Vaginal sex with a woman (penetration with fingers, hands or objects): 98 percent
Fisted another woman: 30 percent
Been fisted: 23 percent
Vaginal sex with sex toys: 75 percent
Rubbed genitals with female partner: 97 percent
Oral sex with woman: 94 percent
Oral-anal contact: 46 percent
Vaginal sex with a man
Within the last year: 21 percent
More than a year ago: 58 percent
Never: 21 percent
What we call ourselves
All of the women had sex with women, but gave themselves different labels:
Lesbian: 62 percent
Bisexual: 15 percent
Gay: 9 percent
Queer: 7 percent
Other (responses include “dyke” and “transgender”): 4 percent
Straight: 3 percent
Source: 162 Atlanta women surveyed for “Lesbian Women and Sexual Health” by Kathleen Dolan (The Haworth Press, 2005). Dolan notes that the sample is representative, but not generalizable.
It’s
the
question
we
hear
from
straight
people,
gay
men,
and
even
lesbians
who
are
just
coming
out:
What
is
it
that
lesbians
do
in
bed,
anyway?
If
you
believe
straight-male
porn,
we
rub
our
impossibly
large
breasts
on
each
other,
run
our
long
polished
nails
through
our
bleach-blond
hair,
and
strike
seductive
poses
while
we
wait
for
a
man
and
his
penis
to
arrive.
If
you
believe
the
myths
about
lesbian
bed
death,
we
lounge
around
in
matching
tie-dye
t-shirts,
eating
granola
and
petting
our
dozens
of
cats
until
it’s
time
for
the
next
folk
music
concert.
And
if
you
believe
the
slang
terms
used
to
denigrate
us,
it’s
all
about
oral
sex
(we’re
muff
divers
and
carpet
munchers)
or
about
wanting
to
be
as
masculine
as
possible
(diesel
dykes,
bulldaggers).
So
what
is
it
that
Atlanta
lesbians
really
do?
Actually,
it’s
all
of
that
(except
the
waiting
for
a
penis
part)
and
more.
Sociologist
Kathleen
A.
Dolan,
a
professor
at
North
Georgia
College
&
State
University
in
Dahlonega,
surveyed
162
women
from
Atlanta
for
her
2005
book,
“Lesbian
Women
and
Sexual
Health:
The
Social
Construction
of
Risk
and
Susceptibility.”
Participants
represented
a
range
of
ages,
educational
and
economic
levels,
and
races.
All
self-selected
to
participate
in
her
extensive
surveys,
and
all
have
had
sex
with
women.
But
for
many,
the
similarities
end
there
—
indicating
the
fluidity
and
complexity
of
not
only
lesbian
sexual
activities,
but
even
the
term
“lesbian”
itself.
Some
women
called
themselves
“bisexual”
instead
of
“lesbian”
because
they
had
relationships
with
men
even
once
in
the
distant
past.
Some
women
called
themselves
“lesbian”
even
though
they
still
currently
sometimes
have
sex
with
men.
“In
our
research,
we
tried
to
tease
out
what
is
identity
and
what
is
behavior,
and
how
those
don’t
always
add
up
and
they
change
over
time
as
well,
for
individuals
and
communities,”
Dolan
said
this
week.
The
focus
of
Dolan’s
research
was
lesbians’
real
and
perceived
risk
for
HIV
—
a
concern
that
grew
out
of
her
own
life.
“I
was
just
getting
out
of
a
10-year
relationship,”
she
said,
“and
I
was
clueless
about
my
own
personal
risk
as
I
was
going
back
on
the
dating
scene
and
I
wanted
to
know
what
other
women
were
doing.”
She
found
that
despite
the
many
myths
and
stereotypes
about
lesbian
sexuality
(or
the
lack
thereof),
her
study
subjects
recounted
a
broad
range
of
sexual
behavior.
The
largest
group
—
98
percent
—
reported
sex
involving
some
sort
of
vaginal
penetration,
while
97
percent
said
they
“rubbed
genitals”
with
female
partners
and
94
percent
reported
oral
sex.
Still,
stereotypes
about
what
lesbians
“do”
persist,
and
they
often
contradict
each
other.
“Jennifer,”
a
35-year-old
lesbian
who
asked
that
her
full
name
not
be
used,
said
she
believes
the
biggest
myth
about
lesbian
sex
“is
that
it
has
to
include
penetration
or
that
there
is
always
a
male/masculine
and
female/feminine
role.”
But
“Cam,”
who
is
61
and
also
identifies
as
a
lesbian,
said
the
biggest
myth
she
has
heard
“is
that
lesbians
only
have
oral
sex.”
And
despite
the
fact
that
most
of
the
women
in
Dolan’s
sample
said
they
engaged
in
some
sort
of
vaginal
penetration
during
sex,
“Summer”
said
she
has
been
surprised
to
encounter
women
who
won’t
do
it
—
or
at
least
will
not
be
the
receiving
partner.
“There
are
a
lot
more
lesbians
who
don’t
like
penetration
of
any
kind
than
I
would
have
thought
when
I
first
became
sexually
active,”
said
Summer,
37.
“It
seems
it
is
sometimes
a
very
sensitive
subject
and
I’ve
heard
some
people
tell
their
partners
‘don’t
even
go
there.’”
For
Summer,
the
key
to
a
satisfying
sex
life
as
a
lesbian
has
been
not
to
allow
herself
to
be
boxed
in
by
rigid
rules.
“In
a
very
general
sense,
I’d
say
that
there
were
acts
I
thought
I
would
never
be
interested
in,
but
once
I
was
sexually
active
I
found
that
my
curiosity
and
comfort
level
with
myself
—
and
my
partner—
would
lead
me
to
be
more
open
to
new
experiences,”
she
said.
“I
have
never
regretted
pushing
my
own
boundaries
in
that
way.”
SEXUAL
HEALTH
Staying
healthy
while
sexually
active
can
be
a
particular
issue
for
lesbians,
who
may
feel
uncomfortable
discussing
their
sexual
behavior
with
mainstream
health
care
professionals
and
may
find
it
difficult
to
get
information
about
their
risks.
Lesbian
attitudes
toward
safer
sex
are
often
wildly
divergent,
from
women
who
believe
they
face
no
risks
at
all,
to
those
who
take
excessive
precautions
that
may
be
disproportionate
to
their
actual
level
of
risk.
“The
extremes
are
because
we
don’t
have
enough
...
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