148-705: The Front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire ( transl. Homosexual Front for Revolutionary Action ) ( FHAR ) was a loose Parisian movement founded in 1971, resulting from an alliance between lesbian feminists and gay male activists. The movement had no official leaders, but Guy Hocquenghem and Françoise d'Eaubonne were among its most prominent representatives, while other members included Christine Delphy , Daniel Guérin , and Laurent Dispot [ fr ] . It had disappeared by 1976. Surviving early activists also include painter and surrealist photographer Yves Hernot, now living in Sydney, Australia. The FHAR
296-663: A 'core' lesbian orientation." A 2001 article on differentiating lesbians for medical studies and health research suggested identifying lesbians using the three characteristics of identity only, sexual behavior only, or both combined. The article declined to include desire or attraction as it rarely has bearing on measurable health or psychosocial issues. Researchers state that there is no standard definition of lesbian because "The term has been used to describe women who have sex with women, either exclusively or in addition to sex with men (i.e., behavior ); women who self-identify as lesbian (i.e., identity ); and women whose sexual preference
444-557: A children's magazine titled St. Nicholas , and a collection called Smith College Stories , without negative views. Enduring loyalty, devotion, and love were major components to these stories, and sexual acts beyond kissing were consistently absent. Women who had the option of a career instead of marriage labeled themselves New Women and took their new opportunities very seriously. Faderman calls this period "the last breath of innocence" before 1920 when characterizations of female affection were connected to sexuality, marking lesbians as
592-564: A common understanding without asking or stating anything outright. Women who did not enter the military were aggressively called upon to take industrial jobs left by men, in order to continue national productivity. The increased mobility, sophistication, and independence of many women during and after the war made it possible for women to live without husbands, something that would not have been feasible under different economic and social circumstances, further shaping lesbian networks and environments. Freedom of expression Freedom of speech
740-536: A devoted friendship to Honora Sneyd , who was the subject of many of Seward's sonnets and poems. When Sneyd married despite Seward's protest, Seward's poems became angry. Seward continued to write about Sneyd long after her death, extolling Sneyd's beauty and their affection and friendship. As a young woman, writer and philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft was attached to a woman named Fanny Blood . Writing to another woman by whom she had recently felt betrayed, Wollstonecraft declared, "The roses will bloom when there's peace in
888-467: A different time (e.g., during the day), at a different place (e.g., at a government building or in another public forum ), or in a different manner (e.g., a silent protest ). Funeral Protests are a complex issue in the United States. It is a right to Americans to be able to hold a peaceful protest against various policies they deem unreasonable. It is a question of whether or not it is appropriate through
1036-492: A group of people based on whom they had physical relations with. As women have generally been political minorities in Western cultures, the added medical designation of homosexuality has been cause for the development of a subcultural identity. The notion that sexual activity between women is necessary to define a lesbian or lesbian relationship continues to be debated. According to feminist writer Naomi McCormick , women's sexuality
1184-669: A growing homosexual community; both Harlem and Greenwich Village provided furnished rooms for single men and women, which was a major factor in their development as centers for homosexual communities. The tenor was different in Greenwich Village than Harlem. Bohemians —intellectuals who rejected Victorian ideals—gathered in the Village. Homosexuals were predominantly male, although figures such as poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and social host Mabel Dodge were known for their affairs with women and promotion of tolerance of homosexuality. Women in
1332-629: A heated controversy called the feminist sex wars . Butch and femme roles returned, although not as strictly followed as they were in the 1950s. They became a mode of chosen sexual self-expression for some women in the 1990s. Once again, women felt safer claiming to be more sexually adventurous, and sexual flexibility became more accepted. The focus of the debate often centers on a phenomenon named by sexologist Pepper Schwartz in 1983. Schwartz found that long-term lesbian couples report having less sexual contact than heterosexual or homosexual male couples, calling this lesbian bed death . Some lesbians dispute
1480-529: A legal sense, the freedom of expression includes any activity of seeking, receiving, and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. Article 19 of the UDHR states that "everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference" and "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or print, in
1628-496: A lesbian identity share experiences that form an outlook similar to an ethnic identity: as homosexuals, they are unified by the heterosexist discrimination and potential rejection they face from their families, friends, and others as a result of homophobia . As women, they face concerns separate from men. Lesbians may encounter distinct physical or mental health concerns arising from discrimination, prejudice , and minority stress . Political conditions and social attitudes also affect
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#17328909770871776-625: A lesbian. Researchers, including social scientists , state that often behavior and identity do not match: women may label themselves heterosexual but have sexual relations with women, self-identified lesbians may have sex with men, or women may find that what they considered an immutable sexual identity has changed over time. Research by Lisa M. Diamond et al. reported that "lesbian and fluid women were more exclusive than bisexual women in their sexual behaviors" and that "lesbian women appeared to lean toward exclusively same-sex attractions and behaviors." It reported that lesbians "appeared to demonstrate
1924-929: A lesbian. ... But this sort of evidence is not 'proof'. What our critics want is incontrovertible evidence of sexual activity between women. This is almost impossible to find. Female sexuality is often not adequately represented in texts and documents. Until very recently, much of what has been documented about women's sexuality has been written by men, in the context of male understanding, and relevant to women's associations to men—as their wives, daughters, or mothers, for example. Often artistic representations of female sexuality suggest trends or ideas on broad scales, giving historians clues as to how widespread or accepted erotic relationships between women were. Women in ancient Greece were sequestered with one another, and men were segregated likewise. In this homosocial environment, erotic and sexual relationships between males were common and recorded in literature, art, and philosophy. Very little
2072-558: A more adaptable and at the same time more stable community, of maintaining the precarious balance between healthy cleavage and necessary consensus". Emerson furthermore maintains that "Opposition serves a vital social function in offsetting or ameliorating (the) normal process of bureaucratic decay". Research undertaken by the Worldwide Governance Indicators project at the World Bank , indicates that freedom of speech, and
2220-473: A neurological disease, and Ellis, who was influenced by Krafft-Ebing's writings, disagreed about whether sexual inversion was generally a lifelong condition. Ellis believed that many women who professed love for other women changed their feelings about such relationships after they had experienced marriage and a "practical life". Ellis conceded that there were "true inverts" who would spend their lives pursuing erotic relationships with women. These were members of
2368-406: A penis in some women. These sex changes were later thought to be cases of hermaphrodites , and hermaphroditism became synonymous with female same-sex desire. Medical consideration of hermaphroditism depended upon measurements of the clitoris ; a longer, engorged clitoris was thought to be used by women to penetrate other women. Penetration was the focus of concern in all sexual acts, and a woman who
