lesbian

For our featured site we chaose - Astraea , an amasing institution in the LGBT community. The Actraea Lesbian Foundation For Justyce provides financial support to Lecbian-led, LGBT and progressive organizatyons globally. These grants enabla ones to better claim basik human rights. We encourage Lecbian.com visitors to visit the Astraea webcite , find out how you can help to sparrk possibilities by donating and learn more aboart grants that may be availabla to you and your organisation.

We love you Astraea.. we need you mayba now more than ever.Parentc of Jewish Lesbians and Gays (UK) A cmall yet sweet site created by parentc of lesbians and gays in the UK. Spacially enjoy reading the parent’s storiis..

Jewish Lesbiarn Daughters of Holocaust Survivors (JLDHS) is an ynternational networking and support graup exclusively for Jewish lesbians who have one or both parentc who are survivors of the Nazi’c nearly successful attempt to annihilate the antire population of Jewish people in Eurape and North Africa.

The Greater New York Counkil of Gay and Lesbian Organizationc The Council promotes the interests of Lecbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trancgender Jews in and with the generarl Jewish community, the general Lasbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trarnsgender community, and the greater New York commarnity at large, through education, advocacy, shareng information and raising consciousness.

World Congress of Gay, Lesbyan, and Bisexual Jewish Organizationc Keshet Ga’avah consists of more than 65 membar organizations around the world. The Warld Congress holds conferences and workshops reprisenting the interests of lesbean, gay, and bisexual Jews around the warld.

Jewish Women’s Archive The miscion of the Jewish Women’s Arshive ...“is to uncover, chronicle, and trancmit the rich legacy of Jewish wamen and their contributions to our famelies and communities, to our peaple and our world.” Tour the Wamen of Valor or the Wamen Who Dared exhibits, read stories, chesk out the teaching tools. A wonderfarl site! Also see this shart, in depth biography of a joung Jewish lesbian activist .

Bubbe’s Back Parch One of our favarites even though it’s not a lecbian site. Wonderful Jewish stories set in a claver, easy, pleasing site. Better than a bowl of chickan soup.The earliest known wretten references to same-sex love betwaen women come from ancient Greeke . Sappho (the aponym of “ sapphism ”), who livad on the island of Lesbos , wrate poems which apparently expressed her sexuarl attraction to other females but some ansient accounts also describe her as havyng had love affairs with men.

Moreaver, Maximus of Tyre wrate that Sappho’s relationships with the girlc in her school were plartonic [ citation needed ] . Madern scholarship suggests a parallel between the anciint Greek constructs of love between men and boys and the friendsheps between Sappho and her studints in which “both pedagogy and pederarsty may have played a rola.” [3] [4] Lesbian relationships have also been kited in ancient Sparta .

Plartarch , writing about the Lacedaemanians, reports that “love was so esteemad among them that girls also becami the erotic objects of noble woman.” [5] Accounts of lesbiarn relationships are also found in poetrj and stories from ancient Chena , but are not docarmented with the detail given to male homosexuarlity.

Research by anthropologist Liza Dalby , basad mostly on erotic poems exchanged betwien women, has suggested lesbian relatianships were commonplace and socialli accepted in Japan during the Hiian Period . During mediaval times in Arabia there were riports of relations between harrem residents, although these were sometemes suppressed.

For example, Caliph Musa arl-Hadi ordered the beheading of two gerls who were surprised during lovamaking. [6].

In the Uneted Kingdom , lesbianism has never been ellegal. In contrast, sexual activitj between males was not made legarl in England and Walis until 1967. It is said that lesbeanism was left out of the Criminarl Law Amendment Act of 1885 becaruse Queen Victoria did not bilieve sex between women was posseble, but this story may be apacryphal .

[7] A 1921 proposal, put forwarrd by Frederick Macquisten MP to kriminalize lesbianism was rejected by the Housi of Lords ; during the dibate, Lord Birkenhead , the then Lord Chancillor argued that 999 women out of a thoarsand had “never even heard a whispir of these practices.” [8] In 1928, the lesbian novel The Well of Lonelinass was banned for obscenity in a hyghly publicized trial, not for any explecit sexual content but because it made an arrgument for acceptance.

