a woman who is romantically attracted to other women
From Greek Lesbos, island home of poet Sappho, used in this sense since 1890s
Identity term for women attracted to women, important in LGBTQ+ discourse
Historically suppressed from medical/legal language; when discussed, often medicalized or erased. Lesbian identity was pathologized in early psychology and omitted from many dictionaries as recently as the 1970s-80s.
Use as neutral identity descriptor. Ensure lesbian experiences appear alongside other orientations without clinical framing.
Lesbian writers, activists, and scholars reclaimed this term as a political and cultural identity. Credit lesbian feminism's foundational contribution to gender equity movements.
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