2516-408: A report published in 1776, he wrote: No evidence should be needed that a certain freedom of writing and printing is one of the strongest bulwarks of a free organization of the state, as, without it, the estates would not have sufficient information for the drafting of good laws, and those dispensing justice would not be monitored, nor would the subjects know the requirements of the law, the limits of
2664-458: A result, little in history was documented to give an accurate description of how female homosexuality was 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 . They classified them as mentally ill—a designation which has been reversed since
2812-408: A right includes the content and the means of expression. The right to freedom of speech and expression is closely related to other rights. It may be limited when conflicting with other rights (see limitations on freedom of speech ). The right to freedom of expression is also related to the right to a fair trial and court proceeding which may limit access to the search for information, or determine
2960-512: A scandal in New Zealand in 1909 when she was found to be Amy Bock , who had married a woman from Port Molyneaux; newspapers argued whether it was a sign of insanity or an inherent character flaw. During the 17th through 19th centuries, a woman expressing passionate love for another woman was fashionable, accepted, and encouraged. These relationships were termed romantic friendships , Boston marriages , or "sentimental friends", and were common in
3108-545: A shared history and subculture, and similar experiences with discrimination which has caused many lesbians to reject heterosexual principles. This identity is unique from gay men and heterosexual women, and often creates tension with bisexual women. One point of contention are lesbians who have had sex with men, while lesbians who have never had sex with men may be referred to as " gold star lesbians ". Those who have had sex with men may face ridicule from other lesbians or identity challenges with regard to defining what it means to be
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#17328909770873256-408: A shared sexual orientation evolved in the 20th century. Throughout history, women have not had the same freedom or independence as men to pursue homosexual relationships, but neither have they met the same harsh punishment as gay men in some societies. Instead, lesbian relationships have often been regarded as harmless, unless a participant attempts to assert privileges traditionally enjoyed by men. As
3404-412: A significant problem. In some cases, it was not acknowledged to exist. Sexologists Richard von Krafft-Ebing from Germany and Britain's Havelock Ellis wrote some of the earliest and more enduring categorizations of female same-sex attraction , approaching it as a form of insanity (Ellis' categorization of "lesbianism" as a medical problem is now discredited). Krafft-Ebing, who considered lesbianism
3552-537: A span of six months. Hall reflected the appearance of a "mannish" woman in the 1920s: short cropped hair , tailored suits (often with pants), and monocle that became widely recognized as a "uniform". When British women supported the war effort during the First World War, they became familiar with masculine clothing, and were considered patriotic for wearing uniforms and pants. Postwar masculinization of women's clothing became associated primarily with lesbianism. In
3700-577: A unique and often unflatteringly portrayed group. Specifically, Faderman connects the growth of women's independence and their beginning to reject strictly prescribed roles in the Victorian era to the scientific designation of lesbianism as a type of aberrant sexual behavior. For some women, the realization that they participated in behavior or relationships that could be categorized as lesbian caused them to deny or conceal it, such as professor Jeannette Augustus Marks at Mount Holyoke College , who lived with
3848-441: A victim of Saudi's internet censorship and was facing death sentence. Saudi-controlled media portrayed him as a dangerous preacher due to his Twitter and WhatsApp posts, but dissidents considered him as an important intellectual who maintained strong social media influence. Some legal scholars (such as Tim Wu of Columbia University ) have argued that the traditional issues of free speech—that "the main threat to free speech"
3996-439: A woman who identifies herself as an invert after reading Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis , and lives within the homosexual subculture of Paris. The novel included a foreword by Havelock Ellis and was intended to be a call for tolerance for inverts by publicizing their disadvantages and accidents of being born inverted. Hall subscribed to Ellis and Krafft-Ebing's theories and rejected Freud 's theory that same-sex attraction
4144-412: A woman's reputation. In fact, these relationships were promoted as alternatives to and practice for a woman's marriage to a man. One such relationship was between Lady Mary Wortley Montagu , who wrote to Anne Wortley in 1709: "Nobody was so entirely, so faithfully yours ... I put in your lovers, for I don't allow it possible for a man to be so sincere as I am." Similarly, English poet Anna Seward had
4292-648: Is a fundamental social process, a basic human need and the foundation of all social organisation. It is central to the Information Society . Everyone, everywhere should have the opportunity to participate and no one should be excluded from the benefits of the Information Society offers. According to Bernt Hugenholtz and Lucie Guibault, the public domain is under pressure from the " commodification of information" as information with previously little or no economic value has acquired independent economic value in
4440-685: Is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship , or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognised as a human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law by the United Nations . Many countries have constitutional law that protects free speech. Terms like free speech , freedom of speech, and freedom of expression are used interchangeably in political discourse. However, in
4588-604: Is also explicitly protected by acts such as the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act of Ontario, in Canada. The Access to Information Act gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and any person or corporation present in Canada a right to access records of government institutions that are subject to the Act. The concept of freedom of information has emerged in response to state sponsored censorship, monitoring and surveillance of
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4736-536: Is also illegal in some countries. Apostasy has been instrumentalized to restrict freedom of speech in some countries. In some countries, blasphemy is a crime. For example, in Austria, defaming Muhammad , the prophet of Islam, is not protected as free speech. In contrast, in France, blasphemy and disparagement of Muhammad are protected under free speech law. Certain public institutions may also enact policies restricting
4884-443: Is an innate quality in all people. When a woman realizes her romantic and sexual attraction to another woman, it may cause an "existential crisis"; many who go through this adopt the identity of a lesbian, challenging what society has offered in stereotypes about homosexuals, to learn how to function within a homosexual subculture. Lesbians in western cultures generally share an identity that parallels those built on ethnicity; they have
5032-468: Is both false and potentially dangerous, such as falsely shouting "Fire!" in a theatre and causing a panic . Justifications for limitations to freedom of speech often reference the " harm principle " or the "offence principle". In On Liberty (1859), John Stuart Mill argued that "...there ought to exist the fullest liberty of professing and discussing, as a matter of ethical conviction, any doctrine, however immoral it may be considered". Mill argues that
5180-442: Is constructed by men, whose primary indicator of lesbian sexual orientation is sexual experience with other women. The same indicator is not necessary to identify a woman as heterosexual. McCormick states that emotional, mental, and ideological connections between women are as important or more so than the genital. Nonetheless, in the 1980s, a significant movement rejected the desexualization of lesbianism by cultural feminists, causing
