualifies a woman or a relationship as lesbian. The result of such discussion has introduced three components to identifying lesbians: sexual behaviour, sexual desire, or sexual identity.
Women's sexuality throughout history has largely been constructed by men, who have limited acknowledgment of lesbianism either as a possibility or as a valid expression of sexuality due to the absence of males in a lesbian relationship.
The word "lesbian" is derived from the name of the Greek island of Lesbos, home to the 6th-century BCE poet Sappho. From various ancient writings, historians have gathered that a group of young women were left in Sappho's charge for their instruction or cultural edification. Not much of Sappho's poetry remains, but that which does reflects the topics she wrote about: women's daily lives, their relationships, and rituals. She focused on the beauty of women and proclaimed her love for girls. Before the late 19th century, the word "Lesbian" referred to any derivative or aspect of Lesbos, including a type of wine.
Sappho wrote love poems addressed to both women and men. She has long been considered bisexual. Sappho was married to a man and gave birth to a daughter.
The narrators of many of her poems speak of infatuations and love (sometimes requited, sometimes not) women have for men, but descriptions of physical acts between women are debatable. The 3rd Century philosopher Maximus of Tyre wrote that Sappho was "small and dark" and that her relationships to her female friends were similar to those of Socrates, without having sexual relations. In 1890 the term was used in a medical dictionary as an adjective to describe tribadism (as "Lesbian love"): sexual gratification of two women by simulating intercourse. "Lesbianism" to describe erotic relationships between women had been documented in 1870. The terms were interchangeable with "Sapphist" and "Sapphism" around the turn of the 20th century. The use of "Lesbian" in medical literature became prominent; by 1925 the word was recorded as a noun to mean the female equivalent of a sodomite.
I have nothing against the word ‘lesbian’…it is after all only one of the many terms used to portray love between women. It doesn’t matter if you prefer to call yourself gay / lesbian / homosexual / dyke / woman lover or loving human… Other people’s history, opinions and portrayals of it is only…well history. It doesn’t change your life or give you that ‘a-ha moment’, but it is however nice to know that we have never been alone – love between women have always existed. I am however glad that we live in a time where people are more open about it. We live in the now and the one thing that we all have in common is love. And that is all that matters.
Source: Wikipedia
Si-lest’ © 2009
I enjoyed this article but feel that the word "lesbian" somehow just sounds derogatory. I prefer to call myself a "gay girl"! I agree that we live in a time where people have become more accepting; and yet it seems that we are not quite as accepted yet as what gay men are. Here's hoping that time, and possibly our endurance, will change that all completely.
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