10 lesbian terms you should know

Maybe you’re young, or you came out at a later age and are new to the lesbian community. Maybe you are a member of a lesbian’s family or even an ally. Like any group of people, the lesbian community has a shared set of terms that they use to describe their identities, roles, behaviors, and more. Lesbians, like any other person, are within their group a varied and diverse group. When you’re first learning about the lesbian subculture, especially if you’re a lesbian, the amount of information you need to learn can be overwhelming. This is a short list of terms that are particular to the lesbian community. There are many more terms related to lesbians, as well as the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in general.

Before defining terms related to lesbians, the term lesbian must be defined. A lesbian is a homosexual woman, a woman who loves and is sexually attracted to women. A lesbian is not a woman who dates women until the right guy comes along, or a woman who is sexually attracted to women if no men are around.

Those two examples of women would fit the definition of bisexual, although they would not describe all bisexuals in any way.

1) Baby Dyke: A young lesbian new to lesbianism, who is often immature.

2) Butch: A lesbian who has masculine appearance and mannerisms and who often identifies with stereotypically masculine activities.

3) Drag King: A woman often dresses as a man in a performance. While drag kings can be straight, drag shows featuring drag kings and drag queens (men dressed as women) are popular in the gay and lesbian community.

4) Dyke- Another word for lesbian. Sometimes a derogatory term. But in recent times lesbians have reclaimed this word and use it as a term of power and strength. This is a term that should only be used by people in the group (LGBT community).

5) Woman- A lesbian who has a feminine appearance and mannerisms and who identifies with stereotypically feminine activities.

6) Gold Star or Star Lesbian- A lesbian who has never been with a man. This is a rarity because many lesbians have been with men in the past mainly because they didn’t know they were lesbian or were afraid to come out due to a homophobic society.

7) Lip Stick Lesbian: A lipstick lesbian is like a lesbian woman, but even more feminine. She can wear makeup and dresses. Some say that lipstick-wearing lesbians are only attracted to other lipstick-wearing lesbians, while other sources do not support this.

8) MTF- is a man who has transitioned into a woman. Also called a trans woman, or simply a woman. While many transgender men who become women are not lesbians, many are. There has been a heated debate about whether these people should be included in the lesbian community.

9) Sapphic- Of or related to the poet Sappho. In the seventh century a. C., Sappho was a lyric poet from the island of Lesbos. Her poems had themes of female homosexuality. The term lesbian derives from the word Lesbos.

10) Soft Butch – A soft butch like a butch has some masculine characteristics, especially in the way they dress or in shape, but can be a bit more androgynous or even feminine on the inside. Chap stick lesbian is another term for a soft butch lesbian.

Understanding common language and terms can be very helpful if you are new to a group or community. Otherwise, you may feel left out, when what you really need is a sense of belonging. These are just some of the countless terms that a person who has just entered the lesbian scene or who has just come out would like to know. It’s a good start, but there are many more exciting, infuriating, and enlightening terms yet to learn.