{{Short description|Attraction between people of the same sex or gender}} {{Redirect|Homosexual|the album|Homosexual (album){{!}}''Homosexual'' (album)|the song|A Boy in a Man's World{{!}}"Homosexual" (''A Boy in a Man's World'')}} {{About|homosexuality in humans|homosexuality in other species|Homosexual behavior in animals|other uses}} {{pp-move}} {{pp-semi-indef}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
[[File:Homosexuality symbols.svg|thumb|Symbols of homosexuality]]
{{Sexual orientation}} {{LGBTQ sidebar|orientation}} '''Homosexuality''' is [[romantic attraction]], [[sexual attraction]], or [[Human sexual activity|sexual behavior]] between people of the same [[sex]] or [[gender]].<!-- NOTE: This is sourced. Further, "sex" and "gender" are not always the same thing; for example, "sex" may refer to "biological sex" (being male or female), while "gender" may refer to a person's gender identity of being a man or a woman; therefore, like the Sexual orientation, Heterosexuality and Bisexuality articles, we have included both in the lead. --><ref name="AmPsycholAssn-definitions">{{cite web|title=Definitions Related to Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity in APA Documents|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]|date=2015|access-date=6 February 2020|page=6 |url=https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/sexuality-definitions.pdf|quote=Sexual orientation refers to the sex of those to whom one is sexually and romantically attracted. ... [It is] one's enduring sexual attraction to male partners, female partners, or both. Sexual orientation may be heterosexual, samesex (gay or lesbian), or bisexual. ... A person may be attracted to men, women, both, neither, or to people who are genderqueer, androgynous, or have other gender identities. Individuals may identify as lesbian, gay, heterosexual, bisexual, queer, pansexual, or asexual, among others. ... Categories of sexual orientation typically have included attraction to members of one's own sex (gay men or lesbians), attraction to members of the other sex (heterosexuals), and attraction to members of both sexes (bisexuals). While these categories continue to be widely used, research has suggested that sexual orientation does not always appear in such definable categories and instead occurs on a continuum .... Some people identify as pansexual or queer in terms of their sexual orientation, which means they define their sexual orientation outside of the gender binary of 'male' and 'female' only. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419081802/https://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/sexuality-definitions.pdf |archive-date=19 April 2022 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Cross-CulturalPsyDefinition">{{cite book|author1=Eric B. Shiraev|author2=David A. Levy|date=2016|title=Cross-Cultural Psychology: Critical Thinking and Contemporary Applications, Sixth Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cCElDwAAQBAJ|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|page=216|isbn=978-1134871315|quote=Sexual orientation refers to romantic or sexual attraction to people of a specific sex or gender. ... Heterosexuality, along with bisexuality and homosexuality are at least three main categories of the continuum of sexual orientation. ... Homosexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction between persons of the same sex or gender.|access-date=15 September 2021|archive-date=24 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124154145/https://books.google.com/books?id=cCElDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="EqualCurriculumDefinition">{{cite book|editor1=James R. Lehman|editor2=Kristine Diaz|editor3=Henry Ng|editor4=Elizabeth M. Petty|editor5=Meena Thatikunta|editor6=Kristen Eckstrand|date=2019|title=The Equal Curriculum: The Student and Educator Guide to LGBTQ Health|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5JK7DwAAQBAJ|publisher=[[Springer Nature]]|page=5|isbn=978-3030240257|quote=Homosexual, literally meaning "same sex", is used as an adjective to describe same-sex or same-gender attraction. ... The term introduces ambiguity because is often applied as an identity label to a person or group based on their behaviors, not because of self-identified sexual orientation or sexual desires. ... in addition to having potentially negative connotations, ''homosexual'' is unclear as to what group of people it describes...|access-date=15 September 2021|archive-date=24 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124154153/https://books.google.com/books?id=5JK7DwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> It also denotes [[Sexual identity|identity]] based on attraction, related behavior, and [[community]] affiliation.<ref name="apahelp">{{cite web |title=Sexual orientation, homosexuality and bisexuality|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]|access-date=10 August 2013 |url=http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx|archive-date=8 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808032050/http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx}}</ref><ref name=amici>{{cite web |url=http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/Amer_Psychological_Assn_Amicus_Curiae_Brief.pdf |page=30 |title=Case No. S147999 in the Supreme Court of the State of California, In re Marriage Cases Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding No. 4365... – APA California Amicus Brief — As Filed |access-date=21 December 2010 |archive-date=3 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103160304/http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/Amer_Psychological_Assn_Amicus_Curiae_Brief.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
Along with [[bisexuality]] and [[heterosexuality]], homosexuality is one of the three main categories of sexual orientation within the [[heterosexual–homosexual continuum]].<ref name="apahelp"/> Although no single theory on the cause of sexual orientation has yet gained widespread support, scientists favor [[Biology and sexual orientation|biological theories]].<ref name="Bailey"/><ref name="Frankowski">{{cite journal |last=Frankowski |first=Barbara L |date=June 2004 |title=Sexual orientation and adolescents |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/113/6/1827.long |journal=[[Pediatrics (journal)|Pediatrics]] |volume=113 |issue=6 |pages=1827–32 |doi=10.1542/peds.113.6.1827 |issn=0031-4005 |pmid=15173519 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320020943/http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/113/6/1827.long |archive-date=20 March 2013 |access-date=18 September 2012 |doi-access=|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Bogaert |first1=Anthony F. |last2=Skorska |first2=Malvina N. |date=2020-03-01 |title=A short review of biological research on the development of sexual orientation |journal=Hormones and Behavior |volume=119 |article-number=104659 |doi=10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104659 |issn=0018-506X |pmid=31911036 |doi-access=free}}</ref> There is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial, biological causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males.<ref name="Bailey">{{cite journal |author4-link=Marc Breedlove |vauthors=Bailey JM, Vasey PL, Diamond LM, Breedlove SM, Vilain E, Epprecht M |date=2016 |title=Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science |journal=[[Psychological Science in the Public Interest]] |volume=17 |issue=21 |pages=45–101 |doi=10.1177/1529100616637616 |pmid=27113562 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="LeVay">{{cite book |last=LeVay |first=Simon |url=https://archive.org/details/gaystraightreaso0000leva_e5c2/mode/1up?view=theater |title=Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-029737-4 |ol=26246092M |access-date= |via=[[Open Library]] |ol-access=free}}</ref><ref name=Balthazart>{{cite book |last=Balthazart |first=Jacques |date=2012 |title=The Biology of Homosexuality |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3fjGjlcVINkC |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199838820 |access-date=27 July 2019 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126132532/https://books.google.com/books?id=3fjGjlcVINkC |url-status=live }}</ref>
A major hypothesis involves the [[Prenatal development|prenatal environment]], in particular the organizational effects of [[hormone]]s on the [[Prenatal_and_perinatal_psychology#Psycho-physiological_aspects_of_the_prenatal_and_perinatal_phases|fetal brain]].<ref name="Bailey" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Swift-Gallant |first1=Ashlyn |last2=Aung |first2=Toe |last3=Rosenfield |first3=Kevin |last4=Dawood |first4=Khytam |last5=Puts |first5=David |date=2023 |title=Organizational Effects of Gonadal Hormones on Human Sexual Orientation |url=https://rdcu.be/enIeD |journal=Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology |language=en |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=344–370 |doi=10.1007/s40750-023-00226-x |issn=2198-7335 |url-access=limited}}</ref> There is no conclusive evidence which confirms that parenting or [[Stress in early childhood|early childhood experiences]] play a significant role in developing a sexual orientation.<ref name="Bailey" /><ref name="rcp2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/workinpsychiatry/specialinterestgroups/gaylesbian/submissiontothecofe.aspx|title=Submission to the Church of England's Listening Exercise on Human Sexuality|publisher=The Royal College of Psychiatrists|access-date=13 June 2013|archive-date=16 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016040825/http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/workinpsychiatry/specialinterestgroups/gaylesbian/submissiontothecofe.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> Scientific research shows that homosexuality is a natural and normal variation in [[human sexuality]] and is not in and of itself a source of negative psychological effects.<ref name="apahelp"/><ref name=PAHO>{{cite web |title='Therapies' to change sexual orientation lack medical justification and threaten health |url=http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6803&Itemid=1926 |publisher=Pan American Health Organization |access-date=26 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523040848/http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6803&Itemid=1926 |archive-date=23 May 2012 }}</ref> Major mental health organizations overwhelmingly reject [[conversion therapy]] as ineffective, [[Pseudoscience|scientifically unsupported]] and potentially harmful.<ref name="apa2009">{{cite web |url=https://www.apa.org/about/policy/sexual-orientation |title=Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts |year=2009 |website=[[American Psychological Association]] |access-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423205306/https://www.apa.org/about/policy/sexual-orientation |archive-date=23 April 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psychology.org.au/About-Us/What-we-do/advocacy/Position-Statements/use-of-psychological-practice-sexual-orientation|title=Psychological practices that attempt to change sexual orientation: Position statement|website=Australian Psychological Society|access-date=28 January 2020|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112021035/https://www.psychology.org.au/About-Us/What-we-do/advocacy/Position-Statements/use-of-psychological-practice-sexual-orientation|url-status=live}}</ref>
The most common terms for homosexual people are ''[[lesbian]]'' for females and ''[[gay]]'' for [[gay men|males]], but the term ''gay'' also commonly refers to both homosexual females and males. The number of people who are gay or lesbian is difficult for researchers to estimate reliably, as many gay and lesbian people do not openly identify as such due to [[discrimination]] or [[prejudice]] such as [[heterosexism]] or [[homophobia]].<ref name="levay">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/queerscience.htm |author=[[Simon LeVay|LeVay, Simon]] |date=1996 |title=Queer Science: The Use and Abuse of Research into Homosexuality |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=September 4, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213181804/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/queerscience.htm |archive-date=13 December 2017}}</ref> Homosexual behavior has also been documented [[Homosexual behavior in animals|in many non-human animal species]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616122106.htm|title=Same-sex Behavior Seen in Nearly All Animals, Review Finds|work=ScienceDaily|access-date=9 March 2018|archive-date=18 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618154331/http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616122106.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.news-medical.net/news/2006/10/23/20718.aspx |title=''1,500 animal species practice homosexuality''. |website=The Medical News |date=23 October 2006 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210172226/http://www.news-medical.net/news/2006/10/23/20718.aspx|archivedate=10 February 2011}}</ref><ref>Sommer, Volker & Paul L. Vasey (2006), Homosexual Behaviour in Animals, An Evolutionary Perspective. [[Cambridge University Press]], Cambridge. {{ISBN|0-521-86446-1}}</ref><ref name=Bagemihl>{{harv|Bagemihl|1999}}</ref><ref name="Biological Exuberance: Animal"/> though [[domestic sheep]] are the only conclusively documented example of nonhuman animals exhibiting exclusive same-sex orientation.<ref name="Bailey"/>
Many gay and lesbian people are in committed same-sex relationships. These relationships are equivalent to heterosexual relationships in essential psychological respects.<ref name=amici /> Homosexual relationships and acts have been admired as well as condemned throughout recorded history, depending on the form they took and the culture in which they occurred.<ref name=psych2010>{{cite web |url=http://healthyminds.org/More-Info-For/GayLesbianBisexuals.aspx |title=Sexual Orientation |website=American Psychiatric Association |access-date=September 4, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726144306/http://healthyminds.org/More-Info-For/GayLesbianBisexuals.aspx |archive-date=26 July 2011}}</ref> Since the end of the 20th century, there has been a [[LGBT social movements|global movement]] towards [[LGBT rights|freedom and equality]] for gay people, including the introduction of [[anti-bullying legislation]] to protect gay teenagers at school, legislation ensuring non-discrimination, [[Sexual orientation and military service|equal ability to serve in the military]], [[Declaration of Montreal|equal access to health care]], equal ability to [[LGBT adoption|adopt]] and [[LGBT parenting|parent]], and the establishment of [[Same-sex marriage|marriage equality]].