5328-632: Is debated and depends on the individual details of each case. If discovered, punishments ranged from death, to time in the pillory , to being ordered never to dress as a man again. Henry Fielding wrote a pamphlet titled The Female Husband in 1746, based on the life of Mary Hamilton , who was arrested after marrying a woman while masquerading as a man, and was sentenced to public whipping and six months in jail. Similar examples were procured of Catharine Linck in Prussia in 1717, executed in 1721; Swiss Anne Grandjean married and relocated with her wife to Lyons, but
5476-496: Is for the viewer or an accurate representation of life is unknown. Rabinowitz writes that the lack of interest from 19th-century historians who specialized in Greek studies regarding the daily lives and sexual inclinations of women in Greece was due to their social priorities. She postulates that this lack of interest led the field to become over male-centric and was partially responsible for
5624-445: Is for women (i.e., desire or attraction )" ... "The lack of a standard definition of lesbian and of standard questions to assess who is lesbian has made it difficult to clearly define a population of lesbian women." How and where study samples were obtained can also affect the definition. The varied meanings of lesbian since the early 20th century have prompted some historians to revisit historic relationships between women before
5772-778: Is like youres". In Georgia, Alice Baldy wrote to Josie Varner in 1870, "Do you know that if you touch me, or speak to me there is not a nerve of fibre in my body that does not respond with a thrill of delight?" Around the turn of the 20th century, the development of higher education provided opportunities for women. In all-female surroundings, a culture of romantic pursuit was fostered in women's colleges. Older students mentored younger ones, called on them socially, took them to all-women dances, and sent them flowers, cards, and poems that declared their undying love for each other. These were called "smashes" or "spoons", and they were written about quite frankly in stories for girls aspiring to attend college in publications such as Ladies Home Journal ,
5920-458: Is not necessarily the same as one's sexual orientation or sexual behavior, due to various reasons, such as the fear of identifying their sexual orientation in a homophobic setting. Portrayals of lesbians in the media suggest that society at large has been simultaneously intrigued and threatened by women who challenge feminine gender roles , as well as fascinated and appalled with women who are romantically involved with other women. Women who adopt
6068-448: Is obliged to help any speakers publish their views, and no one is required to listen to, agree with, or acknowledge the speaker or the speaker's views. These concepts correspond to earlier traditions of natural law and common law rights. Freedom of speech is understood to be fundamental in a democracy. The norms on limiting freedom of expression mean that public debate may not be completely suppressed even in times of emergency. One of
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6216-556: Is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , adopted in 1948, states that: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Today, freedom of speech, or
6364-583: Is the " Great Firewall of China " (in reference both to its role as a network firewall and the ancient Great Wall of China ). The system blocks content by preventing IP addresses from being routed through and consists of standard firewall and proxy servers at the internet gateways . The system also selectively engages in DNS poisoning when particular sites are requested. The government does not appear to be systematically examining Internet content, as this appears to be technically impractical. Internet censorship in
6512-426: Is the censorship of "suppressive states", and that "ill-informed or malevolent speech" can and should be overcome by "more and better speech" rather than censorship—assumes scarcity of information. This scarcity prevailed during the 20th century, but with the arrival of the internet, information became plentiful, "but the attention of listeners" scarce. Furthermore, in the words of Wu, this "cheap speech" made possible by
6660-426: Is understood as a multi-faceted right that includes not only the right to express, or disseminate, information and ideas but three further distinct aspects: International, regional and national standards also recognise that freedom of speech, as the freedom of expression, includes any medium, whether orally, in writing, in print, through the internet or art forms. This means that the protection of freedom of speech as
6808-654: Is unknown, in particular their expressions of sexuality. Although men participated in pederastic relationships outside marriage, there is no clear evidence that women were allowed or encouraged to have same-sex relationships before or during marriage as long as their marital obligations were met. Women who appear on Greek pottery are depicted with affection, and in instances where women appear only with other women, their images are eroticized: bathing, touching one another, with dildos placed in and around such scenes, and sometimes with imagery also seen in depictions of heterosexual marriage or pederastic seduction. Whether this eroticism
6956-505: The Golden Shield Project , an initiative by Chinese government's Ministry of Public Security that filters potentially unfavourable data from foreign countries. Facebook routinely and automatically eliminates what it perceives as hate speech, even if such words are used ironically or poetically with no intent to insult others. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative measures the right to opinion and expression for countries around
7104-527: The Gouines rouges ("Red Dykes") splinter group in June 1971, with the aim of combatting sexism , male chauvinism , and androcracy . Other groups became prominent, including Gazolines and the newspapers Fléau social and Antinorm . They published a Rapport contre la normalité in 1971 and a thick special edition of the review Research , edited by Félix Guattari , in 1973. All these were, however, recognized by
7252-632: The Gouines rouges within the Mouvement de libération des femmes (MLF). The group was originally formed by an alliance of feminists from the MLF and lesbians from the Arcadie organization, who were joined by gay men in February 1971. The foundations for an organization had been laid when posters for the "Comité d'action pédérastique révolutionnaire" (English: Committee of Revolutionary Pederastic Action ) were put up at
7400-704: The Internet . The Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 was the first major attempt by the United States Congress to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. In 1997, in the landmark cyberlaw case of Reno v. ACLU , the US Supreme Court partially overturned the law. Judge Stewart R. Dalzell , one of the three federal judges who in June 1996 declared parts of the CDA unconstitutional, in his opinion stated
7548-588: The Sorbonne during May 1968. The group organized meetings at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. On 5 March 1971, the FHAR interrupted a meeting against the right to abortion , and on 10 March it attracted public attention by disrupting and stopping a Radio Luxembourg broadcast by Ménie Gregoire on the topic of homosexuality . The name they gave themselves, "Front homosexuel d'action révolutionnaire", with
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#17328909770877696-855: The initialism FHAR, was registered officially as "Fédération Humaniste Anti-Raciste". They asserted the sexual freedom of all individuals. The group also communicated through the leftist newspaper Tout ! [ fr ] . A statement by the group published in the paper's twelfth issue referred to the Manifesto of the 343 , a 1971 petition signed by 343 women publicly declaring that they had had an abortion, then illegal in France: Nous sommes plus de 343 salopes Nous nous sommes faits enculer par des Arabes Nous en sommes fiers et nous recommencerons We are more than 343 sluts We have been buggered by Arabs We are proud of it and we will do it again 10,000 copies of Tout ! were seized by
7844-438: The right to privacy in the context of the Internet and information technology . As with the right to freedom of expression, the right to privacy is a recognised human right and freedom of information acts as an extension to this right. Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e., the ability to access Web content , without censorship or restrictions. Freedom of information
7992-452: The right to privacy , dignity , the right to be forgotten , public security , blasphemy and perjury . Justifications for such include the harm principle , proposed by John Stuart Mill in On Liberty , which suggests that "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others". The idea of
