Dimensions of lesbian sexual experienceu

Abstract

Sixty-five female homosexuals, ranging in age from 18 to 55, completed a research questionnaire exploring their sexual relationships. Twenty-eight percent of the sample had become aware of their homosexual orientation between ages 6 and 10. First homosexual fantasies occurred between the ages of 11 and 15 for another 42%. More than two-thirds engaged in their first homosexual contact before the age of 20. These initial homosexual contacts were not exploitative. Rather, the respondents had been willing, cooperative partners. At the time of initial experience, there were as many who were seducers as there were those who were seduced. Forty percent achieved orgasm at the time of their first homosexual experience. Physical experience with another female preceded their entry into the homosexual community by several years. Nearly nine out of ten dated males during their homosexual careers, and more than half the respondents had had sexual experience with a male. A large number of female sexual partners was not the pattern of the respondents; four out of five had had physical intimacies with fewer than eight women.