==Etymology== {{Redirect|Poof}} {{Main|Terminology of homosexuality}}
The word ''homosexual'' is a Greek and Latin [[hybrid word|hybrid]], with the first element derived from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|ὁμός}} {{lang|grc-Latn|homos}}, 'same' (not related to the Latin {{lang|la|homo}}, 'man', as present in the [[genus]] ''[[Homo]]'', which includes ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' and now [[extinct]] [[species]]), thus connoting sexual acts and affections between members of the same sex, including lesbianism.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of True Etymologies|last=Room |first=Adrian |year=1986 |isbn=978-0710203403 |page=84 |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=A Student's Dictionary of Psychology |last=Statt |first=David A. |year=2004 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-1841693422 |page=[https://archive.org/details/studentsdictiona0000stat/page/93 93] |url=https://archive.org/details/studentsdictiona0000stat/page/93 }}</ref> The first known appearance of ''homosexual'' in print is found in an 1868 letter to [[Karl Heinrich Ulrichs]] by the Austrian-born novelist [[Karl-Maria Kertbeny]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |first=Nikolai |last=Endres |title=Kertbeny, Károly Mária (1824-1882) |date=2004 |encyclopedia=[[Glbtq.com|glbtq Encyclopedia]] |url=http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/kertbeny_km_S.pdf |access-date=22 January 2022 |archive-date=22 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122052500/http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/kertbeny_km_S.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=glbtq>{{citation|url=http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/kertbeny_km.html |title=Karl-Maria Kertbeny: The Coinage and Dissemination of the Term |access-date=12 June 2012 |periodical=[[glbtq.com]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927020758/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/kertbeny_km.html |archive-date=27 September 2012 }}</ref> arguing against a [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] anti-[[sodomy law]].<ref name=glbtq /><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Feray Jean-Claude |author2=Herzer Manfred | year = 1990 | title = Homosexual Studies and Politics in the 19th Century: Karl Maria Kertbeny | journal = Journal of Homosexuality | volume = 19 |issue=1 |pages=23–47 | doi=10.1300/j082v19n01_02|pmid=2187922 }}</ref> In 1886, the psychiatrist [[Richard von Krafft-Ebing]] used the terms ''homosexual'' and ''heterosexual'' in his book {{lang|la|[[Psychopathia Sexualis (Richard von Krafft-Ebing book)|Psychopathia Sexualis]]}}. Krafft-Ebing's book was so popular among both laymen and doctors that the terms ''heterosexual'' and ''homosexual'' became the most widely accepted terms for sexual orientation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/krafft_ebing_r.html |title=Krafft-Ebing, Richard von (1840–1902) |website=[[glbtq.com]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409220543/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/krafft_ebing_r.html |archive-date=9 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=psexualis>{{cite web|url=http://www.kino.com/psychopathia/history.html |title=Psychopathia Sexualis |access-date=7 September 2007 |website=Kino.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071004223140/http://www.kino.com/psychopathia/history.html |archive-date=4 October 2007 }}</ref>
Many modern [[style guide]]s in the U.S. recommend against using ''homosexual'' as a noun, instead using ''gay man'' or ''lesbian''.<ref name=glaad>{{cite web |url=https://www.glaad.org/reference/terms |title=GLAAD Media Reference Guide - Glossary of Terms: LGBTQ |website=[[GLAAD]] |date=24 February 2022 |access-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423010026/https://www.glaad.org/reference/terms |archive-date=23 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://prsay.prsa.org/2023/06/13/the-latest-changes-on-gender-and-sexual-orientation-from-the-ap-stylebook/ |title=The latest changes on gender and sexual orientation from the AP Stylebook |date=June 13, 2023 |website=PR Say |access-date=September 4, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250116173104/https://prsay.prsa.org/2023/06/13/the-latest-changes-on-gender-and-sexual-orientation-from-the-ap-stylebook/ |archive-date=January 16, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2023/ap-stylebook-update-2023-climate-change-lgbtq-plus/ |title=''AP Stylebook'' expands climate change guidance, adds plus symbol to LGBTQ+ |last=Fu |first=Angela |date=March 23, 2023 |website=Poynter |access-date=December 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323155103/https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2023/ap-stylebook-update-2023-climate-change-lgbtq-plus/ |archive-date=March 23, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/newyorktimesmanu0000sieg/page/132/mode/2up?q=homosexual |title=The New York Times manual of style and usage |last1=Siegal |first1=Allan M |last2=Connolly |first2=William |editor1=Philip B Corbett |editor2=Jill Taylor |editor3=Patrick LaForge |editor4=Susan Wessling |date=2015 |page=132 |publisher=Three Rivers Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/19/us/gay-pride-lgbtq-new-york-times.html |title=How The ''Times'' gave 'gay' its own voice (again) |last=Dunlap |first=David W |date=June 19, 2017 |website=The New York Times |access-date=December 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250325203117/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/19/us/gay-pride-lgbtq-new-york-times.html |archive-date=March 25, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed18/backmatter/index/g.html |title=Index - G |date=2024 |website=The Chicago Manual of Style |access-date=December 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251115014626/https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/book/ed18/backmatter/index/g.html |archive-date=November 15, 2025}}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=August 2022|reason=Reuters style guides have sections on LGBT terminology that should be cited here.}} Similarly, some recommend completely avoiding usage of ''homosexual'' as it has a negative, clinical history and because the word only refers to one's sexual behavior (as opposed to romantic feelings) and thus it has a negative [[connotation]].<ref name=glaad/> ''Gay'' and ''lesbian'' are the most common alternatives. The first letters are frequently combined to create the [[acronym and initialism|initialism]] LGBT (sometimes written as GLBT), in which ''B'' and ''T'' refer to [[bisexuality|bisexual]] and [[transgender]] people.
