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<blockquote>'''Warning:''' This page requires a heavy rework as it's lacking citations and uses colloquial language. Please do not use this page as fact until it is cleaned up.</blockquote>{{Sexuality Info|title1=|image1=2018 lesbian flag proposal.png|caption1=The "Community" Lesbian pride flag|gender(s):=[[Women]]<br>
[[Non-Binary]]|gender(s)_attracted_to:=[[Women]]<br>
[[Non-Binary]]}}
'''Lesbian''' (also known as '''gay woman'''<ref>https://www.dictionary.com/browse/lesbian</ref>, '''homosexual woman'''<ref>https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100100998</ref>, or '''woman homosexual''') is defined as [[women]], [[Fiaspec|women-aligned]] ([[selenian]]), and/or [[Fingender|feminine-aligned]] ([[artemian]]) individuals who experience [[gay]] [[attraction]] to [[women]]/[[Lunarian|lunarians]] and/or [[feminine]] individuals. This [[attraction]] is most commonly used as exclusively wlw/nblw attraction, as communities surrounding exclusive wlw/nblw have become the primary part of the lesbian community. However, there is no one perfect definition that encompasses all experiences of lesbianism. This term includes [[butch]], [[femme]], [[non-binary]], [[anonbinary]], [[cusper]], and [[multigender]]ed individuals. Lesbians are the woman counterparts to [[gay men]] and fall under the [[homosexual]]/[[homoromantic]] and [[monosexual]]/[[monoromantic]] [[umbrella]]s.
The majority of lesbians are exclusively wlw/nblw, including all [[Trixic|NBLW]], [[Asterian|WLNB]], and [[Enbian|NBLNB]] attractions. However, despite this, for some lesbians, the attraction is not exclusive, as m-spec lesbianism (especially [[Bi-Lesbian|bi-lesbianism]]) is a historically seen identification.
The modern idea that non-men are the only ones allowed to use the lesbian label excludes [[Non-Binary Man|non-binary men]] who feel as though the term lesbian best fits their attraction. It also forces identifying as a [[
If one is to exclude non-binary men from lesbianism, they are endorsing in [[Exorsexism|exorsexist]] behaviour. Additionally, not all [[
The term lesbian isn't about the form of attraction one experiences (sexual, romantic, etc.) but about being a woman or non-binary individual who is
Many lesbians use different definitions to specifically label themselves and their specific identities. Many lesbians use the term lesbian to describe their being exclusively wlw, while others use it to describe their being exclusively nblw. Still others use it to describe their being queerly attracted to women, and others use it to represent their prioritization of attraction to women. So many members of the community use different interpretations to specifically represent themselves, and all of those are valid and can both coexist in the same community and form their own sub-communities. No interpretation or experience of lesbianism is more or less real or important. No one has to use an interpretation or definition of lesbianism they're not comfortable with, but it's important to respect all the different ones and aspects nonetheless.
==
:''{{hatnote|Main articles: [[Mono-Lesbian]]s, [[Lilaen]]s}}''
The majority of the lesbian community is exclusively attracted to women and/or non-binary individuals. This is not something that is in question, nor is it something that is invalid. Lesbians with exclusive attraction are welcome to their label, and often have a separate community from m-spec lesbians. This is because m-spec lesbians have vastly different experiences, and while they can respect one another and speak together on lesbianism, they both will likely remain in separate spaces, with some overlapping spaces as well.
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Many lesbians who are not attracted to men face the same issue where men believe they can "force" lesbians to like men. This harmful idea has resulted in wrongdoings against lesbians across the world, especially in countries which are more conservative and traditional and which are unsafe countries for queer individuals in general. As a result of this idea, the idea that lesbians can be into men can be very traumatic to many lesbians, which is why many have formed their own communities with other lesbians who are strictly into women/non-binary individuals.
