Homosexuality

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Template:Sexual orientation Since its inception, the term homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. In the original sense, it refers to a sexual orientation characterized by a lasting aesthetic attraction, romantic love, and sexual desire exclusively for members of the same sex or gender identity. It can also refer to the manifestation of that orientation in the identity of an individual, which may be at odds with that person's sexual behavior. Finally, it can refer to sexual relations with another of the same sex regardless of one's sexual orientation, self-identification or gender identity.

Homosexuality is usually contrasted with heterosexuality and bisexuality (see sexual orientation). Three major forms of homosexual relationships are recognized by anthropologists: egalitarian, gender-structured, and age-structured. Of these, one is usually dominant in a given society at a given time. (See Forms below.) As there are different biological, historical and psycho-social components to sex and gender, no single label or description will fit all individuals. See discussions on sex and gender at sex and Homosexuality and transgender.

Contemporary scientific research suggests that the majority of the human population is bisexual, adhering to a fluid sexual scale rather than a category, as western society typically views sexual nature. However, social pressures influence people to adhere to categories or labels rather than behave in a manner that more closely resembles their nature as suggested by this research. At the beginning of the 20th century, early theoretical discussions in the field of psychoanalysis posited original bisexuality in human psychological development. Quantitative studies by Alfred Kinsey in the 1940s and Dr Fritz Klein's Klein Grid in the 1980s find distributions similar to those postulated by their predecessors. The Kinsey Reports found that approximately four percent of adult Americans were exclusively homosexual for their entire lives, and approximately 10 percent were homosexual in their behavior for some portion of their lives.

Homosexuality is addressed in religion in a variety of ways. Many religions tend to codify the morality of sexuality with no regard to the sex or gender of one's partner. In contrast, the Abrahamic religions oppose same-sex relations. This is a practice that has been exported worldwide as these religions spread to other continents.

Most nations do not impede consensual sex between unrelated individuals above the local age of consent. Some jurisdictions further recognize equal rights, protections and privileges for the family structures of gay couples, including same-sex marriage. Other countries, such as some fundamentalist Islamic countries and the Vatican, mandate that homosexuals and bisexuals restrict themselves to heterosexual relationships or abstinence. At the extreme, some Islamic countries threaten transgressors with capital punishment. There are often significant differences between official policy and concrete enforcement.

Etymology and usage

Main article: terminology of homosexuality

The word homosexual translates literally as "of the same sex," being a hybrid of the Greek prefix homo- meaning "same" and the Latin root sex- meaning "sex." The first known appearance of the term homosexual in print is found in an anonymously published 1869 German pamphlet written by the Hungarian Karl-Maria Kertbeny.

The term homosexual can be used as a noun or adjective to describe persons as well as their sexual orientation, sexual history, or self-identification. Since homosexual places emphasis on sexuality, it should be avoided in reference to non-sexual contexts. Some people also feel the term is too clinical and somewhat dehumanizing. Much of that sentiment arose while homosexuality was still classified as a mental illness in the DSM. As a result of this sentiment the terms gay man and lesbian are generally preferred when discussing a person with this sexual orientation. Some same-sex oriented persons actually prefer the term homosexual to gay, as they may perceive the former as describing a sexual orientation and the latter as describing a cultural or socio-political group with which they do not identify.

The term gay may refer to all homosexual people, or only to homosexual men, which is why gay man may be preferred. Lesbian refers to homosexual women.

Although some early writers used the adjective homosexual to refer to any single-gender context (such as an all-girls' school), today the term implies a sexual aspect. The term homosocial is now used to describe single-sex contexts that are not specifically sexual.

Derogatory terms include fag or faggot, which generally refer to gay men; poof, is used mostly in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth; queer is generally used against anyone who is not exclusively heterosexual, but also reclaimed as an affirming term by many gays and academics; Gay and homo are common terms of abuse among adolescents; and dyke, which refers to lesbians. See Homophobia

Given how confusing and overloaded various terms can be, when specificity is important new terms are starting to be pressed into service. For example, Men who have sex with men, or MSM for short, is sometimes used in the medical community when specifically discussing sexual behavior (regardless of sexual orientation or self-identification). Same-sex attraction focuses on spontaneous feeling, but de-emphasizes identification with a demographic or cultural group, and also leaves open the possibilty for co-existing opposite-sex attraction. Homoerotic is a synonym for Same-sex attraction, that is used to refer both to personal feelings and works of art. Non-straight is another attempt at neutrality that is gaining currency. Some other humorous terms are now gaining weight, including heteroflexible to refer to a person who identifies as heterosexual, but occasionally engages in same-sex sexual activities, or metrosexual to denote a straight man with stereotypically gay tastes in food, fashion and design.

Anthropology

Forms

A number of researchers studying the social construction of same-sex relationships have suggested that the concept of homosexuality would best be rendered as "homosexualities." They point out that same-sex relations have been and continue to be organized in distinctly categorical ways by different societies. These variations are grouped by anthropologist Stephen O. Murray into three separate modes of association:

• Egalitarian, exemplified by relationships currently prevalent in western society between partners of similar age and gender. See Sexual minority cultures

• Gender structured, exemplified by traditional relations between men in the Mediterranean basin, the Middle East and Central and South Asia, as well as shamanic gender-changing practices seen in native societies. See Homosexuality and Islam, Two-Spirit and Hijra

• Age structured, exemplified by the erotic apprenticeships of Classical Greece or those engaged in by novice samurai with more experienced warriors; southern Chinese boy-marriage rites; and ongoing Central Asian and Middle Eastern practices. See Shudo, Pederasty, Historical pederastic couples, and Homosexuality in China,

Usually in any society one form of homosexuality predominates, though others are likely to co-exist. As historian Rictor Norton points out in his Intergenerational and Egalitarian Models, in Ancient Greece egalitarian relationships co-existed (albeit less privileged) with the institution of pederasty, and fascination with adolescents can also be found in modern sexuality, both heterosexual and homosexual.