''Gay'' especially refers to male homosexuality,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gay |title=gay |website=Oxford Dictionaries |access-date=7 August 2015 |quote=(Of a person, especially a man) homosexual. |archive-date=27 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827054658/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gay |url-status=dead }}</ref> but may be used in a broader sense to refer to all [[LGBTQ]] people. In the context of sexuality, ''lesbian'' refers only to female homosexuality. The word ''lesbian'' is derived from the name of the Greek island [[Lesbos]], where the poet [[Sappho]] wrote largely about her emotional relationships with young women.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Marguerite |last2=Ryan |first2=Terry |title=Sexuality in Greek and Roman society and literature: a sourcebook |publisher=Routledge |publication-place=[[Abingdon-on-Thames|Abingdon]] |date=2005 |isbn=978-0-203-64582-6 |oclc=252815648 |page=4 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lesbian |title=Lesbian |work=Dictionary.com |access-date=24 August 2010 |archive-date=7 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307135535/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lesbian |url-status=live }}</ref>
Although early writers also used the adjective ''homosexual'' to refer to any single-sex context (such as an all-girls school), today the term is usually used in reference to sexual attraction, activity, and orientation.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} The term ''[[homosociality|homosocial]]'' is now used to describe single-sex contexts that are not specifically sexual. There is also a word referring to same-sex love, ''[[homophilia]]''.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}
Some synonyms for same-sex attraction or sexual activity include ''[[men who have sex with men]]'' or ''MSM'' (used in the medical community when specifically discussing sexual activity) and ''[[homoeroticism|homoerotic]]'' (referring to works of art).<ref name="UNAIDS">{{cite web |title=UNAIDS: Men who have sex with men |publisher=[[UNAIDS]] |url=http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/dataimport/pub/briefingnote/2006/20060801_policy_brief_msm_en.pdf |access-date=4 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320001221/http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/dataimport/pub/briefingnote/2006/20060801_policy_brief_msm_en.pdf |archive-date=20 March 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Younger |first=John G. |title=Sex in the ancient world from A to Z |url=https://archive.org/details/sexancientworldf00youn|url-access=limited |year=2005 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=0-415-24252-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/sexancientworldf00youn/page/n58 38] |edition=1st published. }}</ref> [[Pejorative]] terms in English include ''[[queer]]'', ''[[faggot (slang)|faggot]]'', ''[[fairy]]'', ''poof'', ''poofter''<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/i-don-t-want-a-poofter-to-play-me-in-a-film-sir-stirling-moss-is-embroiled-in-homophobia-row-after-offensive-comments-8534236.html |title='I don't want a poofter to play me in a film': Sir Stirling Moss is embroiled in homophobia row after 'offensive' comments |work=[[The Independent]] |date=14 March 2013 |access-date=10 August 2022 |archive-date=10 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810231816/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/i-don-t-want-a-poofter-to-play-me-in-a-film-sir-stirling-moss-is-embroiled-in-homophobia-row-after-offensive-comments-8534236.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and ''homo''.<ref>{{cite book |title=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=2000 |isbn=0-618-70172-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanheritage00edit_9 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Spears |first=Richard A. |title=Fag |work=Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions |year=2007 |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/faggot |access-date=4 October 2012 |archive-date=27 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160227014915/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/faggot |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Dalzell |editor-first=Tom |title=The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English |publisher=Routledge |date=25 July 2008 |isbn=978-0-203-89513-9 |doi=10.4324/9780203895139 |page=1104 }}</ref><ref name="terms">{{cite web |url=http://www.sex-lexis.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041015054212/http://www.sex-lexis.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 October 2004 |title=Dictionary of Sexual Terms |publisher=Sex-lexis.com |access-date=4 October 2012 }}</ref> Beginning in the 1990s, some of these have been [[reclaimed word|reclaimed]] as positive words by gay men and lesbians, as in the usage of [[queer studies]], [[queer theory]], and even the popular American television program ''[[Queer Eye for the Straight Guy]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Taylor |first=Marvin J. |title=Queer Things from Old Closets: Libraries Gay and Lesbian Studies – Queer Theory |url=http://rbm.acrl.org/content/rbml/8/1/19.full.pdf |publisher=[[Association of College and Research Libraries]] |access-date=4 October 2012 |archive-date=16 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116080410/http://rbm.acrl.org/content/rbml/8/1/19.full.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The word ''{{linktext|homo}}'' occurs in many other languages without the pejorative connotations it has in English.<ref name="wolinski">{{cite book |first=Marc |last=Wolinsky |title=Gays and the military: Joseph Steffan versus the United States |year=1993 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |location=[[Princeton, New Jersey]] |isbn=0691033072 |pages=49–55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kM8WgQQghwIC&q=Gays+military+homo+derogatory+epithet&pg=PA49 |access-date=15 September 2021 |archive-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818001111/https://books.google.com/books?id=kM8WgQQghwIC&q=Gays+military+homo+derogatory+epithet&pg=PA49 |url-status=live }}</ref> As with [[ethnic slur]]s and [[racial slur]]s, the use of these terms can still be considered offensive. The range of acceptable use for these terms depends on the context and speaker.<ref name="wolinski" /> Conversely, ''gay'', a word originally embraced by homosexual men and women as a positive, affirmative term (as in [[gay liberation]] and [[gay rights]]),<ref>{{cite book|last=Murray|first=Stephen O. |title=Homosexualities |year=2000 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |location=Chicago |isbn=9780226551944 |page=394 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HCikDlcEHw8C&q=word+%27gay%27+was+preferred+to+previous+designations+such+as+homosexual+or+homophile&pg=PA394 |access-date=15 September 2021 |archive-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818001111/https://books.google.com/books?id=HCikDlcEHw8C&q=word+%27gay%27+was+preferred+to+previous+designations+such+as+homosexual+or+homophile&pg=PA394 |url-status=live}}</ref> came into widespread [[gay#Generalized pejorative use|pejorative use]] among young people in the early 2000s.<ref name="bbcgay">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7289390.stm |title=How 'gay' became children's insult of choice |access-date=4 October 2012 |work=[[BBC News Online]] |author=Denise Winterman |date=18 March 2008 |archive-date=13 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213213419/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7289390.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>
==History== {{Main|LGBT history}}
{{Further|Timeline of LGBT history}}
Same-sex relations are documented throughout history and varied in acceptance depending on time and place.<ref name="Hubbard">{{cite book |last1=Hubbard |first1=Thomas K. |url=https://archive.org/details/homosexualitygre00hubb |title=Homosexuality in Greece and Rome: a Sourcebook of Basic Documents |publisher=University of California Press |year=2003 |isbn=0520234308 |page=[https://archive.org/details/homosexualitygre00hubb/page/n19 1] |chapter=Introduction |quote=The term "homosexuality" is itself problematic when applied to ancient cultures, inasmuch as neither Greek nor Latin possesses any one word covering the same semantic range as the modern concept. The term is adopted in this volume not out of any conviction that a fundamental identity exists between ancient and modern practices or self-conceptions, but as a convenient shorthand linking together a range of different phenomena involving same-gender love and/or sexual activity. To be sure, classical antiquity featured a variety of discrete practices in this regard, each of which enjoyed differing levels of acceptance depending on the time and place. |url-access=limited}}</ref> However, many historians and anthropologists warn against using terms like "homosexuality" to describe these practices, because that may draw false equivalencies between acts that, while technically similar, may have been viewed as completely different acts. In many cultures, same-sex relations were not always considered sexual in the same way that "reproductive" sex between men and women was—particularly lesbian sex.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blank |first=Hanne |title=Straight: the surprisingly short history of heterosexuality |date=2012 |publisher=Beacon Press |isbn=978-0-8070-4443-8 |location=Boston}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Herdt |first=Gilbert H. |title=Same Sex, Different Cultures: Exploring Gay And Lesbian Lives |date=1998 |publisher=Westview Press |isbn=978-0-8133-3164-5 |location=Boulder}}</ref> Modern-style homosexual partnerships, including marriages, are even more uncommon, probably because marriages have almost always been oriented around producing children.<ref name=":4" /> Other scholars argue that there are significant continuities between historical and modern homosexuality.<ref name="Norton 2016">{{cite book |last=Norton |first=Rictor |date=2016 |title=Myth of the Modern Homosexual |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DkTqDAAAQBAJ |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=9781474286923 |access-date=27 July 2019 |archive-date=11 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511080439/https://books.google.com/books?id=DkTqDAAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://rictornorton.co.uk/extracts.htm |title=A Critique of Social Constructionism and Postmodern Queer Theory |last=Norton |first=Rictor |access-date=October 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330132639/http://rictornorton.co.uk/extracts.htm |archive-date=30 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="Boswell 1989 17–36">{{cite book |last=Boswell |first=John |chapter=Revolutions, Universals, and Sexual Categories |editor1-last=Duberman |editor1-first=Martin Bauml |editor2-last=Vicinus |editor2-first=Martha |editor3-last=Chauncey |editor3-first=George Jr. |date=1989 |title=Hidden From History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past |publisher=Penguin Books |pages=17–36 |s2cid=34904667 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304002205/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d1f4/b4d6d8a37a3470c63ae83bf0d4a5101b08ce.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2019 |chapter-url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d1f4/b4d6d8a37a3470c63ae83bf0d4a5101b08ce.pdf}}</ref>[[File:Burning of Sodomites.jpg|right|thumb|Burning of two homosexuals (the [[knight]] [[Richard Puller von Hohenburg|Richard von Hohenburg]] and his [[squire]] Anton Mätzler) at the stake outside [[Zürich]], 1482 (from the ''[[Spiezer Schilling]]'' chronicle)]] In cultures influenced by [[Abrahamic religions]], the [[Sodomy law#History|law]] and the [[Christianity and homosexuality|church]] established [[sodomy]] as a transgression against divine law or a [[crime against nature]]. The condemnation of [[anal sex]] between males, however, predates Christian belief. Throughout the majority of [[History of Christianity|Christian history]], most [[Christian theology|Christian theologians]] and [[Christian denominations|denominations]] have considered homosexual behavior as [[immoral]] or [[Sin in Christianity|sinful]].<ref name="Gnuse 2015">{{cite journal |last=Gnuse |first=Robert K. |date=May 2015 |title=Seven Gay Texts: Biblical Passages Used to Condemn Homosexuality |journal=[[Biblical Theology Bulletin]] |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] on behalf of Biblical Theology Bulletin Inc. |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=68–87 |doi=10.1177/0146107915577097 |issn=1945-7596 |s2cid=170127256}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Koenig|first1=Harold G.|last2=Dykman|first2=Jackson|title=Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry|year=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=9780521889520|pages=43|quote=the overwhelming majority of Christian churches have maintained their positions that homosexual behavior is sinful}}</ref>