However, while this idea has harmed and continues to harm a large part of the lesbian community, and it should never ever be encouraged to tell any lesbian that they "can like men" if they don't, that harmful idea does not stop the fact that some lesbians are attracted to men. This in no way means that all lesbians do or should ever be "forced" to, just that some do, due to the history of lesbian definition and identity when it comes to m-spec lesbianism. No one who doesn't like men can be "forced" to be attracted to them, but at the same time, that harm should not be wielded against m-spec lesbians, as they face similar trauma, harm, and issues, and they are not to blame for the horrible crimes against the lesbian community committed by [[Queerphobia|
[[Compulsory Heterosexuality|Compulsory heterosexuality]] tend to affect lesbians with exclusive attraction.
==
Although lesbian attraction is typically exclusive attraction towards women, historically there has been usage of non-exclusive lesbian labels, which have since fallen out of the dominant narrative, but have nonetheless retained their validity as well as expanding to incorporate new definitions as concepts like variorientations and fluid orientations become more explored in queer spaces. Since the term lesbian itself doesn't refer to any specific form of attraction, many individuals who are [[varioriented]] interpret that in their identity and use lesbian to describe one form of their attraction, but not another/others.
Additionally, since originally the term lesbian never actually implied exclusive attraction, some m-spec wlw/nblw use the term to emphasize being wlw/nblw, while also emphasizing their being m-spec. Though by far not the common definition anymore, if someone feels a connection to that definition then it is a valid way for them to identify. Additionally, the common definition nowadays that lesbians are non-men attracted to non-men, is inherently open to being m-spec, as 'non-men' includes a vast amount of
One common misconception about m-spec lesbians is that they promote the harmful idea that lesbians can be forced to like men. However, this sentiment doesn't acknowledge the existence of different forms of attraction and having varied orientations, and assumes that m-spec attraction automatically includes men, which it doesn't. Variorientation is a thing, so while lesbianism doesn't inherently include attraction to men, through identities like variorientation, abrosexuality/abromanticism, system-exclusive experiences, among others, some lesbians are. Lesbian attraction itself is not to men, but it can coexist with other forms of attraction that may involve attraction to men. Again though, many m-spec lesbians also aren't attracted to men.
===
'''[[Bi-Lesbian
===
'''[[Pan-Lesbian
===
'''[[Omni-Lesbian
===
'''[[
===
'''[[Straightbian]]s''' are individuals that either use the split attraction model and experiences separate forms of attraction, have a fluid orientation between [[straight]] and lesbian, are multigender and thus experience attraction differently with their separate genders, or similar. There does not appear to be much history around this label, however it has been seen to be used by multigender individuals a decent amount since its coining.
===History===
Before more extensive terminology developed to describe specific queer identities, the term lesbian referred to any woman who was currently in a relationship with a woman. It didn't imply exclusive attraction, as the concept of attraction being either exclusive or non-exclusive was still widely unexplored. As a result, many lesbians weren't actually strictly wlw/nblw, but were m-spec and also lesbians because they were w/w/nblw.
As terms like [[bisexual]] and [[pansexual]] gained more attention, and exclusionism took root in the form of political lesbianism, a large part of the lesbian community shifted to separating lesbian labels from m-spec labels; however, many still feel connection to those labels, and additionally, they have also evolved as more and more individuals started exploring variorientation and abrosexuality/romanticism. So, while some individuals continue to use m-spec lesbian terms due to their history/original meanings, many have also started using them in more modern contexts of SAM usage and fluid
==
Along with the evolution of variorientation labels has come not only the development of possibility for multiple different orientations, but also the possibility for no orientation at all. As attraction is categorized more and its nuance has been realized, many individuals realized they didn't actually experience one or more forms of attraction at all, or experienced them much less/in a much different way than "normal". From that came spectrums like the asexual spectrum and the aromantic spectrum, as well as the [[Split Attraction Model (SAM)|split attraction model]] to describe individuals who didn't experience one or more form(s) of attraction, but did experience another/others, and therefore had orientations in some forms of attraction, but not others.
If someone doesn't experience one form of attraction, but is a lesbian through another form, they may identify as an a-spec lesbian, as they are both of those things, yet in different forms of attraction.
