134-878: AfterEllen is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifestyle issues from a feminist perspective; and the political climate as it pertains to the community. AfterEllen is not affiliated with entertainer Ellen DeGeneres , although its name refers to her coming out , specifically when her character came out in " The Puppy Episode " (1997) on her eponymous sitcom . AfterEllen originally reported on subjects of popular culture, such as celebrities, fashion, film, television, music, and books; publishing articles, regular columns, opinion pieces, interviews, reviews, recaps of television shows with lesbian and bisexual characters or subtextual content, and popularity contests. Weekly vlogs were
268-626: A "feminist perspective" and staying "true to a lesbian/bi perspective", as well as "more racial diversity and age diversity". Soon afterwards, Joelle issued a statement in which she questioned the motives behind the increase in "attack" language directed at lesbians from members of the LGBT community, and the decline in interest within it "to hear the variety of perspectives in our community". Under her editorial direction, articles and essays of political nature became more frequent. In December 2016, Joelle added her personal signature and endorsement statement to
402-663: A 'core' lesbian orientation." A 2001 article on differentiating lesbians for medical studies and health research suggested identifying lesbians using the three characteristics of identity only, sexual behavior only, or both combined. The article declined to include desire or attraction as it rarely has bearing on measurable health or psychosocial issues. Researchers state that there is no standard definition of lesbian because "The term has been used to describe women who have sex with women, either exclusively or in addition to sex with men (i.e., behavior ); women who self-identify as lesbian (i.e., identity ); and women whose sexual preference
536-557: A children's magazine titled St. Nicholas , and a collection called Smith College Stories , without negative views. Enduring loyalty, devotion, and love were major components to these stories, and sexual acts beyond kissing were consistently absent. Women who had the option of a career instead of marriage labeled themselves New Women and took their new opportunities very seriously. Faderman calls this period "the last breath of innocence" before 1920 when characterizations of female affection were connected to sexuality, marking lesbians as
670-546: A common understanding without asking or stating anything outright. Women who did not enter the military were aggressively called upon to take industrial jobs left by men, in order to continue national productivity. The increased mobility, sophistication, and independence of many women during and after the war made it possible for women to live without husbands, something that would not have been feasible under different economic and social circumstances, further shaping lesbian networks and environments. Change.org Change.org
804-536: A devoted friendship to Honora Sneyd , who was the subject of many of Seward's sonnets and poems. When Sneyd married despite Seward's protest, Seward's poems became angry. Seward continued to write about Sneyd long after her death, extolling Sneyd's beauty and their affection and friendship. As a young woman, writer and philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft was attached to a woman named Fanny Blood . Writing to another woman by whom she had recently felt betrayed, Wollstonecraft declared, "The roses will bloom when there's peace in
938-486: A few episodes later. However, this was not a result of the petition, as the episodes were conceived months prior. In September 2014, Karol Wilcox of Hayti, Missouri , started a petition against the planned execution of Beau, a two-and-a-half-year-old dog in Dyersburg, Tennessee , for allegedly killing a duck on his owner's property. By November, the petition had gained over 540,000 signatures. The petition succeeded, and
1072-460: A fourth-grade class in Brookline , Massachusetts , launched the "Lorax Petition Project" through Change.org requesting Universal Studios to include a more vital environmental message on its website and trailer for its upcoming film, The Lorax , based on the classic Dr Seuss children's story. The petitioners felt that the website and trailer lacked an important message from the book, "to help
1206-497: A group of people based on whom they had physical relations with. As women have generally been political minorities in Western cultures, the added medical designation of homosexuality has been cause for the development of a subcultural identity. The notion that sexual activity between women is necessary to define a lesbian or lesbian relationship continues to be debated. According to feminist writer Naomi McCormick , women's sexuality
1340-682: A growing homosexual community; both Harlem and Greenwich Village provided furnished rooms for single men and women, which was a major factor in their development as centers for homosexual communities. The tenor was different in Greenwich Village than Harlem. Bohemians —intellectuals who rejected Victorian ideals—gathered in the Village. Homosexuals were predominantly male, although figures such as poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and social host Mabel Dodge were known for their affairs with women and promotion of tolerance of homosexuality. Women in
1474-629: A heated controversy called the feminist sex wars . Butch and femme roles returned, although not as strictly followed as they were in the 1950s. They became a mode of chosen sexual self-expression for some women in the 1990s. Once again, women felt safer claiming to be more sexually adventurous, and sexual flexibility became more accepted. The focus of the debate often centers on a phenomenon named by sexologist Pepper Schwartz in 1983. Schwartz found that long-term lesbian couples report having less sexual contact than heterosexual or homosexual male couples, calling this lesbian bed death . Some lesbians dispute
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#17327910377701608-481: A key feature, the more popular of which included "Brunch With Bridget", "Lesbian Love", and "Is This Awesome?" The site also featured popular web series such as the Streamy Award -winning and Webby Award -nominated Anyone But Me . AfterEllen later included news and politics affecting lesbians, bi women, and the general community. Its podcast , Let's Process , ran from 2014 to 2016, and was revived in 2020 as
1742-496: A lesbian identity share experiences that form an outlook similar to an ethnic identity: as homosexuals, they are unified by the heterosexist discrimination and potential rejection they face from their families, friends, and others as a result of homophobia . As women, they face concerns separate from men. Lesbians may encounter distinct physical or mental health concerns arising from discrimination, prejudice , and minority stress . Political conditions and social attitudes also affect
1876-625: A lesbian. Researchers, including social scientists , state that often behavior and identity do not match: women may label themselves heterosexual but have sexual relations with women, self-identified lesbians may have sex with men, or women may find that what they considered an immutable sexual identity has changed over time. Research by Lisa M. Diamond et al. reported that "lesbian and fluid women were more exclusive than bisexual women in their sexual behaviors" and that "lesbian women appeared to lean toward exclusively same-sex attractions and behaviors." It reported that lesbians "appeared to demonstrate
2010-929: A lesbian. ... But this sort of evidence is not 'proof'. What our critics want is incontrovertible evidence of sexual activity between women. This is almost impossible to find. Female sexuality is often not adequately represented in texts and documents. Until very recently, much of what has been documented about women's sexuality has been written by men, in the context of male understanding, and relevant to women's associations to men—as their wives, daughters, or mothers, for example. Often artistic representations of female sexuality suggest trends or ideas on broad scales, giving historians clues as to how widespread or accepted erotic relationships between women were. Women in ancient Greece were sequestered with one another, and men were segregated likewise. In this homosocial environment, erotic and sexual relationships between males were common and recorded in literature, art, and philosophy. Very little
