M



y technique when interviewing superstars regarding their life used to entail questions starting with: “As a lesbian, I …” That would usually get women – from Sharon rock (“butches are my personal favourite”) to Missy Elliott (“never say never”) to Holly Hunter (“I think gay females have it well”) – jumping along within chairs, announcing how they expected, desired, expected they certainly were lesbians. Since we identify as
a Kinsey 4
, my approach is actually slightly more tortuous (the question is far more more likely to start: “As a lesbian that’s now shagging a homosexual man …”) but it is progressively rare that you will satisfy a cool direct girl whom’ll confess to getting totally direct.

I found myself on a panel in Soho the other day co-sponsored by
Women
in Journalism and lesbian mag Diva to debate “Lesbophobia for the Media”. I came in for a bit of bisexual bashing from Clare Balding’s girl, Alice Arnold (“betrayal” was the word), and from Eleanor Margolis, the 24-year-old just who produces a column about getting a lesbian within the brand-new Statesman. “Really don’t have confidence in this all fluidity thing,” she said, which, are fair, ended up being exactly the type of thing we accustomed say at her age. Truth be told, even though you don’t think during the idea of sexual fluidity, really, like the law of gravity, merely a well known fact of life.

The findings of the latest National study of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal) seem to advise this too. How many ladies reporting same-sex lovers has increased from 1.8percent to 7.9% within the last two decades. At the end of the lesbophobia discussion, I inquired the audience of approximately 100 ladies – many of whom had incorporate the Diva audience – to place their unique fingers up to suggest the way they defined themselves intimately. About a 3rd didn’t increase their arms whatsoever. For the rest, most were lesbian, a big smattering happened to be bisexual and about five hands wavered nervously floating around, having around the rectangular reality to be straight. Within sense, this mass media crowd had alot in accordance with chicks in the modern swinging scene. I have been checking out this world recently and possess discovered that whilst male 1 / 2 of the swinging couple’s profile will identify as straight, it is literally par for any program that a lady will indicate “bi-curious” or “bisexual”. Certain, most this is about ladies trying to kindly their men – it performs to a common male dream of a threesome concerning two ladies and a person – but really, if you ask me, the bisexual ones really are up for this. I think you’ll find a lot of “straight” women available to you exactly who, whenever they’ve ticked the protection cardboard boxes (get married, get economically safe, have infants), will be ready to “play”, utilizing swinger language. Which is the one thing concerning this brand-new intimately fluid world (for women). The politics are much less right-on in contrast to the old-school lesbian separatist thing. The ladies exactly who boast of being bisexuals for the Natsal survery commonly the nature to visit marching throughout the roads about it.

Although some big actors and vocalists have admitted to bisexuality, there is lots of fudging off their youthful ­heroines of popular society (what is this all “wifey” company, as Cara ­Delevingne relates to her friend Rita Ora? carry on, Cara, you are a stone’n’roll chick, spell it), making you ask yourself just how on the planet the unfamouses will probably be proud regarding their ­not-totally-100per cent hetero condition.

London’s most significant lesbian dance club impresario of-the-moment, Nicola Chubb, 39, which operates the high-end lesbian dance club evening Mint, claims she has seen a sea modification of alleged “fluidity” taking place inside her organizations. Straight women whom, a couple of years in the past, have preferred the business of homosexual guys and would have endured the “fag hag” tag are actually choosing to hang out with lesbians. “they have exercised that lesbians understand how to have a good time also.” She states this particular realisation will often induce other things which, for Lisa Luxx, lesbian “preditor in chief” of new counter-culture magazine Prowlhouse.com, usually results in rips after bedtime. “In case you are a lesbian, you will likely get mentally affixed on some level to the “straight” woman, whereas she will not be at the same place.”

Even more important, Luxx contributes, and I need to go along with their about this one, directly women are often truly monotonous during intercourse. Passively, frankly. “most of them tend to be scared as it pertains down seriously to it.”

Nonetheless, she says, she’s noticed an increase when you look at the range directly women coming-on to her before 12 months. “it looks like the untamed course of action because it’s more spoken of.” She thinks its partly about “women letting one another getting intimate beings versus watching different females as a threat”. In certain steps, this is among the unanticipated boons to possess leave feminism.

Karley “Slutever” Sciortino, the latest showpony of ‘flexi-sexuality’, is actually an United states 26-year-old whom launched as a writer residing in Peckham with little to amuse the woman besides going out and seeking for sex. Undoubtedly, she went from straight away to bisexual and today the woman is (sole style of) fooling that she actually is a lesbian. She recently created the expression “proper lesbianism”, and therefore when she truly needs a satisfying intimate experience, she will go homeward with an other woman because women are “naturally competent” at satisfying each other. Feels like bisexuality in a shiny new wrapper in my experience.

Certainly, the rise during the many women-only groups, gyms and marketing companies points to an understanding for much more all-girls-together stuff that lezzas are undertaking for many years. I know choose the old word for “networking”: cruising – but maybe this can occur within this brand-new oestrogen-only renaissance. Normally, it’s rather like browsing a Japanese beverage service and leaving just before’ve attempted the tea.