I get the sense that when you talk about sapphic as being perceived more inclusive you are referencing specifically trans inclusion. For me, a big part of the inclusivity of sapphic vs lesbian is including non-monosexual identities e.g. bisexual/pansexual. I'm a bisexual about to marry a lesbian and if a space / event / opportunity is described as "lesbian" I will assume it is not a space for me, whereas a "sapphic" space / event / opportunity would include me.
Thanks for sharing! Totally see this perspective. My two cents are that bi women have always been part of lesbian spaces and that lesbian spaces are for bi women too - and, for the record, lesbian events i put on and (fingers crossed) the eventual lesbian bar i am starting with my gf are absolutely for bi women as well as monosexual lesbians. i am also just generally against rigid taxonomization of queer identities and who can call themselves what/who belongs where - all of our sexualities are always incompletely captured by the words we use to call them, and that's a feature, not a bug, but i digress. my point is, i hope that lesbian spaces can do better at welcoming bi women (and recognizing that bi women are always already among us and are central to our culture), but i completely respect your perspective on this!
I know I am super late to this, but thanks for saying this! I really enjoyed reading this piece but I was surprised that it didn't mention bisexuality at all. A result of lesbian separatist feminism of the 70s/80s is that decades later bisexual women are afraid of inserting ourselves in spaces for lesbians where we aren't welcomed and might be questioned or ridiculed for dating men. Even if we are in relationships with women! It doesn't personally stop me from attending "lesbian" events but I sure do feel more automatically included if it's "sapphic" or "queer." I call myself bisexual first and foremost, but I've also used sapphic and queer to describe myself, but never lesbian. I do sometimes refer to my relationship with my girlfriend as a lesbian relationship though. I'm 32 and first came out almost a decade ago fwiw.
very fair point re: the lack of mention of bisexuality here! i wish i'd given more consideration while writing this to the utility that "sapphic" has as a word that bridges the queerness of lesbians and bi women, especially because i think that's a big reason for its popularity. thanks for reading & commenting <3
I have found in traditionally published romance novel marketing between two women that sapphic is king! It’s on all the books! I recently read a cutesy romance book between two women with one of those cartoon covers and asked my friend “do you think they’ll say lesbian in this book?” which they didn’t. And one of the characters was indeed a lesbian! One was bisexual so maybe that’s where it was coming from. Idk. Im a lesbian but personally if I dated a bisexual I would still call out a relationship a lesbian relationship
I'm dying to know what the book was - I think I may be reading the same book! (Although I guess this probably happens a lot, I don't usually read romance)
A Bánh Mì for Two by Trinity Nguyen. I borrowed it from the library but I literally just bought it off Apple Books rn to confirm and the word lesbian appears 0 times. Bisexual once. Queer only appears in the acknowledgments. Granted the book is also a lot about cultural identity and not solely a romance book. Still, it felt a little weird. I couldn’t find lesbian in the posts by the author or any blurbs or anything.
This is so fascinating, thank you! I love the idea of terms functioning generically as an escape hatch for each other, it'd explain a lot of how a term like "queer" also sort of moves around in terms of who feels identification with it. Also the sapphic science fiction erotica truly does sound so sick.
Thanks, Lee! Ya at some point maybe I will try to put my theory of “queer” in the 2010s specifically to the page… alway interesting to think about what we are trying to express about ourselves/each other through changing terminology, and it’s p much always a reaction to whatever came before
re: lesbos lawsuit - strange aeons has a video with archival clips from a lesbian vacation to lesbos and the tension with the greeks who live there, and it's really interesting! https://youtu.be/AN-n-D2l6hg?si=Zr-F6DCYa0GK2yow
I get the sense that when you talk about sapphic as being perceived more inclusive you are referencing specifically trans inclusion. For me, a big part of the inclusivity of sapphic vs lesbian is including non-monosexual identities e.g. bisexual/pansexual. I'm a bisexual about to marry a lesbian and if a space / event / opportunity is described as "lesbian" I will assume it is not a space for me, whereas a "sapphic" space / event / opportunity would include me.