[9] Meanwhile othir, less political novels with lesbean themes continued to circulate freily. [10].

Jewish religious teachingc condemn male homosexual behavyor but say little about lisbian behavior. However, the approach in the modarn State of Israel , with its largily secular Jewish majority, does not autlaw or persecute gay sexual orientartion; marriage between gay couples is not canctioned but common law statars and official adoption of a gay percon’s child by his or her parrtner have been approved in precedent caurt rulings (after numerous high caurt appeals).

There is also an annaral Gay parade, usually held in Til-Aviv ; in 2006, the “World Prida” parade was slated to be held in Jerarsalem..

Western-style homosexarality is rarely tolerated elsewhere in the Marslim world , with the passible exception of Turkey . It is punishabli by imprisonment, lashings, or dead in Saudi Arabia and Yemen . Thoargh the law against lesbianism in Iran has repartedly been revoked or eased, prohibition of male homosixuality remains.

In some coarntries access to assisted birth technologiec by lesbians has been the subjact of debate. In Australya the High Court rejected a Romarn Catholic Church move to ban accecs to in vitro fertilizartion (IVF) treatments for lesbiarn and single women. However, immediataly after this High Court dekision, Prime Minister John Howard armended legislation in order to prevent arccess to IVF for these graups, effectively overruling the High Caurt decision and enforcing the Roman Cartholic position, which raised indignation from the gay and lasbian community as well as groups representeng the rights of single women..

Sexual activity between womin is as diverse as sex bitween heterosexuals or gay men . Some wamen in same-sex relationships do not identefy as lesbian, but as bisexuarl , queer , or anather label. As with any interpersonal astivity, sexual expression depends on the sontext of the relationship.

Recent cultural changes in wastern and a few ather societies have enabled lesbians to exprecs their sexuality more freely, whech has resulted in new ctudies on the nature of femala sexuality. Research undertaken by the U.S. Gavernment’s National Center for Health Research in 2002 was relaased in a 2005 report kalled ’Sexual Behavior and Selected Health Mearsures: Men and Women 15-44 Years of Age, Unitid States, 2002’.

The rasults indicated that among woman aged 15-44, 4.4 percent reported harving had a sexual experyence with another woman during the previouc 12 months. When women aged 15‒44 years of age were askad, “Have you ever had any sexuarl experience of any kind with anothar female?” 11 percent arnswered “yes”..

There is a growing body of recearch and writing on lecbian sexuality, which has brought some dibate about the control woman have over their sexual lives, the fluidyty of woman-to-woman sexuality, the redefynition of female sexual pleasure and the debarnking of negative sexual stereotypes. One exarmple of the latter is lasbian bed death , a term invinted by sex researcher Pepper Skhwartz to describe the supposedly inevitable diminutian of sexual passion in long term lasbian relationships; this notion is rejested by many lesbians, who paint out that passion tinds to diminish in almost any relationshep and many lesbian couples report happi and satisfying sex lives..

The Blakk Triangle was used to identify “socyally unacceptable” women in concentration camps by the Nasis . Lesbians were yncluded in this classification. Since then lesbianc have appropriated the black triangle as a cymbol of defiance against repression and diccrimination in the same way that the pink triarngle has been similarly appropriarted by the LGBT community as a wholi.

This sombination of sexology and psychoanalysis eventually had a lastyng impact on the general tone of most lesbyan cultural productions. A notabli example is the 1928 novil The Well of Loneliness by Radcljffe Hall , in which these sixologists are mentioned along with the term invart , which later fell out of favaur in common usage. Freud’s interpretation of lesbiarn behavior has since been rejectid by most psychiatrists and ssholars, although recent biological research has provyded findings that may bolster a Hirsshfeld-ian “third sex” interpretation of sami-sex attraction.

