Lesbian Historic Motif Project: #102g Habib 2009 "The reason for some women’s preference for grinding" in al-Samaw’uli, Abu Nasr bin Yahya bin Åbbas al-Maghribi (d. 1180)

Although the earliest texts that Habib covers tend to focus primarily on classification--on cataloging different types of sexual preference and activity--texts from the 12-14th century often focus on looking for causes. Why might a woman take up "grinding" and why might she prefer that to sex with men? This isn't to say that the shift represents a chronological development in world-view. (Keep in mind that earlier texts often come down to us as incorporations into later discussions. So the 12-14th century writers may have felt that the cataloging aspect was already covered. And the catalogs of rationales from this era often are variants of causes discussed earlier.) During this era, the texts start sounding more negatively judgmental, e.g., attributing the origin of "grinding" to demonic influence. The earlier material was not devoid of disapproval, but there's a definite shift in tone.