Lesbian

===Sexuality and lesbian identity===
[[File:Labrys Lesbian Flag.svg|thumb|190px|right|Lesbian feminist flag consisting of a [[labrys]] within the inverted [[Black triangle (badge)|black triangle]], set against a [[Violet (color)#Social movement|violet]]-hue background. The labrys represents [[lesbian feminism|lesbian strength]].<ref name=BendixAE>{{cite web|last1=Bendix|first1=Trish|title=Why don't lesbians have a pride flag of our own?|url=https://www.afterellen.com/people/452039-dont-lesbians-pride-flag|website=[[AfterEllen]]|date=September 8, 2015|accessdate=23 July 2019|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909150736/https://www.afterellen.com/people/452039-dont-lesbians-pride-flag|archivedate=September 9, 2015}}</ref>|alt=]]
[[File:Lipstick Lesbian flag without lips.svg|thumb|190px|right|Lesbian flag derived from the 2010 Lipstick Lesbian flag design.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Andersson|first1=Jasmine|title=Pride flag guide: what the different flags look like, and what they all mean|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/pride-flag-guide-what-the-different-flags-look-like-and-what-they-all-mean/|work=[[i (newspaper)|i]]|date=July 4, 2019|accessdate=24 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Rawles|first1=Timothy|title=The many flags of the LGBT community|url=https://sdgln.com/social/2019/07/12/many-flags-lgbt-community|work=[[San Diego Gay & Lesbian News]]|date=July 12, 2019|accessdate=24 August 2019}}</ref>]]
[[File:Lesbian Pride Flag 2019.svg|thumb|190px|right|Lesbian community flag introduced in social media in 2018, with the dark orange stripe representing [[gender variance]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lesbian Flag, Sadlesbeandisaster|url=https://majesticmess.com/encyclopedia/lesbian-flag-sadlesbeandisaster/|website=Majestic Mess|date=April 2019|accessdate=24 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Murphy-Kasp|first1= Paul|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-london-48885240/pride-in-london-what-do-all-the-flags-mean|title=Pride in London: What do all the flags mean?|website=[[BBC News]]|date=6 July 2019|accessdate=11 July 2019}}</ref>]]

The notion that sexual activity between women is necessary to define a lesbian or lesbian relationship continues to be debated. According to feminist writer Naomi McCormick, women's sexuality is constructed by men, whose primary indicator of lesbian sexual orientation is sexual experience with other women. The same indicator is not necessary to identify a woman as heterosexual, however. McCormick states that emotional, mental, and ideological connections between women are as important or more so than the genital.<ref>McCormick, pp. 60–61.</ref> Nonetheless, in the 1980s, a significant movement rejected the desexualization of lesbianism by cultural feminists, causing a heated controversy called the [[feminist sex wars]].<ref>Faderman (1991), pp. 246–252.</ref> Butch and femme roles returned, although not as strictly followed as they were in the 1950s. They became a mode of chosen sexual self-expression for some women in the 1990s. Once again, women felt safer claiming to be more sexually adventurous, and sexual flexibility became more accepted.<ref>Faderman, Lillian (April 1992). "The Return of Butch and Femme: A Phenomenon in Lesbian Sexuality in the 1980s and 1990s", ''Journal of the History of Sexuality'', '''2''' (4), pp. 578–596.</ref>

The focus of this debate often centers on a phenomenon named by sexologist [[Pepper Schwartz]] in 1983. Schwartz found that long-term lesbian couples report having less sexual contact than heterosexual or homosexual male couples, calling this [[lesbian bed death]]. However, lesbians dispute the study's definition of sexual contact, and introduced other factors such as deeper connections existing between women that make frequent sexual relations redundant, greater [[sexual fluidity]] in women causing them to move from heterosexual to bisexual to lesbian numerous times through their lives—or reject the labels entirely. Further arguments attested that the study was flawed and misrepresented accurate sexual contact between women, or sexual contact between women has increased since 1983 as many lesbians find themselves freer to sexually express themselves.<ref name="nichols">Nichols, Margaret (November, 2004). "Lesbian Sexuality/Female Sexuality: Rethinking 'Lesbian Bed Death'", ''Sexual and Relationship Therapy'', '''19''' (4), pp. 364–371.</ref>

More discussion on gender and [[sexual orientation identity]] has affected how many women label or view themselves. Most people in western culture are taught that heterosexuality is an innate quality in all people. When a woman realizes her romantic and sexual attraction to another woman, it may cause an "existential crisis"; many who go through this adopt the identity of a lesbian, challenging what society has offered in stereotypes about homosexuals, to learn how to function within a homosexual subculture.<ref>Schlager, p. 93.</ref> Lesbians in western cultures generally share an identity that parallels those built on ethnicity; they have a shared history and subculture, and similar experiences with discrimination which has caused many lesbians to reject heterosexual principles. This identity is unique from gay men and heterosexual women, and often creates tension with bisexual women.<ref name="rust" /> One point of contention are lesbians who have had sex with men, while lesbians who have never had sex with men may be referred to as "gold star lesbians". Those who have had sex with men may face ridicule from other lesbians or identity challenges with regard to defining what it means to be a lesbian.<ref name="Shelby">{{cite book|author1=R Dennis Shelby |author2=Kathleen Dolan|title=Lesbian Women and Sexual Health: The Social Construction of Risk and Susceptibility|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1317718192|year=2014|page=34|accessdate=April 11, 2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SNQJBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA34}}</ref>

Researchers, including [[social scientists]], state that often behavior and identity do not match: women may label themselves heterosexual but have sexual relations with women, self-identified lesbians may have sex with men, or women may find that what they considered an immutable sexual identity has changed over time.<ref name="Solarz"/><ref name="Diamond">{{cite book|author=Lisa M. Diamond|title=Sexual Fluidity|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|isbn =978-0674033696|year=2009|pages=105–106|accessdate=July 20, 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4C1ktwsIrgwC&pg=PA105}}</ref> A 2001 article on differentiating lesbians for medical studies and health research suggested identifying lesbians using the three characteristics of identity only, sexual behavior only, or both combined. The article declined to include desire or attraction as it rarely has bearing on measurable health or psychosocial issues.<ref name="brogan">Brogan, Donna, Frank, Erica, Elon, Lisa, O'Hanlon, Katherine (January 2001). "Methodological Concerns in Defining Lesbian for Health Research", ''Epidemiology'', '''12''' (1), pp. 109–113.</ref> Researchers state that there is no standard definition of ''lesbian'' because "[t]he term has been used to describe women who have sex with women, either exclusively or in addition to sex with men (i.e., ''behavior''); women who self-identify as lesbian (i.e., ''identity''); and women whose sexual preference is for women (i.e., ''desire'' or ''attraction'')" and that "[t]he lack of a standard definition of lesbian and of standard questions to assess who is lesbian has made it difficult to clearly define a population of lesbian women". How and where study samples were obtained can also affect the definition.<ref name="Solarz"/>