Many historical figures, including [[Socrates]], [[Lord Byron]], [[Edward II]], and [[Hadrian]],<ref>{{cite book | last=Williams | first=Craig A. | title=Roman homosexuality : ideologies of masculinity in classical antiquity | publication-place=Oxford | date=1999 | isbn=0-19-511300-4 | oclc=55720140 | page=60}}</ref> have had terms such as ''gay'' or ''[[bisexuality|bisexual]]'' applied to them. Some scholars have regarded uses of such modern terms on people from the past as an [[Anachronism|anachronistic]] introduction of a contemporary [[social construction|construction]] of sexuality that would have been foreign to their times.<ref name=foucault>{{harv|Foucault|1986}}</ref><ref name="buxton myth">{{cite book |last1=Buxton |first1=Richard |title=The Complete World of Greek Mythology |date=2004 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |isbn=0500251215 |location=London |pages=174 |chapter=Same-Sex Eroticism |quote=As scholars have increasingly come to recognize, the ancient Greek world did not know of the modern 'life-style' category-distinction between homosexuality and heterosexuality, according to which those terms are used to designate contrasting psychological or behavioral profiles.}}</ref> Other scholars see continuity instead.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Hubbard Thomas K | title = Review of David M. Halperin, ''How to Do the History of Homosexuality.'' | journal = [[Bryn Mawr Classical Review]] | date=22 September 2003 }}</ref><ref name="Boswell 1989 17–36"/><ref name="Norton 2016"/>
In social science, there has been a dispute between "essentialist" and "constructionist" views of homosexuality. The debate divides those who believe that terms such as "gay" and "straight" refer to objective, culturally invariant properties of persons from those who believe that the experiences they name are artifacts of unique cultural and social processes. "Essentialists" typically believe that sexual preferences are determined by biological forces, while "constructionists" assume that sexual desires are learned.<ref>{{cite book |last=Halperin |first=David M. |title=One Hundred Years of Homosexuality: And Other Essays on Greek Love |url=https://archive.org/details/onehundredyearso0000halp |url-access=registration |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |year=1990 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/onehundredyearso0000halp/page/41 41–42] |isbn=0-415-90097-2 }}</ref> The philosopher of science [[Michael Ruse]] has stated that the social constructionist approach, which is influenced by Foucault, is based on a selective reading of the historical record that confuses the existence of homosexual people with the way in which they are labelled or treated.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ruse, Michael |editor=Honderich, Ted |title=The Oxford Companion to Philosophy |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2005 |page=399 |isbn=0-19-926479-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJFCAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT971 |access-date=15 September 2021 |archive-date=11 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511080440/https://books.google.com/books?id=bJFCAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT971 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Africa=== The first record of a possible homosexual couple in history is commonly regarded as [[Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum]], an [[ancient Egypt]]ian male couple, who lived around 2400 BCE. The pair are portrayed in a nose-kissing position, the most intimate pose in [[Egyptian art]], surrounded by what appear to be their heirs. The anthropologists [[Stephen O. Murray|Stephen Murray]] and [[Will Roscoe]] reported that women in [[Lesotho]] engaged in socially sanctioned "long term, erotic relationships" called ''[[motsoalle]].''<ref name=murrayroscoe>{{Cite book|title=Boy Wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities |url=https://archive.org/details/boywivesfemalehu00murr |url-access=registration |last=Murray |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen O. Murray |author2=[[Will Roscoe|Roscoe, Will]] |year=1998 |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |location=New York |isbn=0-312-23829-0}}</ref>
The anthropologist [[E. E. Evans-Pritchard]] also recorded that male [[Azande]] warriors in the northern [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]] routinely took on young male lovers between the ages of twelve and twenty, who helped with household tasks and participated in [[intercrural sex]] with their older husbands.<ref name="evanspritchard">{{cite journal | last1 = Evans-Pritchard | first1 = E. E. | author-link = E. E. Evans-Pritchard | year = 1970 | title = Sexual Inversion among the Azande | journal = American Anthropologist | volume = 72 | issue = 6| pages = 1428–1434 | doi=10.1525/aa.1970.72.6.02a00170| s2cid = 162319598 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Some scholars have criticized labeling relationships like these "homosexual", because these relationships were temporary arrangements designed to prepare young men for full manhood, rather than the permanent sexual orientation implied by the word "homosexual".<ref name=":4" /> Evans-Pritchard also recorded information about sexual relationships between women, based on reports from male Azande. According to male Azande, women would take female lovers and that partners would penetrate each other using bananas or other food items carved into the shape of a phallus. They also reported that the daughter of a ruler may be given a female slave as a sexual partner. Evans-Pritchard also recorded that the male Azande were fearful of women taking on female lovers, as they might view men as unnecessary.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rupp |first=Leila J. |title=Sapphistries: a global history of love between women |date=2009 |publisher=Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-8147-7726-8 |series=Intersections: transdisciplinary perspectives on genders and sexualities |location=New York, NY}}</ref>
===Americas=== ====Indigenous cultures==== [[File:Catlin - Dance to the berdache.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|''Dance to the Berdache''<br />[[Sac and Fox Nation]] ceremonial dance to celebrate the two-spirit person. George Catlin (1796–1872); Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.]] [[File:Florentine Codex, book 10, illustration 61.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Illustration of two [[Aztecs|Aztec]] homosexual men talking, from the [[Florentine Codex]] (1577)]] As is true of many other non-Western cultures, it is difficult to determine the extent to which Western notions of sexual orientation and gender identity apply to Pre-Columbian cultures. Evidence of homoerotic sexual acts and transvestism has been found in many pre-[[Spanish colonization of the Americas|conquest]] civilizations in [[Latin America]], such as the [[Aztec]]s, [[Maya civilization|Maya]]s, [[Quechua people|Quechua]]s, [[Moche (culture)|Moche]]s, [[Zapotec civilization|Zapotec]]s, the [[Inca Empire|Inca]]s, and the [[Tupinambá people|Tupinambá]] of Brazil.<ref name="glbtqlatinamerica">{{cite web |last=Pablo|first=Ben|title=Latin America: Colonial|url=http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/latin_america_colonial.html|year=2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211012339/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/latin_america_colonial.html|periodical=[[glbtq.com]]|access-date=1 August 2007|archive-date=11 December 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="glbtqmex">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Murray|first=Stephen|author-link=Stephen O. Murray|editor=Claude J. Summers|encyclopedia=glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture|title=Mexico|url=http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/mexico.html|access-date=1 August 2007|year=2004|publisher=[[glbtq.com]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102132531/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/mexico.html|archive-date=2 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Sigal|first=Pete|title=Infamous Desire: Male Homosexuality in Colonial Latin America|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|year=2003|isbn=9780226757049}}</ref>
The Spanish conquerors were horrified to discover sodomy openly practiced among native peoples, and attempted to crush it out by subjecting the ''berdaches'' (as the Spanish called them) under their rule to severe penalties, including public [[Capital punishment|execution]], burning and being torn to pieces by dogs.<ref name="coello">{{cite book | last1=Anghiera | first1=Pietro Martire d' | last2=Torres Asensio | first2=Joaquín. | title=Décadas del nuevo mundo |publisher=Maxtor | publication-place=Valladolid | year=2012 | isbn=978-84-9001-301-4 | oclc=1057902726 | language=es}} {{cite journal |url=http://www.udel.edu/LAS/Vol3-2Coello.html#Introduction |journal=Delaware Review of Latin American Studies |volume=3 |issue=2 |title="Good Indians", "Bad Indians", "What Christians?": The Dark Side of the New World in Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés (1478–1557) |last=Coello de la Rosa |first=Alexandre |date=23 June 2001 |access-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529042703/http://www.udel.edu/LAS/Vol3-2Coello.html#Introduction |archive-date=29 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Spanish conquerors talked extensively of sodomy among the natives to depict them as savages and hence justify their conquest and forceful conversion to Christianity. As a result of the growing influence and power of the conquerors, many native cultures started condemning homosexual acts themselves.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
Among some of the [[indigenous peoples of the Americas]] in North America prior to European colonization, a relatively common form of same-sex sexuality centered around the figure of the [[Two-Spirit]] individual (the term itself was coined only in 1990).{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} Typically, this individual was recognized early in life, given a choice by the parents to follow the path and, if the child accepted the role, raised in the appropriate manner, learning the customs of the gender it had chosen. Two-Spirit individuals were commonly [[shamanism|shamans]] and were revered as having powers beyond those of ordinary shamans. Their sexual life was with the ordinary tribe members of the same sex.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