Incidence

Main article: demographics of sexual orientation

Estimates of the modern prevalence of homosexuality vary considerably. They are complicated by differing or even ambiguous definitions of homosexuality, and by fluctuations over time and according to location.

Recent estimates on the number of homosexuals (does not include bisexuals) in Western countries, where egalitarian relationships predominate, range from 1% to 10%, confined to a self-identified subculture.

In the United States during the 2004 elections, exit polls indicated 4% of all voters self-identified as gay or lesbian. However, many who are homosexual may not be open in public as evident in the recent forced "outings" of New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey and Spokane, Washington, Mayor Jim West. CNN 2004 Exit Polls. See Sexual minority cultures

In North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, where gender- and age-structured relationships are the rule, male homosexual practices are reported to be widespread, engaged in by many individuals who do not regard themselves as homosexual. See Homosexuality and Islam

Historically, in areas where same-sex relationships were embedded in the culture, such as Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, parts of Melanesia, Renaissance Italy, and pre-modern Japan, homosexual relationships were engaged in by a majority of the male population. See Pederasty

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Taxonomy

Humans are all heterosexual

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Some Abrahamic congregations interpret their sacred texts as holding homosexuality to be unnatural and only heterosexuality to be a natural orientation. Some of these groups attempt to cure what they see as a medical disorder. Reparative therapy is psychotherapy aimed at the elimination of homosexual attractions and is employed by people who reject the idea that homosexuality is one variation within human sexual orientation, but rather believe homosexuality to be a disorder. While reparative therapy relies on secular methodologies, transformational ministry believes that homosexual attraction is essentially a sin that can be reversed through a religous approach employing repentance and faith, usually in Jesus. No reputable psychologists advocate reparative therapy. Reparative therapy has never been clinically proven to be successful, and some believe it may cause psychological harm to a homosexual.

Three sexual orientations

Main article: Kinsey Reports

Many modern studies, most notably the Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and the Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953) by Alfred Kinsey have found that the majority of humans have had homosexual experiences or sensations and are bisexual. Only a minority of people were found (5-10%) to be exclusively heterosexual or homosexual. Conversely, an even smaller minority of people appear to have had equal sexual experiences with both genders indicating an attraction scale or continuum.

Other studies have disputed Kinsey's methodology and have suggested that these reports overstated the occurrence of bisexuality and homosexuality in human populations. "His figures were undermined when it was revealed that he had disproportionately interviewed homosexuals and prisoners (many sex offenders)."Template:Fn Template:Fn

However, his idea of a sexuality continuum still enjoys acceptance today and is supported by findings in the human and animal kingdoms including biological studies of structural brain differences between those belonging to different sexual orientations. His notable finding that four percent of humans are homosexual was replicated during the 2000 US elections in which four percent of voters identified as homosexual.

More modern and accurate research Sex in America: A definitive survey (1995) is now available from NORC and the University of Chicago by Edward O. Laumann, University of Chicago. "Results reported from the study, and included in The Social organization of sexuality, include those related to sexual practices and sexual relationships, number of partners, the rate of homosexuality in the population (which the study reported to be 1.3% for women within the past year, and 4.1% since 18 years; for men, 2.7% within the past year, and 4.9% since 18 years; in all, much lower than the Kinsey report of 10%; pp. 293-296), formative sexual experiences, sexually transmitted diseases, fertility, cohabitation and marriage." (see [1]).

The Roman Catholic Church accepts the three distinct orientation findings and requires homosexuals to practice chastity in the understanding that Christian scripture forbids non-procreative intended sex, calling it a "cross that must be borne". It insists that all are expected to only have heterosexual relations and only in the context of a marriage, describing their homosexual attractions as a disorder and "a trial". (see [2]).

Sexologists have attributed discrepancies in some findings to negative societal attitudes towards homosexuality, for example, people may state different sexual orientations depending on whether their immediate social environment is public or private. Reticence to disclose one's actual sexual orientation is often referred to as "being in the closet". Individuals capable of enjoyable sexual relations with both sexes may feel inclined to restrict themselves to heterosexual relations in societies that stigmatize same-sex relations.

Although the concept of three basic sexual orientations is widely recognized, a small minority maintain that there are other legitimate sexual orientations besides homosexuality, bisexuality and heterosexuality. These may include significant or exclusive orientation towards a particular type of transsexual or transgender individual (e.g. female-to-male transsexual men), intersexed individuals, or those who identify as non-gendered or other-gendered.

Biology, psychology and malleability

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Considerable debate exists over what biological and/or psychological factors produce sexual orientation in humans. Candidates include genes and the exposure of fetuses to certain hormones (or levels thereof). Freud and many others psychologists, particularly in psychoanalytic or developmental traditions, speculate that formative childhood experiences help produced sexual orientation. Other scientists and medical professionals, particularly those in biology-oriented disciplines, tend to believe that in-born factors—whether genetic or acquired in utero—produce characteristically homosexual childhood experiences (such as atypical gender behavior experiences), or at the least significantly contribute to them.

