Also called “crushing” or “spoons,”
these were intense emotional infatuations between two women that were generally
accepted by society as a step on the way to maturity. Although not always
a lesbian relationship, as we would call it today, these relationships were
deeply emotional. They may or may not have included a sexual component, but
did not carry the same societal stigma of sexual relationships between young
men and women.
Although smashes could occur between a professor and a
student, the most typical crush was between two students of different years,
with the younger student “smashed” on the older one. The infatuated student
would present her crush with gifts, speak of her constantly, and hope to
attend dances with her.
In the later 1920’s and 1930’s, these crushes started
to become somewhat suspect, even though those who had engaged in crushes
rarely would have considered themselves lesbians.