During the colonial times following the European invasion, homosexuality was prosecuted by the [[Inquisition]], sometimes leading to death sentences on the charges of sodomy, and the practices became clandestine. Many homosexual individuals went into heterosexual marriages to maintain appearances, and many joined the (unmarried) Catholic clergy to escape public scrutiny of their lack of interest in the opposite sex.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
====Canada==== During the colonial period, both the French and the British criminalised same-sex sexual relations. Anal sex between males was a capital offence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thedrummersrevenge.wordpress.com/2007/08/19/sodomites-in-canada-before-1841/|title='Sodomites' in Canada before 1841 |author1=Hamish |work=The Drummer's Revenge|date=19 August 2007|access-date=14 September 2015|archive-date=14 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114040029/https://thedrummersrevenge.wordpress.com/2007/08/19/sodomites-in-canada-before-1841/|url-status=live}}</ref> Post-Confederation, anal sex and acts of "gross indecency" continued to be criminal offences, but were no longer capital offences.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thedrummersrevenge.wordpress.com/2007/09/09/the-end-to-the-death-penalty-for-sodomy-in-canada/|title=The End to the Death Penalty for "Sodomy" in Canada |author1=Hamish |work=The Drummer's Revenge|date=9 September 2007|access-date=14 September 2015|archive-date=17 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317084735/https://thedrummersrevenge.wordpress.com/2007/09/09/the-end-to-the-death-penalty-for-sodomy-in-canada/|url-status=live}}</ref> Individuals were prosecuted for same-sex sexual activity as late as the 1960s, which led to the federal Parliament amending the ''Criminal Code'' in 1969 to provide that anal sex between consenting adults in private (defined as only two persons) was not a criminal offence. In advocating for the law, the then-Minister of Justice, [[Pierre Trudeau]], said: "The state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/omnibus-bill-theres-no-place-for-the-state-in-the-bedrooms-of-the-nation |title=Trudeau: 'There's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation' |work=CBC Archives |access-date=9 August 2021 |archive-date=3 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180103200127/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/omnibus-bill-theres-no-place-for-the-state-in-the-bedrooms-of-the-nation |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 1995, the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] held that sexual orientation is a protected personal characteristic under [[Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|the equality clause of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'']].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1265/index.do |title=Egan v. Canada |date=25 May 1995 |website=[[Supreme Court of Canada]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820185625/https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1265/index.do |archive-date=20 August 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> The federal Parliament and provincial legislatures began to amend their laws to treat same-sex relations in the same way as opposite-sex relations. Beginning in 2003, the courts in Canada began to rule that excluding same-sex couples from marriage violated the equality clause of the ''Charter''. In 2005, the federal Parliament enacted the ''[[Civil Marriage Act]]'', which legalised same-sex marriage across Canada.<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title =Civil Marriage Act|abbr =SC|year =2005|chapter =33|link =https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-31.5/page-1.html}}</ref>
Canada has been referred to as the most [[gay-friendly]] country in the world, ranked first in the ''[[LGBT tourism|Gay Travel Index]]'' chart in 2018, and among the five safest in [[Forbes magazine|''Forbes'' magazine]] in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spartacus.gayguide.travel/blog/gay-travel-index-2019/|title=SPARTACUS Gay Travel Index 2019|date=25 February 2019|access-date=9 August 2021|archive-date=13 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813122020/https://spartacus.gayguide.travel/blog/gay-travel-index-2019/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2019/11/25/most-dangerous-places-safest-lgbtq-gay-travelers/#a519ced11694|title=FORBES LGBTQ+ Danger Index 2019|website=[[Forbes]]|date=21 October 2020|access-date=9 August 2021|archive-date=14 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114164459/https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2019/11/25/most-dangerous-places-safest-lgbtq-gay-travelers/#a519ced11694|url-status=live}}</ref> It was also ranked first in Asher & Lyric's LGBTQ+ Danger Index in a 2021 update.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.asherfergusson.com/lgbtq-travel-safety/|title=LGBTQ+ Travel Safety – 150 Best & Worst Countries Ranked (2021)|website=Asher & Lyric|date=8 November 2019 |access-date=9 August 2021|archive-date=10 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910063408/https://www.asherfergusson.com/lgbtq-travel-safety/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==== Mexico ==== Anthropologist Joseph Carrier found in the 1990s that same-gender sexual relations were relatively common in many neighborhoods in [[Mexico City]]. While long-term partnerships were not acceptable, and queer men were still expected to marry and have children, it was acceptable for men to have "discreet" relations with other men as long as they took on the active, penetrative role. Taking the passive role was considered detrimental to one's masculinity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carrier |first=Joseph |title=De los otros: intimacy and homosexuality among Mexican men |date=1995 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-09693-5 |series=Between men - between women |location=New York}}</ref>
====United States==== {{See also|LGBT history in the United States|}}
During the Victorian era, same-sex desire was viewed as a common sin. Anyone was capable of "succumbing" to same-sex attraction, and various sexual and non-sexual acts—including masturbation—were considered possible ways that someone could be "turned" queer. Queer people were often viewed as predators, exclusively attracted to heterosexuals, and therefore a danger to society.<ref name=":4" />
Same-sex relationships were generally stigmatized throughout the 20th century, and hate crimes were commonly carried out, especially against men. Most queer people lived out these relationships in secret, often while still having opposite-sex marriages and families. Anti-gay sentiment surged [[Lavender Scare|after the Cold War]], when homosexuals were seen as a threat to American society and were rooted out of organizations across the country.<ref name=":4" />
Homosexuality was declassified as a disease by the American Psychiatric Association in 1973.<ref name=":4" />
In 1986, the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] ruled in ''[[Bowers v. Hardwick]]'' that a state could criminalize [[sodomy]], but, in 2003, overturned itself in ''[[Lawrence v. Texas]]'' and thereby legalized homosexual activity throughout the [[United States of America]].
It is only since the 2010s that [[census]] forms and political conditions have facilitated the visibility and enumeration of same-sex relationships.<ref name="Committed">{{cite web |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2011/06/22/census-statistics-show-quarter-of-california-same-sex-couples-raising-kids/ |title=Census statistics show quarter of California same-sex couples raising kids |last=O'Brien |first=Matt |date=June 22, 2011 |website=The Mercury News |access-date=October 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250819235809/https://www.mercurynews.com/2011/06/22/census-statistics-show-quarter-of-california-same-sex-couples-raising-kids/ |archive-date=August 19, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110630/ARTICLES/110639995/1004/sitemaps |title=Region Saw Increase In Same-Sex Households |last=Bowen |first=Shannan |date=June 30, 2011 |website=Star News |access-date=October 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329030306/http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20110630/articles/110639995/1004/sitemaps |archive-date=29 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/sex-couples-census-data-trickles-quarter-raising-children/story?id=13850332 |title=Census 2010: One Quarter of Gay Couples Raising Children |author=Susan Donaldson James |date=June 23, 2011 |website=ABC News |access-date=October 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101191951/https://abcnews.go.com/Health/sex-couples-census-data-trickles-quarter-raising-children/story?id=13850332 |archive-date=1 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.startribune.com/local/125537288.html |title=Minnesota Sees 50% Rise in Number of Gay Couples |last=Peterson |first=David |date=July 14, 2011 |website=Star Tribune |access-date=October 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717123400/http://www.startribune.com/local/125537288.html |archive-date=17 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20110714/NEWS01/107140334/Census-Dutchess-Ulster-gay-households-increase |title=Census: Dutchess, Ulster Gay Households Increase |last=Matthews |first=Cara |date=July 13, 2011 |website=Poughkeepsie Journal |access-date=October 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119045141/http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20110714/NEWS01/107140334/Census-Dutchess-Ulster-gay-households-increase |archive-date=19 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thirteen.org/metrofocus/2011/07/number-of-same-sex-couples-in-new-york-city-increased-census-shows/ |title=Number of same-sex couples in New York City increased, census shows |date=July 14, 2011 |website=Thirteen |access-date=October 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808085738/https://www.thirteen.org/metrofocus/2011/07/number-of-same-sex-couples-in-new-york-city-increased-census-shows/ |archive-date=August 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=local&sc3=&id=123278 |title=87% Increase in Same-Sex Nevada Households Since 2000 |last=Knittel |first=Shaun |date=August 11, 2011 |website=Edge Boston |access-date=October 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026075323/http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=local&sc3=&id=123278 |archive-date=26 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.necn.com/07/14/11/Gay-lesbian-households-increase-in-Okla/landing_politics.html?&apID=aebfe9933c274365a694d062894d773c |title=Gay, lesbian households increase in Okla. |last=Juozapavicius |first=Justin |date=July 14, 2011 |website=NECN |access-date=October 2, 2025 }}</ref>{{New archival link needed|date=April 2026}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/wnyc-news-blog/2011/jul/15/spike-number-same-sex-couples-city/ |title=Spike In Number of City's Same-Sex Couples |last1=Yeh |first1=Richard |last2=Longoria |first2=Julia |date=July 15, 2011 |website=WNYC |access-date=October 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727052503/http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/wnyc-news-blog/2011/jul/15/spike-number-same-sex-couples-city/ |archive-date=27 July 2011}}</ref>
[[Same-sex marriage in the United States]] expanded from one state in 2004 to all 50 states in 2015, through various state court rulings, state legislation, direct popular votes ([[referendums]] and [[Popular initiative|initiative]]s), and federal court rulings.
===Asia===
====East Asia==== [[File:Painting -2ab0.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Anal sex between two males being watched, [[Qing dynasty]]. Painting. 18th Century]]In [[East Asia]], same-sex love has been referred to since the earliest recorded history.
