Sapphic, also known as woman loving woman (WLW), girls loving girls (GLG), LBPQ (Lesbian, Bisexual, Pansexual, Queer), difemina, and sapphist, refers to a woman or woman-aligned person who is attracted to other women or woman-aligned people. They may or may not be attracted to other genders as well. This attraction does not need to be exclusive, as the label is used as a way to unify all women or women-aligned people who love other women such as lesbians, bisexual women, and pansexual women, promoting solidarity among women of all identities who are attracted to other women.
The term is most commonly used as an umbrella term. It is typically used in combination with another identity to specify that one prioritizes their attraction to and relationships with other women. It is sometimes used as an identity on its own for people who know they are attracted to women but may be uncertain if they are attracted to other genders. The term can also be used to describe a relationship between two women.
The masculine counterpart to sapphic is achillean. The non-binary counterparts are diamoric and enbian.
Etymology
The word sapphic comes from the name of the Greek poet Sappho. The island she was born on, Lesbos, is where the word lesbian is derived from.
Sapphic is also a type of poetry comprised of four line stanzas of similar meter.[1] Sapphic poems are historically popular and written by people of all genders.
History
Although historians use the term sapphic retrospectively,[2][3] the first use of sapphic as a sexual orientation was by sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld in his pamphlet "Sappho and Socrates: Or How is the Love of Men and Women for Persons of Their Own Sex Explained?"[4]
Up until the late 2000s and early 2010s, sapphic was used primarily as an adjective version of lesbian.[5][6] The first known use of sapphic as an independent identity is by Tumblr user sapphicseekingsapphic on February 23, 2012.[7]
Flag
The original sapphic flag was created by Tumblr user lesbeux-moved on August 14, 2015.[8] The sapphic flag has two pink stripes on the top and bottom, symbolizing love. In the center there is a violet, which was historically given between women to symbolize their sapphic love. In the center of the original flag is a realistic pair of violets.
As a response to the difficulty of replicating the violets in the center, Tumblr user pride-color-schemes simplified the flag and created the modern sapphic flag on June 25, 2017.[9]
Gallery
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The sapphic flag.
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The original sapphic flag.
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An alternate version of the original sapphic flag.
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The midnight sapphic flag by @wintermidnight_ on Twitter.
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An alternate sapphic flag by FANDOM user Cryptocrew.
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Another alternate sapphic flag by FANDOM user Cryptocrew.
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An alternate inclusive sapphic flag by Gay Breakfast on Instagram.
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An alternate of the original sapphic flag by FANDOM user Milky jirin aeris.
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References
- ↑ Poets.org entry on sapphic.
- ↑ The Sexuality of History: Modernity and the Sapphic, 1565-1830, Susan S. Lanser, University of Chicago Press.
- ↑ "Reviewed Work: English Sexualities 1700-1800by Tim Hitchcock" by Dennis A. Rubini for scholarly journal Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies.
- ↑ Digitally archived version of "Sappho und Sokrates: Oder wie erklärt sich die Liebe der Männer und Frauen zu Personen des eigenen Geschlechts?" (in German).
- ↑ "A Sapphic Victory, But Pyrrhic" by Frank Bruni from November 2009 for The New York Times.
- ↑ A list of Natalie Stein's "Sapphic Salon" op-ed series from November 2009 to March 2010 for B*tchmedia.
- ↑ First Tumblr post written by user sapphiclovingsapphic which appears to use the term sapphic as as an identity.
- ↑ Tumblr post with the original flag.
- ↑ Tumblr post with the new, simplified sapphic flag.