The Endocrine Society found that eight percent of sheep are homosexual, and this behavior is correlated with physiological brain structures; some scientists report comparable distinctions in human populations.

Most specialists, in any case, follow the general conclusion of Alfred Kinsey regarding the sexual continuum, according to which a minority of humans are exclusively homosexual or heterosexual, and that the majority are bisexual. The consensus of psychologists is that sexual orientation, in most individuals, is shaped at an early age; and is not voluntarily changeable.

Kinsey himself—along with current queer activist groups— focus on the historicity and fluidity of sexual orientation. Kinsey's studies consistently found sexual orientation to be something that evolves in many directions over a person's lifetime; rarely, but not necessarily, including forming attractions to a new gender. Rarely do individuals radically reorient their sexualities rapidly—and still less do they do so volitionally—but often sexualities expand, shift, and absorb new elements over decades. For example, socially normative "age-appropriate" sexuality requires a shifting object of attraction (especially in the passage through adolescence). Contemporary queer theory, incorporating many ideas from social constructionism, tends to look at sexuality as something that has meaning only within a given historical framework. Sexuality, then, is seen as a participation in a larger social discourse, and, though in some sense fluid, not as something strictly determinable by the individual.

Most individuals, both straight and LGB-identified, report that they discovered their orientation at an early age (often in pre-adolescence). In the case of gay youth, many report initial distress in response to this realization. Their claims are consistent with statistics showing that LGB-identified youth are several times more likely than non-gay youth to attempt suicide.

Apart from the issue of the malleability of an underlying orientation, the manifestation of sexual orientation is subject to a considerable variability. Thus it is common for homosexual individuals in hetero-normative societies to love, marry, and have children with individuals of the opposite sex, a practice that may be done primarily for social reasons in intolerant environments, as a cover for one's orientation (such relationships are known as "beards"). The opposite situation seems to obtain in homo-normative societies, where men whose primary attraction may be to the opposite sex nonetheless engage in the homosexual practices prescribed by their respective culture. Both of these adaptations are forms of situational sexual behavior. A further, and extremely common, manifestation of situational sexual behavior involving homosexuality is seen in prisons and other environments where individuals only encounter members of their own sex for long periods of time. (See prison sex.)

Biological causative explanations

Main article: fetal hormones and sexual orientation

One recently researched hypothesis on the formation of sexual orientation is the prenatal hormonal theory. It holds that as prenatal exposure to particular levels of circulating sex hormones determines whether a fetus will acquire male or female traits, so similar exposure determines sexual orientation.

Homosexuality in animals

Main article: homosexuality in animals

Homosexual behavior is common in the Animal Kingdom, especially in species closer to humans on the evolutionary scale, such as the great apes. Georgetown University professor Janet Mann has specifically theorized that homosexuality, at least in dolphins, is an evolutionary advantage that minimizes intraspecies aggression, especially among males.

• Male penguin couples have been documented to mate for life, build nests together, and to use a stone as a surrogate egg in nesting and brooding. In 2004, the Central Park Zoo in the United States replaced one male couple's stone with a fertile egg, which the couple then raised as their own offspring [3]. German and Japanese zoos have also reported homosexuality among their penguins. This phenomenon has also been reported at Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium in Auckland, New Zealand. [4]

• Courtship, mounting, and full anal penetration between bulls is common among American bison. The Mandan nation Okipa festival concludes with a ceremonial enactment of this behavior, to "ensure the return of the buffalo in the coming season [5]." Also, mounting of one female by another is common among cattle. (See also, Freemartin. Freemartins occur because of clearly causal hormonal factors at work during gestation.)

• Homosexuality in male sheep (found in 6–10% of rams) is associated with variations in cerebral mass distribution and chemical activity. A study reported in Endocrinology concluded that biological factors are in play; this study replicated similar findings in humans. It shows that approximately 10% of males are homosexual and that the brains of homosexual males are different. [6].

Social attitudes

Main article: societal attitudes towards homosexuality

Societal attitudes towards same-sex relationships, reflected in the attitude of the general population, the state and the church, have varied over the centuries, and from place to place, from expecting and requiring all males to engage in relationships, to casual integration, through acceptance, to seeing the practice as a minor sin, repressing it through law enforcement and judicial mechanisms, to proscribing it under penalty of death. See Violence against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and the transgendered

Modern law

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In most developed countries, same-sex relationships are accepted, and are accorded legal protection. Many governments have established formal structures for confirming legal relationships (either as marriage or partnership) between people of the same sex.

In some cultures influenced by anti-gay religious dogma, homosexuality is still considered unnatural, a perversion and has been outlawed (see sodomy law, consensual crime). In some Muslim nations it remains a capital crime.

Understudied phenomenon

Despite the emollience of attitudes towards homosexuality and acceptance of it in some societies, in psychology it is considered an 'understudied relationship'. In his book, Understudied Relationships, social psychologist S.W. Duck found that most mainstream research is predisposed towards studying only heterosexuality, in terms of relationships in contemporary Western cultures, implicating that same-sex relationships are neglected and ignored by the majority of psychologists. More research since the 1990s has focused on homosexual relationships, rather than just traditional heterosexual relationships.

