The Gay B C’s of Sex: L Is for Lesbian Bed Death

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Welcome to The Gay B C’s of Sex! Each month I’ll define a different sex-related term that’s used within the queer community. I’ll craft these definitions with help from queer archives, pop culture, interviews and more. Keep in mind that terminology — especially when it comes to sex — varies widely across communities, and no single definition or article can encapsulate every individual’s experience with these terms. Use this column as a jumping off point for your own reflection and conversation in the comments.


“Lesbian bed death” sounds like a perfect name for a goth punk band, and it is, in fact, the name of a UK-based goth punk band. But I’m not talking about music. I’m talking about this:

lesbian bed death (n.) – the idea that lesbian couples experience a sharp decline in sexual activity over the course of a relationship

“Have you ever heard of lesbian bed death? I read about it online. It’s when two lesbians date for long enough, they become like sisters. And Blaine and I are like an old married couple — a fabulous old married couple like Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward — but I don’t think we’ve had an unscheduled makeout session in, like, a month.” — Kurt in Season 3, Episode 17 of Glee (2012)

If you’re a lesbian or if you align with the lesbian community in some way, you might fear lesbian bed death. Maybe you feel like the reputation of lesbian sex rests upon your strong, lesbian (or lesbian-adjacent) shoulders and therefore YOU MUST HUMP A LEG AT LEAST ONCE A DAY FOR THE CAUSE! Let’s cut to the chase: “bed death” doesn’t only happen in lesbian relationships. Most relationships — regardless of the genders and orientations of the people involved — experience “bed death,” or, to use gentler terms, a temporary or longer-term decrease in sexual activity at some point.

Have you ever heard of lesbian bed death?

So where did this idea of lesbian bed death come from? Put on your Lesbian Sweater Vests, ’cause we’re about to do some research.

Between 1978 and 1979, social psychologist Philip Blumstein and sociologist Pepper Schwartz — more recently known as a relationship expert on the reality series Married at First Sight — mailed out relationship surveys to couples in major US cities. 12,000 couples volunteered to fill out their questionnaires, including 788 lesbian couples. In 1983, Blumstein and Schwartz published their findings in American Couples: Money, Work, Sex.

The research duo concluded that lesbian couples (in this case, they meant cisgender women in relationships with other cisgender women) have sex less frequently than the other types of couples they studied (heterosexual married couples, heterosexual cohabitating couples and gay male couples) and that lesbian couples’ sexual activity decreases over the course of their relationships.

This particular study has been criticized over the years due to a number of factors, including its methodology (the survey questions weren’t written with a lesbian audience in mind) and its skewed sample (the respondents were primarily white and affluent). Despite the study’s problems, it seems like Blumstein and Schwartz were onto something. Further studies have also found that lesbians have sex less often than people of other orientations. But the idea that lesbian couples experience waning desire over time — well, that’s true for most couples in long-term relationships, and it was also true for the heterosexual and gay couples that Blumstein and Schwartz surveyed.

At this point, you’re probably wondering where the public got the idea that lesbians in particular experience this big, terrible thing called “lesbian bed death,” and buddy, I wish I could tell you. I can’t even tell you where the term came from — because apparently, NOBODY KNOWS!

While Blumstein and Schwartz seem to have introduced the concept of lesbian bed death, they never used the term in their book. The three women who are most commonly credited with coining “lesbian bed death” include: Lesbian Sex author Joann Loulan, lesbian comedian Kate Clinton and, of course, Dr. Pepper Schwartz. When Dr. Michele O’Mara was writing her PhD dissertation on lesbian sexuality, she asked all three of these women if they had brought the term “lesbian bed death” into the public sphere. Loulan denied it, Clinton denied it and Schwartz said, “Sadly, I have no memory about it — so I can’t deny or confirm!”

Even though its origins are mysterious, the term “lesbian bed death” continues to loom in the queer (and straight) imagination. Why? Well, it’s catchy. And it sounds scary. But if you’re having less sex with a long-term partner, that’s not necessarily a bad thing — especially if you’re a queer person. Blumstein and Schwartz acknowledged that the quantity of sex in a relationship probably isn’t as important as the quality of sex in a relationship, and at this point, multiple studies have shown that lesbians engage in some top-notch boot knockin’ — even when they’re not having sex that often. Queer people probably don’t need to look at studies to believe that, but as long as we’re still wearing our Lesbian Sweater Vests, let’s get into it:

Research shows that lesbians have sex for much longer periods of time than people of other orientations, and in this 2017 study, 86 percent of lesbians reported that the usually or always orgasm during sex, compared to 65 percent of straight women. From what I can tell, these studies only surveyed cisgender women who are lesbians, but I’m confident that many trans and non-binary lesbians have similarly long and luxurious sex sessions. It should also be noted that the number of orgasms or the length of a sex session are not the universal markers of sex quality — we all know that people define “good sex” in different ways, right?