2144-669: A long and contentious battle. The House and the Senate both voted to extend the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, giving coverage to those afflicted with Ground Zero-related health woes for the next 75 years. [...] In addition to extending the healthcare program for first responders and others suffering lingering 9/11 health issues, Congress renewed the Victims Compensation Fund for another five years to aid first responders too sick to work and their families. After
2278-450: A multimedia company owned by Memoree Joelle and business partner Gaye Chapman. With this change in ownership, articles and opinion pieces concerning controversies affecting lesbians and bisexual women increased. "AfterEllen does not use the word queer to describe lesbians" was announced in an editorial addendum to a March 2020 article. In September 2020, the site declared their stance on terms used for referring to females: "We will NEVER use
2412-473: A neurological disease, and Ellis, who was influenced by Krafft-Ebing's writings, disagreed about whether sexual inversion was generally a lifelong condition. Ellis believed that many women who professed love for other women changed their feelings about such relationships after they had experienced marriage and a "practical life". Ellis conceded that there were "true inverts" who would spend their lives pursuing erotic relationships with women. These were members of
2546-408: A new name, AfterEllen Podcast , on April 29, 2020. Lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior , regardless of sexual orientation , or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexuality or same-sex attraction. The concept of "lesbian" to differentiate women with
2680-406: A penis in some women. These sex changes were later thought to be cases of hermaphrodites , and hermaphroditism became synonymous with female same-sex desire. Medical consideration of hermaphroditism depended upon measurements of the clitoris ; a longer, engorged clitoris was thought to be used by women to penetrate other women. Penetration was the focus of concern in all sexual acts, and a woman who
2814-610: A petition asking Centerplate , an extensive food and beverage corporation serving entertainment venues in North America and the UK, to fire its then-CEO Desmond "Des" Hague after the public release of security camera footage allegedly showing Hague abusing a young Doberman Pinscher in an elevator. In response to Centerplate not taking action after the incident (other than releasing a statement of apology from Hague) and an agreement by Hague to commit to performing certain charitable acts,
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#17327910377702948-477: A petition to ensure that domestic violence prevention is covered in the Australian curriculum. The campaign was started to raise awareness for people who were unaware they were domestic violence victims. After the campaign, Minister Pru Goward announced that the school districts would introduce domestic violence education into schools. The campaign had 101,747 supporters. In August 2024, an anonymous petition
3082-572: A rebuke through her Twitter account and announced that the site would "be back soon". On February 18, 2021, AfterEllen announced that the business partnership between Gaye Chapman and Memoree Joelle had been dissolved, with Chapman retaining sole ownership of Lesbian Nation LLC and AfterEllen. In April 2023, Gaye Chapman made it known that "almost 60,000 articles" were restored from the web server crash that occurred in November 2020. Chapman also announced that effective June 30, 2023, "new, paid content"
3216-458: A result, little in history was documented to give an accurate description of how female homosexuality was expressed. When early sexologists in the late 19th century began to categorize and describe homosexual behavior, hampered by a lack of knowledge about homosexuality or women's sexuality, they distinguished lesbians as women who did not adhere to female gender roles . They classified them as mentally ill—a designation which has been reversed since
3350-518: A scandal in New Zealand in 1909 when she was found to be Amy Bock , who had married a woman from Port Molyneaux; newspapers argued whether it was a sign of insanity or an inherent character flaw. During the 17th through 19th centuries, a woman expressing passionate love for another woman was fashionable, accepted, and encouraged. These relationships were termed romantic friendships , Boston marriages , or "sentimental friends", and were common in
3484-545: A shared history and subculture, and similar experiences with discrimination which has caused many lesbians to reject heterosexual principles. This identity is unique from gay men and heterosexual women, and often creates tension with bisexual women. One point of contention are lesbians who have had sex with men, while lesbians who have never had sex with men may be referred to as " gold star lesbians ". Those who have had sex with men may face ridicule from other lesbians or identity challenges with regard to defining what it means to be
3618-408: A shared sexual orientation evolved in the 20th century. Throughout history, women have not had the same freedom or independence as men to pursue homosexual relationships, but neither have they met the same harsh punishment as gay men in some societies. Instead, lesbian relationships have often been regarded as harmless, unless a participant attempts to assert privileges traditionally enjoyed by men. As
3752-412: A significant problem. In some cases, it was not acknowledged to exist. Sexologists Richard von Krafft-Ebing from Germany and Britain's Havelock Ellis wrote some of the earliest and more enduring categorizations of female same-sex attraction , approaching it as a form of insanity (Ellis' categorization of "lesbianism" as a medical problem is now discredited). Krafft-Ebing, who considered lesbianism
3886-544: A span of six months. Hall reflected the appearance of a "mannish" woman in the 1920s: short cropped hair , tailored suits (often with pants), and monocle that became widely recognized as a "uniform". When British women supported the war effort during the First World War, they became familiar with masculine clothing, and were considered patriotic for wearing uniforms and pants. Postwar masculinization of women's clothing became associated primarily with lesbianism. In
4020-582: A unique and often unflatteringly portrayed group. Specifically, Faderman connects the growth of women's independence and their beginning to reject strictly prescribed roles in the Victorian era to the scientific designation of lesbianism as a type of aberrant sexual behavior. For some women, the realization that they participated in behavior or relationships that could be categorized as lesbian caused them to deny or conceal it, such as professor Jeannette Augustus Marks at Mount Holyoke College , who lived with
4154-624: A victim of harassment at her school that led to her ending her life, was the inspiration for a campaign started to "train in the prevention and management of school violence and bullying with teaching and educational teams will be reformed and improved." The campaign raised public interest, and the campaign leader, Marion's mother, met with the Ministry of National Education and had an interview with Minister Najat Vallaud Belkacem of National Education. The campaign had 79,432 supporters. The petition to have death row convict Mary Jane Veloso released
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4288-514: A virtual home". Emrah Kovacoglu, General Manager of TotallyHer Media, explained that a drawback was triggered by the lack of "increased audience" and "enough advertiser support to justify continuing to invest at the same levels". Memoree Joelle became Editor in Chief of AfterEllen in December 2016. Joelle promised readers that there would be a return to the website's original intention of maintaining