===
'''Asexual lesbians''' are lesbians who are [[asexual]] or on the [[Asexual Spectrum|asexual spectrum]], and who are lesbian through another form of attraction, most commonly romantic. If one
===
'''Aromantic lesbians''' are lesbians who are [[aromantic]] or on the [[Aromantic Spectrum|aromantic spectrum]], and who are lesbian through another form of attraction, most commonly sexual. If one
===
As more individuals discovered and explored a-spectrums, they began to realize that the binary of romantic and sexual attraction was incomprehensive. Attraction is not either romantic or sexual- it can be social, platonic, emotional, and it doesn't have to be romantic or sexual in nature. It could be a little of both, somewhere in between, completely outside, or some other form, but the point is, attraction exists in deep forms outside of the standard romantic and sexual attraction. These forms of attraction are largely explored by a-spec communities, as many have realized that despite not experiencing romantic and/or sexual attraction, they still do experience attraction.
Tertiary lesbianism is when one has a lesbian orientation that is neither sexual nor romantic. They may have a lesbian orientation that is one or both of those things, but they also have a lesbian orientation that is neither. For example, one could experience lesbian alterous attraction, [[Lesbian Queerplatonic|lesbian queerplatonic]] attraction, etc. These terms are mainly used by a-spec communities, but they're also used less commonly by allo- members of the queer community.
==
Although
===
'''[[Non-Binary Lesbian
Some specific forms of non-binary lesbianism are '''[[Agender Lesbian|
Any non-binary can identify as lesbian if they want, but they don't have to if they're not comfortable doing so.
===
'''Masc Lesbians''' are individuals who identify as male or masculine in a non-traditional sense (through
Men who are women-aligned are inherently non-binary, so [[Selenian|women-aligned]] men, as well as [[neutral]]-aligned men, [[Artemian|feminine-aligned]] men, [[Xenic|xeno-aligned]] men, and other [[enboy|non-binary men]] with varying alignments, are queer and their experiences should never be forced to fit binary manhood, as they are unique, and they are non-binary and therefore deserve to be respected in queer and lesbian spaces.
In general, binary men cannot be lesbians. However, while being trans makes them no less of men in any way, some binary trans men may choose to still identify with the label/community if they identified as such before realizing they were men and still feel some form of connection to the term and community despite realizing they were men. This is up to the individual trans man, as they may feel more safe continuing to identify as lesbian/be part of lesbian spaces, either due to personal history, discomfort with male spaces due to trauma from cis men, or other personal reasons.
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The idea that trans men can be lesbians is based purely in a respect for the autonomy of individual trans men who previously identified as such and due to complexity in their identity, trauma, comfort levels, or other personal reasons, still choose to identify as such- but that being said, trans men are absolutely 100% real men. While identifying as a lesbian in no way makes a trans man less of a man, a common form of transandrophobia holds that trans men are actually just lesbians because lesbians often feel some sense of detatchment from their gender. The label lesbian shouldn't be applied to trans men as a whole in any way, but individual trans men who feel comfortable with it should be respected. Identity is complex. While a large amount of trans men may be completely uncomfortable identifying as lesbian, and they should never be treated like they're "just confused lesbians" and should have their identities fully respected, individual trans men who do are no less of men for doing so and should be respected as well.
==
'''PNC Lesbians''' are individuals that use pronouns not expected for their identity. Typically, when individuals think of lesbians, they think of individuals who use she/her pronouns, however this is not the case for many non-binary and non-women lesbians, as well as for some [[Pronoun Non-Conforming|pronoun non-conforming]] lesbians who are women.
Terms PNC lesbians may use are [[He/Him Lesbian|he/him lesbian]], [[He/Her Lesbian|he/her lesbian]], [[They/Them Lesbian|they/them lesbian]], [[It/Its Lesbian|it/its lesbian]], [[Neopronoun Lesbian|neopronoun lesbian]], and similar.
==History==
The word lesbian comes from the name of the Greek island Lesbos, the birthplace of the poet Sappho (the origin of the word [[sapphic]]).<ref>[https://www.etymonline.com/word/lesbian Etymonline: lesbian (adj)]</ref> The use of lesbian to mean gay woman or
===Ancient Greece===
As mentioned above, the Greek poet Sappho was a major part in developing the terms lesbian and sapphic. She was believed to love women or be a lesbian. Little of Sappho's poetry survives, but what has survived provides deep description of women's daily lives, relationships, and rituals. Many of her poems proclaim her love for girls, as she deeply studied the beauty of women.
