Les Bos

The other night I was watching an episode of South Park, the particular episode was titled “D-Yikes”. If you are not familiar with the episode, it is the one where Mr. Garrison decides to label himself as a lesbian after a hot night of “scissor-sex” with a lesbian.

I have to say that episode was HILARIOUS, and yes it might have been stereotypical but Rosie O’Donnell I am not. I can take jokes with a grain of salt.

Now if you are not aware of what “scissoring” is, the textbook definition is female to female genital sex. Also referred to as, frottage or tribadism, some colloquialisms “bumping fur”, “prawn wrestling” (This one is hysterical!), “clit-clating”, etc. There are so many more I could go on for hours, I will spare you everyone. Just this once! =)

The term “scissoring” is much more of a colloquialism that it is a formal name. The formal name “tribadism” was originally conceived as lesbian penetration either with an enlarged clitoris or a strap-on dildo.

Though the term “Tribadism” refers to a specific sex act between women today. It was also commonly used to describe female-female sexual love in general in the past, and women who had sex with woman were referred to as “Tribads” or “Tribades”.

As author Rictor Norton explains:

“The tribas, lesbian, from Greek tribein, to rub (i.e. rubbing the pudenda together, or clitoris upon the pubic bone, etc.), appears in Greek and Latin satires from the late first century. The tribade was the most common (vulgar) lesbian in European texts for many centuries.”

Fricatrice, a synonym for tribade that also refers to rubbing but has Latin rather than a Greek root, appeared in English as early as 1605 (in Ben Johnson’s Volpone).

Tribadism is also used in pop culture today, as the glam pop band, Scissor Sisters, derive their name from the scissoring position. As well as other bands such as, Scissorfight and the lesbian punk band Tribe 8.

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