[C0LLETTE]

I wish to be clear that this post is not in direct reply to ANY preceding post in particular but rather a general unease about how difficult it is to discuss certain topics and to make a proposal as to why that happens. I doubt any of my theory is original or new to most of you.

Simply, I confess: I am confused.
Seems most folks know what they like (after they've tried it) but problems arise when they give it and themselves a name/label. Not terribly surprising when definition has become a free-for-all and folks insist on the right to make up their own.
Even when terms are largely agreed upon, we bend over backwards to avoid questioning outliers or self definitions that defy logic and/or coherency. We don't want to hurt feelings so we nod supportively at every personal definition even when it seems like babble and serves no communicative purpose except stringing buzz words together.

Am I completely off base? Sometimes it seems to me that there's a cottage industry out there creating ever more convoluted definitions of stuff we already know.

I've been a "lesbian", having sex with women for over 50 years now. For me, it's never been more complicated than that. As for whether they were butch or femme? Lotta times it was too dark to tell.