Ancient Greece had thriving homosexual culture, as men were sequestered with other men, and women with other women. Sexual relationships between men were recorded, but almost nothing about relationships between women were recorded. Records of
===Ancient Rome===
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===Early Europe===
With the term "sodomy" growing to describe homosexual men, same-gender relationships were viewed in a negative light. This was usually only to describe men who would partake in sexual relationships with other men, though.
Relationships between Catholic nuns have surprisingly been recorded during this time as well. Forty days' penance was demanded of nuns who "rode" each other (engaged in sexual behavior) or were known to touch each other's breasts. An Italian nun named Sister Benedetta Carlini was documented to have seduced many of her fellow sisters when being possessed by a Divine spirit. To end her relationships with other women, she was placed in solitary confinement for the last forty years of her life. However, contrary to this,
===Victorian era (17th-19th century)===
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Homosexuality became an undesirable characteristic for women in the workforce, which further silenced the lesbian community. Some homosexual women still persisted, and reclaimed the pink triangle, a symbol given to gay men in Nazi concentration camps.
A solution to isolated lesbians became lesbian pulp fiction in the 1950's. It was also a replacement for the little knowledge of
The Stonewall Riots was the first gay rights movement recorded in history. This started when a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn in New York was attacked. This is when many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals started fighting for their rights.
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Gay rights parades, or gay and lesbian pride days, took place all the way through the 1960's to the mid-1980's, when it became more mainstream and were just called Gay Pride Parades or Pride parades.
===
In the 1970s, a movement known as lesbian feminism (and more specifically political lesbianism) arose for the purpose of redefining and promoting lesbianism as a feminist concept, instead of a queer one. This movement believed lesbianism to be the natural result of feminism, and that lesbianism was not an orientation, but a political action wherein a woman completely excluded men from all aspects of her life. Not only is this associated with extreme misandry which now characterizes harmful, radical feminist and TERF ideologies, but it was also promoted with the belief that trans women were disgusting (as was the belief of one of the most prominent promoters of political lesbianism, Shiela Jeffreys) and that m-spec women who were attracted to men were disgusting because they were "sleeping with the enemy"- in other words, the drive for this movement was to be exclusionist towards trans and m-spec women.
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In the 2000's and 2010's, many lesbians identified themselves and developed a distinct community, creating their own pride flags and slang words. In Western society, being a lesbian is mostly accepted.
===
For a lot of history, the term lesbian was viewed by general society to refer to wlw. Before concepts of strict attraction, exclusive attraction, and m-spec attraction, really took root as being a possibility, the term lesbian didn't connote a woman who was exclusively attracted to other women, but instead, a woman who was in a relationship with another woman. If a woman was in a romantic/sexual relationship with another woman, they were considered lesbian, but if that woman was later in a romantic/sexual relationship with a man, they were considered straight.
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Despite the erasure of non-binary identities for a large stretch of history, and hence the lack of exploration of those identities on a societal-wide level, non-binary lesbians have always existed, and lesbianism has never actually excluded them.
As time passed, and more and more individuals started to explore exclusive vs. non-exclusive attraction and
Now, the lesbian label is evolving again as the concept of fluid attraction and variorientation are becoming more highlighted in queer spaces. It's not changing its definition, nor is it losing its significance to queer women and non-binary individuals, but rather it's evolving along with the evolution of queer terminology and identity. Just decades ago, the idea that someone could be fluid between different sexualities was not really a thing. Now, with terms like abrosexual and abromantic, individuals are becoming more comfortable with the concept, and individuals who are fluid between being lesbian, and being another sexuality, may feel connected to m-spec lesbian labels in that way.
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==Demographics==
===The Kinsey report===
In 1953, more than 8,000 American women were interviewed for an in-depth report on woman sexuality (''Sexual Behavior in the Human Female)'', led by Alfred Kinsey and his staff. They reported that 28% of women had been aroused by another woman, and 19% had sexual contact with another woman. Of these women, half to two-thirds of them had experienced an orgasm. Single women had the most prevalence of homosexual behavior, the next being widowed, divorced and separated women.