Thanks for sharing! Totally see this perspective. My two cents are that bi women have always been part of lesbian spaces and that lesbian spaces are for bi women too - and, for the record, lesbian events i put on and (fingers crossed) the eventual lesbian bar i am starting with my gf are absolutely for bi women as well as monosexual lesbians. i am also just generally against rigid taxonomization of queer identities and who can call themselves what/who belongs where - all of our sexualities are always incompletely captured by the words we use to call them, and that's a feature, not a bug, but i digress. my point is, i hope that lesbian spaces can do better at welcoming bi women (and recognizing that bi women are always already among us and are central to our culture), but i completely respect your perspective on this!
I know I am super late to this, but thanks for saying this! I really enjoyed reading this piece but I was surprised that it didn't mention bisexuality at all. A result of lesbian separatist feminism of the 70s/80s is that decades later bisexual women are afraid of inserting ourselves in spaces for lesbians where we aren't welcomed and might be questioned or ridiculed for dating men. Even if we are in relationships with women! It doesn't personally stop me from attending "lesbian" events but I sure do feel more automatically included if it's "sapphic" or "queer." I call myself bisexual first and foremost, but I've also used sapphic and queer to describe myself, but never lesbian. I do sometimes refer to my relationship with my girlfriend as a lesbian relationship though. I'm 32 and first came out almost a decade ago fwiw.
very fair point re: the lack of mention of bisexuality here! i wish i'd given more consideration while writing this to the utility that "sapphic" has as a word that bridges the queerness of lesbians and bi women, especially because i think that's a big reason for its popularity. thanks for reading & commenting <3
I like it because it feels really inclusive. I'm a Transfeminine Sapphic Gen X Riot Grrrl Dyke. Happy Pride month!
Totally! There are so many factors that go into making these terms resonate (or not) for each of us. Happy pride!!
I have found in traditionally published romance novel marketing between two women that sapphic is king! It’s on all the books! I recently read a cutesy romance book between two women with one of those cartoon covers and asked my friend “do you think they’ll say lesbian in this book?” which they didn’t. And one of the characters was indeed a lesbian! One was bisexual so maybe that’s where it was coming from. Idk. Im a lesbian but personally if I dated a bisexual I would still call out a relationship a lesbian relationship
ohh interesting! i'd love to know more about the history of "sapphic" for book marketing. they didn't say lesbian in the book at all?
They didn’t! They barely say bisexual either. It’s either queer or some vague statement about liking girls
I'm dying to know what the book was - I think I may be reading the same book! (Although I guess this probably happens a lot, I don't usually read romance)
A Bánh Mì for Two by Trinity Nguyen. I borrowed it from the library but I literally just bought it off Apple Books rn to confirm and the word lesbian appears 0 times. Bisexual once. Queer only appears in the acknowledgments. Granted the book is also a lot about cultural identity and not solely a romance book. Still, it felt a little weird. I couldn’t find lesbian in the posts by the author or any blurbs or anything.
This is so fascinating, thank you! I love the idea of terms functioning generically as an escape hatch for each other, it'd explain a lot of how a term like "queer" also sort of moves around in terms of who feels identification with it. Also the sapphic science fiction erotica truly does sound so sick.
Thanks, Lee! Ya at some point maybe I will try to put my theory of “queer” in the 2010s specifically to the page… alway interesting to think about what we are trying to express about ourselves/each other through changing terminology, and it’s p much always a reaction to whatever came before
Absolutely incredible tidbit about the citizens Lesbos and their legal battle
Haha yesss had to fit that in somewhere
re: lesbos lawsuit - strange aeons has a video with archival clips from a lesbian vacation to lesbos and the tension with the greeks who live there, and it's really interesting! https://youtu.be/AN-n-D2l6hg?si=Zr-F6DCYa0GK2yow