Lesbian Identities: An Examination of Sexual Behavior and Sex. Role Attribution as Related to Age of Initial Same-Sex Sexual Encounter

To investigate some of the differences among lesbians proposed by Ponse (1978), 43 self-defined lesbians were interviewed and administered questionnaires. Three groups were distinguished on the basis of age of initial lesbian sexual experience, and those in the earliest and latest age groups were compared. Group 1 lesbians engaged in same-sex sexual relations prior to age 17 (perhaps before the establishment of their personal identity), were more sexually active at an earlier age, see themselves as having more stereotypic masculine traits, and define themselves as exclusively homosexual. Group 2 lesbians did not engage in same-sex sexual relations until after the age 20, were typically emotionally involved heterosexually prior to defining themselves as lesbians, and may be somewhat bisexual in activity. Both groups see themselves as being high in stereotypic feminine traits and have fairly active heterosexual histories. The heterogeneous nature of the "coming out" process for lesbians and its implications for future research are discussed.     

Beyond androgyny: The emergence of sex-role transcendence as a theoretical construct

Recent trends in sex-role research are reviewed with the purpose of showing a paradigm shift in the kinds of issues and questions thought to be important for an understanding of sex-role development. Two recent advances, conceptualizations of androgyny and sex-role transcendence are described with particular emphasis on the emergence of sex-role transcendence as a new theoretical construct. It is argued that while personality, social-learning, and structural-developmental theories account for sex-role identity and androgyny, only structural-developmental theory provides an adequate conceptual framework for the construct of sex-role transcendence. Questions are raised concerning the empirical demonstration of the concept.