Sapphism

Sapphic
Pronunciation/ˈsæfɪk/ ⓘ
EtymologySappho + -ism or -ic
AbbreviationsWLW
Subcategories
Other terms
DerivativesSapphist
Flag
Sapphic Flag made of three equal-sized vertical stripes of pink, white, pink, with a small five petalled flower in the centre of the white stripe
Sapphic pride flag
Flag nameSapphic pride flag

Sapphic women or women loving women (WLW) is women attracted to women or in a relationship with another woman, regardless of their sexual orientation, and encompassing the romantic love between women. Uranian and Achillean are male equivalents of sapphism.

Etymology

Sappho, by Enrique Simonet.

The term sapphism has been used since the 1890s, and derives from Sappho, a Greek poet whose verses included her accounts of sexual and romantic love between women. According to Oxford English Dictionary, the word sapphist exists at least since 1789.

She was born on the Greek island Lesbos, which also inspired the term lesbianism. Sappho's work is one of the few ancient references to sapphic love.

Flag and symbolism

The first iteration of the sapphic flag was created by Tumblr user lesbeux-moved in 2015, with the pink stripes representing love and a pair of violets representing sapphic love. In 2017 Tumblr user pride-color-schemes created simplified version with a single stylized violet for ease of reproduction. Violets have historically symbolized sapphic love because Sappho frequently referenced them in her poetry.

Several lesbian symbols are or were also used as broader sapphic symbols, including the labrys and the black triangle.

Use

The term sapphic typically encompasses the experiences of lesbian, bisexual, gynephilic, plurisexual, omnisexual and multiromantic women, as well as women who are attracted to women but decline a label, experience a fluid sexuality, or are questioning their sexuality. Asexual and aromantic women who are attracted to women can also be sapphic.

Some sapphic individuals may be non-binary, transfeminine, or transmasculine. There are also equivalent terms for relationships between men (Uranian, Achillean), between a man and a woman (duaric) and involving at least one non-binary person (diamoric or enbian).

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

See also

References

  1. ↑ Llewellyn, Anna (10 November 2022). "'A Space Where Queer Is Normalized': The Online World and Fanfictions as Heterotopias for WLW". Journal of Homosexuality. 69 (13): 2348–2369. doi:10.1080/00918369.2021.1940012. ISSN 0091-8369. PMID 34185633.
  2. 1 2 "Sapphist, n. Meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary".
  3. ↑ "Symbols". Queer Cafe. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  4. ↑ "Elástica explica: termos juvélicos". Elástica – Todos do mesmo lado (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  5. ↑ "Symbols". Queer Cafe. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  6. ↑ "Elástica explica: termos juvélicos". Elástica – Todos do mesmo lado (in Portuguese). Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  7. ↑ "Sapphic (adj.)". Etymonline.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  8. ↑ Torres, Bolívar (26 June 2021). "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]. O Globo (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 29 June 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  9. ↑ "sapphism". Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  10. ↑ Doble, Flora (27 July 2020). "Sapphic Sexuality: Lesbian Myth and Reality in Art and Sculpture". Art UK. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  11. ↑ Reynolds, Margaret (15 December 2010). The Sappho Companion. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4464-1376-0.[page needed]
  12. ↑ "Cosas que debes saber sobre las mujeres sáficas" [Things you need to know about sapphic women]. Saficosmos (in Spanish). 14 August 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  13. ↑ "Pride Flags". equity.ok.ubc.ca. UBC Equity & Inclusion Office Okanagan Campus. Retrieved 4 October 2026.
  14. ↑ LGBTQ Nation (8 June 2022). "All about the Sapphic Pride flag". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 4 October 2026.
  15. 1 2 LGBTQ Nation 2022.
  16. ↑ Ferrière, Marie-Adélina de la. "Uncover 15 Secret Symbols Queer People Used Through History | Out.com". www.advocate.com. Retrieved 4 October 2026.
  17. ↑ Spalding, Amy (18 June 2026). The Dykonic Handbook: The ultimate guide to living your best queer life. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-0372-0204-9. Retrieved 4 October 2026.
  18. ↑ Janssen, Diederik F. (5 June 2023). "Monosexual/Plurisexual: A Concise History". Journal of Homosexuality. 71 (8): 1839–1862. doi:10.1080/00918369.2023.2218957. ISSN 0091-8369. PMID 37272900.
  19. ↑ Breetveld, Robin Rose (2023). Bisexual (Un)belonging: Exploring the Socio-spatial Negotiation of Plurisexual Individuals in LGBT+ and Queer Spaces (doctoral thesis). University of Kent. doi:10.22024/UniKent/01.02.105513.
  20. ↑ 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. 27 (1–2): 267–289. doi:10.1177/13634607221085485. ISSN 1363-4607.
  21. ↑ Klein, Ula Lukszo (2023). "Sapphic Relations". In Eron, Sarah; Aljoe, Nicole N.; Kaul, Suvir (eds.). The Routledge Companion to Eighteenth-Century Literatures in English. Routledge. pp. 287–298. doi:10.4324/9781003271208-30. ISBN 978-1-003-27120-8.
  22. ↑ Dyer, Harriet (2021). The Little Book of LGBTQ+: An A–Z of Gender and Sexual Identities. Summersdale Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78783-974-8.[page needed]
  23. ↑ Hamou, Yasmine (27 April 2022). "What Does It Mean to Be Sapphic?". Them.us. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 8 June 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  24. ↑ Barron, Victoria (21 February 2023). Perfectly Queer: An Illustrated Introduction. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-83997-409-0.[page needed]
  25. ↑ Lacsko, Madeleine [in Portuguese] (3 May 2022). "Termos juvélicos: 100 novas orientações sexuais para você decorar ou ser cancelado". Gazeta do Povo (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  26. ↑ Hardell, Ash (8 November 2016). The ABC's of LGBT+. Mango Media. ISBN 978-1-63353-408-7.[page needed]
  27. ↑ Nygård, Ida Sofie Sverkeli (2021). Sapphic Representations in Contemporary Young Adult Literature (master's thesis). Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. hdl:11250/2992128.
  28. ↑ Peyre, Henri (1979). "On the Sapphic Motif in Modern French Literature". Dalhousie French Studies. 1: 3–33. ISSN 0711-8813. JSTOR 40836208.
  29. ↑ Hackett, Robin (2004). Sapphic Primitivism: Productions of Race, Class, and Sexuality in Key Works of Modern Fiction. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-3347-6.[page needed]