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'Tribadism' or 'tribbing' is a form of mutual masturbation, sometimes called frottage, in which a woman rubs her vulva against her partner's body for sexual stimulation.^[1][2] The term is most often used in the context of lesbian sex, but is not exclusive to such. Tribadism sometimes involves female-to-female genital contact, but more often refers to a female rubbing her vulva against her partner's thigh, arm or stomach. Sometimes the labia majoras of one of the women's vulva will slip between her partner's labia majoras during lesbian sex. Tribadism can also refer to a masturbation technique in which a woman rubs her vulva against an inanimate object such as a bolster in an effort to achieve orgasm.

Contents

The tribade

Colloquialisms

Tribadism among bonobo females

Tribadism in popular culture

References

The tribade

Tribadism was originally conceived of as lesbian penetration either with an enlarged clitoris or a strap-on dildo, generally performed by a "tribade". The tribade pre-dates the modern sexual identity of lesbianism and was originally understood as a very virile female who could also penetrate males.^[3]
Today, "tribade" is defined simply as "a female homosexual" or a gay female. "Tribadism" is defined either as:
: 1. A plural for lesbian, lesbianism
: 2. "A homosexual practice among women which attempts to simulate heterosexual intercourse."

Colloquialisms

Genital-genital tribadism is known by many colloquialisms such as "scissoring", "bumping donuts", "clit-clatting", "mashing cookies", "grinding beans", "touching tacos", "clam jousting", or "bumping fur."
See also ''Non-penetrative sex: Colloquialisms''.

Tribadism among bonobo females

Females of the bonobo species, found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also engage in female-female genital sex, usually known as ''GG rubbing'' (genito-genital). It is the most frequent sex activity among bonobos. Females use GG rubbing to socially bond with each other, thus forming a female nucleus of bonobo society. While bonobo society is egalitarian and less violent than many other primate societies, friendships among females organizes their offspring who maintain lifelong loyalty to their mothers. In this way, females often have more influence in group decisions.^[4]

Tribadism in popular culture

★ The glam pop band, Scissor Sisters, derive their name from the scissoring position.

★ Other bands named after tribadism, include Scissorfight, and the lesbian punk band Tribe 8.

★ Genital-genital tribadism was depicted three times during the "D-Yikes!" episode of the cartoon ''South Park'', referred to in that episode as "scissoring."

References

1. The Good Vibrations Guide to Sex, Cathy Winks and Anne Semans, , , Cleis Press, 2002,
2. Lesbian Sex Question: Tribadism, accessed 18 Dec 2006.
3. David M. Halperin "homosexuality" (pp. 722-3) in ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'', third edition, 1996, ISBN 0-19-866172-X
4. Bonobo Sex and Society, accessed 7 Aug 2007.