The word “lesbian” refers to any woman who might be attracted to someone of the same sex. The word comes from “Lesbos”, an island in Greece. As the story goes, the island of Lesbos was home to Sappho, a Greek poet. Very little of her writing remains, but the little that does explores themes of women’s lives, rituals and relations. In her writing she talks of her love for women and their beauty.

Some women may be attracted towards others of the same sex but may not identify with the word “lesbian.” As seen in the case of Urmila Srivastava and Leela Namdeo, the first documented case of same sex marriage in India. The two women were cadets in the Madhya Pradesh police force. All things came to a head when a wedding photo from their simple ceremony was revealed on the front page of a newspaper. The headline read “Lesbian Cops.” They were threatened and tortured before being dismissed from service. The two women took their dismissal to court feeling the pressure of not having a future income.

While the world criticised, condemned and celebrated them, the two women maintained that they did not identify with the word “lesbian” and married simply because that felt like the right step in their companionship.

The word “lesbian” has broad connotations in today’s world, referring to women’s sexual identification and sexual orientation.