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Sapphism
Umbrella term for women loving women From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sapphism is an umbrella term for women loving women (WLW); any woman attracted to women or in a relationship with another woman, regardless of their sexual orientations, and encompassing the romantic love between women. It is the female equivalent of Achillean.
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Etymology
The term sapphism has been used since the 1890s,[7] and derives from Sappho, a Greek poet whose verses mainly focused on love between women and her own homosexual passions.[8] She was born on the Greek island Lesbos, which also inspired the term lesbianism.[9][10]
Sappho's work is one of the few ancient references to sapphic love. Her poetry, significant in quality, is a rare example of a woman speaking of her love for other women in ancient history.[11][page needed][12]
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Use
The term sapphic encompasses the experiences of lesbians and bisexual women, for example, among other gynephilic, plurisexual, and multiromantic individuals, for example, those who decline a label, experience a fluid sexuality, or are questioning about their sexuality.[13][14] Asexual and aromantic women who are attracted to a woman are also sapphic.[15][16]
Using the term more broadly, some sapphic individuals may be non-binary.[17][page needed][18] There are also equivalent terms for relationships between men (Uranian, Achillean),[19][page needed] between a man and a woman (Dionian, duaric), and involving at least one non-binary person (diamoric or enbian).[20][page needed][21]
Sapphic is also used in Lesbian literature for works involving at least one relationship between women, regardless of whether they are lesbian or not.[22][23][24][page needed]
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See also
Look up sapphic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
References
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