THE EMERGENCE OF LESBIAN SEXUALITY AND IDENTITY CROSS-CULTURALLY - BRAZIL, PERU, THE PHILIPPINES, AND THE UNITED-STATES

Questionnaire data were collected from 205 lesbians and 224 heterosexu al women in Brazil, Peru, the Philippines, and the United States betwe en 1981 and 1988. Items include direction of childhood sexual interest s, age of first awareness of sexual attraction, cross-attractions, age of first sexual contact, sex of partner in first sexual contact, age of awareness that sexual attractions were serious, and age of realizat ion of adult sexual orientation. In general, similarities in the devel opment of lesbian sexuality and differences between lesbians and heter osexual women were found, regardless of culture. Findings include: Les bians were more sexually active as children and displayed more sexual interest in girls than heterosexuals; did in boys; lesbians tended to become aware of their attractions to women later than heterosexuals re alized attractions to men; lesbians reported considerably more early a ttraction to men than heterosexuals did to women; lesbians reported ea rlier sexual contact than did heterosexual women; the sex of the partn er of first sexual contact for lesbians was split roughly equally betw een males and females whereas heterosexuals reported contact with male s almost exclusively; childhood awareness that sexual attractions were serious were similar in lesbians and heterosexuals; lesbians defined themselves as homosexual later than heterosexuals defined themselves a s heterosexual. We conclude that norms for heterosexual behavior impac t the development of lesbian sexuality and identity, impeding, but not obliterating, their development. Lesbian sexuality and identity event ually emerge regardless of culture.