[[Homosexuality in China]], known as the ''passions of the cut peach'' and various other euphemisms, has been recorded since approximately 600 BCE. Homosexuality was mentioned in many famous works of Chinese literature. The instances of same-sex affection and sexual interactions described in the classical novel ''[[Dream of the Red Chamber]]'' seem as familiar to observers in the present as do equivalent stories of romances between heterosexual people during the same period. Keith McMahon suggests that homosexual relationships between men in Ming stories such as Bian er chai was described as more harmonious and enjoyable than heterosexual relationships.<ref>Kang, Wenqing. ''Obsession: male same-sex relations in China, 1900–1950'', Hong Kong University Press. Page 2</ref> Writings from the [[Liu Song dynasty]] by Wang Shunu claimed that homosexuality was as common as heterosexuality in the late 3rd century.<ref name="Geng">{{cite book|author=Song Geng|title=The fragile scholar: power and masculinity in Chinese culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ei4PJ92qy6IC&pg=PA1443|year=2004|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|isbn=978-962-209-620-2|page=144|access-date=16 June 2015|archive-date=26 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226192831/https://books.google.com/books?id=ei4PJ92qy6IC&pg=PA1443|url-status=live}}</ref>
Opposition to homosexuality in China originates in the medieval [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907), attributed to the rising influence of Christian and Islamic values,<ref name="Hinsch, Bret 1990 pp.77-78">{{cite book |last=Hinsch |first=Bret |date=August 10, 1990 |title=Passions of the Cut Sleeve |publisher=University of California Press |pages=77–78 |isbn=9780520067202}}</ref> but did not become fully established until the [[Westernization]] efforts of the late [[Qing dynasty]] and the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]].<ref name="Kang1">{{cite book |last=Kang |first=Wenqing |title=Obsession: male same-sex relations in China, 1900–1950 |date=2009 |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |page=3}}</ref>
==== North Asia ==== Early Russian ethnographers observed that [[Chukchi people|Chukchi]] shamans in [[Siberia]] were sometimes said to called by mystical forces to engage in a form of [[Ritualized homosexuality|ritualized homosexual]] relations with other men. This ritual typically involved a [[Gender transition|gender change]]—a religious ceremony that, it was believed, transformed his genitalia into that of a female. After the change, he might dress in women's clothing and behave in feminine ways. He was then believed to "lose" masculine traits like hunting skill, and instead take on "feminine" traits, like healing and nurturing. Some of these shamans would take male lovers, and could even marry other men, and the shaman would take on a "wifely" role. Homosexual relations outside of this specialized role were reportedly not tolerated.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Murray |first1=Stephen O. |title=Oceanic homosexualities |last2=Pilling |first2=Arnold R. |date=1992 |publisher=Garland Pub |isbn=978-0-8240-7227-8 |series=Garland reference library of social science ; Garland gay and lesbian studies |location=New York}}</ref>
====South Asia==== {{See also|Homosexuality in India|Hinduism and LGBT topics|Buddhism and sexual orientation}} South Asia has a recorded and verifiable history of homosexuality going back to at least 1200 BC. Hindu medical texts written in India from this period document homosexual acts and attempt to explain the cause in a neutral/scientific manner.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pattanaik |first=Devdutt |title=Would ancient India have supported Section 377? |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/special/would-ancient-india-have-supported-section-377/20180717.htm |access-date=2023-12-30 |website=Rediff |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Raveenthiran |first=Venkatachalam |date=November 2011 |title=Knowledge of ancient Hindu surgeons on Hirschsprung disease: evidence from Sushruta Samhita of circa 1200-600 bc |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2011.07.007 |journal=Journal of Pediatric Surgery |volume=46 |issue=11 |pages=2204–2208 |doi=10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2011.07.007 |pmid=22075360 |issn=0022-3468|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Know all about Sushruta, the first ever plastic surgeon who was Indian |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/sushruta-works-indian-physician-medicine-plastic-surgery-rhinoplasty-nose-job-1559599-2019-07-01 |access-date=2024-01-01 |website=India Today |date=July 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Numerous artworks and literary works from this period also describe homosexuality.<ref name="MitraVaruna">{{cite web |url=http://galva108.org/deities.html |title=Hindu dieties and the third sex |author=Amara Das Wilhelm |access-date=October 2, 2025 |website=The Gay and Lesbian Vaishnava Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827022633/http://galva108.org/deities.html |archive-date=2013-08-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=December 11, 2013 |title=Live Blog: Supreme Court Rules Gay Sex Illegal |url=https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/live-blog-supreme-court-rules-gay-sex-illegal-1386740434 |access-date=April 19, 2023 |website=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Shastri |first=Hari Prasad Tr. |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.39881/page/n375/mode/2up |title=The Ramayana Of Valmiki Vol. 2 |publisher=Digital Library of India Item 2015.39881 |access-date=April 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Mehrotra |first=Deepanshi |date=October 22, 2017 |title=''The Pre-Colonial History of Homosexuality in'' India: Why Love Is Not Western (Part I/III) |url=https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/history-of-homosexuality-in-india/ |access-date=April 19, 2023 |website=Lawctopus |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230719003625/https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/history-of-homosexuality-in-india/ |archive-date= Jul 19, 2023 }}</ref>
Several ancient Hindu texts have passages that condemn homosexuality. For example, Manu-smṛti (11.174) says that if a man has sex with another man, then he should take a shower with clothes on. The implication of the statement is that sex between two men is not considered normal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Malatimanjari |date=2019-04-28 |title=The Vedic View on Homosexuality |url=https://www.jiva.org/the-vedic-view-on-homosexuality/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Jiva Institute of Vedic Studies}}</ref> Pali Cannon, written in Sri Lanka between 600 BC and 100 BC, states that sexual relations, whether of homosexual or of heterosexual nature, is forbidden in the monastic code, and states that any acts of soft homosexual sex (including masturbation and interfumeral sex) does not entail a punishment but must be confessed to the monastery. These codes apply to monks only and not to the general population.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homosexuality and Theravada Buddhism |first1=A. L. |last1=De Silva |url=https://www.buddhanet.net/homosexu.htm |access-date=2023-03-01 |website=BuddhaNet |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230301075346/https://www.buddhanet.net/homosexu.htm |archive-date= 2023-03-01 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pali canon - Definition, Contents, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tipitaka |access-date=2023-03-01 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref> The Kama Sutra written in India around 200 AD also described numerous homosexual sex acts.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2009-06-27 |title=Ancient India didn't think homosexuality was against nature |first1=Manoj |last1=Mitta |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/ancient-india-didnt-think-homosexuality-was-against-nature/articleshow/4708206.cms |access-date=2023-02-06 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-07-10 |title=Homosexuality in ancient India: 10 instances |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/10-instances-of-homosexuality-among-lgbts-in-ancient-india-1281446-2018-07-10 |access-date=2025-07-19 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref>
Prior to early modern period and colonialism, there were no strict laws against homosexuality and transexuality. However certain dharmic moral codes forbade sexual misconduct (of both heterosexual and homosexual nature) among the upper class of persists and monks, and religious codes of foreign religions such as Christianity and Islam imposed homophobic rules on their populations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-09-04 |title=LGBT rights were accepted in ancient India, Sec 377 must be repealed: Amish Tripathi |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/lgbt-rights-were-accepted-in-ancient-india-sec-377-must-be-repealed-amish-tripathi/story-NFOnXL3rGVXECqTdg9SuXL.html |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ+ Issues: Hinduism |url=https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-hinduism |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=Human Rights Campaign |language=en-US}}</ref>
Hinduism describes a [[third gender]] that is equal to other genders and documentation of the third gender are found in ancient Hindu and Buddhist medical texts.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Srinivasan |first1=Shiva Prakash |last2=Chandrasekaran |first2=Sruti |date=2020 |title=Transsexualism in Hindu Mythology |journal=Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=235–236 |doi=10.4103/ijem.IJEM_152_20 |doi-access=free |issn=2230-8210 |pmc=7539026 |pmid=33083261}}</ref> There are certain characters in the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' who, according to some versions of the epic, change genders, such as [[Shikhandi]], who is sometimes said to be born as a female but identifies as male and eventually marries a woman. [[Bahuchara Mata]] is the goddess of fertility, worshipped by ''hijras'' as their patroness.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}
===Europe===
====Classical period==== {{Further|Homosexuality in ancient Greece|Homosexuality in ancient Rome|Timeline of LGBT history in the United Kingdom|Homosexuality in medieval Europe}} The earliest Western documents (in the form of literary works, art objects, and [[Greek mythology|mythographic materials]]) concerning same-sex relationships are derived from [[Pederasty in ancient Greece|ancient Greece]].
The formal practice of Pederasty, an erotic yet often restrained relationship between a free adult male and a free adolescent, was valued for its [[Pedagogy|pedagogic]] benefits and as a means of population control, though occasionally blamed for causing disorder. In his ''[[Symposium (Plato)|Symposium]]'', [[Plato]] has Phaedras praising its benefits whilst having Socrates encouraging platonic relationships between older and younger men<ref name="price">{{Cite book |last=Price |first=A. W. |url=http://archive.org/details/love-friendship-plato-aristotle-price |title=Love And Friendship In Plato And Aristotle |publisher=[[Clarendon Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-19-824899-7 |location=Oxford |orig-year=1989}}</ref> (the literal origin of the term, ''platonic'' love). In his later work, [[Laws (dialogue)|Laws]], he has an Athenian stranger propose prohibition of sexual relationships between men entirely saying that it is unnatural.<ref name=plato2>Plato, Laws, 636D & 835E</ref> But Aristotle,in his Nichomachean ethics, states that homosexuality in men for some comes about by nature and others through habituation and further states that no one could be described as lacking in self control for whom nature is the cause<ref>{{Cite book |last=Verstraete |first=Beert C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ejPZu3Ktu5cC&pg=PA17 |title=Same-sex Desire and Love in Greco-Roman Antiquity and in the Classical Tradition of the West |date=2005 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-1-56023-604-7 |language=en}}</ref>
Some scholars argue that there are examples of homosexual love in ancient literature, such as [[Achilles and Patroclus]] in the ''[[Iliad]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morales |first1=Manuel Sanz |last2=Mariscal |first2=Gabriel Laguna |title=The Relationship between Achilles and Patroclus according to Chariton of Aphrodisias |journal=The Classical Quarterly |date=2003 |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=292–295 |doi=10.1093/cq/53.1.292 |jstor=3556498 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3556498 |issn=0009-8388 |access-date=8 November 2020 |archive-date=14 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314185101/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3556498 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Lafond Sappho and Homer.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.15|Female youths are depicted surrounding Sappho in this painting of [[Lafond]] "Sappho sings for Homer", 1824.]]
