Where did the word lesbian come from? History and correct usage today
Lesbian... lesbian... or maybe lesbian? Where did we actually come up with these words and how do we use them today?
The word lesbian comes from the Greek island of Lesbos, the birthplace of the poet Sappho , who lived in the 7th century BC. This artist became famous for her poetry, in which she confessed her love for other women . If you are interested in literature, you are probably familiar with a genre called Sapphic poetry - it is named after her.
On the other hand, this term for feminine people sexually oriented towards other feminine people did not start to be used until much later, in the nineteenth century in some countries of Western Europe. It was then that the medical community began to seriously address the causes and effects of homosexuality, unfortunately in a worse sense: the goal was to wipe homosexuality, and indeed bisexuality and pansexuality, off the face of the earth. However, despite this dark history, the term has caught on and in many languages this word or its equivalent is still used today, even among the women themselves, whom the word lesbian refers to.
You may wonder what the situation is with the words lesbian or lesbian woman. Although the Institute of the Czech Language of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic is of the opinion that the term lesbian is not, as acceptable as the term lesba, in any way derogatory, many homosexual women reject this word, saying that they do not want to be called a diminutive, some are even against the word lesba - it is harsh and unpleasant-sounding.
And lesbian? The first thing that comes to mind is that it is the masculine equivalent of the word Lesbian, i.e. an inhabitant of the island of Lesbos, just written with a lowercase L. Nowadays, we rarely encounter this word, so a drawing by Jan Zrzavý remains a reminder of it: Lesbians .
So how do you talk about feminine people who are sexually attracted to other feminine people? The best and easiest strategy is to simply ask the person what would suit them – and act accordingly.
PS: the word gay has also been used recently, but it still holds true that asking questions is the alpha and omega of interpersonal communication.