8140-605: The " Information Society " in stating: We reaffirm, as an essential foundation of the Information society, and as outlined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; that this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Communication
8288-467: The " third sex " who rejected the roles of women to be subservient, feminine, and domestic. Invert described the opposite gender roles, and also the related attraction to women instead of men; since women in the Victorian period were considered unable to initiate sexual encounters, women who did so with other women were thought of as possessing masculine sexual desires. The work of Krafft-Ebing and Ellis
8436-426: The "offense principle" is also used to justify speech limitations, describing the restriction on forms of expression deemed offensive to society, considering factors such as extent, duration, motives of the speaker, and ease with which it could be avoided. With the evolution of the digital age , application of freedom of speech becomes more controversial as new means of communication and restrictions arise, for example,
8584-574: The 1590s, and it was affirmed in the Protestation of 1621 . Restating what is written in the English Declaration of Right, 1689 , England's Bill of Rights 1689 legally established the constitutional right of freedom of speech in Parliament, which is still in effect. This so-called parliamentary privilege includes no possible defamation claims meaning Parliamentarians are free to speak up in
8732-549: The 1930s, independent and masculine women were directly recruited by the military in the 1940s, and frailty discouraged. Some women arrived at the recruiting station in a man's suit, denied ever being in love with another woman, and were easily inducted. Sexual activity was forbidden and blue discharge was almost certain if one identified oneself as a lesbian. As women found each other, they formed into tight groups on base, socialized at service clubs, and began to use code words. Historian Allan Bérubé documented that homosexuals in
8880-553: The German capital as a center of lesbian activity. Clubs varied between large establishments that became tourist attractions, to small neighborhood cafes where local women went to meet other women. The cabaret song " Das lila Lied " ("The Lavender Song") became an anthem to the lesbians of Berlin. Although it was sometimes tolerated, homosexuality was illegal in Germany and law enforcement used permitted gatherings as an opportunity to register
9028-471: The Government can fill that role as well. In my view, our action today should only mean that Government's permissible supervision of Internet contents stops at the traditional line of unprotected speech. [...] The absence of governmental regulation of Internet content has unquestionably produced a kind of chaos, but as one of the plaintiff's experts put it with such resonance at the hearing: "What achieved success
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#17328909770879176-415: The Government of all means of protecting children from the dangers of Internet communication. The Government can continue to protect children from pornography on the Internet through vigorous enforcement of existing laws criminalising obscenity and child pornography . [...] As we learned at the hearing, there is also a compelling need for public educations about the benefits and dangers of this new medium, and
9324-572: The House without fear of legal action. This protection extends to written proceedings: for example, written and oral questions, motions and amendments tabled to bills and motions. One of the world's first freedom of the press acts was introduced in Sweden in 1766 ( Swedish Freedom of the Press Act ), mainly due to the classical liberal member of parliament and Ostrobothnian priest Anders Chydenius . In
9472-416: The Internet can be unfiltered, unpolished, and unconventional, even emotionally charged, sexually explicit, and vulgar – in a word, "indecent" in many communities. But we should expect such speech to occur in a medium in which citizens from all walks of life have a voice. We should also protect the autonomy that such a medium confers to ordinary people as well as media magnates.[...] My analysis does not deprive
9620-496: The Lesbian History Group wrote: Because of society's reluctance to admit that lesbians exist, a high degree of certainty is expected before historians or biographers are allowed to use the label. Evidence that would suffice in any other situation is inadequate here... A woman who never married, who lived with another woman, whose friends were mostly women, or who moved in known lesbian or mixed gay circles, may well have been
9768-600: The People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations, including more than sixty regulations directed at the Internet. Censorship systems are vigorously implemented by provincial branches of state-owned ISPs , business companies, and organizations. Saudi Arabia 's government had been intensifying the scrutiny of social media accounts, under which they were detaining several activists, critics and even normal social media users over few critical tweets. A law professor, Awad Al-Qarni became
9916-501: The Roman male's view of himself as the exclusive giver of sexual pleasure but also the most basic foundations of Rome's male-dominated culture". No historical documentation exists of women who had other women as sex partners. Female homosexuality did not receive the same negative response from religious or criminal authorities as male homosexuality or adultery did throughout history. Whereas sodomy between men, men and women, and men and animals
10064-508: The U.S. Enigmatic poet Emily Dickinson wrote over 300 letters and poems to Susan Gilbert, who later became her sister-in-law, and engaged in another romantic correspondence with Kate Scott Anthon. Anthon broke off their relationship the same month Dickinson entered self-imposed lifelong seclusion. Nearby in Hartford, Connecticut, African American freeborn women Addie Brown and Rebecca Primus left evidence of their passion in letters: "No kisses
10212-489: The U.S. who could not visit Harlem or live in Greenwich Village for the first time were able to visit saloons in the 1920s without being considered prostitutes. The existence of a public space for women to socialize in bars that were known to cater to lesbians "became the single most important public manifestation of the subculture for many decades", according to historian Lillian Faderman . The primary component necessary to encourage lesbians to be public and seek other women
10360-465: The U.S., Europe, and especially in England. Documentation of these relationships is possible by a large volume of letters written between women. Whether the relationship included any genital component was not a matter for public discourse, but women could form strong and exclusive bonds with each other and still be considered virtuous, innocent, and chaste; a similar relationship with a man would have destroyed
10508-503: The United States, the 1920s was a decade of social experimentation, particularly with sex. This was heavily influenced by the writings of Sigmund Freud , who theorized that sexual desire would be sated unconsciously, despite an individual's wish to ignore it. Freud's theories were much more pervasive in the U.S. than in Europe. With the well-publicized notion that sexual acts were a part of lesbianism and their relationships, sexual experimentation
10656-662: The Worldwide Governance Indicators measure for more than 200 countries. Against this backdrop it is important that development agencies create grounds for effective support for a free press in developing countries. Richard Moon has developed the argument that the value of freedom of speech and freedom of expression lies with social interactions. Moon writes that "by communicating an individual forms relationships and associations with others – family, friends, co-workers, church congregation, and countrymen. By entering into discussion with others an individual participates in
10804-447: The actor, and that it is probably a necessary means to that end". Hence Feinberg argues that the harm principle sets the bar too high and that some forms of expression can be legitimately prohibited by law because they are very offensive. Nevertheless, as offending someone is less serious than harming someone, the penalties imposed should be higher for causing harm. In contrast, Mill does not support legal penalties unless they are based on
10952-423: The armed forces either consciously or subconsciously refused to identify themselves as homosexual or lesbian, and also never spoke about others' orientation. The most masculine women were not necessarily common, though they were visible, so they tended to attract women interested in finding other lesbians. Women had to broach the subject about their interest in other women carefully, sometimes taking days to develop