Little is known of female homosexuality in antiquity. [[Sappho]], born on the island of [[Lesbos]], was included by later Greeks in the canonical list of [[nine lyric poets]]. The adjectives deriving from her name and place of birth ([[Sapphic love|Sapphic]] and Lesbian) came to be applied to female homosexuality beginning in the 19th century.<ref name=lesbian>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=lesbian|title=Lesbian|access-date=7 February 2009|dictionary=Online Etymology Dictionary|year=2001|author=Douglas Harper|archive-date=2 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702014505/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=lesbian|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=sapphic>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Sapphic|title=Sapphic|access-date=7 February 2009|dictionary=Online Etymology Dictionary|year=2001|author=Douglas Harper|archive-date=2 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702034948/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Sapphic|url-status=live}}</ref> Sappho's poetry centers on passion and love for various personages and both genders. The narrators of many of her poems speak of [[infatuation]]s and [[love]] (sometimes requited, sometimes not) for various females, but descriptions of physical acts [[Lesbian|between women]] are few and subject to debate.<ref>Denys Page, ''Sappho and Alcaeus'', Oxford UP, 1959, pp.142–146.</ref><ref>{{cite book | editor-last=Campbell | editor-first=David A. | chapter=Introduction | title=Greek Lyric I:Sappho and Alcaeus | publication-place=Cambridge, Mass. | date=1982 | isbn=0-674-99157-5 | oclc=8805576 |pages=xi–xii |quote=Her way of life has been the subject of much speculation. Her poetry gives unmistakable evidence of strong homosexual feelings, and this was used by later writers for inferences about her character and indeed her profession: cf. the Oxyrhynchus biography: 'she has been accused by some of being irregular in her ways and a woman-lover'; or the ''Suda'': ' she got a bad name for her impure friendship towards Atthis, Telesippa and Megara'; Ovid made her speak of her low reputation, and about the same time Didymus Bronze-Guts addressed himself to the question, 'Was Sappho a prostitute or not?', and Horace spoke ambiguously of 'masculine Sappho'. Voices were raised in defence of her character: a commentator inferred from her poetry that she was 'a good housekeeper and industrious'. The case-history is complicated by the evidence, usually neglected, that she was married and spoke lovingly of her daughter in her poetry, and by the story, however it arose, that she died of unrequited love for Phaon.}}</ref>
[[File:NAMA Sappho lisant.jpg|thumb|Sappho reading to her companions on an Attic vase constructed c. 435 BC]]
In [[Ancient Rome]], the kind of homosexuality seen took the form of pederastic relationships, where older free men took on an active role and slaves or freed youths took the receptive/passive role in sex. Romans saw passivity as generally unmanly, and as incompatible with the warrior ethos expected of men serving the expansionist Roman state.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hubbard |first=Thomas K. |title=Historical Views of Homosexuality: Roman Empire |date=2020-03-31 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics |url=https://oxfordre.com/politics/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-1243 |access-date=2025-04-29 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1243 |isbn=978-0-19-022863-7|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
In his letter addressed to the Christian community in Rome, [[Paul the Apostle]] writes of people engaging in idolatry ("[they] exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://biblehub.com/romans/1-23.htm |title=Romans 1:23 |website=Bible Hub |access-date=December 17, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250928123601/https://biblehub.com/romans/1-23.htm |archive-date=September 28, 2025}}</ref>) who eventually become infatuated with a person of the same sex in a "suffering of dishonour".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bible.com/bible/compare/ROM.1.24-25 |title=Romans 1:24-25 |website=YouVersion |access-date=December 17, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250928162346/https://www.bible.com/bible/compare/ROM.1.24-25 |archive-date=September 28, 2025}}</ref>
Pederastic attentions were legitimate only when directed toward current or former slaves. The [[Hellenophile]] emperor [[Hadrian]] (117–138) is renowned for his relationship with [[Antinous]], a young man of low birth. Only the Christian emperor [[Theodosius I]] decreed a law on 6 August 390, condemning passive males to be burned at the stake. Notwithstanding these regulations taxes on [[brothel]]s with boys available for homosexual sex continued to be collected until the end of the reign of [[Anastasius I (emperor)|Anastasius I]] in 518. [[Justinian I|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".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Novels of Justinian : Novel 77 ( Bailey ) |url=https://droitromain.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr/Anglica/N77_Bailey.htm |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=Roman Law Library}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bailey |first=Derrick Sherwin |url=https://archive.org/details/homosexualitywes0000bail/mode/2up |title=Homosexuality and the Western Christian tradition |date=1975 |publisher=Archon Books |isbn=978-0-208-01492-4}}</ref>
====Renaissance==== During the [[Renaissance]], wealthy cities in northern [[Italy]]—[[Florence]] and [[Venice]] in particular—were renowned for their widespread practice of same-sex love, engaged in by a considerable part of the male population and constructed along the classical pattern of Greece and Rome.<ref>Rocke, Michael, (1996), ''Forbidden Friendships: Homosexuality and male Culture in Renaissance Florence'', {{ISBN|0-19-512292-5}}</ref><ref>Ruggiero, Guido, (1985), ''The Boundaries of Eros'', {{ISBN|0-19-503465-1}}</ref> But even as many of the male population were 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.
From the second half of the 13th century, death was the punishment for male homosexuality in most of Europe.<ref>{{Cite book | first = Lester R. | last = Kurtz | title = Encyclopedia of violence, peace, & conflict | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TG2kN033mDkC&pg=PA140 | publisher = Academic Press | year = 1999 | page = 140 | isbn = 0-12-227010-X | access-date = 16 June 2015 | archive-date = 14 April 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210414054812/https://books.google.com/books?id=TG2kN033mDkC&pg=PA140 | url-status = live }}</ref> The relationships of socially prominent figures, such as [[Personal relationships of James VI and I|King James I]] and the [[George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham|Duke of Buckingham]], served to highlight the issue, including in anonymously authored street pamphlets: "The world is chang'd I know not how, For men Kiss Men, not Women now;...Of J. the First and Buckingham: He, true it is, his Wives Embraces fled, To slabber his lov'd Ganimede" (''Mundus Foppensis, or The Fop Display'd'', 1691).
====Modern period==== [[File:Touko-Laaksonen.jpg|thumb|Photograph of the [[Finnish people|Finnish]] artist Touko Laaksonen (1920–1991) alias [[Tom of Finland]], well known for his stylized and highly masculinized [[homoerotic]] art, playing the piano in late 1950s. In the background, his partner Veli Mäkinen (''left'') and his sister Kaija (''right'').]] ''Love Letters Between a Certain Late Nobleman and the Famous Mr. Wilson'' was published in 1723 in England, and is presumed by some modern scholars to be a novel. The 1749 edition of [[John Cleland]]'s popular novel ''[[Fanny Hill]]'' includes a homosexual scene, but this was removed in its 1750 edition. Also in 1749, the earliest extended and serious defense of homosexuality in English, ''Ancient and Modern [[Pederasty]] Investigated and Exemplified'', written by [[Thomas Cannon (author)|Thomas Cannon]], was published, but was suppressed almost immediately. It includes the passage, "Unnatural Desire is a Contradiction in Terms; downright Nonsense. Desire is an amatory Impulse of the inmost human Parts."<ref>Gladfelder, Hal (May 2006) ''In Search of Lost Texts: Thomas Cannon's 'Ancient and Modern Pederasty Investigated and Exemplified"'', Institute of Historical Research</ref> Around 1785 [[Jeremy Bentham]] wrote another defense, but this was not published until 1978.<ref>Published in two parts: * {{cite journal | last1=Bentham | first1=Jeremy | last2=Crompton | first2=Louis | title=Offences Against One's Self: Paederesty (Part 1) | journal=Journal of Homosexuality | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=3 | issue=4 | date=4 August 1978 | issn=0091-8369 | doi=10.1300/j082v03n04_07 | pages=389–406| pmid=353189 }} * {{cite journal | last1=Bentham | first1=Jeremy | last2=Crompton | first2=Louis | title=Jeremy Bentham's Essay on 'Paederasty': Part 2 | journal=Journal of Homosexuality | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=4 | issue=1 | date=22 November 1978 | issn=0091-8369 | doi=10.1300/j082v04n01_07 | pages=91–107| pmid=363935 }}</ref>
Executions for sodomy continued in the [[Netherlands]] until 1803, and in [[England]] until 1835, [[James Pratt and John Smith]] being the last Englishmen to be so hanged.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
Between 1864 and 1880 [[Karl Heinrich Ulrichs]] published a series of 12 tracts, which he collectively titled ''Research on the Riddle of Man-Manly Love.'' In 1867, he became the first self-proclaimed homosexual person to speak out publicly in defense of homosexuality when he pleaded at the Congress of German Jurists in [[Munich]] for a resolution urging the repeal of anti-homosexual laws.<ref name="levay" /> ''Sexual Inversion'' by [[Havelock Ellis]], published in 1896, challenged theories that homosexuality was abnormal, as well as [[stereotype]]s, and insisted on the ubiquity of homosexuality and its association with intellectual and artistic achievement.<ref name="sexualinversion">{{citation |title=Sexual Inversion |first1=Havelock |last1=Ellis |first2=John Addington |last2=Symonds |year=1975 |publisher=Arno Press |isbn=0-405-07363-1}}</ref>
Although medical texts like these (written partly in Latin to obscure the sexual details) were not widely read by the general public, they did lead to the rise of [[Magnus Hirschfeld]]'s [[Scientific-Humanitarian Committee]], which campaigned from 1897 to 1933 against [[Paragraph 175|anti-sodomy laws in Germany]], as well as a much more informal, unpublicized movement among British intellectuals and writers, led by such figures as [[Edward Carpenter]] and [[John Addington Symonds]]. Beginning in 1894 with ''Homogenic Love'', Socialist activist and poet Edward Carpenter wrote a string of pro-homosexual articles and pamphlets, and "came out" in 1916 in his book ''My Days and Dreams''. In 1900, [[Elisar von Kupffer]] published an anthology of homosexual literature from antiquity to his own time, ''[[Lieblingminne und Freundesliebe in der Weltliteratur]]''.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}
