Field Sparrow

A lesbian is a female homosexual; a female who experiences romantic love or sexual attraction to other females. The term lesbian is also used with regard to sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexuality or same-sex attraction.

The concept of "lesbian", to differentiate women with a shared sexual orientation, is a 20th-century construct. Throughout history, women have not had the same freedom or independence to pursue homosexual relationships as men, but neither have they met the same harsh punishment as homosexual men in some societies. Instead, lesbian relationships have often been regarded as harmless and incomparable to heterosexual ones unless the participants attempted to assert privileges traditionally enjoyed by men. As a result, little in history was documented to give an accurate description of how female homosexuality is expressed. When early sexologists in the late 19th century began to categorize and describe homosexual behavior, hampered by a lack of knowledge about homosexuality or women's sexuality, they distinguished lesbians as women who did not adhere to female gender roles and incorrectly designated them mentally ill—a designation which has been reversed in the global scientific community. (Full article...)

• ... that Indonesian prostitutes are sometimes marketed via Facebook?
• ... that the Icelandic Phallological Museum collection of penises includes 55 from whales but only one from Homo sapiens? (founder pictured)
• ... that although the Muria generally encourage premarital sex, some communities punish young people who take the same sexual partner for more than three nights?
• ... that due to the sexually explicit content of Saman, Ayu Utami's debut novel, her mother refused to read it to her father?
• ... that according to one critic, Rihanna (pictured) appeared to be "channelling" Swedish singer-songwriter and rapper Neneh Cherry on "Cockiness (Love It)" in a "pseudo-melodic" impersonation?

July - December 2011

31 July 2024 – Human trafficking in the United States

Fourteen people are arrested in a sting operation by a joint task force at the San Diego Comic-Con in San Diego, California, United States, for participating in a sex trafficking network. Ten victims were recovered, including one teenager. (The Hollywood Reporter)

31 July 2024 – Human trafficking in Spain

Twenty-six people are arrested by Spanish police in Madrid, Málaga, and Toledo for operating a sex trafficking ring that abused over 600 women. 32 women were freed during the operation. (AP)

29 July 2024 – Sudanese civil war

Human Rights Watch reports widespread acts of sexual violence in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, including gang rape and forced marriages committed by the army and Rapid Support Forces. (Reuters)

29 July 2024 –

Far-right Israeli protestors, including several members of the Knesset, storm the Sde Teiman detention camp after military police from the defense forces detained nine reservists on suspicion of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee. (Haaretz)

For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Human sexuality-related articles, see WikiProject Sexology and sexuality.