All LHMP misc tags

This indicates anthropological accounts of lesbian-like individuals and institutions. These are generally covered as part of more general articles as they tend to be relatively recent.

Astrology was felt to determine a wide variety of behavioral characteristics and in some cases sexual preference was included.

(English) A 19th century term, chiefly used in the USA, for two unmarried women who shared a household. There was an understanding that they were likely to be “romantic friends” but that understanding did not necessarily assume a sexual relationship and while “Boston marriage” might carry a sense of satire, it wasn’t an accusation of improper behavior.

This is a conventionalized gesture in Western art begining in Classical times that is always understood to have romantic or erotic implications. It involves one person holding the chin of the other person in one hand. (See the LHMP logo for an example.) A variant may simply be one person touching the other’s cheek.

Female genital mutilation as a “treatment” against what was considered excess female sexual desire is mentioned frequently in medical texts from the 16th century onward. In some cases it is discussed as a “foreign” practice, but there is solid evidence that it was performed in Europe.

In many cultures, it is standard practice for spouses to be buried together after death and to share a memorial marker. In this context, the occasional practice of same-sex pairs being buried together accompanied by symbols or text usually associated with marriage may indicate social acceptance of a marriage-like bond between them.

A courtesan is a professional companion, typically educated and sophisticated, whose duties may include sex. It was a regular motif that courtesans might sometimes have female clients, or that they might enjoy sexual relationships with women as a change from “work.”

Any context where a person engages in actions or fulfills a social role that is socially designated for a different gender than the one they are assigned. This may be a covert part of an overall presentation or may be in open contradiction to their assigned gender.

(Latin) This phrase “joining right hands” indicates an action or the artistic representation of that action that represents entering into a marriage under Roman law. A formal depiction of two women with joined right hands could reasonably be understood as indicating a marriage-like relationship.

(Italian?) Literally “woman with woman.” Used by the 16th c French writer Brantôme for sex between women, but also more generally. Something of a polite euphemism.

Education is a regular theme around lesbian-like figures, either as a homosocial context or as a context for escaping a normative life.

This is a very general tag for any circumstance where specific emotional bonds are established between a pair of women.

Associated with medical interest in the function of the clitoris, starting in the 16th century, there arose a persistant myth that an enlarged clitoris (long enough for penetrative sex) was associated with lesbianism, either as cause or effect.

This tag indicates a specific literary motif where a woman takes on male disguise to take up a nautical profession. The motif shades more generally into disguise for any sort of martial profession. Although stories and songs employing this motif may tease at homoerotic potential (both ff and mm) there is almost always a clearly heterosexual resolution.

One of the strongest barriers for women trying to establish a permanent, stable partnership could be a social or economic necessity to be part of a male-headed household. This tag identifies discussions of the times, places, and circumstances in which female-headed households existed, and in some cases were considered unremarkable.

A rare, but intriguing motif is that of sexual activity between women resulting in pregnancy for one of them. The context may be attributed to transfer of sperm remaining from a previous heterosexual encounter or may fall more in the category of sympathetic magic with divine assistance.

Entire articles have been written on how historic writers interpreted “sodomy” in the context of women. As used, it could mean any non-procreative sexual activity (including heterosexual activities). In general, I’ve only used this tag when the phrase is used to indicate sex between women of any type.

(Latin) Literally “a woman who rubs”. The “-trix” ending is the grammatically feminine equivalent of the suffix “-tor” commonly seen in Latin vocabulary indicating an occupation or role. (E.g., actor, senator) The root “fric-” is the same one we see in “friction”. A variety of words meaning “to rub” are found to label lesbian activity, testifying to the general knowledge of one common sexual technique. There are occasional examples in English of the word rubster being used in the same sense, possibly as a direct translation rather than an independent invention.

(English) As with Tommy, an 18th century text provides undeniable evidence for this phrase meaning “women having sex together.” The 1749 polemic Satan’s Harvest Home has a section entitled “The Game of Flats” which goes into sufficient detail to make the meaning clear.

In contrast to the f>m version of gender disguise, literary or historic examples of a male-assigned person presenting as female to engage in a relation with a woman generally focus on themes of deceit. That is, the disguise is intended to circumvent social barriers to male access to women who are not their wives. If the female partner is unaware of the disguise, there may be a homoerotic subtext if she experiences desire for someone she believes to be female.