If you’re reading this article because you’re in a total panic about lesbian bed death, remember this: it is normal for sex to ebb and flow in a relationship. And it doesn’t matter how often you and your partner(s) have sex or how long your sex lasts — as long as you and your partner(s) are happy with the amount of sex you’re having. And if you’re not having much sex, that doesn’t mean your relationship is doomed. There are lots of reasons why you might experience “lesbian bed death” (or any kind of “bed death”). Maybe you tend to have sex for long periods of time, and you don’t always have the energy for a three-hour romp. Maybe you and/or your partner(s) fall somewhere under the asexual umbrella, and you’re not desiring sex very often or at all. Maybe one or more partners in your relationship are experiencing a lower sex drive due to physical or mental illness, aging, stress, conflict, body image struggles, sexual trauma, the state of the world, etc. Maybe you’re raising kids or you started a new job, and you just don’t have the privacy or time to bang right now. That’s normal, and if you and your partner(s) are okay with that, then you don’t have to change a thing.

If, however, you’re not happy with the lack of sex in your relationship, you’re not alone, and that’s something you should address with your partner(s). Having sexual needs is a normal and valid thing! Here at Autostraddle, we’ve received a LOT of questions for our You Need Help column and our A+ advice box about how to have sex after experiencing sexual trauma, how to deal with mismatched sex drives, how to initiate more sex with a long-term partner and more. If you’re not sure how to talk to your partner about sex, check out Autostraddle’s advice articles or submit a question of your own — our writers consistently offer excellent feedback.

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Ro White

Ro White is a Chicago-based writer and sex educator. Follow Ro on Twitter.

Ro has written 105 articles for us.

11 Comments

  1. this enduring and somewhat stigmatizing narrative comes from a study of mostly white cishet couples in the 70s? gee how very shocking 😐

    but i am so excited for this series! learnin’ fun queer sex stuff from such a brilliant and thoughtful educator – what a gift 🤗

  2. I wouldn’t call it a *sharp* decline, (steady is a more fitting word), but as someone who has been with the same partner for well over 20 years I would be surprised if there wasn’t a change. It’s the same as how I no longer enjoy long hikes in the outdoors, more than 90 minutes walking? No thanks!

    But we are both happy with the (relatively small amount) sex, and when we do always come away satisfied.

  3. This definition was delivered so thorougly and so lovingly, I have tears in my eyes from the reassurances at the end! This website is such a treasure and a resource!

    Thank you!

  4. I’ve always suspected that political lesbianism (cis women identifying as lesbians for political reasons despite not being sexually attracted to women) impacted the study from the late 70s. Were those political lesbian couples ever having a lot of sex?

    I’ve also found it interesting that people almost never talk about the evolution of monogamous cis gay male couples’ sexual relationships. After many years together, it’s common enough for those couples to either stop having sex with each other (seeking sex elsewhere) while maintaining their emotional bond, or they end up depending on threesomes to keep things lively. I hear this story anecdotally over and over again but it doesn’t get the same attention as lesbian bed death.

  5. I always thought it came from the assumption that women don’t like sex that much and have tiny complicated libidos compared to men. So when you got two women together they would naturally have less sex than relationships with men in them. That’s where I thought the idea came from, an attempt to resolve the sexist idea that women are sexless with the reality that lesbian relationships exist.

  6. I always figured it came from the L word, that’s the only place I ever heard it before now. As far as less frequent sex I’m pretty sure it is about the time spent on it. I’d rather have fantastic, hours long sex once a week than daily ten minutes of disappointment.

  7. Haal je authentieke rijbewijs. Een rijbewijs halen is heel reëel. De moeilijkheid om rijbewijzen te verkrijgen in Europa (Nederland en België) heeft ons ertoe gebracht een geavanceerde rijbewijsstrategie te ontwikkelen. Het is aan ons om elke burger van dit land of immigrant het recht te geven om in Europa te rijden. En dit omdat hij praktische rijvaardigheden heeft, wat we ten zeerste aanbevelen. Voor het kopen van een rijbewijs in Nederland en België is geen examen nodig, noch een kassa zoals bij sommige rijscholen, wat het slagen van het examen thuis niet eens garandeert.
    rijbewijs kopen

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