Lesbian bed death is a term coined by University of Washington sociologist Pepper Schwartz in her 1983 book American Couples. According to Schwartz, lesbian couples in committed relationships have less sex than any other type of couple, and they generally experience less sexual intimacy the longer the relationship lasts. The study has been criticized by the lesbian community and some psychologists as popular myth.
Famous quotes containing the words lesbian, bed and/or death:
“Why is it so difficult to see the lesbianeven when she is there, quite plainly, in front of us? In part because she has been ghostedMor made to seem invisibleby culture itself.... Once the lesbian has been defined as ghostlythe better to drain her of any sensual or moral authorityshe can then be exorcised.”
—Terry Castle, U.S. lesbian author. The Apparitional Lesbian, ch. 1 (1993)
“Women born at the turn of the century have been conditioned not to speak openly of their wedding nights. Of other nights in bed with other men they speak not at all. Today a woman having bedded with a great general feels free to tell us that in bed the general could not present arms. Women of my generation would have spared the great general the revelation of this failure.”
—Jessamyn West (19071984)
“The death of William Tecumseh Sherman, which took place to-day at his residence in the city of New York at 1 oclock and 50 minutes p.m., is an event that will bring sorrow to the heart of every patriotic citizen. No living American was so loved and venerated as he.”
—Benjamin Harrison (18331901)