Lesbianism means female homosexuality. It refers to a class of women who are incapable of experiencing sexual attraction towards males, only towards females. Without the word lesbian, we don’t have language to describe ourselves. Some women, mainly bisexuals, argue that lesbians should surrender our word and identity for non-lesbian women to refer to themselves as lesbians. They’re usually the type to draw a wedge between gay men and actual lesbians, too. To them, I say: fuck you, homophobes.
Some feminists think you can become a lesbian by “consciously leaving heterosexuality behind.” This is referred to as Political Lesbianism. Angela C. Wild, who edited I Wish I Was a Lesbian: Women’s Lives Beyond Heterosexuality (May 2026), believes heterosexuality is a social construct. That women can “unlearn” their attraction to men. That doing so would make them lesbian. So does Julia Beck. This is spiritually fetishistic of lesbians, not dissimilar to straight men’s sexual fetishism for lesbians. But it’s no longer contained to radical feminism: Autostraddle’s article Lowkey, I Chose To Be a Lesbian, and Doechii referring to it as she came out as a lesbian, demonstrates that such fetishism is mainstream in 2026.
While society conditions homosexuals to pretend to be attracted to the opposite sex, sexual orientation itself is fixed. The documentary Once A Fury (2020) reveals that political “lesbians” from the second wave of feminism eventually returned to men. Heterosexual and bisexual women always have the choice to abstain from men, but lesbianism is not the abstinence from men; many lesbians have forced themselves to sleep with men in the past. Lesbianism is experiencing zero sexual attraction to men. Sex with men is never enjoyable for a lesbian. We do not desire it, but society coerces us to do it.
I choose to use the term heterocoercion, rather than compulsory heterosexuality, to describe the pressure homosexuals face to pretend to be straight. We began using “heterocoercion” on Lesbian Herstory years ago, and as far as I know, we’re the first. The reason I refuse to use “compulsory heterosexuality” is that it was born from political “lesbian” theory. In the essay Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence (1980), Adrienne Rich argued that heterosexuality was not natural; it was a political institution and could be unlearned. That a woman could become a lesbian if she rejected it. Lesbians do not reject it; we’re not capable of it.
Before comments were turned off on an Instagram post advertising Wild’s new book, she told lesbians that there’s nothing innate about our sexual orientation and that the fake “lesbians” in her book have just as much right to claim the word as we do:
User @land_is_v says some women who appropriated lesbianism in the ‘70s are still around, but does not mention how many eased their way back into heterosexual society the moment the feminist hype was over. Because bisexuals can enjoy sex with men, even if they temporarily abstain. Male attraction, even if not acted on, is considered “normal” for women because perpetuating the species is naturalised as the human purpose. Political “lesbians” agree that lesbians can be attracted to men. That’s not revolutionary, it’s traditional homophobia.
Many lesbians grow up trying to be attracted to men and not succeeding because sexual orientation is NOT learned or changeable. If sexual orientation were socially constructed, then we’d all be straight because it’s enforced. Nobody convinced us to be lesbian. It’s usually far-right, ultra-religious conspiracists who say kids can’t even be taught about homosexuality because it will “turn them gay.” By Wild’s argument, that’s possible. It is objectively creepy to propose that someone can change their sexual orientation for any purpose.
Demonstrated in the screenshot below, political “lesbians” believe that lesbianism is merely an action. By that logic, every lesbian who forced herself into undesired sex with men was actually straight at the time. Political “lesbians” see themselves as more lesbian than a closeted housewife living in a country where homosexuality is illegal.
Lesbianism isn’t a choice. It is not feminist sisterhood. A lesbian could be an abuser–a woman-murderer!–and she’s still a lesbian due to being a female homosexual. Lesbianism is growing up feeling completely alienated from heterosexual society because you can NOT click your fingers and become sexually attracted to men. To suggest heterosexuality is something a woman can opt in and out of is not only offensive to every lesbian who forced herself into sex with a man but could never enjoy it, it’s fucking conversion therapy rhetoric.
I can identify as a frog if I want to. It doesn’t make me one. So while actual lesbians exist in a state of female homosexuality, not necessarily knowing why or how we were born this way–in the same way some people are tall while both parents are short–these fraudsters can merely play lesbian dress-ups. Wild can tell a female homosexual that her lesbianism is equally material as a woman who “chose it,” but it doesn’t make it true. Condolences on your attraction to men, but it’s not our responsibility to welcome you into an identity incompatible with your existence.
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