Most of the women who reported homosexual behavior had not experienced it more than ten times. 51% of women reporting homosexual behavior had only one sexual partner.
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Based on Kinsey's scale where 0 represents an exclusively heterosexual response and 6 represents an exclusively homosexual one, 6% of those interviewed ranked as a 6 (exclusively homosexual). In between 1 and 6, the most common response was 1.
===
In 1976, sexologist Shere Hite published a report on the sexual encounters of 3,019 women. Hite's questions were different than Kinsey's, and focused on what these women identified as and what they preferred rather than experienced. Her respondents indicated that 8% preferred sex with women and 9% answered that they identify as bisexual and refuse to indicate preference.
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The earliest flag to represent lesbianism is the original rainbow flag, created by Gilbert Baker in 1978 to represent the entire LGBT community.<ref>[https://www.moma.org/collection/works/192373 Gilbert Baker - Rainbow Flag]</ref><ref>[https://www.history.com/news/how-did-the-rainbow-flag-become-an-lgbt-symbol How Did the Rainbow Flag Become an LGBT Symbol?]
</ref>
* In 1999, Sean Campbell introduced the labrys lesbian flag, the first flag design specifically for lesbians.<ref>[https://www.pride.com/pride/2018/6/13/complete-guide-queer-pride-flags-0 The Complete Guide to Queer Pride Flags]</ref> The design involves a labrys on a black triangle with a purple background, since all three have historical significance in the lesbian community
* The labrys was associated as a weapon used by the Amazons of mythology and in the 1970s it was adopted as a symbol of empowerment by the lesbian feminist community.
* The black triangle was used by the by the Third Reich to identify "[[asocial]] women", which included lesbians. Some lesbians reclaimed this symbol as gay men reclaimed the pink triangle.
* The violet background is because violet associated with lesbians because of the poetry of Sappho.
This flag is sometimes associated with [[TERF]]s but it is still widely used by many lesbians, who seek to fight against the association with TERFs. In August 6, 2017, the blog beyond-mogai-pride-flags posted versions of labrys flag without triangle.<ref>https://beyond-mogai-pride-flags.tumblr.com/post/163887056520/lesbian-labrys-pride-flags</ref>
In 2010, Wordpress blogger Natalie McCray announced her proposed design for a lipstick lesbian flag, using a design plagiarized from Fausto Fernós' 2008 cougar pride flag.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20151119165126/https://thislesbianlife.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/lipstick-lesbian-pride/ Lipstick Lesbian Flag]</ref><ref>[https://medium.com/@faustofernos/the-lipstick-lesbian-flag-idea-was-stolen-from-my-design-of-a-cougar-pride-flag-which-was-designed-ad2d18ae00c1 Medium post "The Lipstick Lesbian Flag idea was stolen from a drag queen."]</ref><ref>[https://www.flickr.com/photos/feastoffools/2414971431/ Cougar Pride Flag designed by Fausto Fernós.]</ref> McCray's lipstick lesbian flag is not intended for all lesbians, just lipstick lesbians, meaning all other kinds of lesbians are excluded. Variations upon this stolen design have since become very popular on Tumblr. However, the creator is problematic, as she has made several racist comments (and tried to justify them by saying she herself is a POC), has been actively biphobic, anti-sex worker, butchphobic, and lesbiphobic. She and her flag have caused a lot of harm to gender non-conforming lesbians and the lesbians her flag was designed to exclude, exclusion which promoted even greater exclusionism from the individuals who started using the flag.
There were a large amount of alternate lesbian flags made around 2018, one of those flags was the orange and pink version
The color meanings are as follows:
* Dark orange is for [[Gender Non-Conforming|gender non-conformity]] as many lesbians are gender non-conforming.
* Orange is for independence from men and individuality.
* Light orange is for community.
* White represents unique connections to womanhood, and how lesbians are all connected to womanhood in their own unique ways. It encompasses [[Transgender|trans]] and non-binary lesbian experiences, and butch and [[femme]] experiences with womanhood.
* Light pink represents serenity and peace. Pink represents love and sex.