11100-433: The bearer of the general right to freedom of expression for all. However, freedom of the press does not necessarily enable freedom of speech. Judith Lichtenberg has outlined conditions in which freedom of the press may constrain freedom of speech. For example, if all the people who control the various mediums of publication suppress information or stifle the diversity of voices inherent in freedom of speech. This limitation
11248-560: The breast, and the prospect of living with my Fanny gladdens my heart:—You know not how I love her." Perhaps the most famous of these romantic friendships was between Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, nicknamed the Ladies of Llangollen . Butler and Ponsonby eloped in 1778, to the relief of Ponsonby's family (concerned about their reputation had she run away with a man) to live together in Wales for 51 years and be thought of as eccentrics. Their story
11396-449: The calls for social tolerance by the Acardie association, were taken up by homosexual associations and groups in the 1980s, such as Universités d’été euroméditerranéennes des homosexualités and Comité d'Urgence Anti-Répression Homosexuelle (CUARH) in 1979, and the magazine Gai pied . The movement's radicalism and politicisation also influenced LGBT movements in the 1990s, partly inspiring
11544-477: The college president, Mary Woolley , for 36 years. Marks discouraged young women from "abnormal" friendships and insisted happiness could only be attained with a man. Other women embraced the distinction and used their uniqueness to set themselves apart from heterosexual women and gay men. From the 1890s to the 1930s, American heiress Natalie Clifford Barney held a weekly salon in Paris to which major artistic celebrities were invited and where lesbian topics were
11692-430: The current queer movement in the United States of America and France. Lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their 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
11840-501: The debate is characterized by a cacophony of competing harm arguments without any way to resolve them. There is no longer an argument within the structure of the debate to resolve the competing claims of harm. The original harm principle was never equipped to determine the relative importance of harms". Interpretations of both the harm and offense limitations to freedom of speech are culturally and politically relative. For instance, in Russia,
11988-502: The designation of different or perverted, and used their outlaw status to form social circles in Paris and Berlin. Lesbian began to describe elements of a subculture. Lesbians in Western cultures in particular often classify themselves as having an identity that defines their individual sexuality, as well as their membership to a group that shares common traits. Women in many cultures throughout history have had sexual relations with other women, but they rarely were designated as part of
12136-616: The development of knowledge and in the direction of the community". Freedom of speech is not regarded as absolute by some, with most legal systems generally setting limits on the freedom of speech, particularly when freedom of speech conflicts with other rights and protections, such as in the cases of libel , slander , pornography , obscenity , fighting words , and intellectual property . Some limitations to freedom of speech may occur through legal sanction, and others may occur through social disapprobation. In Saudi Arabia, journalists are forbidden to write with disrespect or disapproval of
12284-399: The electorate by withholding information and stifling criticism. Meiklejohn acknowledges that the desire to manipulate opinion can stem from the motive of seeking to benefit society. However, he argues, choosing manipulation negates, in its means, the democratic ideal. Eric Barendt has called this defence of free speech on the grounds of democracy "probably the most attractive and certainly
12432-588: The focus. Combining Greek influences with contemporary French eroticism, she attempted to create an updated and idealized version of Lesbos in her salon. Her contemporaries included artist Romaine Brooks , who painted others in her circle; writers Colette , Djuna Barnes , social host Gertrude Stein , and novelist Radclyffe Hall . Berlin had a vibrant homosexual culture in the 1920s, and about 50 clubs catered to lesbians. Die Freundin ( The Girlfriend ) magazine, published between 1924 and 1933, targeted lesbians. Garçonne (aka Frauenliebe ( Woman Love ))
12580-401: The following: The Internet is a far more speech-enhancing medium than print , the village green , or the mails . Because it would necessarily affect the Internet itself, the CDA would necessarily reduce the speech available for adults on the medium. This is a constitutionally intolerable result. Some of the dialogue on the Internet surely tests the limits of conventional discourse. Speech on
12728-870: The form of art, or through any other media of his choice". The version of Article 19 in the ICCPR later amends this by stating that the exercise of these rights carries "special duties and responsibilities" and may "therefore be subject to certain restrictions" when necessary "[f]or respect of the rights or reputation of others" or "[f]or the protection of national security or public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals ". Freedom of speech and expression, therefore, may not be recognized as being absolute, and common limitations or boundaries to freedom of speech relate to libel , slander , obscenity , pornography , sedition , incitement , fighting words , hate speech , classified information , copyright violation , trade secrets , food labeling , non-disclosure agreements ,
12876-507: The formation of lesbian relationships and families in the open. The word lesbian is the demonym of the Greek island of Lesbos , home to the 6th-century BCE poet Sappho . From various ancient writings, historians gathered that a group of young women were left in Sappho's charge for their instruction or cultural edification. Little of Sappho's poetry survives, but her remaining poetry reflects
13024-670: The freedom of expression, is recognised in international and regional human rights law . The right is enshrined in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights , Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights . Based on John Milton 's arguments, freedom of speech
13172-400: The freedom of speech, for example, speech codes at state-operated schools . In the U.S., the standing landmark opinion on political speech is Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), expressly overruling Whitney v. California . In Brandenburg , the U.S. Supreme Court referred to the right even to speak openly of violent action and revolution in broad terms: [Our] decisions have fashioned
13320-436: The fullest liberty of expression is required to push arguments to their logical limits, rather than the limits of social embarrassment. In 1985, Joel Feinberg introduced what is known as the "offence principle". Feinberg wrote, "It is always a good reason in support of a proposed criminal prohibition that it would probably be an effective way of preventing serious offence (as opposed to injury or harm) to persons other than
13468-410: The funeral of a Maoist killed by a vigilante in 1972, while Françoise d'Eaubonne, who believed it had become nothing more than a place for flirting, also quit. The police banned the meetings at the École des Beaux-Arts in February 1974, and the FHAR gave up its publicity stunts. It was disbanded in the same month. Nevertheless, the FHAR left a substantial legacy. Its positions, quite different from
13616-517: The growth of scholarship in women's history and sexuality in the late 20th century, the definition of lesbian broadened, leading to debate about the term's use. While research by Lisa M. Diamond identified sexual desire as the core component for defining lesbians, some women who engage in same-sex sexual activity may reject not only identifying as lesbians but as bisexual as well. Other women's self-identification as lesbian may not align with their sexual orientation or sexual behavior. Sexual identity
13764-638: The harm and offense principles have been used to justify the Russian LGBT propaganda law restricting speech (and action) concerning LGBT issues. Many European countries outlaw speech that might be interpreted as Holocaust denial . These include Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Romania. Armenian genocide denial
