Lunian

The lunian flag by kenochoric.

* Femmes (referring to woman-aligned, feminine-aligned, and/or feminine people) (circumstantial)
* Other genders (circumstantial)

## Related terms

### Similar or related

* Lesbian
* Lilaen
* Dajenyan
* Velaurian
* Straightbian
* Homoflexible
* Byke
* Pyke

### Counterpart or opposite

* Lilaen (lesbians who experience exclusive attraction)

**Lunian**, also known as **deep sea lesbian** or **m-spec lesbian**, is an umbrella term for lesbians who experience non-exclusive attraction. In other words, a lunian is a lesbian who experiences attraction to more than one gender. Some lunians may identify with more specific terms, such as dajenyan, pan-lesbian, or flexible, among other terms. Examples of lunian experiences may include, but are not limited to:

* Experiencing fluid attraction.
* Experiencing attraction to women and nonbinary people, and thus being attracted to multiple genders, without experiencing attraction to men. While lesbian alone can be used to describe this, pluralian/m-spec labels explicitly acknowledge nonbinary people as a gender separate from binary women.
* Experiencing attraction to multiple genders, including women, and using lesbian as an umbrella term which is synonymous with sapphic. In other words, lesbian is used here as a general term for women who love women, exclusively or not.
* Being varioriented and using the split attraction model. For example, a person might experience romantic attraction to women, while experiencing sexual attraction regardless of gender.
* Being part of a system in which some members are lesbians, while others are pluralian, and each member's identity is considered together as a whole.
* Being attracted to multiple genders, but prioritizing women in one's personal life and/or politics.
* Being attracted to multiple genders, while also identifying heavily with lesbian experiences and communities.
* Having a preference for women, or primarily being attracted to women.

## Etymology

The term "lunian" is supposedly based on the word "luna," referring to the moon, which is commonly gendered as feminine or female. The term "deep sea lesbian" is based on the flags designed by Tumblr user kenochoric, who also coined the lunian label.

The term "m-spec lesbian" is simply a combination of m-spec and lesbian. "M-spec" stands for multi-attracted spectrum, multiple-attraction spectrum, multisexual spectrum, or multiromantic spectrum, in this context. "Lesbian" originally referred to people from the island Lesbos (also known as Lesvos or Mitilini), or things relating to said island. Sappho, a Greek poet from Lesbos, was the source of inspiration for the lesbian label, as well as the sapphic label. This was due to the erotic poetry and love poems she wrote about women. "Lesbian" became a word which refers to attraction and relationships between women as late as 1870.

## History

Lesbian has been used as an umbrella term which encompasses both exclusive and non-exclusive attraction since at least the 70s. Lunian in particular was coined by Tumblr user kenochoric on January 14, 2021.

## Flag

The m-spec lesbian flag was created by Tumblr user bi-lesbian (also known as Rouge) on January 19, 2020. The stripes have no confirmed meaning or symbolism.

The deep sea m-spec lesbian flag, later additionally known as the lunian flag, was created by Tumblr user kenochoric on December 8, 2020. Its design was modeled after the ocean, and it was intended to be paired with the Aurora lesbian flag. They created an alternate version of the lunian flag on September 4, 2021, which was designed to bear more resemblance to the community lesbian flag (referred to in post as the sunset lesbian flag).

## Symbol

The m-spec lesbian symbol was created by Tumblr user bi-lesbian (also known as Rouge) on August 12, 2020. Lo combined a crescent with a violet, which represent m-spec/bi identities and sapphic/lesbian identities, respectively. The symbol had multiple variations featuring the colors from different flags: m-spec lesbian, bi-lesbian, pan-lesbian, poly-lesbian, and omni-lesbian. Lo later included a monochrome variant with separate layers which could be easily edited to feature different colors.

## Intolerance and prejudices

Lunians are often accused of being lesbophobic and biphobic, or of perpetuating those forms of bigotry, due to their identities as lunians. Many people proclaim that the definition of "lesbian" only includes women who exclusively love women, or non-men who exclusively love non-men, and that any deviation from this "taints the label" and "furthers anti-lesbian stigmas." This, however, is ahistorical, and is the result of lesbian separatism. The lesbian label's definition has always been a point of contention, but inclusive definitions have been recorded since at least the 70s. For decades, it has been used as a term for all women who love women, exclusively or not, and is additionally inclusive of gender variance in many LGBTQIA+ spaces and communities.