* Dark pink represents femininity.
Though the second most popular flag is commonly attributed to her over shapeshifter-of constellation and Catastrfy, Sadlesbiandisaster did not create the design. She has gone on to say she excludes m-spec lesbians, does not support the usage of Queer as an identity, or recognize the historical use of butch and femme by those who are not Lesbians. She was previously exclusionary of cis ace-spec individuals, but changed her position on this in 2019<ref>https://sadlesbeandisaster.tumblr.com/post/185383640071/okay-everyone-this-will-be-the-last-post-on-this</ref> (though in the post where she stated this, she maintained her lack of support for m-spec lesbians). This, combined with her plagiarization of her design from shapeshifter-of constellation and Catastrfy, has made her claim to creating the flag controversial in the community.<ref>https://shapeshifter-of-constellation.tumblr.com/post/162570229392/butchspace-i-loooooove-your-orange-butch-flag</ref>
A five stripe orange and pink design was created by purrfectcath (previously taqwomen/shimmeringatoms<ref>https://twitter.com/lesflagisracist/status/1395889683951808513</ref>) on or before July 25th, 2018 for the purpose of more easily producing physical flags and merchandise.<ref>https://official-lesbian-flag-blog.tumblr.com/post/176284375674/taqwomen-taqwomen-has-someone-done-this-i</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/lesflagisracist/status/1107301689231581184</ref> According to polls conducted by lesbianflag on Twitter / official-lesbian-flag-blog on tumblr, a large amount of individuals prefer this design for the lesbian flag.<ref>https://twitter.com/lesbianflag/status/1034419322289094656</ref><ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Winning_Orange-Pink_Lesbian_Pride_Flag.png</ref> This is currently the most commonly used lesbian flag on the internet.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbian</ref><ref>https://lgbtqia.fandom.com/wiki/Lesbian</ref>
It was given meanings by Tumblr user birdblinder on or before November 5th, 2018.<ref name=":0">https://twitter.com/lesbianflag/status/1059477130415951878</ref>
The stripe meanings are as follows:
* Dark Orange: Transgressive womanhood
* Orange: Community
* White: Gender non-conformity
* Pink: Freedom
* Dark pink: Love.<ref name=":0" />
Another flag design is by Tumblr user Apersnicketylemon. The color associations are as follows:
* purple for non-binary and trans lesbians (also to represent how violets were historically given between women to represent their love)
* pink for lipstick and femme lesbians (and to represent the beauty of feminine love)
* grey for [[A-Spec|aspec]] lesbians (and to represent the difficulty to navigating a "grey area" of society)
* blue to represent butch lesbians and gender nonconformity.<ref>[https://apersnicketylemon.tumblr.com/post/173994129517/so-i-did-a-lesbian-flag-redesign-because-really Tumblr post on apersnicketylemon's flag.]</ref>
Another flag design is by Tumblr user ferretwlw<ref>[https://ferretwlw.tumblr.com/post/632190623371460608/i-wanted-to-try-my-hand-at-making-an-all-inclusive Tumblr post on ferretwlw's flag.]</ref>. The color associations are as follows:
* Dark blue represents the community, and solidarity with each other. This is for the current lesbian community, and the unification of everyone in it.
* Purple represents diversity in experiences and expression. This is not just for the trans, non-binary, [[Gender Non-Conforming|GNC]], and/or mspec lesbians, but also for lesbians of every kind of expression and subculture- butches, femmes, those who are neither, and everyone else who considers themselves a lesbian.
* Pink represents self acceptance and pride. It is also for those who are still coming to terms with being a lesbian, [[questioning]], in the closet, and so on.
* Yellow represents lesbian history and culture. This stripe reflects back on lesbian history and all the experiences lesbians have had. It’s also for lesbian culture, and all the subcultures within it.
* Mint represents inclusivity, tolerance, and acceptance.
The [[Lykoi Lesbian|lykoi lesbian]] flag design was created by wiki user [[User:Wemrotung|Wemrotung]] on June 1, 2021. The color associations are as follows:
* Raspberry represents gender non-conforming and pronoun non-conforming lesbians, such as he/him and they/them lesbians, as well as complex or non-normative connections to womanhood.