Green sickness was considered a genuine medical syndrome in certain times and places, being the result of unsatisfied female sexual desire. Medical manuals sometimes prescribed masturbation or manual stimulation by another woman as a cure.

(Greek) This is a word with much-debated nuances. The root is hetaira, one of the ancient Greek words for a prostitute, but typically more in the sense of a courtesan, i.e., a cultured professional woman who provided companionship both intellectual and sexual. The derived form hetairistriai has its earliest surviving appearance in Plato’s Symposium in the mythic story of how humans were originally dual-bodied creatures--some formed of male and female, some of two males, some of two females--and that desire is based on trying to unite with one’s “other half”. Hetairistriai (the plural) were women descended from a female-female pair, and who therefore were inclined to prefer women to men. The word appears in other Greek and Latin texts in the context of women with same-sex desires.

(Greek origin) A person from the Isle of Lesbos. The adoption of this term for a female homosexual is inarguably due to the association with Sappho, however the path has a few tangles. Greek comedic writers of the 5th c BCE used the word to indicate a sexually assertive (heterosexual) woman, especially one who practiced oral sex. One sometimes hears mistaken claims that the use of lesbian for sexual orientation is a modern invention. The earliest suviving use clearly indicating homosexuality is from Lucian in the 2nd century CE. Byzantine commentaries of the 10th c on the 2nd c religious writings of Clement of Alexandria directly equate lesbian and tribas. The earliest known use in English in this sense is in the 1730s.

This tag is used for any occasion where two female (or assigned-female) persons entered into marriage, whether or not both were aware of the other’s identity.

I’ve included this tag not simply because women engaged in martial activities are inherently gender-transgressive, but also because the motif is popular when writing historic or fantasy fiction about nonconforming women.

(used in Iraq, I haven’t confirmed language of origin) More properly a transgender term than a lesbian one. A person assigned female at birth who adopts a masculine gender role, although not necessarily accepted socially as a man.

References to oral sex between women. This topic is relatively uncommon in historic literature.

Many discussions of sexual transgressions by women (both in a homosexual or heterosexual context) revolve around whether penetration is involved. This emphasis on penetrative sex as being more significant than other activities had a significant impact on what types of lesbian activity were stigmatized.

This tag is used when a general or mixed discussion of physical affection is mentioned in the context of romantic or erotic bonds.

(Greek origin) This tag is used for the vocabulary terms, but see also Sappho in the Person/Event Tag category. The association of the ancient Greek poet Sappho with female same-sex desire has been a theme more or less since her lifetime. The popularity of vocabulary taken from her name has varied with her place in popular culture. Revival of interest in her poetry beginning in the 15th century (including translations of her works into vernacular languages and poets working in imitation of her themes) marks the beginning of these terms as common vocabulary for lesbians.

One of the motifs that fluctuates regularly across cultures and times is whether people are expected to feel romantic or erotic desire based on similarity or difference. During periods when desire is associated with similarity, there may be greater acceptance of romantic friendships between women or of passionate expressions of love and friendship betwen them.

(English) It isn’t often that the origins (or at least early roots) of slang terms can be identified unambiguously. By function, slang is often meant to be ambiguous, enabling the user to suggest without being explicit. We can’t know how much earlier the slang Tommy was in use, but an English satiric poem of 1773 “The Adulteress” states “Woman with woman act the Manly part and kiss and press each other to the heart...I know a thousand Tommies ‘mongst the sex.” (The full poem makes it clear that sexual activity is included.)

This tag identifies the specific hagiographical motif of women taking on male disguise in order to enter monastic life, especially stories set in the early Christian period when female monastic institutions were not prevalent.

This tag is used for any discussion of sexual stimulation by rubbing vulvas together, or more generally by rubbing of the genitals, even if the specific word is not used.

European contact with the gender-segregated institution of the harem in Ottoman Turkey, beginning around the 16th century, led to a fascination with the potential for female same-sex eroticism. This combined with a preference for “othering” lesbian activity both in time and space.

Both in literature and life, women-only communities created a focus for speculation on (or the experience of) romatic or erotic attraction between women. This tag includes not only formal single-sex institutions such as convents, but de facto ones such as women’s charitable organizations, or fictitious ones such as amazon societies or separatist utopias.