Romantic, sexual, and emotional attachment between women was named lesbianism after the island of Lesbos, home of Sappho, a Greek poet of the seventh century. Sappho wrote eloquently of her complex passion for her women lovers, and her ancient verses demonstrate the long tradition behind the lesbians of today. Lesbians come from every nation, ethnic group, and economic class. Though many may feel little sense of community with other lesbians, they are united by, if nothing else, their attraction to women and the stigmatization of that attraction by many modern societies.

Because of that stigmatization, many lesbians conceal their sexual identities, making an accurate count of their number difficult, but estimates range from six to ten percent of women. In the early 1990s, one study placed the number of lesbians in the United States at six to thirteen million. Women recognize themselves as lesbians in a wide variety...