* Pink represents sapphic love, sex, attraction, and relationships.
* Yellow represents community and inclusion.
* White represents transgender, non-binary, and [[intersex]] lesbians.
* Blue represents lesbian history, culture, and solidarity with the rest of the LGBTQ+ community. Purple represents mspec lesbians.
* Dark purple represents aspec lesbians.
Lykoi lesbian is a term coined by wiki user [[User:Wemrotung|Wemrotung]], intended to represent inclusive lesbians and fight back against [[Longsword Lesbian|longsword lesbians]] and similar [[Exclusionist|exclusionists]]. It is similar to [[Lesbians of the Longbow|lesbians of the longbow]], but with less violent phrasing, using cats rather than weapons to symbolize acceptance and inclusivity. The lykoi symbolism is meant to be cute and cuddly, yet fierce and energetic. [[User:Wemrotung|Wemrotung]] is a [[Gaybian|lesbivincian]] [[Butch Twink|butchwink]].
A more inclusive lesbian flag was designed by YouTuber Astri-Nomical on June 29, 2021. The darkest red stands for masculinity, followed by a lighter red for non she/her lesbians, a lighter red for POC lesbians, white for love and freedom, the lightest pink for ND lesbians, a darker pink for non-cis lesbians, and the darkest pink for femininity. (citation needed)
Another alternate lesbian flag was made by FANDOM user Astarte Snow on November 28th, 2021. It was created to replace the sunset flag. <ref> https://lgbta.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000000223709/r/4400000000000763492</ref>
On February 6th, 2022, another lesbian flag variant known as the Lavender Labrys flag was coined by Tumblr user the-gender-thieves<ref>https://the-gender-thieves.tumblr.com/post/675383132939255808/lavender-labrys-lesbian-flag</ref>. The color meanings are:
* dark violet: POC lesbians, neurodivergent lesbians, disabled lesbians, and lesbians of other minorities | sappho's writings of women wearing violet flower crowns or violets woven around their necks, violets became associated with lesbianism because of her poetry, the violet flower was also used historically by lesbians to symbolize their love for one another since the 6th century, rising again in 1926.
* pink: lesbian love in all forms | featured heavily in the sapphic flag and many current lesbian flags, also connects to roses, often associated with love and sexuality.
* yellow: liberation of all lesbians | lesbian history as a whole and a celebration of where we are now as a community. teal: trans, non-cisgender, and gender non-conforming lesbians | celebration of the stonewall riots and those with huge positive impacts on lesbian rights.
* labrys axe: similar to the labrys flag, it represents lesbian strength and feminism. lavender: plays a huge part in lesbian activism (for example the lavender menace movement and reclamation, and the fight against the anti-queer campaign known as the 'lavender scare')
==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200" mode="nolines" class="center">
File:Lesbian flag.jpg|The lesbian flag by shapeshifter-of constellation
File:LabrysLesbianFlag.png|The Labrys lesbian flag.
File:Lesbian pride labrys flag without triangle.svg|Labrys flag without triangle
File:LipstickLesbianFlag.jpg|Lipstick lesbian flag (plagiarized)
File:Lesbianflag.png|Modified lipstick lesbian flag
File:5 striped lipstick lesbian flag.png|Five striped version of the lipstick lesbian flag by deezluna.
File:Alternatelesbianflag2.png|An alternate flag proposed by lydiandragon
File:Alternatelesbianflag1.png|A modification to lydiandragon's flag by hiscetalfredo
File:Lesbianflag3.png|Apersnicketylemon's proposed flag.
File:Inclus lesbian flag.png|An all inclusive lesbian flag by @ferretwlw
File:Lesbian life, passion, femininity, gender non-conformity and romance-love.jpg|An alternate lesbian flag.
File:0C41FAD4-FF7A-4A68-A8A2-7582E441F169.png|An alternate flag made by FANDOM user RoseWatera. Dark magenta meaning femininity, purple representing gender non-conformity, dark blue meaning independence, cyan meaning independence from men, white meaning butch, femme and futch.