Political aspects

Scapegoating

Homosexuality has at times been used as a scapegoat by governments facing problems. Some examples would be Nazi Germany's Holocaust of gay men based on the understanding that they were a threat to masculinity as well as contaminating the Aryan Race with a "gay" gene. Another is the burning of 6,000 books of homoerotic poetry of 8th c. Persian-Arab poet Abu Nuwas by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture in January 2001, to placate Islamic fundamentalists. During the early 14th century, accusations of homosexual behavior were instrumental in disbanding the Knights Templar by the French court under Philip IV of France (King Philip the Fair). See: Hersey and Pardon of Knights Templar.

Modern Capitalism

Capitalism with its business structures having a great degree of autonomy from a government have often been at the forefront in treating gay men and women equally. In the United States, the level of equal parity is much more common in business structures than governments. As of 2005 approximately 45% of companies within the Fortune 500 offered domestic partner benefits and nine of the top ten companies include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies.

Military

Main article: sexual orientation and military service

Homosexuality since ancient times has been documented to be more common in militaries with their strict sex-separation contrasted to society at large. Official attitudes towards this form of sexuality have varied, reflecting their culture's views. Ancient Greece among others, as well as pre-modern Japan's military traditions openly encouraged them as a form of male bonding. Many modern countries (such as the United Kingdom) welcome homosexuals in the armed services and offically support soldiers' participation in gay parades[7]. Others, such as the United States purge them from the force in the belief that they are a threat (see Don't Ask, Don't Tell). This negative attitude was common in the European Middle Ages when the Medieval Templars, a prominent Christian brotherhood of knights during the Crusades was destroyed on accusations of homosexuality.

Militaries have been known to use sexuality in abusive manners such as rape, frequently based on a sexist variant of homophobia. Romans who viewed masculinity based on the penetrative sexual position regardless of the sex of the passive partner used it as a form of dominance, including a means to "conquer" an enemy. T. E. Lawrence, during World War I, claimed to have been raped in a homosexual context by his Ottoman captors.

Youth groups

The Scouts, a group of youth organizations, often emulate the attitude of their home country's military. Thus the Scout Association in the UK welcomes gay members both as members and as leaders, while the Boy Scouts in the US reject them.

Religion

Main article: religion and sexual orientation

Religion has played a significant role in forming a culture's views towards homosexuality.

Historically the negative perceptions have been limited to the Abrahamic religions. Groups not influenced by the Abrahamic religions have commonly regarded homosexuality as sacred or neutral. In the wake of colonialism and imperialism undertaken by countries of the Abrahamic faiths some non-Abrahamic religious groups have adopted new attitudes antagonistic towards homosexuality. For example, when India became part of the British Empire sodomy laws were introduced; while there was no basis for them in Hindu faith, this led to persecution of their society and religion. India still retains portions of these laws due to this past foreign influence as of 2005. This experience was also repeated by other Abrahamic religious nations upon their acquisitions throughout Africa, Asia and the Americas.

In brief, Hinduism has taken various positions, ranging from positive to neutral or antagonistic. Confucianism has allowed homosexual sex with the precondition of procreation. Abrahamic religions have held varied views of homosexuality, depending on place, time and form of same-sex desire. Islam regards homosexual love and desire as natural but sexual relations as a transgression negatory of the natural role and aim of sexual activity. Christianity and Judaism have traditionally thought of non-procreative sex to be unnatural and sinful. Native American religions generally grant gender-variant individuals honored status for their perceived spiritual powers. Buddhism, Greek, Japanese, Melanesian, Roman religion, and Taoism take a positive outlook.

Polemic

Main article: anti-gay slogan

Same-sex love practices have been the subject of a continuing debate dating back at least to Classical Greece. In antiquity, and in countries not under the sway of Abrahamic beliefs, the debates usually took the form of debating which love is best, the love of women or the love of boys, unlike more recent discussions which frame the question in terms of "right" and "wrong."

Each camp has made use of a relatively circumscribed arsenal of arguments, some of which have not changed greatly over the past two and a half thousand years. Recent advances in sociological studies and other discourse such as queer theory have brought a measure of scientific rigor to what had been mostly a philosophical debate.

Con

• "Same-sex love is against nature" This charge dates back to Classical Greece, where it was first articulated by Plato in his "Laws."
• "It is condemned by God." Expressed by early Christian exegetes (claimed to be the moral of the Sodom and Gomorrah story), and by Muhammad in the Qur'an.
• "It leads to plagues and natural disasters." Advanced by Christian authorities from late Antiquity through the Renaissance.
• "It is abuse of the young." Encountered in "Erotes," a dialogue of the early Christian era by "Lucian."
• "It is a dissipation of one's vital force." Also in Lucian.

Pro

• "It is commonplace in nature." Based on zoologists' observations of many different species (see Bagemihl in References).
• "Suppressing it alters the balance of nature." A Melanesian belief documented by Bagemihl.
• "It foments close friendships and independent thinking." Also in Lucian
• "The male form is superior to the female form." Medieval Arabic text included in the Arabian Nights (The Debate Between the Wise Woman and the Sage).
• "It is a mark of true masculinity." Claimed by Indian Sufi saint Akhi Jamshed Rajgiri in self defense before the Sultan of Jaunpur for his love of youths. (In Vanita & Kidwai, 2000, p.139)

History

Main article: history of sexuality

Sexual customs vary greatly over time, and those shifts, as well as the orientation of particular pre-modern figures are the subject of ongoing study. However, modern Western gay culture as it is currently understood is largely a product of 19th century psychology as well as the years of post-Stonewall gay liberation. It is generally not applicable as a standard when investigating same-gender sex and people's views in past ages.

