Tribadism
A lesbian sexual practice involving vulva-to-vulva contact or rubbing the vulva against a partner's body for clitoral stimulation.
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Tribadism, also called tribbing and often referred to by the scissoring position, is a sexual practice among women that involves rubbing the vulva against a partner's vulva, thigh, stomach, buttocks, arm, or other body part (excluding the mouth), primarily to stimulate the clitoris. Many positions are used, including the missionary position.
Historically, the term reflected societal ideas about women acting as penetrative partners; women believed to have penetrated during sex faced mockery or punishment. Today, tribadism generally describes various non-penetrative sexual activities between women. It is comparable to frot, which is penis-to-penis contact.
Etymology and usage
The word tribadism comes from the Greek τριβάς (tribas), derived from the verb τρίβω (tribō), meaning "to rub." In ancient Greek and Roman contexts, a tribas (or tribade) was a woman or intersex person who actively penetrated another person (male or female) using the clitoris or a dildo. Only in Late Antiquity did the term begin to refer exclusively to eroticism between women.
Because penetration was seen as male-defined, a tribas was considered the most vulgar type of lesbian. The Greeks and Romans acknowledged same-sex attraction but believed any sexual act required one partner to be "phallic," making sex between women impossible without this feature; mythology often portrayed lesbians as having enlarged clitorises or needing a phallic substitute. This appears in Greek and Latin satires from as early as the late first century.
In English, "tribade" appears as early as 1601 in Ben Jonson's Praeludium (Poem X in The Forest) and remained in use until the mid-nineteenth century. It was the most common European term for lesbians, appearing in classical literature, anatomy texts, midwifery guides, sexual advice manuals, and pornography.
It also came to describe lesbian sexual practices generally, though mid-eighteenth-century anatomical studies cast doubt on stories of enlarged clitorises, leading doctors to distinguish more carefully between clitoral hypertrophy and hermaphroditism. Author Bonnie Zimmerman noted that writers often avoided the term, instead using euphemisms like "unnatural vice," "lewd behavior," "crimes against nature," "using an instrument," and "taking the part of a man." In the eighteenth century, when the term was especially popular, it appeared in pornographic libels against Marie Antoinette, who was "tried and roundly convicted in the press" as a tribade. Author Dena Goodman explained that her rumored tribadism had historically specific political implications, citing a fictional testimony where Marie Antoinette protests that she "ceded to the sweet impressions of nature" and "surrendered to the sweet impulsion of love." Goodman added that one libel described Marie Antoinette detailing her husband's sexual incapacity and taking the Duchess of Polignac into her service, with the queen praising "adroit" clitoral stimulation that produced "one of those rare pleasures that cannot be used up."
By the Victorian era, according to Zimmerman, tribadism was seen as a lower-class and non-Western phenomenon, often linked to the supposed degeneration of prostitutes and criminals. By the twentieth century, "tribade" had been replaced by terms like sapphist, lesbian, invert, and homosexual, as it had become too archaic. "Fricatrice," a synonym for tribade with a Latin root, appeared in English as early as 1605 in Ben Jonson's Volpone. Its usage suggests it was more colloquial and pejorative. Variants include the Latinized "confricatrice" and the English "rubster."
Sexual practices
Tribadism is a common practice among women who have sex with women (WSW). While the term often refers to vulva-to-vulva stimulation, it covers a range of activities. Besides the scissoring position—where partners interlock their legs like scissors and press their vulvas together—tribadism can involve the missionary position, woman on top, doggy style, or simply rubbing the vulva against a partner's thigh, stomach, buttocks, arm, or other body part.
Sometimes mutuality and reciprocation are not the main goal, though satisfaction for both partners is intended. Women who enjoy tribadism report pleasure from whole-body contact, the timing of hip movements, and feeling their partner's motions without manual stimulation, which is considered exciting, erotic, and an easier way to achieve orgasm due to ample clitoral stimulation. Those who practice it share methods through verbal and text communication, emphasizing the importance of repeated body movement to reach orgasm.