4422-439: A woman who identifies herself as an invert after reading Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis , and lives within the homosexual subculture of Paris. The novel included a foreword by Havelock Ellis and was intended to be a call for tolerance for inverts by publicizing their disadvantages and accidents of being born inverted. Hall subscribed to Ellis and Krafft-Ebing's theories and rejected Freud 's theory that same-sex attraction
4556-412: A woman's reputation. In fact, these relationships were promoted as alternatives to and practice for a woman's marriage to a man. One such relationship was between Lady Mary Wortley Montagu , who wrote to Anne Wortley in 1709: "Nobody was so entirely, so faithfully yours ... I put in your lovers, for I don't allow it possible for a man to be so sincere as I am." Similarly, English poet Anna Seward had
4690-429: Is a list of petitions that have reached or surpassed 1.5 million signatures. Change.org makes revenue through a subscription membership model and people promoting petitions on the site. In 2013 the organization’s CEO stated its mission: "Our role is to empower people everywhere to create the change they want to see." Change.org is a for-profit, "venture-backed company that hosts activist petitions written by members of
4824-613: Is a website which allows users to create and sign petitions in an attempt to advance various social causes by raising awareness and influencing decision-makers. The site is a US-based for-profit company and claims to have nearly 500 million users as of December 2022. Petitions often focus on causes such as general justice , economic justice , criminal justice , human rights , education , environmental protection , animal rights , health , and sustainable food . The site also provides support and coaching for organizations and paid members to help further advance their causes. Change.org
4958-443: Is an innate quality in all people. When a woman realizes her romantic and sexual attraction to another woman, it may cause an "existential crisis"; many who go through this adopt the identity of a lesbian, challenging what society has offered in stereotypes about homosexuals, to learn how to function within a homosexual subculture. Lesbians in western cultures generally share an identity that parallels those built on ethnicity; they have
5092-442: Is constructed by men, whose primary indicator of lesbian sexual orientation is sexual experience with other women. The same indicator is not necessary to identify a woman as heterosexual. McCormick states that emotional, mental, and ideological connections between women are as important or more so than the genital. Nonetheless, in the 1980s, a significant movement rejected the desexualization of lesbianism by cultural feminists, causing
5226-637: Is debated and depends on the individual details of each case. If discovered, punishments ranged from death, to time in the pillory , to being ordered never to dress as a man again. Henry Fielding wrote a pamphlet titled The Female Husband in 1746, based on the life of Mary Hamilton , who was arrested after marrying a woman while masquerading as a man, and was sentenced to public whipping and six months in jail. Similar examples were procured of Catharine Linck in Prussia in 1717, executed in 1721; Swiss Anne Grandjean married and relocated with her wife to Lyons, but
5360-504: Is for the viewer or an accurate representation of life is unknown. Rabinowitz writes that the lack of interest from 19th-century historians who specialized in Greek studies regarding the daily lives and sexual inclinations of women in Greece was due to their social priorities. She postulates that this lack of interest led the field to become over male-centric and was partially responsible for
5494-445: Is for women (i.e., desire or attraction )" ... "The lack of a standard definition of lesbian and of standard questions to assess who is lesbian has made it difficult to clearly define a population of lesbian women." How and where study samples were obtained can also affect the definition. The varied meanings of lesbian since the early 20th century have prompted some historians to revisit historic relationships between women before
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5628-778: Is like youres". In Georgia, Alice Baldy wrote to Josie Varner in 1870, "Do you know that if you touch me, or speak to me there is not a nerve of fibre in my body that does not respond with a thrill of delight?" Around the turn of the 20th century, the development of higher education provided opportunities for women. In all-female surroundings, a culture of romantic pursuit was fostered in women's colleges. Older students mentored younger ones, called on them socially, took them to all-women dances, and sent them flowers, cards, and poems that declared their undying love for each other. These were called "smashes" or "spoons", and they were written about quite frankly in stories for girls aspiring to attend college in publications such as Ladies Home Journal ,
5762-458: Is not necessarily the same as one's sexual orientation or sexual behavior, due to various reasons, such as the fear of identifying their sexual orientation in a homophobic setting. Portrayals of lesbians in the media suggest that society at large has been simultaneously intrigued and threatened by women who challenge feminine gender roles , as well as fascinated and appalled with women who are romantically involved with other women. Women who adopt
5896-654: Is unknown, in particular their expressions of sexuality. Although men participated in pederastic relationships outside marriage, there is no clear evidence that women were allowed or encouraged to have same-sex relationships before or during marriage as long as their marital obligations were met. Women who appear on Greek pottery are depicted with affection, and in instances where women appear only with other women, their images are eroticized: bathing, touching one another, with dildos placed in and around such scenes, and sometimes with imagery also seen in depictions of heterosexual marriage or pederastic seduction. Whether this eroticism
6030-708: The 2016 United States presidential election , in which Donald Trump was declared President-elect of the United States , there were mass protests . As part of these protests, one California man started a petition on November 10, 2016, calling for electors in states that Trump won to become faithless electors and cast their vote for Hillary Clinton at state Electoral College meetings. The petition acquired over 4 million signatures by November 14, 2016, only four days after it started. By November 23, 2016, it had gotten 4.5 million signatures. The petition ultimately failed when, on December 19, 2016, Trump officially gained
6164-640: The AfterEllen Podcast . Ownership of the website changed hands in 2006 (Logo), 2014 (Evolve Media), and 2019 (Lesbian Nation). AfterEllen was founded April 15, 2002 by Sarah Warn and Lori Grant, under their corporation Erosion Media. A companion site focusing on the portrayal of gay and bisexual men in the media, AfterElton.com , was founded in January 2005. Its name was an homage to Elton John . The site rebranded as TheBacklot.com in April 2013, and
6298-562: The Australian Federal Parliament after his comments on the terrorist attack in Christchurch , New Zealand . Anning blamed immigration laws, the victims and heightened fears of Muslims for the attack. As of March 24, 2019, the petition has 1,418,105 signatures, making it one of the most signed petitions on Change.org and the highest concerning Australian affairs. On July 3, 2015, a 14-year-old girl began
6432-472: The " third sex " who rejected the roles of women to be subservient, feminine, and domestic. Invert described the opposite gender roles, and also the related attraction to women instead of men; since women in the Victorian period were considered unable to initiate sexual encounters, women who did so with other women were thought of as possessing masculine sexual desires. The work of Krafft-Ebing and Ellis