Some argue that the inclusion of pluralian identities at the time was purely the result of a lexical gap, and that once bisexuality appeared as a label, pluralians left the lesbian identity voluntarily, as there was no longer a need to stay. However, while there were bisexual people who voluntarily moved away from the lesbian identity, many maintained their lesbian identity, and advocated for their right to continue to be lesbians. Regardless, even if this were not the case, people are voluntarily opting into the label today. If the argument is that "exclusion is fine because it was voluntary," it would no longer be fine, because it would no longer be voluntary.

Some people feel that the existence of lunians implies that "all lesbians can like men," and encourages men to violate the consent of lesbians. This, however, is a logical leap. Some people are both pluralian and lesbian, but this does not imply or necessitate that *all* lesbians are pluralian. Lesbians should never be pressured or expected to like men, but they should be accepted if and when they do. Additionally, lunians don't always experience attraction to men regardless; there are many lunians whose attraction is only directed towards women and nonbinary people. In any case, violating consent is cruel, and shouldn't be done to anyone. This is true regardless of how the person identifies, and regardless of whether they are attracted to men or not.

## Gallery

The alternate version of the lunian flag.A romance-oriented version of the alternate lunian flag.A romance-oriented version of the lunian flag.A romance-oriented version of the m-spec lesbian flag.A romance-oriented version of the lunian flag.
## Note