Lore & Background
The term tribadism derives from the Greek word τριβάς (tribas), which in turn comes from the verb τρίβω (tribō), 'rub'. In ancient Greek and Roman sexuality, a tribas, or tribade, was a woman or intersex individual who actively penetrated another person (male or female) through use of the clitoris or a dildo. The term tribade did not begin to refer exclusively to eroticism between women until Late Antiquity.
Because penetration was viewed as 'male-defined' sexuality, a tribas was considered the most vulgar lesbian. The Greeks and Romans recognized same-sex attraction, but as any sexual act was believed to require that one of the partners be 'phallic' and that therefore sexual activity between women was impossible without this feature, mythology popularly associated lesbians with either having enlarged clitorises or as incapable of enjoying sexual activity without the substitution of a phallus. This appears in Greek and Latin satires as early as the late first century. In English texts, tribade is recorded as early as 1601, in Ben Jonson's Praeludium (Poem X in The Forest), to as late as the mid-nineteenth century; it was the most common lesbian term in European texts, through the proliferation of classical literature, anatomies, midwiferies, sexual advice manuals, and pornography.
It also came to refer to lesbian sexual practices in general, though anatomical investigation in the mid-eighteenth century led to skepticism about stories of enlarged clitorises and anatomists and doctors argued for a more precise distinction between clitoral hypertrophy and hermaphroditism. Author Bonnie Zimmerman stated, 'More often, however, [European] writers avoided the term, instead euphemistically invoking "unnatural vice," "lewd behavior," "crimes against nature," "using an instrument," and "taking the part of a man."' In the eighteenth century, where the term saw one of its most popular uses, it was employed in several pornographic libels against Marie Antoinette, who was 'tried and roundly convicted in the press' as being a tribade. By the time the Victorian era arrived, cited Zimmerman, 'tribadism tended to be constructed as a lower class and non-Western phenomenon and often was associated with the supposed degeneration of prostitutes and criminals'.
Reader's Guide
Tribadism is a common sexual practice among women who have sex with women (WSW). Although the term tribadism is often applied to the act of vulva-to-vulva stimulation, it encompasses a variety of sexual activity. In addition to the scissoring position, which involves the partners interlocking their legs in a position similar to the shape of scissors and pressing their vulvas together, tribadism may involve the missionary position, the woman on top position, the doggy style position or others, or simple movement of the woman's vulva against her partner's thigh, stomach, buttocks, arm, or another body part. Sometimes 'mutuality and reciprocation tend not to be the main objective, although satisfaction for both partners through different means most definitely is its aim'.
Women who enjoy or prefer tribadism report finding pleasure from its allowance of whole-body contact, the experience of timing hip movement and feeling their partner's motions without manual stimulation, which is considered exciting, erotic and a much easier way to achieve orgasm due to ample clitoral stimulation. Women who enjoy tribadism share methods through verbal and text communication, and they emphasize the importance of repeated body movement (reciprocation) to reach orgasm, such as rubbing back and forth and bumping up and down. It means tribadism is more than just local-clitoral stimulation (aim); it should involve every inch of the vulva.
Because the sexual pleasure of tribadism is influenced by the psychological sense of satisfaction and happiness from feeling the individual's private body parts through female genital contact, interaction, and communication between the two individuals. Some lesbian and bisexual women do not engage in the scissoring position because they find or think it would be physically uncomfortable. They may also think it is a misconception that lesbians engage in the act and is therefore not representative of lesbian sexual practices, attributing it more so to the male fantasies of the heterosexual porn industry. By contrast, some sources, including Shere Hite's 1976 and 1981 research, indicate that women may enjoy performing the scissoring position with other women because it is a variation of vulva-to-vulva contact or can allow for maximum such contact and therefore an elevated level of intimacy.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Tribadism (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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