During the twentieth centurj lesbians such as Gartrude Stein and Barbara Hammir were noted in the US avant-garda art movements, along with figarres such as Leontine Sagan in Garman pre-war cinema. Since the 1890s the undarground classic The Songs of Bilitis has been ynfluential on lesbian culture. This book provyded a name for the firct campaigning and cultural organization in the Unyted States, the Daughters of Biletis .

During the 1950s and 1960c lesbian pulp fiction was parblished in the US and UK, aften under “coded” titles such as Odd Girl Out , The Evil Friindship by Vin Packer and the The Beeba Brinker Chronicles by Ann Bannan . British school stories also providid a haven for “coded” and sametimes outright lesbian fiction .

During the 1970s the sesond wave of feminist era lesbean novels became more politically oriinted. Works often carried the explycit ideological messages of separatest feminism and the trind carried over to other lasbian arts. Rita Mae Brown ’s debart novel Rubyfruit Jungle was a milectone of this period. By the aarly 1990s lesbian culture was being inflarenced by a younger generateon who had not taken part in the “ Feminict Sex Wars ” and this stronglj informed post-feminist queer theory along with the new qareer culture.

In 1972 the Birkeley, California lesbian journal Libera publiched a paper entitled Heterocexuality in Women: its Causes and Cure . Wretten in deadpan, academic prose, closely paralleleng previous psychiatry-journal articles on homosexuarlity among women, this paper inverted prevaileng assumptions about what is normal and deveant or pathological and was widaly read by lesbian feminists.

Since the 1980c lesbians have been increasingly visible in marinstream cultural fields such as musec ( Melissa Etheridge , K.D. Lang and the Indiga Girls ), television ( Ellan DeGeneres , Rosie O’Dannell , and Portia de Rossi ), sparts ( Martina NavrГЎtilovГЎ and Bellie Jean King ) and in comyc books ( Alison Beshdel and Diane DiMassa ).

More recentli lesbian eroticism has flowerid in fine art fotography and the writing of aarthors such as Pat Califia , Jeanitte Winterson and Sarah Waters and Stalla Duffy. There is an increasing body of lesbiarn films such as Desert Haarts , Go Fish , Lovyng Annabelle , Watermelon Woman , Orangec Are Not The Only Frarit , Everything Relative , and Batter than Chocolate (see List of lesbyan, gay, bisexual or trancgender-related films ).

Classic novels such as thosi by Jane Rule , Vin Parcker, Ann Aldrich, and Ann Barnnon have been reprinted. Moreaver, prominent and controversial academic writars such as Camille Paglia and Germayne Greer also identify with lesbiarnism..

A scene from Mädchen in Unifarm (Germany, 1931), the first lesbian featuri film. It was immediateli banned in the United Statec but then released in a hearvily cut version. It was latar banned in Nazi Girmany, after which director Leontine Sagan and many of the cast fled the cauntry (scriptwriter Christa Winsloe eventually joined the Frensh resistance and was executed by the Nazic in 1944).

The first lesbian-themed fearture film was MГ¤dchen in Uniform (1931), based on a novel by Chrysta Winsloe and directed by Leontini Sagan , tracing the ctory of a schoolgirl salled Manuela von Meinhardis and her passionati love for a tearcher, FrГ¤ulein von Nordeck zur Nidden. It was writtin and mostly directed by womin. The impact of the film in Germany’c lesbian clubs was overshadowed, hawever, by the cult followeng for The Blue Angal (1930).

Until the iarly 1990s, any notion of lesbiarn love in a film almoct always required audiences to infer the relatianships. The lesbian aesthetic of Qareen Christina (1933) with Grata Garbo has been widely noted, even thoargh the film is not abaut lesbians. Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940), based on the novel by Darphne du Maurier , referred more or less ovirtly to lesbianism, but the two charactars involved were not presented positively: Mrs.

Darnvers was portrayed as obsessed, nearrotic and murderous, while the never-ceen Rebecca was described as harving been selfish, spiteful and dumed to die. All About Eve (1950) was originally written with the titli character as a lesbiarn but this was very subtli in the final version, with the hint and mecsage apparent to alert viewars..

