WLW
Women loving women: an umbrella for women attracted to women, whatever else they are attracted to.
WLW stands for women loving women, or woman-loving-woman. It is an umbrella for women who are attracted to women: lesbians, bisexual and pansexual women, and anyone else in that position who does not want a narrower word.
The attraction does not have to be exclusive. That is the main thing separating it from lesbian, and the reason many bi and pan women reach for it: it names the part of their life they are talking about without asking them to set the rest aside.
It is older than it looks. Wiktionary records it in a 1996 post to a Usenet group for lesbian and bisexual women. PFLAG notes that it is often used in communities of color, and that people say it either letter by letter or as wuh-luh-wuh.
Trans women are women loving women on exactly the same terms as anyone else. Some nonbinary people who feel close to womanhood use it too, while others prefer [[sapphic|sapphic]], or the more specific [[nblw|NBLW]].
It belongs to a small family of acronyms built the same way: your own gender, then L for loving, then the gender you are drawn to. Its counterpart is MLM, men loving men. For flags, see the lesbian flag and the sapphic flag.
WLW is not just a shorter way to say lesbian
Lesbian usually means attraction to women and not to men. WLW makes no claim about exclusivity, which is why bisexual and pansexual women use it, and why some lesbians prefer their own, more specific word.
Neither word outranks the other. Plenty of people use both, choosing lesbian when they mean exactly that and WLW when they are talking about something shared by a wider group.
Saying it well
Say this
- I am WLW.
- Bi, and very much WLW.
- A WLW relationship.
- WLW, because lesbian is not quite my word.
Not this
- WLW means cis women only
- So you are a lesbian, then
- So you are only half into women
- Using it about someone who has not used it herself
Questions people actually ask
What does WLW mean?
Women loving women. It covers lesbians, bisexual and pansexual women, and other women attracted to women, whether or not the attraction is exclusive.
Is WLW the same as lesbian?
No. Lesbian usually implies attraction to women only. WLW includes women who are also attracted to other genders.
Can trans women be WLW?
Yes. A trans woman attracted to women is a woman loving women, with nothing further to establish.
How do you pronounce WLW?
Either letter by letter, W-L-W, or as wuh-luh-wuh.
What is the male version of WLW?
MLM, for men loving men. The pattern also gives NBLW for nonbinary people who love women.