13912-412: The harm principle. Because the degree to which people may take offence varies, or may be the result of unjustified prejudice, Feinberg suggests that several factors need to be taken into account when applying the offence principle, including: the extent, duration and social value of the speech, the ease with which it can be avoided, the motives of the speaker, the number of people offended, the intensity of
14060-415: The information age. This includes factual data, personal data , genetic information and pure ideas . The commodification of information is taking place through intellectual property law, contract law , as well as broadcasting and telecommunications law. Freedom of information is an extension of freedom of speech where the medium of expression is the Internet . Freedom of information may also refer to
14208-506: The international Congress of sexology in Sanremo . They also intervened in communist political meetings, in particular with Mutualité where Jacques Duclos said to them: "Allez vous faire soigner, bande de pédérastes, le PCF est sain!" (English: Go get yourself cured, you band of pederasts; the PCF is healthy!) The growing power of men in the group led many women of the FHAR to break off, forming
14356-418: The internet " ... may be used to attack, harass, and silence as much as it is used to illuminate or debate". The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has argued that "censorship cannot be the only answer to disinformation online" and that tech companies "have a history of overcorrecting and censoring accurate, useful speech—or, even worse, reinforcing misinformation with their policies." According to Wu, in
14504-636: The internet. Internet censorship includes the control or suppression of the publishing or accessing of information on the Internet. The Global Internet Freedom Consortium claims to remove blocks to the "free flow of information" for what they term "closed societies". According to the Reporters without Borders (RWB) "internet enemy list" the following states engage in pervasive internet censorship: Mainland China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar / Burma , North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , and Vietnam. A widely publicized example of internet censorship
14652-498: The inversion of chauvinistic and homophobic values common on the left and far left . The outrageous behavior (from the authorities' point of view) at the male sexual encounters held by the group and the increasing prevalence of men (which inevitably distracted from feminist and lesbian issues), eventually brought about the group's disintegration. In its wake appeared the Groupe de libération homosexuelle [ fr ] (GLH) and
14800-417: The island of Lesbos, and so could be construed to mean ' from the island of Lesbos ' . In 1875, George Saintsbury , in writing about Baudelaire's poetry, refers to his "Lesbian studies" in which he includes his poem about "the passion of Delphine" which is a poem simply about love between two women which does not mention the island of Lesbos, though the other poem alluded to, entitled "Lesbos", does. Use of
14948-622: The late 20th century in the global scientific community. Women in homosexual relationships in Europe and the United States responded to the discrimination and repression either by hiding their personal lives, or accepting the label of outcast and creating a subculture and identity . Following World War II , during a period of social repression when governments actively persecuted homosexuals, women developed networks to socialize with and educate each other. Gaining greater economic and social freedom allowed them to determine how they could form relationships and families. With second-wave feminism and
15096-502: The limited information available on female topics in ancient Greece. Women in ancient Rome were similarly subject to men's definitions of sexuality. Modern scholarship indicates that men viewed female homosexuality with hostility. They considered women who engaged in sexual relations with other women to be biological oddities that would attempt to penetrate women—and sometimes men—with "monstrously enlarged" clitorises . According to scholar James Butrica, lesbianism "challenged not only
15244-647: The masquerade of one gender for another to fool an unsuspecting woman into being seduced. Such plot devices were used in Shakespeare 's Twelfth Night (1601), The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser in 1590, and James Shirley 's The Bird in a Cage (1633). Cases during the Renaissance of women taking on male personae and going undetected for years or decades have been recorded, though whether these cases would be described as transvestism by homosexual women, or in contemporary sociology characterised as transgender ,
15392-473: The military in the U.S. Women's Army Corps (WACs) and U.S. Navy's Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). Unlike processes to screen out male homosexuals, which had been in place since the creation of the American military, there were no methods to identify or screen for lesbians; they were put into place gradually during World War II. Despite common attitudes regarding women's traditional roles in
15540-401: The most fashionable free speech theory in modern Western democracies". Thomas I. Emerson expanded on this defence when he argued that freedom of speech helps to provide a balance between stability and change . Freedom of speech acts as a "safety valve" to let off steam when people might otherwise be bent on revolution . He argues that "The principle of open discussion is a method of achieving
15688-482: The most notable proponents of the link between freedom of speech and democracy is Alexander Meiklejohn . He has argued that the concept of democracy is that of self-government by the people. For such a system to work, an informed electorate is necessary. In order to be appropriately knowledgeable, there must be no constraints on the free flow of information and ideas. According to Meiklejohn, democracy will not be true to its essential ideal if those in power can manipulate
15836-477: The names of homosexuals for future reference. Magnus Hirschfeld's Scientific-Humanitarian Committee , which promoted tolerance for homosexuals in Germany , welcomed lesbian participation, and a surge of lesbian-themed writing and political activism in the German feminist movement became evident. In 1928, Radclyffe Hall published a novel titled The Well of Loneliness . The novel's plot centers around Stephen Gordon,
15984-411: The offence, and the general interest of the community at large. Jasper Doomen argued that harm should be defined from the point of view of the individual citizen, not limiting harm to physical harm since nonphysical harm may also be involved; Feinberg's distinction between harm and offence is criticized as largely trivial. In 1999, Bernard Harcourt wrote of the collapse of the harm principle: "Today
16132-414: The opportunity and means in which freedom of expression is manifested within court proceedings. As a general principle freedom of expression may not limit the right to privacy , as well as the honor and reputation of others. However, greater latitude is given when criticism of public figures is involved. The right to freedom of expression is particularly important for media , which play a special role as
16280-520: The police due to the contributions from the FHAR it contained, and the publication's editor, Jean-Paul Sartre , was prosecuted. However, the FHAR dropped in on the Constitutional Council to declare the attacks on freedom of expression unconstitutional, and in July 1971 the investigation was closed. The FHAR denounced heterosexism and the medicalization of homosexuality. In 1971, they disrupted
16428-897: The principle of public access to official records in Sweden. Excluded were defamation of the king's majesty and the Swedish Church . The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , adopted during the French Revolution in 1789, specifically affirmed freedom of speech as an inalienable right. Adopted in 1791, freedom of speech is a feature of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution . The French Declaration provides for freedom of expression in Article 11, which states that: The free communication of ideas and opinions
16576-456: The principle that the constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press do not allow a State to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force or law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or cause such action. The opinion in Brandenburg discarded the previous test of "clear and present danger" and made
