There’s no shortage of terms for queer women, all with their own nuanced meanings: lesbian, sapphic, bisexual, butch, WLW, and femme, to name a few. But a viral post on social media has some folks debating if one of those terms should be taken out of circulation, effective immediately.

The post from user @simplytomh was a celebration of some of their favorite queer women from TV and film, including Corky from Bound, Jackie from Love Lies Bleeding, and Vi from Arcane. “muscular sapphics i love you,” she wrote. 

The post seemed innocent enough, but some users took issue with @simplytomh’s use of the word “sapphics,” saying it was a case of lesbian erasure. 

“So close they’re lesbians,” replied one user. 

“when will this word die… JUST SAY LESBIAN,” wrote another.

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But others quickly pointed out that the original poster used an umbrella term for a reason. Though two of the characters pictured are lesbians, Jackie from Love Lies Bleeding isn’t — she says explicitly in the film that she likes both men and women. Therefore, she’s sapphic, but not a lesbian, exemplifying the need for a term that encompasses queer women of different sexualities.

Even @simplytomh herself chimed back in, writing, “guys i love the word lesbian so much but jackie is bi.” Lesbian erasure and bisexual erasure are both serious issues when it comes to representation — but erasing one in favor of the other doesn’t do anybody any good.

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