6566-416: The "L is out of GBT" petition on Change.org : Former AfterEllen senior editor Heather Hogan criticized Joelle on Twitter for doing so, accusing Joelle of promoting a " lesbophobia " movement on AfterEllen which, according to Hogan, was a disguise for "anti- trans , anti-bi " rhetoric. Joelle denied Hogan's accusations and described her reasoning as "a FORM of activism ". In 2018 — after banning use of
6700-415: The "idea that lesbians are not allowed to have an opinion, or feel anything for that matter. That we can't have any autonomy. That we must bow to groupthink at every turn or be subjected to homophobic slurs, attacks on our jobs, doxing ." It was also revealed that AfterEllen "was invited...to sign the statement as well, the day after it was released." In March 2019, AfterEllen was bought by Lesbian Nation,
6834-549: The 1930s, independent and masculine women were directly recruited by the military in the 1940s, and frailty discouraged. Some women arrived at the recruiting station in a man's suit, denied ever being in love with another woman, and were easily inducted. Sexual activity was forbidden and blue discharge was almost certain if one identified oneself as a lesbian. As women found each other, they formed into tight groups on base, socialized at service clubs, and began to use code words. Historian Allan Bérubé documented that homosexuals in
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#17327910377706968-620: The Construction of the TMT Telescope" was posted on Change.org in protest against the Thirty Meter Telescope . The petition gathered over 278,000 signatures. On May 30, 2020, a petition titled "Justice for George Floyd" was created after unarmed African-American George Floyd was murdered by police , leading to mass protests . The petition earned over 19 million signatures, making it the most signed petition in
7102-562: The German capital as a center of lesbian activity. Clubs varied between large establishments that became tourist attractions, to small neighborhood cafes where local women went to meet other women. The cabaret song " Das lila Lied " ("The Lavender Song") became an anthem to the lesbians of Berlin. Although it was sometimes tolerated, homosexuality was illegal in Germany and law enforcement used permitted gatherings as an opportunity to register
7236-516: The LGBTQ section of mainstream media NBC News . In response to NBC Out' s news story, Joelle and AfterEllen colleagues described the "Not in our name" statement as "a continuation of a false narrative that's been created to perpetuate division and anxiety within the lesbian community", and denounced the backlash launched against AfterEllen for addressing issues such as "lesbians [being] called 'vagina fetishists' with 'genital preferences'"; repudiating
7370-505: The Lesbian History Group wrote: Because of society's reluctance to admit that lesbians exist, a high degree of certainty is expected before historians or biographers are allowed to use the label. Evidence that would suffice in any other situation is inadequate here... A woman who never married, who lived with another woman, whose friends were mostly women, or who moved in known lesbian or mixed gay circles, may well have been
7504-505: The Roman male's view of himself as the exclusive giver of sexual pleasure but also the most basic foundations of Rome's male-dominated culture". No historical documentation exists of women who had other women as sex partners. Female homosexuality did not receive the same negative response from religious or criminal authorities as male homosexuality or adultery did throughout history. Whereas sodomy between men, men and women, and men and animals
7638-513: The U.S. Enigmatic poet Emily Dickinson wrote over 300 letters and poems to Susan Gilbert, who later became her sister-in-law, and engaged in another romantic correspondence with Kate Scott Anthon. Anthon broke off their relationship the same month Dickinson entered self-imposed lifelong seclusion. Nearby in Hartford, Connecticut, African American freeborn women Addie Brown and Rebecca Primus left evidence of their passion in letters: "No kisses
7772-489: The U.S. who could not visit Harlem or live in Greenwich Village for the first time were able to visit saloons in the 1920s without being considered prostitutes. The existence of a public space for women to socialize in bars that were known to cater to lesbians "became the single most important public manifestation of the subculture for many decades", according to historian Lillian Faderman . The primary component necessary to encourage lesbians to be public and seek other women
7906-470: The U.S., Europe, and especially in England. Documentation of these relationships is possible by a large volume of letters written between women. Whether the relationship included any genital component was not a matter for public discourse, but women could form strong and exclusive bonds with each other and still be considered virtuous, innocent, and chaste; a similar relationship with a man would have destroyed
8040-507: The United States, the 1920s was a decade of social experimentation, particularly with sex. This was heavily influenced by the writings of Sigmund Freud , who theorized that sexual desire would be sated unconsciously, despite an individual's wish to ignore it. Freud's theories were much more pervasive in the U.S. than in Europe. With the well-publicized notion that sexual acts were a part of lesbianism and their relationships, sexual experimentation
8174-476: The actor. It stalled the production of the sixth and final season of the television series in which Spacey starred on the network House of Cards . Following Spacey's dismissal, a petition created on November 2, 2017, calling for Spacey to be replaced by actor Kevin James began gaining many supporters. After its inception, the petition gained media notability, obtaining 50,000 supporters within eight days. In
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#17327910377708308-423: The armed forces either consciously or subconsciously refused to identify themselves as homosexual or lesbian, and also never spoke about others' orientation. The most masculine women were not necessarily common, though they were visible, so they tended to attract women interested in finding other lesbians. Women had to broach the subject about their interest in other women carefully, sometimes taking days to develop
8442-568: The breast, and the prospect of living with my Fanny gladdens my heart:—You know not how I love her." Perhaps the most famous of these romantic friendships was between Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, nicknamed the Ladies of Llangollen . Butler and Ponsonby eloped in 1778, to the relief of Ponsonby's family (concerned about their reputation had she run away with a man) to live together in Wales for 51 years and be thought of as eccentrics. Their story
8576-576: The campaign win and helping us build and maintain our technology platform, making it possible for us to provide people with the tools they need to win the change they want to see." Change.org members contribute monthly to sustain the technology and the small teams of campaigners who coach and support petition starters. Most of the company's revenue is from advertising; individuals and organizations who start or sign petitions then chip in to promote those petitions to other site visitors. Change.org has raised $ 50 million from investors in business, technology and
8710-529: The college president, Mary Woolley , for 36 years. Marks discouraged young women from "abnormal" friendships and insisted happiness could only be attained with a man. Other women embraced the distinction and used their uniqueness to set themselves apart from heterosexual women and gay men. From the 1890s to the 1930s, American heiress Natalie Clifford Barney held a weekly salon in Paris to which major artistic celebrities were invited and where lesbian topics were