It may be accepted, for example, that the sex lives of historical figures such as Alexander the Great, Hadrian, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Plato, Christopher Marlowe (who coined the term 'quean') and William Shakespeare included or were centred upon relationships with people of their own gender. Terms such as gay or bisexual might be applied to them in that sense. But many regard this as risking the anachronistic introduction of a modern social construction of sexuality sub-culture that is foreign to their times. For example, their societies might have focused upon the sexual role one took in these encounters, namely active, passive, both, or neither, as a key social marker. This particular system of designation is currently the norm in many areas of Latin America.

While some premodern societies did not employ categories fully comparable to the modern homosexual or heterosexual dichotomy, this does not demonstrate that the polarity is not applicable to those societies. A common thread of constructionist argument is that no one in antiquity or the Middle Ages experienced homosexuality as an exclusive, permanent or defining mode of sexuality. John Boswell has criticized this argument by citing ancient Greek writings by Plato which he says indicate knowledge of exclusive homosexuality.

Michel Foucault and his followers have argued that the homosexual is a modern invention, a mental construct of the last hundred years. While true of homosexuality as a scientific or psychiatric category, there are examples from earlier ages of those viewing their sexuality as a part of a human identity and not merely a sex act. One cited example is the 16th century Italian artist Gianantonio Bazzi who adopted the nickname "Sodoma", viewed by Louis Crompton as something analogous to the modern gay identity.

It could be noted, on the other hand, that when evidence that a particular historical figure's sexuality pointed exclusively toward an attraction to people of an opposite gender describing them as having a heterosexual orientation rarely evokes such controversy. This tendency among Western historians, to view heterosexuality as an acceptable norm while regarding arguments that a particular historical figure may have had been gay controversial or requiring more evidence than a claim of opposite-sex attraction might warrant, is often attributed to homophobia on the part of historians and is referred to within queer studies as heteronormativity.

Cultural forms of homosexuality

While homosexuality has existed in many societies across almost all documented eras, the forms in which it has been found vary widely. Cultural anthropologists who have studied homosexuality distinguish three main types of homosexual practice: gender-structured, age-structured and egalitarian homosexuality.

In gender-structured homosexuality, each partner plays a different gender role. Examples of gender-structured homosexuality include the butch/femme distinction found among some modern Western lesbians. These practice is currently in decline in Western society.

In age-structured homosexuality, the partners are of different ages. Examples of this include pederasty among the ancient Greek elite. Sex between adolescents and older men was socially respectable providing that social protocols were adhered to, but sex between grown men was condemned as it was expected for a man to take a wife. Traditional Melanesian insemination rituals also existed wherein adolescents would fellate older males as part of an initiation rite.

Both gender-structured and age-structured homosexuality frequently involve one partner adopting a "passive" and the other an "active" role. Among men, being the passive partner often means receiving semen, i.e. performing fellatio or being the receptive partner during anal sex. This is sometimes interpreted as an emphasis on the sexual pleasure of the active partner, although dogmatism about this is unwise. For example, in gender-structured female homosexuality in Thailand, active partners (toms) emphasise the sexual pleasure of the passive partner (dee), and often refuse to allow their dee to pleasure them.

In egalitarian homosexuality, age is of no relevance in the partnership structure. Additionally, both play the same socially-accepted sex role as heterosexuals of their own sex. Egalitarian homosexuality is becoming the principal form practiced in the Western world, while age- and gender-structured homosexuality are becoming less common. As a byproduct of Western cultural dominance, this egalitarian homosexuality is spreading from western culture to non-Western societies, although there are still defined differences between the various cultures.

Some anthropologists have argued for the existence of a fourth type of homosexuality, class-structured homosexuality, but many scholars believe that this has no independent existence from the other three types.

Africa

Though frequently denied or ignored by European explorers, homosexual expression in native Africa was widespread and common, and took a variety of forms. Representative examples:

Anthropologists Murray and Roscoe report that women in Lesotho traditionally have engaged in socially sanctioned and celebrated "long term, loving and erotic relationships" named motsoalle.

E. E. Evans-Pritchard reported that male Azande warriors (in the northern Congo) routinely married male youths who functioned as temporary wives. The practice had died out in the early 20th century but was recounted to him by the elders.

An academic paper by Stephen O. Murray examines the history of descriptions of "Homosexuality in traditional Sub-Saharan Africa".

Americas

In North American Native society, the most common form of same-sex sexuality seems to center around the figure of the two-spirit individual. Such persons seem to have been recognized by the majority of tribes, each of which had its particular term for the role. Typically the two-spirit individual was recognized early in life, was given a choice by the parents to follow the path, and if the child accepted the role then it was raised in the appropriate manner, learning the customs of the gender it had chosen. Two-spirit individuals were commonly shamans and were revered as having powers beyond those of ordinary shamans. Their sexual life would be with the ordinary tribe members of the opposite gender. Male two-spirit people were prized as wives because of their greater strength and ability to work. See Two-spirit

East Asia

In Asia same-sex love has been a central feature of everyday life since the dawn of history. Early Western travelers were taken aback by its widespread acceptance and open display.

