2. Can any woman be a lesbian?
Not every woman is a lesbian, but many women do have lesbian feelings. Most women are involved with men or married. Some of these women are lesbians. If a woman chooses to be a lesbian, she is one. Many women do not have a free choice about the way they want to live and love, but they may be lesbians also. Any woman can be a lesbian: your neighbour, your doctor, your sister, your teacher, your daughter.

3. How many lesbians are there?
According to surveys done at different times and in different countries, one to two out of every 20 women are lesbians. Some research has found that 50 percent of the women interviewed had lesbian experiences and feelings. There would be many more lesbians if women had a free choice. But currently it is considered 'normal' in most societies to be heterosexual (women loving men) and 'abnormal' to be homosexual (women loving women).

4. Where in the world does lesbianism occur?
Everywhere, in every country, culture and society. But in some societies women are free to choose, while in others women have little choice about how they will live. It may seem that in western countries, where it is often easier to be a lesbian, that there are more lesbians, but this is probably not correct. Society may influence how visible lesbians may be, and society may suppress lesbians, but the feeling cannot be killed. As international lesbian networks grow, we learn about more hidden groups and individuals in more and more countries.

5. What causes lesbianism? Can it be cured?
Some lesbians believe they are born lesbian, others feel that they have chosen to be lesbian. There may be many causes, just as there are many causes that make someone heterosexual. But why try to find the cause or causes? For a long time homosexuality was considered a disease. 'Cures' such as injecting lesbians with female hormones or placing lesbians in rehabilitation camps were tried. Homosexuality is not an illness and 'cures' such as those above amount to physical and mental torture.

6. How do lesbians meet each other?
You probably meet lesbians everywhere without knowing it. You cannot tell if a woman is a lesbian just looking at her. In some cultures lesbians make themselves visible by wearing certain symbols or sometimes by wearing men's clothing. The pink triangle has been adopted by many lesbians as a symbol of pride. Historically, homosexuals in Nazi concentration camps during World War II in Europe were forced to wear the pink triangle. You know that a woman is a lesbian when she tells you she is one. Some lesbians meet secretly, in a friend's home or small social groups. But you cal also meet lesbians in your town, in the market place, university, temple, village or city.

7. Can lesbians get married and have children?
In Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands, a lesbian couple may register their relationship and so receive some of the same rights as married heterosexual couples. Some business corporations and city governments in the USA give homosexual couples the same medical and pension rights as marriages in churches, synagogues and temples. In some countries, lesbians and gay men have formed their own churches and synagogues where a homosexual couple can get married, but such marriages do not have legal status. In some countries groups are actively trying to make homosexual marriage legal. Lesbians frequently make private legal arrangements concerning property, inheritance and children.

8. How do lesbians live and love together?
Lesbian relationships take many forms. There are single lesbians, celibate lesbians, monogamous lesbian couples, lesbians who live together but are not monogamous, lesbians who also have relationships with men. The important thing is that everyone has a free choice about creating her own way of life. Many lesbians do not want to imitate heterosexual ways of living, where one partner is feminine, the other is masculine, dividing the roles according to the sex. The same is true for sexual loving: you find out, by yourself and/or with other women, what you like and what you don't like. There are no rules except the ones you make for yourself.

9. What are the consequences for women who call themselves lesbians?
In general, the reactions toward a woman who says she is a lesbian are negative. Your family may reject you and friends may leave. Sometimes lesbians loose their jobs or their children are taken away from them. In many countries an open lesbian risks punishment in the form of exile, psychiatric hospital or prison. In other countries there may be no law that persecutes lesbians, perhaps because the authorities deny the very existence of female sexuality. As a result, they also deny the fact that women can make a choice about how to express their sexual feelings. In a few countries there are now laws which forbid discrimination against gay people, but lesbians can still face hostility. In many cultures and societies women do not have the freedom to live openly as a lesbian. Fortunately, mainly thanks to the work of lesbian activists, the situation is changing. Recent research in Western Europe shows that 85% of the population tolerates or accepts homosexuality. Whether you are open or not about your lesbian feelings, you could experience discrimination, not only in your private life, but also in social context. If you are a lesbian and want to live freely as a lesbian, you may face hostility, but you also know that sooner or later other lesbians will benefit from your struggle.

10. What lesbians do against their oppression?
We believe that every woman has the right to self-determination of her body. She has the right to love and to make love. In patriarchal societies, this right is taken away by men, who are given power over women: in politics, in the home and in the bed. We need to fight laws and institutions that try to limit women's freedom to choose. For this reason we oppose clitoridectomy, forced marriages, rape and all other forms of violence against women. Women's oppression, which includes the oppression of lesbians, is strongly connected to male domination. Feminism must include a struggle against forced heterosexuality. Women must be free to choose how they want to live, which means that information about other lifestyles, must be made available. You can not do this alone. The firs step to take is to organize. If women are scared to come out as lesbians, nothing will change. The coming together or lesbians is very important: we make ourselves and each other stronger by communication, by talking about our feelings, our successes, our work and our problems. The following groups work to put lesbians in touch with one another. Remember, there are millions of lesbians in the world and together we are stronger.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"International Lesbian Information Service"