8844-504: The company changed its forbearance fee policy. In November 2013, Aaron Thompson of Tuscaloosa, Alabama , started a petition directed at Seth MacFarlane to bring back Brian Griffin of the TV series Family Guy after he was briefly killed off in the Season 12 episode " Life of Brian ". Thompson's petition gained 30,000 signatures within 36 hours. The character was brought back to the show
8978-628: The controversial term " TERF " on its website and social media channels, publishing articles such as "Girl Dick, the Cotton Ceiling and the Cultural War on Lesbians, Girls and Women" by Miranda Yardley, and the op-ed "How I became the most hated lesbian in Baltimore" by Julia Beck, as well as for giving publicity to vloggers who criticized trans women activism in the lesbian community — AfterEllen (although not specifically mentioned)
9112-502: The designation of different or perverted, and used their outlaw status to form social circles in Paris and Berlin. Lesbian began to describe elements of a subculture. Lesbians in Western cultures in particular often classify themselves as having an identity that defines their individual sexuality, as well as their membership to a group that shares common traits. Women in many cultures throughout history have had sexual relations with other women, but they rarely were designated as part of
9246-670: The dog was spared. On December 5, 2015, the U.S. Congress reauthorized the Zadroga Act , which provides funds to first responders "suffering debilitating illnesses and injuries due to their service." When Congress stalled on reauthorizing the bill, John Feal , an advocate for first responders to the September 11 attacks , started a petition in its favor that nearly 187,000 people signed. The New York Daily News reported: Lifetime health benefits for sickened 9/11 first responders won overwhelming approval Friday from Congress after
9380-538: The end of the campaign, the petition had 40,484 supporters and met with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Minister Liz Sandals , which led to consent's integration into Canada's sex-ed program. As of February 2016, 50 petitions have exceeded 100,000 signers. A petition against the " Loi El Khomri ", a labour law project by the French Labor Minister Myriam El Khomri , has over 1 million signatures. On October 24, 2015, Marion,
9514-608: The environment." The petition collected over 57,000 signatures, and on January 26, 2012, the studio updated the website "with the environmental message the kids had dictated." On the morning of February 2, 2012, Stef Gray, a 23-year-old graduate in New York, held a news conference at the Washington offices of Sallie Mae , the "nation's largest private student-loan provider", presenting the results of her Change.org petition, which had received about 77,000 signatures. That afternoon,
9648-588: The focus. Combining Greek influences with contemporary French eroticism, she attempted to create an updated and idealized version of Lesbos in her salon. Her contemporaries included artist Romaine Brooks , who painted others in her circle; writers Colette , Djuna Barnes , social host Gertrude Stein , and novelist Radclyffe Hall . Berlin had a vibrant homosexual culture in the 1920s, and about 50 clubs catered to lesbians. Die Freundin ( The Girlfriend ) magazine, published between 1924 and 1933, targeted lesbians. Garçonne (aka Frauenliebe ( Woman Love ))
9782-515: The formation of lesbian relationships and families in the open. The word lesbian is the demonym of the Greek island of Lesbos , home to the 6th-century BCE poet Sappho . From various ancient writings, historians gathered that a group of young women were left in Sappho's charge for their instruction or cultural edification. Little of Sappho's poetry survives, but her remaining poetry reflects
9916-517: The growth of scholarship in women's history and sexuality in the late 20th century, the definition of lesbian broadened, leading to debate about the term's use. While research by Lisa M. Diamond identified sexual desire as the core component for defining lesbians, some women who engage in same-sex sexual activity may reject not only identifying as lesbians but as bisexual as well. Other women's self-identification as lesbian may not align with their sexual orientation or sexual behavior. Sexual identity
10050-797: The help of United Kingdom Citizens. Ghoncheh Ghavami , a law student at the University of London and a British-Iranian dual citizen, was in Iran teaching literacy to street children for charity as well as to visit family. She was arrested in June 2014 for attending the World League Volleyball matches after the Iranian government was informed of the matter by the International Federation of Volleyball (FIVB). Iman Ghavami,
10184-417: The island of Lesbos, and so could be construed to mean ' from the island of Lesbos ' . In 1875, George Saintsbury , in writing about Baudelaire's poetry, refers to his "Lesbian studies" in which he includes his poem about "the passion of Delphine" which is a poem simply about love between two women which does not mention the island of Lesbos, though the other poem alluded to, entitled "Lesbos", does. Use of
10318-622: The late 20th century in the global scientific community. Women in homosexual relationships in Europe and the United States responded to the discrimination and repression either by hiding their personal lives, or accepting the label of outcast and creating a subculture and identity . Following World War II , during a period of social repression when governments actively persecuted homosexuals, women developed networks to socialize with and educate each other. Gaining greater economic and social freedom allowed them to determine how they could form relationships and families. With second-wave feminism and
10452-491: The lesbian community is represented in the media. At the time considered the top website for lesbian women, that same year it averaged "over 700,000 readers" per month. In October 2009, Sarah Warn announced that associate editor Karman Kregloe would take over as Editor in Chief. In June 2011, the site ranked as the second most popular LGBT website with 203,924 monthly visitors, after The Advocate . In October 2014, Evolve Media acquired AfterEllen from Viacom Media Networks ,
10586-502: The limited information available on female topics in ancient Greece. Women in ancient Rome were similarly subject to men's definitions of sexuality. Modern scholarship indicates that men viewed female homosexuality with hostility. They considered women who engaged in sexual relations with other women to be biological oddities that would attempt to penetrate women—and sometimes men—with "monstrously enlarged" clitorises . According to scholar James Butrica, lesbianism "challenged not only
10720-659: The masquerade of one gender for another to fool an unsuspecting woman into being seduced. Such plot devices were used in Shakespeare 's Twelfth Night (1601), The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser in 1590, and James Shirley 's The Bird in a Cage (1633). Cases during the Renaissance of women taking on male personae and going undetected for years or decades have been recorded, though whether these cases would be described as transvestism by homosexual women, or in contemporary sociology characterised as transgender ,
10854-410: The media to date. In 2017 an investment round driven by Reid Hoffman helped drive the shift to the current business model. After its inception, the website made revenue by running advertisements for advocacy organizations such as Amnesty International and list-building services to partner organizations. In May 2013, the website started "crowd-promoted petitions" that allowed a signatory to promote
10988-478: The military in the U.S. Women's Army Corps (WACs) and U.S. Navy's Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). Unlike processes to screen out male homosexuals, which had been in place since the creation of the American military, there were no methods to identify or screen for lesbians; they were put into place gradually during World War II. Despite common attitudes regarding women's traditional roles in