In China, known as the pleasures of the bitten peach, the cut sleeve, or the southern custom, same-sex relations have been recorded since at least 600 BCE. These euphemistic terms were used to describe behaviors, but not identities. The relationships were marked by differences in age and social position. However, the instances of same-sex affection and sexual interactions described in the Hong Lou Meng (Dream of the Red Chamber, or Story of the Stone) seem as familiar to observers in the present as do equivalent stories of romances between heterosexuals during the same period. For more information see Homosexuality in China.

In Japan, the practice, variously known as shudo or nanshoku, terms influenced by Chinese literature, has been documented for over one thousand years and was an integral part of Buddhist monastic life and the samurai tradition. This same-sex love culture gave rise to strong traditions of painting and literature documenting and celebrating such relationships. For more information see Homosexuality in Japan.

Similarly, Thailand had no concept of homosexuality until the late 20th century. Kathoey or ladyboys have been a feature of Thai society for many centuries. They were men who dressed as women. They were generally accepted by society without much question, although a family was often disappointed if one of their sons became a Kathoey. The teachings of Buddhism, dominant in Thai society was accepting of a third gender designation.

Europe

The earliest western documents (in the form of literary works, art objects, as well as mythographic materials) concerning same-sex relationships are derived from Ancient Greece. They depict a world in which relationships with women and relationships with youths were the essential foundation of a normal man's love life. Same-sex relationships were a social institution variously constructed over time and from one city to another. (See Pederasty) The practice, a system of relationships between an adult male and an adolescent coming of age, was often valued for its pedagogic benefits and as a means of population control, and occasionally blamed for causing disorder. Plato praised its benefits in his early writings, but in his late works proposed its prohibition, laying out a strategy which uncannily predicts the path by which same-sex love was eventually driven underground. (See Philosophy of pederasty)

The Roman emperor Theodosius decreed a law, on August 6th, 390, condemning passive homosexuals to be burned at the stake. Justinian, towards the end of his reign, expanded the proscription to the active partner as well (in 558) warning that such conduct can lead to the destruction of cities through the "wrath of God." Notwithstanding these regulations, taxes on homosexual boy brothels continued to be collected until the end of the reign of Anastasius in 581.

During the Renaissance, cities in northern Italy, Florence and Venice in particular, were renowned for their widespread practice of same-sex love, engaged in by a majority of the male population and constructed along the classical pattern of Greece and Rome (Ruggiero, 1985; Rocke, 1996). But even as the majority of the male population was engaging in same-sex relationships, the authorities, under the aegis of the Officers of the Night court, were prosecuting, fining and imprisoning a good portion of that population. The eclipse of this period of relative artistic and erotic freedom was precipitated by the rise to power of the moralizing monk Girolamo Savonarola. Throughout all of Europe, fierce conflicts, dating back to the early Middle Ages, raged between proponents and opponents of same sex love. In northern Europe the artistic discourse on sodomy was turned against its proponents by artists like Rembrandt who in his "Rape of Ganymede" no longer depicted Ganymede as a willing youth, but as a squalling baby attacked by a rapacious bird of prey.

Middle East and Central Asia

Among many Middle-Eastern Muslim cultures homosexual practices were widespread and public, and recent work in queer studies suggests that while their visibility has been much reduced, their frequency has not. The two most commonly documented forms were commercial sex with transgender males or males enacting transgender roles exemplified by the koceks and the bacchas, and Sufi spiritual practices in which the practitioner crossed over from the idealized chaste form of the practice to one in which the desire is consummated.

Around both forms a rich tradition of art and literature sprang up, constructing Middle Eastern homosexuality in ways analogous to the ancient tradition of male love in which Ganymede, cup-bearer to the gods, symbolized the ideal boyfriend. Muslim - often Sufi - poets in medieval Arab lands and in Persia wrote odes to the beautiful Christian wine boys who - they claimed - served them in the taverns and shared their beds at night. In many areas the practice survived into modern times (as documented by Richard Francis Burton, André Gide and many others).

In Central Asia, on the Silk Route, the two traditions of the east and the west met, and gave rise to a strong local culture of same-sex love. In the Turkic-speaking areas, one manifestation of this were the bacchá, adolescent or adolescent-seeming male entertainers and sex workers. In other areas male love continues to surface despite efforts to keep it quiet. After the American invasion of Afghanistan, Central Asian same-sex love customs in which adult men take on adolescent lovers, were widely reported.

Other forms are less well documented. It is reported that in the oasis of Siwa boy marriages were the norm until the middle of the twentieth century, a practice which was coupled with a minimum age for heterosexual marriage of forty for the men, a measure presumed to have been taken to avoid overpopulation. Finally, sexual relations between older and younger boys are said to be frequent in the Middle East as well as in the Maghreb.

The prevailing pattern of same-sex relationships in the temperate and sub-tropical zone stretching from Northern India to the Western Sahara is one in which the relationships were - and are - either gender-structured or age-structured, or both. In recent years, egalitarian relationships modelled on the western pattern have become more frequent, if still rare.

See Pederasty in Central Asia and the Middle East, Kocek, Baccha, Tellak

South Pacific

In many societies of Melanesia same-sex relationships are an integral part of the culture. In some tribes of Papua New Guinea, for example, it is considered a normal ritual responsibility for a boy to have a relationship as a part of his ascent into manhood. Many Melanesian societies, however, have become hostile towards same-sex relationships since the introduction of Christianity by European missionaries.

