ABSTRACT
Female homosexuality has attracted little attention, excitement, or invective in the past. It has been generally supposed that this was because women were regarded as too lowly and contemptible for their sexual preference or practice to be of any importance. Certainly, female homosexual relationships, lacking the potential for issue, presented no threat to inheritance and were unlikely to shake the foundations of society. Until recently no publicity was given to lesbianism, and women who loved other women were unremarked and unremarkable. There was a general attitude of pity towards women who did not marry, since social position and financial advantage were associated with the married state, and it was assumed that all women would wish to have a husband and children if the opportunity was available.