1. ↑ "M-spec lesbian" is also sometimes used to mean male/man/masc-spec lesbian. It refers specifically to lunians in this article.
2. ↑ "Women who love women" is a simplification, as there is a lot of gender diversity in the lesbian community.
3. ↑ This assumption is based on it being coined alongside "solian," which appears to be based on "sol," meaning "sun."
4. ↑ Tumblr user kenochoric has gone by many pronouns over the years, but it is unclear what pronouns they currently use. They are referred to with they/them pronouns here to maintain neutrality and ambiguity.
5. ↑ Rouge uses all pronouns, but has a preference for lo/lov, fae/faer, and ro/rose. Lo/lov/loves/loveself is used in this article for consistency.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 kenochoric (2021-01-14). Solian & Lunian. Tumblr. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023.
2. ↑ kenochoric (2021-01-30). The Astral Alignments. Tumblr. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 kenochoric (2020-12-08). Untitled post. Tumblr. Archived from the original on May 13, 2023.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 kenochoric (2021-09-04). Aurora Lesbian & Lunian Alternates. Tumblr. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023.
5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 Richie. Big Bi Lesbian/Gay Masterdoc. Google Docs. Archived from the original on September 8, 2023.
6. ↑ LGBTQ+ 101 – What does abrosexual mean?. Gay Times (2021-06-21). Archived from the original on August 16, 2023.
7. ↑ WebMD Editorial Contributors (2023). What Is Abrosexual?. WebMD. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023.
8. ↑ Millar, Helen (2022-03-22). What to know about abrosexuality. Medical News Today. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023.
9. ↑ Ferguson, Sian (2022-05-27). What Does It Mean to Be Abrosexual?. Healthline. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023.
10. ↑ What Does Abrosexual Mean? + Other Abrosexual Information To Help You Be A Better Ally!. Queer In The World. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023.
11. ↑ Christopher (2020-04-07). I created an abrosexual symbol!. Tumblr. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Holleb, Morgan Lev Edward. *The A-Z of Gender and Sexuality*. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2019. ISBN 9781784506636. "LESBIAN — A woman who is sexually or romantically attracted to women. Lesbian can mean women who are attracted exclusively to other women, but it is also a broader term for women and femmes who are attracted to other women and femmes. This includes bisexual and pansexual women, asexual women who are romantically attracted to women, and non-binary people who identify with womanhood."
13. ↑ List of LGBTQ+ terms. Stonewall. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021.
14. ↑ McNabb, Charlie. *Queer Adolescence: Understanding the Lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual Youth*. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2020. ISBN 9781538132814. "Lesbians are women or woman-aligned people who are sexually or romantically attracted to other women or woman-aligned people. Some lesbians prefer to identify as gay or as gay woman."
15. ↑ Not in our name. DIVA (2018-12-19). Archived from the original on June 29, 2021.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Lesbian. The Trans Language Primer. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 Ferguson, Ann. *Patriarchy, Sexual Identity, and the Sexual Revolution*. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 1981. "Lesbian is a woman who has sexual and erotic-emotional ties primarily with women or who sees herself as centrally involved with a community of self-identified lesbians whose sexual and erotic-emotional ties are primarily with women; and who is herself a self-identifed lesbian."....."[My definition] defines both bisexual and celibate women as lesbians as long as they identify themselves as such and have their primary emotional identification with a community of self-defined lesbians."
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Miller, Trish. *Lavender Woman, Vol. 2, No. 5*. Lavender Woman Magazine, 1973. "What is a lesbian? To me, a lesbian is a woman-oriented woman; bisexuals can be lesbians. A lesbian does not have to be exclusively woman-oriented, she does not have to prove herself in bed, she does not have to hate men, she does not have to be sexually active at all times, she does not have to be a radical feminist."
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Queen, Carol A.. *Strangers at Home: Bisexuals in the queer movement,*. 1992. "A great many bisexual women, particularly those who are feminist and lesbian-identified, have felt both personally and politically rejected and judged by the separatist sisters."
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Kafele, Dajenya Shoshanna. "Which Part of Me Deserves to Be Free?". *Bisexual Politics: Theories, Queries, & Visions*. New York : Haworth Press, 1995. ISBN 9781560249504. "Personally, I am unable to separate out the various ways that I am oppressed (as a woman, as an African American, as a bisexual lesbian, as an impoverished single mother) and say that one oppression is worse than the other, or that I desire one form of liberation more than another."
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Wyeth, Amy. "Don't Assume Anything". *Bi Women: The Newsletter of the Boston Bisexual Women's Network*. Vol. 5, No. 2, 1995. "Unfortunately, many of my experiences as a lesbian-identified bisexual woman have said to me that having an appearance or demeanor that diverges from the expected means I will not be accepted as truly belonging in the lesbian community. Despite my attendance at gay pride parade, dollars spent at gay resorts and in support of gay causes, and numerous attempts to participate in gay and/or lesbian groups and volunteer events, I have often felt unaccepted by this community."
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Kafele, Dajenya Shoshanna (1991). Bisexual Lesbian. Archived from the original on July 25, 2022.
23. ↑ perioriented and varioriented (17-02-2014). Archived from the original on May 8, 2023.
24. ↑ Ferguson, Sian (01-07-2016). Here’s What It Means When Your Romantic and Sexual Orientations Are Different. everydayfeminism. Archived from the original on May 23, 2023.
25. ↑ Attraction and Relationship Terms. AUREA. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023.
26. ↑ Full Dictionary. Western Aces. Archived from the original on July 2, 2023.
27. ↑ Multisexual Definition & Meaning. Dictionary.com.
28. ↑ Multisexual Youth Mental Health: Risk and Protective Factors for Bisexual, Pansexual, and Queer Youth Who are Attracted to More than One Gender. The Trevor Project (2021-04-23).
29. ↑ Hardell, Ash. *The ABC's of LGBT+*. Mango Media Inc., 2016. ISBN 9781633534087.
30. ↑ Identity Vocabulary: Multisexual Edition. The Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity (2019-07-06).
31. ↑ Pluralian Positivity (2016-10-06). Pluralian. tumblr.
32. ↑ LGBTQ Terminology. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. “Multisexual Attraction Spectrum/M-Spec/Non-monosexual - An umbrella term for identities that include sexual attraction to two or more sexes, genders, gender expressions, or combinations thereof.”
33. ↑ Sotska, Julia (2022-01-19). Multisexual - What is it? What does it mean?. Taimi.
34. ↑ wetwareproblem (2016-04-28). Sorry sorry but what does "m-spec" mean?. tumblr.
35. ↑ Lesbian Definition & Meaning. Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022.
36. ↑ About Sappho. Poets.org. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022.
37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 lesbian | Etymology, origin and meaning. Online Etymology Dictionary. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022.
38. ↑ Rouge (2020-01-19). Bi Lesbian ♡ Pan Lesbian ♡ Poly Lesbian ♡ Omni Lesbian ♡ Mspec Lesbian ♡. Tumblr. Archived from the original on May 11, 2023.
39. ↑ Rouge (2020-08-12). 🌙🌙🌸. Tumblr. Archived from the original on May 18, 2023.
40. ↑ Rouge (2020-09-24). 🌙🌙🌸 (reblog). Archived from the original on March 29, 2023.