China: Two young women with bound feet in a lesbian pose, painting by Huang Dasheng, c.1885

Homosexuality as a theme in traditional Chinese art is not common and almost always representative of male homosexualty (the 'Way of the Cut Sleeve' or the 'Bitten Peach'. Lesbians and Lesbianism as a theme is still more unusual, and this painting was probably done to titillate men. Today (21st century) Chinese lesbians usually call themselves lazi (lāzi) or lala (lālā). These two terms are abbreviations of the transliteration of the English term lesbian. These slang terms are also commonly used in Mainland China.

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Pictures From History