Lesbian bed death

Lesbian bed death is a term invented by sex researcher Pepper Schwartz to describe the supposedly inevitable diminishment of sexual passion in long term lesbian relationships. The term is sometimes used to refer to diminished sexual activity in any long term relationship.

Study's findings

Schwartz's published findings indicate that lesbian couples have less sexual contact than those of any other sexual orientation, including homosexual male couples and heterosexual cohabiting or married couples. However, this may not reflect a lack of satisfaction with the relationship. It was also noted that there is a distinct decline of sexual activity after the first year of the long-term lesbian relationship, which also contributed to the term.

Critical assessment of the Schwartz study construct

The methodology of Schwartz's survey format has been criticized by several researchers, who claim that the question "About how often during the last year have you and your partner had sex relations?" is too ambiguous when applied to the sexual behavior of lesbian couples. This ambiguity could account for the finding of a statistically low frequency of sexual behavior among lesbian couples if "sex relations" is interpreted too narrowly.

A German study has shown that the female sex drive greatly diminishes once she is in a secure relationship.

See also

• Domestic partnership
• Cohabitation
• Boston marriage
• U-Haul lesbian
• Lesbian
• Commitment bands
• Societal attitudes towards homosexuality
• Queer studies
• Human sexuality
• Psychology

External links

• Let's Kill Lesbian Bed Death: Interview with Sex Educator and author Felice Newman
• Criticism of Lesbian Bed Death
• Lesbian Bed Death, By L. A. Vess