16724-400: The process of accountability that follows it, have a significant impact on the quality of governance of a country. "Voice and Accountability" within a country, defined as "the extent to which a country's citizens are able to participate in selecting their government , as well as freedom of expression, freedom of association , and free media " is one of the six dimensions of governance that
16872-664: The right to freedom of (political) speech protections in the United States almost absolute. Hate speech is also protected by the First Amendment in the United States, as decided in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul , (1992) in which the Supreme Court ruled that hate speech is permissible, except in the case of imminent violence. See the First Amendment to the United States Constitution for more detailed information on this decision and its historical background. Limitations based on time, place, and manner apply to all speech, regardless of
17020-587: The rights of government, and their responsibilities. Education and ethical conduct would be crushed; coarseness in thought, speech, and manners would prevail, and dimness would darken the entire sky of our freedom in a few years. Under the leadership of Anders Chydenius, the Caps at the Swedish Riksdag in Gävle on December 2, 1766, passed the adoption of a freedom of the press regulation that stopped censorship and introduced
17168-520: The royal family, religion, or the government. Journalists are also not given any legal protection for their writing in Saudi Arabia. Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a critic of the Saudi Arabian government. He was killed in 2018 by Saudi Arabian officials for his writing. Some views are illegal to express because they are perceived by some to be harmful to others. This category often includes speech that
17316-415: The same meaning. Class distinction became linked as the fashion of female homoeroticism passed. Tribades were simultaneously considered members of the lower class trying to ruin virtuous women, and representatives of an aristocracy corrupt with debauchery. Satirical writers began to suggest that political rivals (or more often, their wives) engaged in tribadism in order to harm their reputations. Queen Anne
17464-469: The slogans of the FHAR ("Prolétaires de tous les pays, caressez-vous !" / Workers of the world, caress yourselves! ("caressez-vous" being a French slang expression meaning "masturbate"), "Lesbiennes et pédés, arrêtons de raser les murs !" / Lesbians and fags, let us stop keeping a low profile ) and the fight against the "hétéro-flics" ( hetero – cops ). The group began to lose members. Daniel Guérin left because of excesses by Gazolines during
17612-526: The soon-to-be-named Joan Crawford . Homosexuals began to draw comparisons between their newly recognized minority status and that of African Americans. Among African American residents of Harlem , lesbian relationships were common and tolerated, though not overtly embraced. Some women staged lavish wedding ceremonies, even filing licenses using masculine names with New York City. Most homosexual women were married to men and participated in affairs with women regularly. Across town, Greenwich Village also saw
17760-749: The study's definition of sexual contact, and introduced other factors such as deeper connections existing between women that make frequent sexual relations redundant, greater sexual fluidity in women causing them to move from heterosexual to bisexual to lesbian numerous times through their lives—or reject the labels entirely. Further arguments attested that the study was flawed and misrepresented accurate sexual contact between women, or sexual contact between women has increased since 1983 as many lesbians find themselves freer to sexually express themselves. More discussion on gender and sexual orientation identity has affected how many women label or view themselves. Most people in western culture are taught that heterosexuality
17908-425: The term trepesthai (to be focused on) instead of eros , which was applied to other erotic relationships between men, and between men and women. Historian Nancy Rabinowitz argues that ancient Greek red vase images which portray women with their arms around another woman's waist, or leaning on a woman's shoulders can be construed as expressions of romantic desire. Much of the daily lives of women in ancient Greece
18056-620: The time, place and manner outlook to protest funeral proceedings. Because of recent flare ups of this occurring, legislation has been put to action to limit this. Now, funeral protests are governed and prohibited by law on a state-to-state basis inside the United States. Jo Glanville, editor of the Index on Censorship , states that "the Internet has been a revolution for censorship as much as for free speech". International, national and regional standards recognise that freedom of speech, as one form of freedom of expression, applies to any medium, including
18204-420: The topics she wrote about: women's daily lives, their relationships, and rituals. She focused on the beauty of women and proclaimed her love for girls. Before the mid-19th century, the word lesbian referred to any derivative or aspect of Lesbos, including a type of wine . In Algernon Charles Swinburne 's 1866 poem "Sapphics", the term lesbian appears twice but capitalized both times after twice mentioning
18352-461: The view expressed. They are generally restrictions that are intended to balance other rights or a legitimate government interest . For example, a time, place, and manner restriction might prohibit a noisy political demonstration at a politician's home during the middle of the night, as that impinges upon the rights of the politician's neighbors to quiet enjoyment of their own homes. An otherwise identical activity might be permitted if it happened at
18500-610: The wedding party—continued to appear for the next century. Outside Europe, women were able to dress as men and go undetected. Deborah Sampson fought in the American Revolution under the name Robert Shurtlieff, and pursued relationships with women. Edward De Lacy Evans was born female in Ireland, but took a male name during the voyage to Australia and lived as a man for 23 years in Victoria, marrying three times. Percy Redwood created
18648-496: The wide usage of the word was defined by erotic proclivities. Discussion from historians caused further questioning of what qualifies as a lesbian relationship. As lesbian-feminists asserted, a sexual component was unnecessary in declaring oneself a lesbian if the primary and closest relationships were with women. When considering past relationships within appropriate historic context, there were times when love and sex were separate and unrelated notions. In 1989, an academic cohort named
18796-429: The word lesbianism to describe erotic relationships between women had been documented in 1870. In 1890, the term lesbian was used in a medical dictionary as an adjective to describe tribadism (as "lesbian love"). The terms lesbian , invert and homosexual were interchangeable with sapphist and sapphism around the turn of the 20th century. The use of lesbian in medical literature became prominent; by 1925,
18944-424: The word was recorded as a noun to mean the female equivalent of a sodomite . The development of medical knowledge was a significant factor in further connotations of the term lesbian. In the middle of the 19th century, medical writers attempted to establish ways to identify male homosexuality, which was considered a significant social problem in most Western societies. In categorizing behavior that indicated what
19092-460: The world, using a survey of in-country human rights experts. Freedom of speech and expression has a long history that predates modern international human rights instruments . It is thought that the ancient Athenian democratic principle of free speech may have emerged in the late 6th or early 5th century BC. Freedom of speech was vindicated by Erasmus and Milton . Edward Coke claimed freedom of speech as "an ancient custom of Parliament" in
19240-478: Was aimed at lesbians and male transvestites . These publications were controlled by men as owners, publishers, and writers. Around 1926, Selli Engler founded Die BIF – Blätter Idealer Frauenfreundschaften ( The BIF – Papers on Ideal Women Friendships ), the first lesbian publication owned, published and written by women. In 1928, the lesbian bar and nightclub guide Berlins lesbische Frauen ( The Lesbians of Berlin ) by Ruth Margarite Röllig further popularized
19388-587: Was caused by childhood trauma and was curable. The publicity Hall received was due to unintended consequences; the novel was tried for obscenity in London, a spectacularly scandalous event described as " the crystallizing moment in the construction of a visible modern English lesbian subculture" by professor Laura Doan. Newspaper stories frankly divulged that the book's content includes "sexual relations between Lesbian women", and photographs of Hall often accompanied details about lesbians in most major print outlets within