11122-482: The names of homosexuals for future reference. Magnus Hirschfeld's Scientific-Humanitarian Committee , which promoted tolerance for homosexuals in Germany , welcomed lesbian participation, and a surge of lesbian-themed writing and political activism in the German feminist movement became evident. In 1928, Radclyffe Hall published a novel titled The Well of Loneliness . The novel's plot centers around Stephen Gordon,
11256-569: The natural disaster in Mexico City and neighbor states of Morelos , Chiapas , Oaxaca , and Puebla . The petitions collected more than 3 million signatures. After a series of assaults on doctors at various places in India, Dr Sumit Periwal of Gangtok started a petition to highlight the plight of doctors, lack of security and lack of fear of legal reprisals among perpetrators. To date the petition has over 2 million signatures. The following
11390-569: The parent company of Logo, and made it a part of its TotallyHer Media subsidiary. Kregloe announced that managing editor Trish Bendix would be assuming the role of Editor in Chief. In November 2014, TotallyHer Media announced the launch of The Lphabet , an original AfterEllen online comedy series that would "demystify terms from the lesbian and bi community". According to Karman Kregloe, in 2015 AfterEllen "averaged 1.25 million readers" per month. In September 2016, Trish Bendix announced her departure on her personal Tumblr blog and stated that AfterEllen
11524-518: The petition be withdrawn, saying it amounted to "bullying and harassment and is defamatory" and that the AOC was especially offended by the insult to Meares. It stated that the Australian selection was made by 9 independent international judges, and that Gunn was nominated legitimately by DanceSport Australia to the AOC for selection. Gunn is not any kind of officeholder with AUSBreaking nor DanceSport, and no athlete appealed against her selection. The petition
11658-444: The petition called for Centerplate to fire Hague. On September 2, 2014, after the petition had received over 190,000 signatures, Hague resigned as CEO of Centerplate. On February 7, 2015, two 13-year-old girls petitioned to make consent a part of Canada's sex-ed program by stating, "In Canada, 1 in 4 women will experience at least one incident of sexual assault in their life. Half of these assaults will be against women under 16." By
11792-456: The petition publicly and create a decision-maker page where they could see all petitions against them in one place. On June 30, 2021, workers for Change.org announced that a majority of staff in the US and Canada had signed union authorization cards in favor of being represented for collective bargaining by CODE-CWA and that Change.org had voluntarily recognized CODE-CWA as the representative of
11926-620: The platform's history, surpassing the Article 13 opposition petition over a year earlier. During the Depp v. Heard defamation trial, a petition was created to remove actress Amber Heard from her role as Mera in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom . It gained 1.5 million signatures within a month of its creation in November 2020 and has since surpassed 4.6 million signatures after the trial
12060-532: The presidency with 304 electors. The petition closed with 4.9 million signatures, the highest in the platform's history, until March 5, 2019, when it was surpassed by a petition opposing Article 13 of the proposed Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market , which held the #1 spot until 2020. On November 3, 2017, Netflix fired Kevin Spacey , following sexual assault claims against
12194-528: The prisoner's brother, created a Change.org campaign in a petition to the Government of Iran and the Government of the United Kingdom. He gained 747,476 supporters after public outrage in the United Kingdom began in support of freeing Ghavami. A petition was started in 2020 to get fundraiser Tom Moore knighted. As of April 30, 1 million people had signed it. It gained 1,043,729 signatures, and he
12328-443: The public, gathers email addresses from signees, and encourages people to circulate the petitions heavily on social media. While for-profit, Change.org is a public benefit company with B Corp status." It has raised $ 72 million from backers, including LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman . Donations through the platform do not go to campaign makers. According to a Change.org spokesperson, "The money raised from petitions goes toward helping
12462-415: The same meaning. Class distinction became linked as the fashion of female homoeroticism passed. Tribades were simultaneously considered members of the lower class trying to ruin virtuous women, and representatives of an aristocracy corrupt with debauchery. Satirical writers began to suggest that political rivals (or more often, their wives) engaged in tribadism in order to harm their reputations. Queen Anne
12596-407: The school." University officials claimed that "Change.org is a spam site" and that the blocking was conducted "to protect the use of our limited and valuable network resources for legitimate academic, research, and administrative uses." The block was lifted the following day. It was reported on April 5, 2012, that Change.org hit 10 million members and was the fastest-growing social action platform on
12730-478: The site and overburdening servers at Change.org in the UK, which became unresponsive due to the high demand. It had gained 1,060,980 signatures by March 20, 2015, and was delivered to the BBC. On March 25, 2015, the BBC released an official statement confirming that, due to the actions which led to his suspension, they would not be renewing his contract with the show. On March 31, 2015, Iranian prisoners were freed with
12864-526: The soon-to-be-named Joan Crawford . Homosexuals began to draw comparisons between their newly recognized minority status and that of African Americans. Among African American residents of Harlem , lesbian relationships were common and tolerated, though not overtly embraced. Some women staged lavish wedding ceremonies, even filing licenses using masculine names with New York City. Most homosexual women were married to men and participated in affairs with women regularly. Across town, Greenwich Village also saw
12998-749: The study's definition of sexual contact, and introduced other factors such as deeper connections existing between women that make frequent sexual relations redundant, greater sexual fluidity in women causing them to move from heterosexual to bisexual to lesbian numerous times through their lives—or reject the labels entirely. Further arguments attested that the study was flawed and misrepresented accurate sexual contact between women, or sexual contact between women has increased since 1983 as many lesbians find themselves freer to sexually express themselves. More discussion on gender and sexual orientation identity has affected how many women label or view themselves. Most people in western culture are taught that heterosexuality
13132-425: The term trepesthai (to be focused on) instead of eros , which was applied to other erotic relationships between men, and between men and women. Historian Nancy Rabinowitz argues that ancient Greek red vase images which portray women with their arms around another woman's waist, or leaning on a woman's shoulders can be construed as expressions of romantic desire. Much of the daily lives of women in ancient Greece
13266-420: The topics she wrote about: women's daily lives, their relationships, and rituals. She focused on the beauty of women and proclaimed her love for girls. Before the mid-19th century, the word lesbian referred to any derivative or aspect of Lesbos, including a type of wine . In Algernon Charles Swinburne 's 1866 poem "Sapphics", the term lesbian appears twice but capitalized both times after twice mentioning
13400-543: The wake of the Logan Paul suicide video controversy , user "... - .- -.-- .- .-.. .. ...- ." ("stay alive" in Morse code ) created a petition entitled "Delete Logan Paul's YouTube Channel", receiving more than 720,000 signatures. While numerous other petitions have been made for the same purpose, they have yet to obtain as much attention. No action was taken. On July 14, 2019, an online petition titled "The Immediate Halt to