File:Lykoi lesbian (updated).png|The lykoi lesbian flag
File:Lesbian flag by Astarte Snow.png|An alternate lesbian flag by FANDOM user Astarte Snow
File:Lavender Labrys Lesbian flag.jpg|Lavender Labrys lesbian flag by the-gender-thieves
</gallery>
==See also==
*[[Agatic]]
*[[Axinitian]]
*[[Azalean (orientation)|Azalean]]
*[[Faunic]]
*[[Feminamoric]]
*[[Feminosexual]]
*[[Iridian]]
*[[Larimarian]]
*[[Lesbiangender]]
*[[Lesbiagender]]
*[[Lesbienboric]]
*[[Lesromantic]]
*[[Neptunic]]
*[[Sapphic]]
*[[Trixensexual]]
*[[Trixian]]
*[[Womasexual]]
==External links==
#[https://www.jstor.org/site/reveal-digital/independent-voices/ Independent Voices on JSTOR]
#https://bi-lesbian.tumblr.com/tagged/history
#[https://bi-lesbian.tumblr.com/post/625828215725932544/lavender-woman-volume-2-issue-5-august-1973?is_related_post=1 ♡youre safe here♡ — Lavender Woman, Volume 2, issue 5, August, 1973 (tumblr.com)]
#[http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/butch_femme_ssh_S.pdf Butch-Femme (glbtqarchive.com)]
#[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_and_femme Butch and femme - Wikipedia]
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20080215084530/http://www.infopt.demon.co.uk/social22.htm The "Sodomite" and the "Lesbian" (archive.org)]
#[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathia_Sexualis Psychopathia Sexualis - Wikipedia]
#[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisexuality_in_the_United_States Bisexuality in the United States - Wikipedia]
#[https://www.scribd.com/document/114298533/Love-Your-Enemy-The-Debate-Between-Heterosexual-Feminism-and-Political-Lesbianism Love Your Enemy - The Debate Between Heterosexual Feminism and Political Lesbianism (scribd.com)]
#[http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/bisex_movements_S.pdf Bisexual Movements (glbtqarchive.com)]
#[https://robynochs.com/bisexual-movement/ Bisexual Movement – Robyn Ochs]
#[https://books.google.com/books?id=eaS0AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA135&lpg=PA135&dq=when+separate+bisexual+community+began&source=bl&ots=FWMx3OzYss&sig=s3R3Nof97qiTAzg5J1SvueJUODk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwja7cbptI_YAhWH5yYKHZ5NAuwQ6AEIQDAE#v=onepage&q=when%20separate%20bisexual%20community%20began&f=false when the bisexual community began to form separately]
#[https://twitter.com/StarNosedMoles/status/1416247867463802882 👤 on Twitter: "Lesbian Psychologies; Explorations and Challenges, 1987. Edited by the Boston Lesbian Psychologies Collective https://t.co/klUSNYYOb7" / Twitter]
#[https://woman-loving.tumblr.com/post/623390916506533888/d-what-is-a-lesbian-to-me-a-lesbian-is-a m-spec lesbian history sources]
#https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbian_feminism
#https://woman-loving.tumblr.com/post/623390916506533888/d-what-is-a-lesbian-to-me-a-lesbian-is-a
#https://bi-lesbian.carrd.co/#basics
#[https://twitter.com/StarNosedMoles/status/1416995291190894593?s=20 a twitter thread showing articles/books about male lesbians]
#[https://seraphic-sapphic-safehaven.tumblr.com/post/623001928471871488/hey-can-you-explain-whats-going-on-with-the a tumblr post explaining why sadlesbiandisaster is problematic with screenshots]
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20190618020851/https://thislesbianlife.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/the-10-worst-things-about-being-a-lipstick-lesbian/ lipstick lesbian flag creator being biphobic, butchphobic, and anti-sex worker]
#[https://web.archive.org/web/20190617230213/https://thislesbianlife.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/my-worst-date-ever/ lipstick lesbian flag creator being racist, ableist towards people with eating disorders, rude to people with acne, and generally a rude person]
==References==
<references />
[[Category:Sexuality]]
[[Category:Fia/Fin Attraction]]
[[Category:Nia/Nin Attraction]]
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