Romantic and sexual orientation: Difference between revisions

'''Romantic and sexual orientation''' are enduring personal qualities that incline people to feel romantic and sexual attraction to certain kinds of people. Sometimes terms for sexual orientation are also used to include romantic orientation, the tendency to feel romantic attraction to certain kinds of people. Other times, orientation labels differentiate between romantic and sexual attraction. Some of the most widely known labels for attraction, such as "lesbian," also imply the user's gender. Words for attraction experienced by nonbinary people or attraction to nonbinary people have been proposed, but are not as wide-spread yet. By some interpretations, every orientation includes attraction to some nonbinary people.<ref name="KravitzM">{{Cite web |title=Does Liking a Nonbinary Person Make You Bi or Pan? Not Necessarily. |last=M. |first=Kravitz |work=Medium |date=29 June 2020 |access-date=25 August 2020 |url= https://medium.com/an-injustice/does-liking-a-nonbinary-person-make-you-bi-or-pan-not-necessarily-359241923561}}</ref><ref>[https://kil9.tumblr.com/post/617496855567286272/i-think-a-reason-why-so-many-people-dont-accept i think a reason why so many people dont accept that every sexuality is inclusive of nonbinary people is because they think every sexuality must be inclusive of ALL nonbinary people, and that’s just not true], 7 May 2020</ref> This wiki article includes many terms for romantic and sexual orientation that may include nonbinary people, and explains how they may.  

In the English-speaking world, most people know about three orientations that are usually attracted to women: bisexuals (who are attracted to their own and other genders), [[Romantic and sexual orientation#Heterosexuality|heterosexual men]], and [[Romantic and sexual orientation#Homosexuality|homosexual women]] ([[Romantic and sexual orientation#Lesbian|lesbians]]). Some other identity labels have been proposed in order to have a way to say that one is usually attracted to women, without labeling one's own gender identity: gynephilia, femaric, feminamoric, neptunic, and venusic. Some identity labels have been proposed specifically for nonbinary people who are usually attracted to women: azalian, nonbinary people loving women (NBLW), and orbisian/trixic.  

=== Gay women ===

Some women who are attracted to women call themselves gay women. Gay women may or may not consider this to mean the exact same thing as lesbian. Gay women may or may not also consider themselves genderqueer. A notable example of this is American musician [[King Princess]], who describes herself as a [[genderqueer]] person and gay [[woman]].<ref name="Menuez">{{Cite web |title=King Princess |last=Menuez |first=Bobbi |work=theingenuemagazine.com |date= |access-date=6 May 2020 |url= https://theingenuemagazine.com/king-princess/}}</ref>

===Lesbian===

[[File:Winning Orange-Pink Lesbian Pride Flag.png|thumb|A lesbian flag that won a contest for designing a lesbian flag in 2018, in which trans and nonbinary lesbians were welcome.<ref>''The search for the official lesbian flag.'' July 28, 2018. https://official-lesbian-flag.tumblr.com/post/176134630994/been-doing-some-research-and-looking-at-results</ref>]]

[[File:Sapphic Flag.jpg|thumb|A lesbian flag design created in 2018, [https://archive.is/0rFRD based off the colors of flowers in a poem by Sappho]. The link explains it was created specifically to include ''all'' lesbians, including those who are trans, [[butch]], and people of color.]]

Simply put, people who identify as lesbians usually woman who feel attraction to other women. Historically and today, many lesbians have a gender identity and expression that they feel does not fit into the Western [[gender binary]] or patriarchal, heterosexual norms of womanhood. Some see "lesbian" as their gender identity as well as their sexuality.<ref name="Gender Census 2018">{{Cite web |title=Gender Census 2018 Identity words (public) |author=Cassian |date=21 June 2018 |access-date=27 July 2020 |url= https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12cN-ooc5EuLIaqbmfqbjZffYldTzWRAHc-qZaRJ2xsQ/edit#gid=1402706910}}</ref><ref name="Gender Census 2019">{{Cite web |title=Gender Census 2019 - the public spreadsheet |author=Cassian |date=30 March 2019 |access-date=27 July 2020 |url= https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ePCyWMdorSHAaxNcd1Iv64oLvkdgeoZldTdGZZTHlvY/edit#gid=498446722}}</ref><ref>https://www.deviantart.com/pantomorph/art/lesbian-gender-pride-flag-806822407</ref> Some lesbians who use the words [[butch]], [[stone]], or [[dyke]] for themselves express and experience their gender identities through [[masculinity]], [[androgyny]], sexual difference, and nonconformity.<ref name=Feinberg>{{cite book|last1=Feinberg|first1=Leslie|title=Stone Butch Blues: A Novel|date=1993|edition=1st|publisher=Firebrand Books|location=|isbn=1563410303}}</ref><ref name=Halberstam>{{Cite book|last1=Halberstam|first1=Judith|authorlink=Judith Halberstam|title=Female Masculinity|year=1998|edition=1st|page=[https://archive.org/details/femalemasculinit00judi/page/111 111]|publisher=Duke University Press|location=|chapter=Lesbian Masculinity: Even Stone Butches Get the Blues|isbn=0822322269|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/femalemasculinit00judi/page/111}}</ref><ref name="Krantz">{{cite journal|last1=Krantz|first1=Susan E.|title=Reconsidering the Etymology of Bulldike|journal=American Speech|date=1995|volume=70|issue=2|pages=217–221|doi=10.2307/455819|issn=00031283|url=https://scholarworks.uno.edu/engl_facpubs/41|jstor=455819}}</ref> Lesbians can be [[woman#cisgender women|cisgender women]], [[woman#transgender women|transgender women]], and even some genderqueer and nonbinary people who feel their identities [[gender alignment|align]] with womanhood ([[woman#nonbinary women|nonbinary women]]).<ref name="Carney">{{Cite web |title=In Defense of Non-Binary Lesbianism |last=Carney |first=Sasha |work=Broad Recognition |date=4 November 2019 |access-date=14 June 2020 |url= https://www.broadsatyale.com/in-defense-of-non-binary-lesbianism/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The struggles of rejecting the gender binary |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/04/magazine/gender-nonbinary.html |date=4 June 2019 |work=The New York Times Magazine |access-date=1 February 2020 |last=Bergner |first=Daniel}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/44110/1/andrea-lawlor-paul-takes-the-form-of-a-mortal-girl-book-interview |authorlink=Andrea Lawlor |title=Andrea Lawlor explores the wild possibilities of sexual-shapeshifting |publisher=Dazed |date=18 April 2019 |access-date=1 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/lesbian-slang-terms-definitions#slide-8 |title=17 lesbian slang terms every baby gay needs to learn |publisher=Refinery 29 |date=30 March 2018 |access-date=1 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Ormiston |first=Wendy |title=Stone butch celebration: A Transgender-inspired revolution in academia |pages=198-216 |date=July 1996 |doi=10.17763/haer.66.2.46r7n64515203412 |journal=Harvard Educational Review |volume=66 |issue=2}}</ref>