Bi-Lesbian

A bi lesbian is an individual who is both bisexual/biromantic/etc. and a lesbian. The label is one of many Mspec Lesbian identities, and it has been the focus of controversy. Despite that, it is a harmless term.

This term can be used by people who use the split attraction model and are bisexual/biromantic/etc. and homo- (lesbian) or an individual who experiences lesbian tertiary attraction. They may have one form of attraction to two or more genders but are usually only attracted to women via another form of attraction.

It can also be used by individuals who identify as both bisexual and lesbian. The most common reason is that the person is bisexual/romantic, however the genders they're attracted to are all femininely or neutrally aligned, therefore making their bi attraction also lesbian. Of course, there are other ways someone could be both bisexual and a lesbian, either due to changing attraction (such as abrosexuality), or due being part of plural system (such as having a different sexuality when fronting, or being in a median system where you somewhat experience other headmates attractions.)

Additionally, the term can apply to people who are bisexual and prioritize their attraction to fem- and neu-aligned genders, having a strong preference for non-masc genders, but not quite feeling like homoflexible fits. They may feel they are somewhere in between bisexual and lesbian.

It is also a little known fact that, historically, the term lesbian referred to any woman who was attracted to other women, regardless of if she was also attracted to men. Bisexual women were forced out of the lesbian community by radical "feminists" and gold star lesbians. Today, there are many bisexuals who are still incredibly upset by this change, likely older women who used to be part of the lesbian community. While today the lesbian definition is "feminine and neutrally aligned people attracted exclusively to other feminine and neutrally aligned people," some people choose to reclaim the historical definition and call themselves bi lesbians.

Origins
The label "bi lesbian" originated in the 1970s as a result of the effects of lesbian separatism, a belief within some strains of lesbian feminism and often within radical feminism which advocates for separating women from men in as many ways as possible as a strategy to achieve women's liberation. Subsequently, this lead to lesbian separatists rejecting and often discriminating against women who refused to withdraw from their involvement with men, particularly bisexual women. Lesbian separatists accused bisexual women of "sleeping with the enemy" and forcefully removed them from lesbian spaces and from claiming the lesbian identity for themselves, by redefining it as "a homosexual female/woman" or "a woman who does not sleep with men/is not attracted to men". It is because of lesbian separatism that the bisexual label became very popular starting in the 1970s, as the word to describe a woman who was attracted to other women before was "lesbian", whether they were attracted exclusively or not, and now that had suddenly changed.

Examples of Use

 *  Lavender Woman, Volume 2, Issue 5, August 1973 : "What is a Lesbian? To me, a lesbian is a woman-oriented woman; bisexuals can be lesbians..."
 *  Lani Kaahumanu, "Bisexuality & Discrimination", BBWM Vol. 3, No. 6, Dec 1985-Jan 1986 : "...my lesbian awareness isn’t lost now that I claim my bisexuality [...] My political consciousness is lesbian but my lifestyle is bisexual..."
 *  Robyn Ochs, "Bi of the Month: Betty Aubut", Bi Women Vol. 5, No. 2, April-May 1987 : "I call myself a “bisexual lesbian.” I will always politically identify as bisexual, which to me means opposing restrictive categories [...] I consider myself gay. I think bisexuals are gay and gay liberation is our liberation..."
 * Amy Wyeth, "Don't Assume Anything", Bi Women Vol. 13, No. 4, Aug-Sep 1995: "Unfortunately, many of my experiences as a lesbian-identified bisexual woman have said to me that having an appearance or demeanor that diverges from the expected means I will not be accepted as truly belonging in the lesbian community."



Flags
There are multiple flags used by the bi (and other mspec) lesbian community. The original flag is the lesbian flag with a heart showing the bisexual colors layered on top.The second flag was created by Instagram user Sapphic.violets_with.tea in 2020 after she found the first flag less attractive and wanted something to identify with more. The colors of the second flag are used to represent different genders. Red and pink representing women, White to represent Non-Binary individuals or individuals who do not identify with either male or female, and blue representing men. The imbalance of red is to show more attraction to women, however the blue and white is still there to show romantic attraction to more than one gender.

Additional Sources

 * A Carrd site focussed on information on bi/mspec lesbians.
 * A Tumblr blog dedicated to sharing accurate and historically backed information about bi lesbians.