Lesbians may feel pressure to have genital sex in order to provide a definition for their romantic feelings for another woman. They may feel pressure to continue having sex in order to view themselves as still being partners. If genital sex ceases, and if one or both partners tells close friends about this, the lesbian community may view the couple as having ended their relationship, and the members of the couple may be considered sexually available by other women. Throughout much of women's history, women's sexuality was tied to reproduction, and thus to men. Women's sexuality was linked to pregnancy and motherhood.
Lesbians can serve as models for sexual activity free from reproduction.
Sexual relationships are so influenced by patriarchal definitions that we cannot truly conceive of women relating in ways that feel authentic to us. This is an area of tremendous power, and one in which we do not even know what our questions are, let alone our solutions. Esther Rothblum is Professor of Psychology at the University of Vermont and Editor of the Journal of Lesbian Studies.