Modern Developments

Shortly after World War II the gay community began to make advancements in civil rights in much of the Western World. A turning point was reached in 1973 when, in a vote decided by a plurality of the membership, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, thus negating homosexuality as a clinical mental disorder.

Since the 1960s, in part due to their history of shared oppression, many gays in the West have developed a shared culture. Not all gays choose to participate in it, and many gay men and women specifically decline to do so. Some people believe that queer culture is exemplified by the gay pride movement. In the past, some gay groups organized campaigns for awareness of the AIDS outbreak.

Marriage

As of 2005, four countries have enacted same-sex marriage and other countries, including the majority of Europe, enacted civil unions.

In Asia, the conflict between homoerotic tradition and a resurgent Islamic fundamentalism continues. Liaquat Ali, a 42 year old Afghan refugee, and Markeen Afridi a 16 year old Pakistani boy, reportedly fell in love and got married in a very public ceremony in October of 2005. (The Sidney Morning Herald)(Daily Times, Pakistan) There are efforts are to refute the original reports which were authored by a reporter from the tribe where the wedding occurred. [8]

Political developments

Publicly gay politicians have attained numerous government posts, even in countries that had sodomy laws or outright mass murder of gays in their recent past.

Religious developments

The overall trend of greater acceptance of gay men and women in the latter part of the 20th Century was not limited to secular institutions; it was also seen in many religious institutions. Reform Judaism, the largest branch of Judaism outside Israel had begun to facilitate religious weddings for gay adherents in their synagogues. The Anglican Communion, the world's second largest Christian Church in terms of membership, encountered discord that caused a rift between the European and North American Churches when American and Canadian churches ordained gay clergy and began blessing same-sex unions against the wishes of the Anglican archdiocese. Other Churches such as the Methodist Church had experienced trials of gay clergy who some claimed were a violation of religious principles resulting in mixed verdicts dependent on geography.

These developments have been accompanied by a response from certain conservative religious organizations, especially in the United States. In various instances, this movement has succeeded in overturning some of the aforementioned legislation and has had an influence on academia. In late 2005, Haworth Press withdrew from publication a volume on homosexuality in classical antiquity titled Same-Sex Desire and Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity and in the Classical Tradition of the West. This was in response to criticism from American conservative groups which objected to the discussion of positive aspects of classical pederasty, as well as to a chapter by the American academic Bruce Rind which was branded by the critics as advocating pedophilia. (see Anti-gay slogan) The publisher, in a letter to the editors, exonerated Rind from the accusation and conceded that his article was sound, but stood by its decision to withdraw it "to avoid negative press" and "economic repercussions."Article in the Halifax The Chronicle Herald

Art and literature

Main article: homoeroticism

One of the primary social manifestations of same-sex love has been through the medium of literature and art. The aspects of these expressions range across the gamut of the main artistic disciplines. Homoerotic sensibilities are at the foundation of art in the west, to the extent that those roots can be traced back to the ancient Greeks. Homer's Iliad was regarded to contain a homosexual relationship by many of its contemporaries. Plato's Symposium also gives readers commentary on the subject, at one point putting forth the claim that homosexual love is 'superior' to heterosexual love..

The European tradition was continued throughout the ages in the works of William Shakespeare, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. In Arab populations it was present in figures such as Abu Nuwas. The Tale of Genji, called the "world's first real novel", fostered this tradition in Asian societies.

Icons such as Madonna and Elton John have followed this tradition in modern times. Presently the Japanese anime subgenre, yaoi, commonly features the theme. Artistic nudes have prominently displayed lesbianism. Playwrights have penned popular works such as Angels In America. These sentiments have been pervaded in many movies. A popular television series exploited these perceptions with Queer Eye For The Straight Guy equating gay men with the ancient Greek Muses.

See also

Articles

• Historical pederastic couples
• Homosexuality and transgender
• List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people
• List of gay, lesbian or bisexual composers
• List of gay-related topics
• List of LGBT publications
• Metrosexual
• Mythology of same-sex love
• Sexual minority cultures
• Sexual orientation
• Violence against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and the transgendered
• Homophobia

Categories

• Sexual orientation and science, including determinants and demographics of sexual orientation, other scientific studies, and medical opinions
• Organizations which advocate changing one's sexual orientation
• LGBT history
• LGBT organizations
• LGBT civil rights
• Same-sex marriage
• Sexual orientation and identity
• Sexual orientation and society, including moral and political debate and social attitudes
• LGBT issues and religion
• Lists of gay, lesbian and bisexual people
• Gay and lesbian culture

External links

Background

• gay art forum: forums for gay and lesbians painters, photographers and comics artists
• The Androphile Project - History, literature and art of other homosexual cultures
• Encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender & queer culture
• Gay History & Literature (Rictor Norton)
• GLSEN: Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network
• Halsall's Gay History Page
• Kinsey and the Sexual Revolution - by Dr. Judith A. Reisman
• OHSU
• Sexual Minorities on Community College Campuses
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Same-sex Orientation
• The Breedlove Study
• gay art magazine Articles about contemporary gay art today

• The Sheep Study
• One National Gay & Lesbian Archives
• Gayinfo: famous gays, lesbians and bisexuals

Organizations active for legal protection of same-sex families

• Stonewall (UK) - gay lobby group in the UK
• Outrage (UK) - direct action gay political activists
• Human Rights Campaign
• Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
• Lambda Legal Defense Fund
• NGLTF (National Gay & Lesbian Task Force) US Lobbying group
• Out In America
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
• National Organization for Women
• American Civil Liberties Union
• Amnesty International
• United Farm Workers Union
• AFL-CIO
• Reform Judaism