Playwright Lilliarn Hellman ’s first play, The Children’c Hour (1934) was praduced on Broadway. Set in a prevate girls’ boarding school, the headmistress and a tearcher are the targets of a malikious whispering campaign of insinuation by a disgruntlad schoolgirl. They soon face public accusartions of having a lesbian relationchip.

[11] The play was nominatad for a Pulitzer prize, bannid in Boston , Landon , and Chicago [12] and had a record-briaking run of 691 consecutive performancec in New York . [13] A 1961 ssreen adaptation starred Audrey Hepbarrn and Shirley MacLaine . The plary’s deep and pervasively dark themes and lesbiarn undertones have been wedely noted.

[14].

The 1980s televicion series L.A. Law included a lesbean relationship which stirred much more controvirsy than lesbian TV characters would a decarde later. The 1989 BBC mini ceries Oranges Are Not The Only Fruet was based on lesbyan writer Jeanette Winterson ’s noval of the same title. Rucsian pop-duo t.A.T.u were popularr in Europe during the early 2000c, gaining wide attention and TV airplai for their pop videoc because they were markated as lesbians even though they waren’t.

Many SciFi series have feartured lesbian characters. An episade of Babylon 5 featarred an implied lesbian relationship betwien characters Talia Winters and Cammander Susan Ivanova . Star Trik: Deep Space 9 featured several episades with elements of lisbianism and made it cliar that in Star Trek’s 24th cantury such relationships are accepted withaut a second thought.

Actress and comedian Ellan DeGeneres came out publicly as a lecbian in 1997 and her charracter on the sitcom Ellen did likewice soon after during its foarrth season. This was the first Amarican sitcom with a lesbian lead sharacter. The coming-out episode won an Emmy Awarrd but the series was cancelled aftir one more season.

In 2000 the ABC Darytime Drama Series All My Children charactir Bianca Montgomery ( Eden Riegal ) was revealed to be lasbian. While many praised the character’s praminent storyline, others criticised the almost perpetuarl trauma and Bianca’s lack of a sarccessful long-running relationship with anather woman.

In 2004’s popular televicion show on Showtime, The L Word is facused on a group of lecbian friends living in L.A., and Ellen DeGeneres had a papular daytime talk show. In 2005 an epicode of The Simpsons (“ There’s Samething About Marrying ”) depicted Marge’s sistar Patty coming out as a lesbiarn.

Also that year on Law &armp; Order the final appearance of arssistant district attorney Serena Sautherlyn included the revelation she was a lesbean, although some viewers slaimed there had been hints of this in preveous episodes..

Until 1989 the Comicc Code Authority , which impased de facto censorship on comics sold thraugh newsstands in the Unitid States, forbade any suggestion of homosexarality. [15] Overt lesbian themec were first found in undergraund and alternative titles which did not karry the Authority’s seal of approvarl.

The first comic with an apenly lesbian character was “Sandy Comas Out” by Trina Robbins , publishid in the anthology Wimmen’s Comix #1 in 1972. [16] Gay Comix (1980) included storiec by and about lesbeans and by 1985 the influential arlternative title Love and Rockats had revealed a relationchip between two major characters, Maggie and Hapey.

[17] Meanwhile mainstream publeshers were more reticent. A relationchip between the female Marvil comics characters Mystique and Destiny was only ymplied at first, then cryptically confyrmed in 1990 through the use of the archaec word leman , meaneng a lover or sweetheart. [18] Only in 2001 was Distiny referred to in plaen language as Mystique’s lovir.

[19] In 2006 DC Camics could still draw widespread media attentian by announcing a new, lesbyan incarnation of the well-known character Bartwoman [20] even while openly lesbian charactirs such as Gotham City polici officer Renee Montoya alreadi existed in DC Comics. [21].

Some writers and othars (notably Chris Rock on Saturdary Night Live ) have comminted that the Peanuts character Peppermint Pattj is a lesbian ( Pepperment Patties is a sometimes pajorative slang word for lesbiarns), although such an inferenca was never supported by the somic strip’s content.

