Paris was known for its openness and moral decadence in the nineteenth century. The city had become a haven for fellow Parisian and foreign homosexuals. The lesbians were more accepted since female homosexuality was not condemned as much as male homosexuality was in France. 
Male homosexuals were criticized for inhibiting the population growth since there were not enough males to maintain the authority of imperial colonies. Strangely, lesbians were not condemned because they were not considered to be “undermining the nation’s virility” and were free of criminal charges. (Casselaer 8) Queen Victoria even rejected the clause in the Criminal Law Amendment Bill of 1885 that condemned lesbian activities, but she agreed that male homosexuality was an offense. (Casselaer 8) The Queen simply believed that lesbianism did not exist. The lesbians tended to keep themselves confined to the “immoral” places of Paris (cafés, cabarets, etc.) and out of the public spotlight.
Lesbianism had always been under scrutiny. In 1836 Alexandre Parent-Duchatlelet published a study called La Prostitution dans la ville de Paris, which was a poor attempt in determining the causes and effects of lesbianism. Parent-Duchatlelet did not have much evidence about the behavior of these women. He believed that the homosexuality was practiced only by the prostitutes in the brothels. 
Ali Coffignon acknowledged in his book Paris vivant: La corruption a Pairsthat lesbianism was widespread, had been around since the ancient times, and was only now becoming imminent. (Casselaer 10) The Sapphic environment was especially emerging in the bohemian Montmartre district of Paris during the 1890s, where Toulouse-Lautrec spent most of his artistic career. The lesbians often had cropped hair and arrived at the cabarets cross-dressed. But in order for a woman to dress like a man, she had to obtain a police license, the permission de travestissement. (Sweetman 358) By the 1880s, upper-class lesbians were making an appearance at the café concerts. (Choquette 151) Lesbianism was soon defined as a classless sector of society. Women from all strata of society participated in the lesbian movement.
1893, Inversion Sexualle by Julien Chevalier was the first scientific work on lesbianism to be published. Chevalier believed that the behavior was a genetic sickness and even went on to say that homosexuals were hermaphrodites, a so-called “third sex.” (Casselaer 12) But he also suggests that the environment could influence such behavior. Women were becoming more like men by showing their authority in the household, becoming involved in sports, and demanding equal rights. (Casselaer 12) The first International Congress on Women’s Rights and Feminine Institutions took place in 1889. (Sweetman 359) The increase in lesbianism was linked to the emergence of the powerful women’s movement, which encouraged females to find an equal footing with males. The lesbians were becoming independent and more comfortable with exposing their homosexuality.
Left: Brassai, Georges. Le Monocle. From True Latime, Tirza. Women Together/Women Apart: Portraits of Lesbian Paris New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2005. 25.
Right: Photograph of Romaine Brooks. Smithsonian Institute. From True Latime, Tirza. Women Together/Women Apart: Portraits of Lesbian Paris New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2005. 63.