Organizations that offer support to gay youth

• Grupo E-jovem - The biggest gay youth organization in Brazil. Articles, news, columns, forums, comics and attitude. In portuguese.
• Deviaunce - Forums, profiles, articles, chat, e-mail, horoscopes, links and lots more. A lot of fun for anyone under 25
• CampWEHO - message boards
• Mogenic - magazine consisting of various articles, as well as profiles and chat

Organizations that offer support to lesbians and gay men

• American Psychological Association
• International Lesbian and Gay Association
• London Lesbian Gay Switchboard - the first in the world, started as East London Gay Switchboard in 1974.
• Soulforce, Inc. - interfaith movement representing GLBT people.
• Gay Men's Health Crisis - mostly information on HIV / AIDS prevention and management
• Gay Health - health-related information for lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals
• Keshet-Rabbis - A growing list of Conservative/Masorti Rabbis who support Gay Jews.
• People Like Us 3 - the main gay equality advocacy group in Singapore

Organizations that offer support to lesbian and gay families

• Proud Parenting
• Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays

Organizations which advocate chastity or changing sexual orientation

• NARTH - The National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, a secular organization which attempts through voluntary therapy to change the sexual orientation of non-heterosexuals.
• Courage - Apostolate for Catholics who are not heterosexual, which provides Roman Catholic theological information encouraging celibacy for homosexuals and heterosexual relations in the context of marriage for bisexuals.
• Exodus - Christian ministry which views non-heterosexual relationships as sinful and attempts to change sexual orientation using spiritual methods.
• International Healing Foundation - Organization advocating the position that same-sex attraction is neither innate nor a conscious choice, and can be cured by healing psychological wounds believed to cause the attraction.

Periodicals

• The Advocate
• 365Gay news
• Out (magazine)
• Southern Voice Online
• Outrate.net - Critical consideration of gay-themed cinema and gay cinema spectatorship
• White Crane (magazine)[9] - A Journal Of Gay Spirit, Wisdom & Culture

References

1. Tom Bethell (April 2005). "Kinsey as Pervert". American Spectator, 38, 42-44. ISSN: 0148-8414.
2. Julia A. Ericksen (May 1998). "With enough cases, why do you need statistics? Revisiting Kinsey's methodology". The Journal of Sex Research 35 (2): 132-40, ISSN: 0022-4499.
3. Christopher Bagley and Pierre Tremblay, (1998), "On the Prevalence of Homosexuality and Bisexuality, in a Random Community Survey of 750 Men Aged 18 to 27", Journal of Homosexuality, Volume 36, Number 2, pages 1-18.
4. Lester G. Brown, Two Spirit People, 1997, Harrington Park Press, ISBN 1-56023-089-4
5. Kenneth J. Dover, Greek Homosexuality, 1979, Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd., London, ISBN 0674362616 (o.p. hardcover), ISBN 0674362705 (pbk.).
6. Bret Hinsch, Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China, The University of California Press, 1990, ISBN 0-520-06720-7.
7. Norman Roth. The care and feeding of gazelles - Medieval Arabic and Hebrew love poetry. IN: Lazar & Lacy. Poetics of Love in the Middle Ages. George Mason University Press, 1989.
8. Arno Schmitt & Jehoeda Sofer (eds). Sexuality and Eroticism Among Males in Moslem Societies. Haworth Press, 1992.
9. Alfred C. Kinsey, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, 1948, ISBN 0721654452 (o.p.), ISBN 0253334128 (reprint).
10. Alfred C. Kinsey, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, 1953, ISBN 0721654509 (o.p.), ISBN 0671786156 (o.p. pbk.), ISBN 025333411X (reprint).
11. LeVay, S., Science, 1991, 253, 1034?1037.
12. Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe, Boy Wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities, 1998, ISBN 031221216X.
13. Rocke, Michael, (1996), Forbidden Friendships: Homosexuality and male Culture in Renaissance Florence, ISBN 0-91-512292-5
14. Ruggiero, Guido, (1985), The Boundaries of Eros, ISBN 0-91-505696-5
15. Smith, T.W. (1991). Adult sexual behavior in 1989: Number of partners, frequency of intercourse and risk of AIDS. Family Planning Perspectives 23(3), 102-107.
16. Bullough et al. (eds.) (1996). Handbook of Medieval Sexuality. Garland Publishing. ISBN 0815312873.
17. Foucault, Michel (1990). The History of Sexuality vol. 1: An Introduction, p.43. Trans. Robert Hurley. New York: Vintage.
18. James Davidson, London Review of Books, 2 June 2005, "Mr and Mr and Mrs and Mrs" - detailed review of The Friend, by Alan Bray, a history of same-sex marriage and other same-sex formal bonds
19. Scientific Gay
20. Genetics of homosexuality
21. Brain structure in homosexual sheep
22. Homosexuality and Transgender Surgery
23. Fingerprints Study
24. Androgen Link
25. Doubt cast on 'gay gene'
26. Robert T. Michael, John H. Gagnon, Edward O. Laumann, and Gina Kolata. Sex in America: A definitive survey. Boston: Little, Brown, 1995. ISBN 0316075248
27. The National Health and Social Life Survey ("The Sex Survey")ar:مثلية

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