Sapphism Explained

Etymology:Sappho + -ism or -ic
Derivatives:Sapphist[1]
Pronunciation:/ˈsæfɪk/
Flag:Sapphic Flag alternate with violet.svg
Flag Alt:Sapphic Flag made of three equal-sized verticle stripes of pink, white, pink, with a small five petalled flower in the centre of the white stripe
Flag Name:Sapphic pride flag[2] [3]
Sapphic

Sapphism is an umbrella term for any woman attracted to women or in a relationship with another woman, regardless of their sexual orientations, and encompassing the romantic love between women.

The term is inclusive of individuals who are lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, aromantic, asexual, or queer. There are also sapphic people who are non-binary.[4] [5] [6]

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 female sexuality separated from reproduction in history.[11] [12]

Use

The term sapphic encompasses the experiences of lesbians and bisexual women, for example, among other plurisexual and multiromantic individuals.[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] [18] There are also equivalent terms for relationships between men (Achillean, named in reference of Achilles and Patroclus,[19] or Vincian, referencing sexuality of Leonardo da Vinci),[20] between a man and a woman (duaric), and involving at least one non-binary person (diamoric or enbian).[21] [22]

Sapphic is also used in LGBT literature for works involving at least one relationship between women, regardless of whether they are lesbian or not.[23] [24] [25]

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://www.oed.com/dictionary/sapphist_n?tl=true
  2. Web site: Symbols. 2024-04-28. Queer Cafe.
  3. Web site: Elástica explica: termos juvélicos. 2024-04-28 . Elástica – Todos do mesmo lado . pt.
  4. Sisko . Adriana . 2021-01-01 . "My Gender is Lesbian": Community Building and the Endurance of the Lesbian in Queer Times . Theses and Dissertations--Gender and Women's Studies . 10.13023/etd.2021.481.
  5. Hord . Levi CR . September 2022 . Specificity without identity: Articulating post-gender sexuality through the "non-binary lesbian" . Sexualities . en . 25 . 5–6 . 615–637 . 10.1177/1363460720981564 . 1363-4607.
  6. Robles . Breanna Raquel . 2019 . A Soft Epilogue: LGBTQ Fanworks as Reparative Reading . California State University.
  7. Web site: Sapphic (adj.) . Etymonline.com . 7 May 2024 . en.
  8. Web site: Torres . Bolívar . 2021-06-26 . Identidade sáfica: como uma poeta nascida há 2 mil anos virou referência nos estudos de gênero . Sapphic identity: How a poet born 2 thousand years ago became a reference in gender studies . 2024-04-28 . . pt.
  9. Web site: sapphism . 2024-04-28 . Oxford Reference . . en.
  10. Web site: Doble . Flora . 27 July 2020 . Sapphic Sexuality: Lesbian Myth and Reality in Art and Sculpture . 2024-04-28 . . en.
  11. Book: Reynolds, Margaret . 2010-12-15 . Random House . 978-1-4464-1376-0 . en.
  12. Web site: 2023-08-14 . Cosas que debes saber sobre las mujeres sáficas . Things you need to know about sapphic women . 2024-04-28 . Saficosmos . es.
  13. Janssen . Diederik F. . 2023-06-05 . Monosexual/Plurisexual: A Concise History . Journal of Homosexuality . en . 71 . 8 . 1839–1862 . 10.1080/00918369.2023.2218957 . 37272900 . 0091-8369. free .
  14. Bisexual (Un)belonging: Exploring the Socio-spatial Negotiation of Plurisexual Individuals in LGBT+ and Queer Spaces . . 2023 . doctoral . Robin Rose . Breetveld . 10.22024/UniKent/01.02.105513 . free.
  15. Winer . Canton . Carroll . Megan . Yang . Yuchen . Linder . Katherine . Miles . Brittney . February 2024 . 'I Didn't Know Ace Was a Thing': Bisexuality and Pansexuality as Identity Pathways in Asexual Identity Formation . Sexualities . en . 27 . 1–2 . 267–289 . 10.1177/13634607221085485 . 1363-4607.
  16. Book: Klein, Ula Lukszo . Sapphic Relations . 2023 . Eron . Sarah . Aljoe . Nicole N. . Kaul . Suvir . The Routledge Companion to Eighteenth-Century Literatures in English . 287–298 . Routledge . 10.4324/9781003271208-30 . 14 December 2024 . 978-1-003-27120-8.
  17. Book: Dyer, Harriet . 2021 . Summersdale Publishers . 978-1-78783-974-8 . en.
  18. Web site: Hamou . Yasmine . 2022-04-27 . What Does It Mean to Be Sapphic? . 2024-04-28 . . Condé Nast . en-US.
  19. Book: Barron, Victoria . 2023-02-21 . Jessica Kingsley Publishers . 978-1-83997-409-0 . en.
  20. Wrightson-Hester . Aimee-Rose . Anderson . Georgia . Dunstan . Joel . McEvoy . Peter M. . Sutton . Christopher J. . Myers . Bronwyn . Egan . Sarah . Tai . Sara . Johnston-Hollitt . Melanie . Melanie Johnston-Hollitt . Chen . Wai . Gedeon . Tom . Mansell . Warren . 2023-07-21 . An Artificial Therapist (Manage Your Life Online) to Support the Mental Health of Youth: Co-Design and Case Series . JMIR Human Factors . EN . 10 . 1 . e46849 . 10.2196/46849 . free . 37477969 . 10403793 .
  21. Book: Hardell, Ash . Ash Hardell . 2016-11-08 . Mango Media . 978-1-63353-408-7 . en.
  22. Web site: Lacsko . Madeleine .

    pt:Madeleine Lacsko

    . Termos juvélicos: 100 novas orientações sexuais para você decorar ou ser cancelado . https://web.archive.org/web/20231129012524/https://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/vozes/madeleine-lacsko/termos-juvelicos-100-novas-orientacoes-sexuais-para-voce-decorar-ou-ser-cancelado/ . 2023-11-29 . 2024-04-29 . . pt.
  23. Sapphic Representations in Contemporary Young Adult Literature . Western Norway University of Applied Sciences . 2021 . master's . Ida Sofie Sverkeli . Nygård . 11250/2992128 . free.
  24. Peyre . Henri . Henri Peyre . 1979 . On the Sapphic Motif in Modern French Literature . Dalhousie French Studies . 1 . 3–33 . 40836208 . 0711-8813.
  25. Book: Hackett, Robin . 2004 . Rutgers University Press . 978-0-8135-3347-6 . en.

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