13534-615: The web. At that time, they were receiving 500 new petitions per day. On May 13, 2012, The Guardian , BBC News , and other sources reported that Change.org would launch a UK-specific platform for petitions, placing Change.org in competition with 38 Degrees , a British not-for-profit political-activism organization. In May 2013, the company announced a $ 15 million round of investment led by Omidyar Network and said it had 170 staff members in 18 countries. An August 2013 Fast Company article reported that Change.org would roll out features for petition recipients allowing them to respond to
13668-629: The wedding party—continued to appear for the next century. Outside Europe, women were able to dress as men and go undetected. Deborah Sampson fought in the American Revolution under the name Robert Shurtlieff, and pursued relationships with women. Edward De Lacy Evans was born female in Ireland, but took a male name during the voyage to Australia and lived as a man for 23 years in Victoria, marrying three times. Percy Redwood created
13802-496: The wide usage of the word was defined by erotic proclivities. Discussion from historians caused further questioning of what qualifies as a lesbian relationship. As lesbian-feminists asserted, a sexual component was unnecessary in declaring oneself a lesbian if the primary and closest relationships were with women. When considering past relationships within appropriate historic context, there were times when love and sex were separate and unrelated notions. In 1989, an academic cohort named
13936-429: The word lesbianism to describe erotic relationships between women had been documented in 1870. In 1890, the term lesbian was used in a medical dictionary as an adjective to describe tribadism (as "lesbian love"). The terms lesbian , invert and homosexual were interchangeable with sapphist and sapphism around the turn of the 20th century. The use of lesbian in medical literature became prominent; by 1925,
14070-424: The word was recorded as a noun to mean the female equivalent of a sodomite . The development of medical knowledge was a significant factor in further connotations of the term lesbian. In the middle of the 19th century, medical writers attempted to establish ways to identify male homosexuality, which was considered a significant social problem in most Western societies. In categorizing behavior that indicated what
14204-510: The words ' womxn ' or ' cis ' or any other derogatory, insulting, abusive terms directed at females. Women are women." In June 2020, Joelle announced the promotion of Jocelyn Macdonald, managing editor of AfterEllen, to Editor in Chief. In November 2020, the website experienced technical difficulties and was inaccessible for a week, prompting Out to publish a hostile article speculating about AfterEllen's demise. Gaye Chapman, co-founder and chief executive officer of Lesbian Nation LLC, issued
14338-448: The workers. On March 15, 2021, Supreme Federal Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes 's impeachment request received more than 4,770,000 signatures. On October 13, 2017, Ana Clara Leite was sexually harassed twice in taxis after drivers accessed her information using a mobile app called Easy Taxi. She won her petition asking Easy Taxi App to introduce safety measures, with the backing of more than 27,000 Brazilians. In December 2011,
14472-477: Was live-streamed publicly in May 2022. On March 10, 2015, political blogger Guido Fawkes, whose real name is Paul Staines , started a petition to reinstate Jeremy Clarkson , BBC co-host of the TV series Top Gear , following the BBC's decision to suspend him over a "fracas" involving a producer on the show. The petition gained over 500,000 signatures within 24 hours, making it the fastest-growing petition for
14606-593: Was a proposal to merge the Spanish-speaking counterpart website Actuable into Change.org ; the merger occurred in 2012 when the voluntary union of Actuable users into the Change.org platform was approved. By February 2012, the site had 100 employees with offices on four continents. In 2012, Arizona State University decided to block access to Change.org in response to a petition created by student Eric Haywood protesting against "rising tuition costs at
14740-478: Was aimed at lesbians and male transvestites . These publications were controlled by men as owners, publishers, and writers. Around 1926, Selli Engler founded Die BIF – Blätter Idealer Frauenfreundschaften ( The BIF – Papers on Ideal Women Friendships ), the first lesbian publication owned, published and written by women. In 1928, the lesbian bar and nightclub guide Berlins lesbische Frauen ( The Lesbians of Berlin ) by Ruth Margarite Röllig further popularized
14874-407: Was being suspended as a cost-cutting measure necessitated by the site's current financial situation. Chapman stated unequivocally that AfterEllen was not for sale, and she intended to "find new ways to put content up on the site" and compensate writers. AfterEllen's official podcast, Let's Process , premiered on November 18, 2014, and continued until January 13, 2016. The podcast was relaunched under
15008-419: Was by implication accused of transphobia in a general declaration titled "Not in our name" signed by representatives of nine lesbian and queer publications in which " trans misogynistic content" in "so-called lesbian publications" was condemned, including "male-owned media companies" that profited "from the traffic generated by [such] controversies". The trans-related controversy received coverage on NBC Out ,
15142-591: Was caused by childhood trauma and was curable. The publicity Hall received was due to unintended consequences; the novel was tried for obscenity in London, a spectacularly scandalous event described as " the crystallizing moment in the construction of a visible modern English lesbian subculture" by professor Laura Doan. Newspaper stories frankly divulged that the book's content includes "sexual relations between Lesbian women", and photographs of Hall often accompanied details about lesbians in most major print outlets within
15276-613: Was considered "the epitome of virtuous romantic friendship" and inspired poetry by Anna Seward and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow . Diarist Anne Lister , captivated by Butler and Ponsonby, recorded her affairs with women between 1817 and 1840. Some of it was written in code, detailing her sexual relationships with Marianna Belcombe and Maria Barlow. Both Lister and Eleanor Butler were considered masculine by contemporary news reports, and though there were suspicions that these relationships were sapphist in nature, they were nonetheless praised in literature. Romantic friendships were also popular in
15410-523: Was demanded of nuns who "rode" each other or were discovered to have touched each other's breasts. An Italian nun named Sister Benedetta Carlini was documented to have seduced many of her sisters when possessed by a Divine spirit named "Splenditello"; to end her relationships with other women, she was placed in solitary confinement for the last 40 years of her life. Female homoeroticism was so common in English literature and theater that historians suggest it
15544-507: Was dissolved in June 2015. In 2006, AfterEllen and AfterElton were acquired by cable television channel Logo . In 2007, in response to the popular " Maxim Hot 100 " readers contest for heterosexual men, the annual "AfterEllen Hot 100 List" poll of women in "film, television, music, sports and fashion" was created. The special feature ran until 2016. In March 2008, AfterEllen was named one of "the world's 50 most powerful blogs" by British newspaper The Guardian for its "irreverent look at how
15678-658: Was economic independence, which virtually disappeared in the 1930s with the Great Depression . Most women in the U.S. found it necessary to marry to a " front " such as a gay man where both could pursue homosexual relationships with public discretion, or to a man who expected a traditional wife. Independent women in the 1930s were generally seen as holding jobs that men should have. The social attitude made very small and close-knit communities in large cities that centered around bars, while simultaneously isolating women in other locales. Speaking of homosexuality in any context