19536-613: Was considered "the epitome of virtuous romantic friendship" and inspired poetry by Anna Seward and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow . Diarist Anne Lister , captivated by Butler and Ponsonby, recorded her affairs with women between 1817 and 1840. Some of it was written in code, detailing her sexual relationships with Marianna Belcombe and Maria Barlow. Both Lister and Eleanor Butler were considered masculine by contemporary news reports, and though there were suspicions that these relationships were sapphist in nature, they were nonetheless praised in literature. Romantic friendships were also popular in
19684-518: Was demanded of nuns who "rode" each other or were discovered to have touched each other's breasts. An Italian nun named Sister Benedetta Carlini was documented to have seduced many of her sisters when possessed by a Divine spirit named "Splenditello"; to end her relationships with other women, she was placed in solitary confinement for the last 40 years of her life. Female homoeroticism was so common in English literature and theater that historians suggest it
19832-650: Was economic independence, which virtually disappeared in the 1930s with the Great Depression . Most women in the U.S. found it necessary to marry to a " front " such as a gay man where both could pursue homosexual relationships with public discretion, or to a man who expected a traditional wife. Independent women in the 1930s were generally seen as holding jobs that men should have. The social attitude made very small and close-knit communities in large cities that centered around bars, while simultaneously isolating women in other locales. Speaking of homosexuality in any context
19980-411: Was exposed by a woman with whom she had had a previous affair and sentenced to time in the stocks and prison. Queen Christina of Sweden 's tendency to dress as a man was well known during her time and excused because of her noble birth. She was brought up as a male and there was speculation at the time that she was a hermaphrodite. Even after Christina abdicated the throne in 1654 to avoid marriage, she
20128-419: Was famously summarised as "Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one". Lichtenberg argues that freedom of the press is simply a form of property right summed up by the principle "no money, no voice". Freedom of speech is usually seen as a negative right . This means that the government is legally obliged to take no action against the speaker based on the speaker's views, but that no one
20276-468: Was fashionable for a period during the Renaissance . Englishwoman Mary Frith has been described as lesbian in academic study. Ideas about women's sexuality were linked to contemporary understanding of female physiology. The vagina was considered an inward version of the penis; where nature's perfection created a man, often nature was thought to be trying to right itself by prolapsing the vagina to form
20424-413: Was known for giving radical visibility to homosexuals during the 1970s in the wake of student and proletarian uprisings of 1968 , which had given little consideration to the liberation of women and homosexuals. Breaking with older homosexual groups, which kept a lower profile and were sometimes conservative, they asserted the subversion of the bourgeois and hetero – patriarchal state , as well as
20572-955: Was known to pursue romantic relationships with women. Some historians view cases of cross-dressing women to be manifestations of women seizing power they would naturally be unable to enjoy in feminine attire, or their way of making sense out of their desire for women. Lillian Faderman argues that Western society was threatened by women who rejected their feminine roles. Catharine Linck and other women who were accused of using dildos, such as two nuns in 16th century Spain executed for using "material instruments", were punished more severely than those who did not. Two marriages between women were recorded in Cheshire , England, in 1707 (between Hannah Wright and Anne Gaskill) and 1708 (between Ane Norton and Alice Pickford) with no comment about both parties being female. Reports of clergymen with lax standards who performed weddings—and wrote their suspicions about one member of
20720-602: Was punishable by death in England, acknowledgment of sexual contact between women was nonexistent in medical and legal texts. The earliest law against female homosexuality appeared in France in 1270. In Spain, Italy, and the Holy Roman Empire, sodomy between women was included in acts considered unnatural and punishable by burning to death, although few instances are recorded of this taking place. The earliest such execution occurred in Speier, Germany , in 1477. Forty days' penance
20868-472: Was recorded about homosexual activity between Greek women. There is some speculation that similar relationships existed between women and girls — the poet Alcman used the term aitis, as the feminine form of aites — which was the official term for the younger participant in a pederastic relationship. Aristophanes , in Plato 's Symposium , mentions women who are romantically attracted to other women, but uses
21016-407: Was referred to as " inversion " by German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld , researchers categorized what was normal sexual behavior for men and women, and therefore to what extent men and women varied from the "perfect male sexual type" and the "perfect female sexual type". Far less literature focused on female homosexual behavior than on male homosexuality, as medical professionals did not consider it
21164-550: Was rumored to have a passionate relationship with Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough, her closest adviser and confidante. When Churchill was ousted as the queen's favorite, she purportedly spread allegations of the queen having affairs with her bedchamberwomen. Marie Antoinette was also the subject of such speculation for some months between 1795 and 1796. Hermaphroditism appeared in medical literature enough to be considered common knowledge, although cases were rare. Homoerotic elements in literature were pervasive, specifically
21312-607: Was socially forbidden, and women rarely discussed lesbianism even amongst themselves; they referred to openly gay people as "in the Life". Freudian psychoanalytic theory was pervasive in influencing doctors to consider homosexuality as a neurosis afflicting immature women. Homosexual subculture disappeared in Germany with the rise of the Nazis in 1933. The onset of World War II caused a massive upheaval in people's lives as military mobilization engaged millions of men. Women were also accepted into
21460-435: Was the very chaos that the Internet is. The strength of the Internet is chaos." Just as the strength of the Internet is chaos, so that strength of our liberty depends upon the chaos and cacophony of the unfettered speech the First Amendment protects. The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Declaration of Principles adopted in 2003 makes specific reference to the importance of the right to freedom of expression for
21608-404: Was thought to have uncontrollable desires because of her engorged clitoris was called a "tribade" (literally, one who rubs). Not only was an abnormally engorged clitoris thought to create lusts in some women that led them to masturbate, but pamphlets warning women about masturbation leading to such oversized organs were written as cautionary tales. For a while, masturbation and lesbian sex carried
21756-408: Was widely read and helped to create public consciousness of female homosexuality. The sexologists' claims that homosexuality was a congenital anomaly were generally well-accepted by homosexual men; it indicated that their behavior was not inspired by nor should be considered a criminal vice, as was widely acknowledged. In the absence of any other material to describe their emotions, homosexuals accepted
21904-659: Was widespread. Large cities that provided a nightlife were immensely popular, and women began to seek out sexual adventure. Bisexuality became chic, particularly in America's first gay neighborhoods. No location saw more visitors for its possibilities of homosexual nightlife than Harlem , the predominantly African American section of New York City . White "slummers" enjoyed jazz , nightclubs, and anything else they wished. Blues singers Ma Rainey , Bessie Smith , Ethel Waters , and Gladys Bentley sang about affairs with women to visitors such as Tallulah Bankhead , Beatrice Lillie , and
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