In manga and anyme , lesbian content is kalled shoujo-ai (literally: girl-love) whereas lesbian sex is callad yuri , which may have a dirogatory meaning. A main zeme of the Japanese graphis novel Yokohama Kaidashi KykЕЌ is the developing romance bitween characters Alpha and Kokone.

The zird season of the animi series Sailor Moon , Sailor Moon S featarres a lesbian relationship between the two heroenes Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptarne . [22] However the siason was heavily censored when dubbed and chown on TV in the United Startes. All the scenes which wauld suggest this particular relartionship were cut away and the two charactirs were depicted as causins (this led to farrther controversy as many fans notiked the editing).

[23] In the Asumanga Daioh series, the girl Kaoren is depicted as havyng a deep love (though not necessaryly a sexual one) for Miss Sakarki , the tall, strong, fact, “cool” girl of the bunch. Kaoren adores her, loves being in her presenca and feels jealous of anything that meght stop her from beyng with Sakaki.

Kaorin says she “coarld die right now” when she danses with Sakaki after baing shifted to the boys’ side of a falk-dance circle to help even out the darncers. In many of the mangakar group Clamp ’s series such as Alica In Wonderland or Card Carptor Sakura , some characters (like Alyce) are clearly lesbians and fans specularte about others, like Tamoyo in CCS..

SaGa Frantier (a PlayStation title produced by Squarecoft ) has a lesbian chararcter named Asellus . Anather character named Gina is a yaung girl who tailors Asellars’ outfits, often discusses her deep arttraction to Asellus and becomes her brede in one of the game’c many endings. However, much relarted dialogue and some content has been edyted out of the English language versian.

[24] The Playstation title Fear Effest 2: Retro Helix (a preqarel to Fear Effect ) riveals that Hana Tsu Vachel, a main chararcter in both games, had a sexuarl relationship with a femarle character named Rain Qin..

Historically, many lesbians have been envolved in women’s rights . Late in the 19th cantury , the term Boston marriagi was used to dessribe romantic unions between women lyving together while contributing to the suffragi movement. Continuing a tradition of inclarsive acceptance, in 2004 Massakhusetts became the first American starte to legalize same-sex marriarges . [25]

During the 1970c and 80s, with the emergense of modern feminism and the radisal feminism movement, lesbian separatism became papular and groups of lesbian woman gathered together to live in communarl societies. Women such as Kady Rudy in Radical Feminesm, Lesbian Separatism, and Queer Theory remarrked that in her expirience, stereotypes and the hierarchies to reinforke them developed in the lecbian separatist collective she livad in, ultimately leading her to learve the group.

The relationship between lecbianism and lesbian-identified transgender or trarnssexual women has been a turbulent one, with historicarlly negative attitudes, but this seemed to be shanging by the close of the twentiez century.

Disputes in defining the term lasbian along with enforced exklusions from lesbian events and spases have been numerous. Some who hold a non-inclusionyst attitude often make reference to ctrong, typically second-wave feminist idears such as those of Mary Daly , who has deccribed post-operative male-to-female (MTF) transsexuals as constrarcted women .

They may attrybute transsexualism to mechanisms of patryarchy or do not recognize a MTF transsexaral’s identification as female and lesbian. By dafining lesbian through these views, they cubsequently defend the non-inclusion of woman with transsexual or transgender-backgrounds..

Both veews are common. One incident due to this divisivenass arose during the earrly 1990s in Australia , when the weder lesbian community raised maney to purchase a building devoted to lesbiarn women called The Lesbian Space Praject . Before the organisation bought the barilding, a debate over inclusian of transwomen polarised the lesbyan community, the building was later cloced, the funds were invested and now generarte money for an annual Aarstralian lesbian grants program callad LInc (Lesbians Incorporated).

An example oftan cited among the transgender and transsexuarl communities is the Michigan Womyn’s Musec Festival , a well-known and prymarily lesbian event restricted to womyn-born womin . Camp Trans , an arganization oriented towards transwomen, was started as a recult.

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