15812-411: Was exposed by a woman with whom she had had a previous affair and sentenced to time in the stocks and prison. Queen Christina of Sweden 's tendency to dress as a man was well known during her time and excused because of her noble birth. She was brought up as a male and there was speculation at the time that she was a hermaphrodite. Even after Christina abdicated the throne in 1654 to avoid marriage, she
15946-474: Was fashionable for a period during the Renaissance . Englishwoman Mary Frith has been described as lesbian in academic study. Ideas about women's sexuality were linked to contemporary understanding of female physiology. The vagina was considered an inward version of the penis; where nature's perfection created a man, often nature was thought to be trying to right itself by prolapsing the vagina to form
16080-577: Was knighted on 20 May that year . A petition was started in 2020, to get Dominic Cummings sacked after it emerged, he travelled from London to his parents' home in Durham with coronavirus symptoms during the COVID-19 lockdown. As of 13 Jan 2022, the petition had 1,201,401 signatures. On January 13, 2022, a petition to rescind Tony Blair 's knighthood received 1,106,497 signatures. In August 2014, Erica Perry of Vancouver , British Columbia , started
16214-960: Was known to pursue romantic relationships with women. Some historians view cases of cross-dressing women to be manifestations of women seizing power they would naturally be unable to enjoy in feminine attire, or their way of making sense out of their desire for women. Lillian Faderman argues that Western society was threatened by women who rejected their feminine roles. Catharine Linck and other women who were accused of using dildos, such as two nuns in 16th century Spain executed for using "material instruments", were punished more severely than those who did not. Two marriages between women were recorded in Cheshire , England, in 1707 (between Hannah Wright and Anne Gaskill) and 1708 (between Ane Norton and Alice Pickford) with no comment about both parties being female. Reports of clergymen with lax standards who performed weddings—and wrote their suspicions about one member of
16348-466: Was launched in 2007 by current chief executive Ben Rattray , with the support of founding chief technology officer Mark Dimas , Darren Haas , and Adam Cheyer . In 2011, Change.org claimed it was the subject of a distributed denial of service attack by "Chinese hackers." The alleged attack was related to its petition to the Chinese government to release artist Ai Weiwei . In 2011, there
16482-438: Was posted calling for an investigation into the conduct of Rachael Gunn , Anna Meares, and the selection process, garnered thousands of signatures. This petition aimed to hold Gunn accountable for "unethical conduct" at the games, also accusing Raygun of "manipulating the selection process" while calling for a public apology from both Gunn and Meares. The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) chief executive Matt Carroll demanded
16616-667: Was punishable by death in England, acknowledgment of sexual contact between women was nonexistent in medical and legal texts. The earliest law against female homosexuality appeared in France in 1270. In Spain, Italy, and the Holy Roman Empire, sodomy between women was included in acts considered unnatural and punishable by burning to death, although few instances are recorded of this taking place. The earliest such execution occurred in Speier, Germany , in 1477. Forty days' penance
16750-476: Was recorded about homosexual activity between Greek women. There is some speculation that similar relationships existed between women and girls — the poet Alcman used the term aitis, as the feminine form of aites — which was the official term for the younger participant in a pederastic relationship. Aristophanes , in Plato 's Symposium , mentions women who are romantically attracted to other women, but uses
16884-407: Was referred to as " inversion " by German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld , researchers categorized what was normal sexual behavior for men and women, and therefore to what extent men and women varied from the "perfect male sexual type" and the "perfect female sexual type". Far less literature focused on female homosexual behavior than on male homosexuality, as medical professionals did not consider it
17018-550: Was rumored to have a passionate relationship with Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough, her closest adviser and confidante. When Churchill was ousted as the queen's favorite, she purportedly spread allegations of the queen having affairs with her bedchamberwomen. Marie Antoinette was also the subject of such speculation for some months between 1795 and 1796. Hermaphroditism appeared in medical literature enough to be considered common knowledge, although cases were rare. Homoerotic elements in literature were pervasive, specifically
17152-408: Was shutting down, with only its archive to be kept live. TotallyHer Media denied the allegation by Bendix, calling it a "false rumor", and on September 20, 2016, Evolve Media fired Bendix ahead of her scheduled departure. Bendix told The Advocate , "I share the feelings of the community at large that contributing to a site that is run by a cisgender, heterosexual male is not what we are looking for in
17286-615: Was socially forbidden, and women rarely discussed lesbianism even amongst themselves; they referred to openly gay people as "in the Life". Freudian psychoanalytic theory was pervasive in influencing doctors to consider homosexuality as a neurosis afflicting immature women. Homosexual subculture disappeared in Germany with the rise of the Nazis in 1933. The onset of World War II caused a massive upheaval in people's lives as military mobilization engaged millions of men. Women were also accepted into
17420-472: Was the fastest-ever growing petition from the Philippines , with over 250,000 signatories from over 125 countries. In 2018, an anonymous creator of a Facebook community against bike riders started a Change.org anti-cycling petition that shortly reached over 100,000 signatures. Allegedly, some of the names on the petition are fake. In 2019, a petition was created to remove Senator Fraser Anning from
17554-404: Was thought to have uncontrollable desires because of her engorged clitoris was called a "tribade" (literally, one who rubs). Not only was an abnormally engorged clitoris thought to create lusts in some women that led them to masturbate, but pamphlets warning women about masturbation leading to such oversized organs were written as cautionary tales. For a while, masturbation and lesbian sex carried
17688-408: Was widely read and helped to create public consciousness of female homosexuality. The sexologists' claims that homosexuality was a congenital anomaly were generally well-accepted by homosexual men; it indicated that their behavior was not inspired by nor should be considered a criminal vice, as was widely acknowledged. In the absence of any other material to describe their emotions, homosexuals accepted
17822-664: Was widespread. Large cities that provided a nightlife were immensely popular, and women began to seek out sexual adventure. Bisexuality became chic, particularly in America's first gay neighborhoods. No location saw more visitors for its possibilities of homosexual nightlife than Harlem , the predominantly African American section of New York City . White "slummers" enjoyed jazz , nightclubs, and anything else they wished. Blues singers Ma Rainey , Bessie Smith , Ethel Waters , and Gladys Bentley sang about affairs with women to visitors such as Tallulah Bankhead , Beatrice Lillie , and
17956-478: Was withdrawn by Change.org on 15 August 2024. After two earthquakes hit Central Mexico on September 7 and September 19 , 2017, there were different petitions to force the " Instituto Nacional Electoral " ( National Electoral Institute ), the Mexican Senate , and President Enrique Peña Nieto to donate most or all of the money destined for the upcoming 2018 general elections be redirected to victims of
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