===Middle East=== {{Further|LGBT in Islam|LGBT rights in Israel}} [[File:An ottoman miniature from the book Sawaqub al-Manaquib depicting Homosexuality.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|An illustration from the 19th-century book ''Sawaqub al-Manaquib'' depicting homosexual anal sex with a wine boy]]There are a handful of accounts by Arab travelers to Europe during the mid-1800s. Two of these travelers, Rifa'ah al-Tahtawi and Muhammad as-Saffar, show their surprise that the French sometimes deliberately mistranslated love poetry about a young boy, instead referring to a young female, to maintain their social norms and morals.<ref>{{cite book|last=El-Rouayheb|first=Khaled|title=Before Homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic World, 1500–1800|url=https://archive.org/details/beforehomosexual00elro|url-access=limited|year=2005|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-72988-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/beforehomosexual00elro/page/n12 2]}}</ref>
Israel is considered the most tolerant country in the Middle East to homosexuals,<ref>{{cite news | date = 17 September 2008 | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/taboo-tolerance/the-five-most-improved-places-for-gay-tolerance-932635.html | quote = Israel is the only Middle-Eastern country to support gay rights legislation, and the country attracts gay people from Palestine and Lebanon. | access-date = 29 May 2009 | work = [[The Independent]] | title = The five most improved places for gay tolerance | location = London | archive-date = 31 March 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190331111114/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/taboo-tolerance/the-five-most-improved-places-for-gay-tolerance-932635.html | url-status = live }}</ref> with [[Tel Aviv]] being named "the gay capital of the Middle East"<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Was Arafat Gay?|author=James Kirchick|magazine=[[Out (magazine)|Out]]}}</ref> and considered one of the most gay friendly cities in the world.<ref>{{cite news|title=The world's most gay-friendly places|work=[[Calgary Herald]]|date=29 June 2011}}</ref> The annual [[Tel Aviv Pride|Pride Parade]] in support of homosexuality takes place in Tel Aviv.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/dispatch-gay-tel-aviv/|title=Gay Tel Aviv|first=Anthony|last=Grant|date=2 July 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=19 October 2012|archive-date=30 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630125434/http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/dispatch-gay-tel-aviv/|url-status=live}}</ref>
On the other hand, many governments in the Middle East often ignore, deny the existence of, or criminalize homosexuality. Homosexuality is illegal in almost all Muslim countries.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Iran 'must stop youth executions' |author=Steven Eke |date=28 July 2005 |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4725959.stm |access-date=21 October 2010 |archive-date=24 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824103849/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4725959.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Gay sexual practices|Same-sex intercourse]] officially carries the death penalty in several Muslim nations: Saudi Arabia, Iran, [[Mauritania]], northern [[Nigeria]], and [[Yemen]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilga.org/news_results.asp?LanguageID=1&FileID=1111&ZoneID=7&FileCategory=50 |title=7 countries still put people to death for same-sex acts |publisher=ILGA |access-date=24 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029185853/http://www.ilga.org/news_results.asp?LanguageID=1&FileID=1111&ZoneID=7&FileCategory=50 |archive-date=29 October 2009 }}</ref> Iranian President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]], during his [[Student activism at Columbia University#Ahmadinejad speech controversy|2007 speech at Columbia University]], asserted that there were no gay people in Iran. However, the probable reason is that they keep their sexuality a secret for fear of government sanction or rejection by their families.<ref>{{cite news|first=Nazila|last=Fathi|title=Despite Denials, Gays Insist They Exist, if Quietly, in Iran|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/world/middleeast/30gays.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=30 September 2007|access-date=1 October 2007|archive-date=18 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418042212/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/world/middleeast/30gays.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
====Pre-Islamic period==== {{Further|Homosexuality and Judaism|The Bible and homosexuality}} [[File:Portrait de Shah Abbas Ier et son page - MAO 494 - v5.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|right|[[Shah]] [[Abbas the Great]] with a page boy. By [[Muhammad Qasim (miniaturist)|Muhammad Qasim]], [[Safavid Iran]] (1627).<ref>Nahavandi and Bomati, illustration opposite p.162</ref>]] In ancient [[Sumer]], a set of priests known as ''[[Gala (priests)|gala]]'' worked in the temples of the goddess [[Inanna]], where they performed elegies and lamentations.<ref name="Leick">{{cite book|last=Leick|first=Gwendolyn|title=Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-1-134-92074-7|location=New York|orig-year=1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WKoWblE4pd0C&pg=PA64|access-date=10 November 2017|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414055100/https://books.google.com/books?id=WKoWblE4pd0C&pg=PA64|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|285}} ''Gala'' took female names, spoke in the ''[[Sumerian language#Dialects|eme-sal]]'' dialect, which was traditionally reserved for women, and appear to have engaged in homosexual intercourse.<ref name="Roscoe">{{cite book|last1=Roscoe|first1=Will|last2=Murray|first2=Stephen O.|date=1997|title=Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature|location=New York|publisher=New York University Press|isbn=0-8147-7467-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Zw-AAAAQBAJ&q=Gordon+1959+gala&pg=PA65|pages=65–66|access-date=15 September 2021|archive-date=10 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310000906/https://books.google.com/books?id=6Zw-AAAAQBAJ&q=Gordon+1959+gala&pg=PA65|url-status=live}}</ref> The Sumerian sign for ''gala'' was a [[Typographic ligature|ligature]] of the signs for "penis" and "anus".<ref name="Roscoe"/> One Sumerian proverb reads: "When the ''gala'' wiped off his ass [he said], 'I must not arouse that which belongs to my mistress [i.e., Inanna].'"<ref name="Roscoe"/>
In later [[Mesopotamia]]n cultures, ''kurgarrū'' and ''assinnu'' were servants of the goddess [[Ishtar]] (Inanna's [[East Semitic]] equivalent), who [[cross-dressing|dressed in female clothing]] and performed war dances in Ishtar's temples.<ref name="Roscoe"/> Several Akkadian [[proverb]]s seem to suggest that they may have also engaged in homosexual intercourse.<ref name="Roscoe"/> Anal intercourse was depicted in figurative art in [[Uruk]], [[Assur]], [[Babylon]], and [[Susa]] from the [[3rd millennium BC]], which showed that the sex act was practiced as part of [[religious ritual]].<ref name = "epistle"/>
It is thought that ancient [[Assyria]] (2nd millennium BC to 1st millennium AD) viewed homosexuality as negative and at least criminal,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Honeycutt |first=Kevin S. |date=2022-06-01 |title=Bertrand de Jouvenel's Philosophy of Individual Liberty |url=https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/jeeh-2022-0016/html |journal=Journal des Économistes et des Études Humaines |language=en |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=167–182 |doi=10.1515/jeeh-2022-0016 |issn=2153-1552|url-access=subscription }}</ref> with the religious codes of [[Zoroastrianism]] forbidding homosexuality.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Casey |date=2016-06-07 |title=Queer in the Age of the Queen: Gender and Sexuality of the Mid Modern Period in Victorian England and North America |url=https://mollybrown.org/queer-in-the-age-of-the-queen-gender-and-sexuality-of-the-mid-modern-period-in-victorian-england-and-north-america/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Molly Brown House Museum |language=en-US}}</ref> Some religious texts contain prayers for divine blessings on homosexual relationships. The ''Almanac of Incantations'' contained prayers favoring on an [[Equality before the law|equal basis]] the love of a man for a woman, of a woman for a man, and of a man for man.<ref name = "epistle">{{Cite web |title=Homosexuality in the Ancient Near East, beyond Egypt |url=https://epistle.us/hbarticles/neareast.html |access-date=2024-12-29 | author= Bruce L. Gerig|website=The Epistle |language=en}}</ref>
===South Pacific=== In some societies of [[Melanesia]], especially in [[Papua New Guinea]], traditional practices required a prepubertal boy to be paired with an older adolescent who would become his mentor and who would "inseminate" him (orally, anally, or topically, depending on the tribe) over a number of years in order for the younger to also reach puberty.<ref name="melanesia" /> This practice among the [[Simbari people]] occurred due to local belief that semen was necessary for male growth. The practice did not appear to affect male sexual orientation; nearly all males were happy to move on to relationships with women once permitted.<ref name="LeVay_20162">{{Cite book |last=LeVay |first=Simon |author-link=Simon LeVay |url=https://archive.org/details/gaystraightreaso0000leva_e5c2/mode/1up?view=theater |title=Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-029737-4 |pages=19 |ol=26246092M |url-access=registration |via=[[Open Library]] |ol-access=free}}</ref> A small minority of males remain bachelors and continue to engage in homosexual relations, and are considered unusual and ridiculed by other tribesmen.<ref name="Bailey_20032">{{Cite book |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281747420 |title=The Man Who Would Be Queen |vauthors=Bailey J |date=April 2003 |publisher=Joseph Henry Press |isbn=978-0-309-08418-5 |pages=131–132 |access-date=2020-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828055923/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281747420_The_Man_Who_Would_Be_Queen |archive-date=2021-08-28 |url-status=live}}</ref> Many Melanesian societies have abandoned this practice since the introduction of [[Christianity]] via [[Ethnic groups in Europe|European]] [[missionaries]].<ref name=melanesia>{{citation |title=Ritualized Homosexuality in Melanesia |first=Gilbert H. |last=Herdt |year=1984 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-08096-3 |pages=128–136}}</ref>
==Sexuality and identity==
===Behavior and desire=== {{Redirect-distinguish-text|Homosexual desire|the book, ''[[Homosexual Desire]]''}} The [[American Psychological Association]], the [[American Psychiatric Association]], and the [[National Association of Social Workers]] identify sexual orientation as "not merely a personal characteristic that can be defined in isolation. Rather, one's sexual orientation defines the universe of persons with whom one is likely to find the satisfying and fulfilling relationships":<ref name=amici /> {{Blockquote|Sexual orientation is commonly discussed as a characteristic of the individual, like biological sex, gender identity, or age. This perspective is incomplete because sexual orientation is always defined in relational terms and necessarily involves relationships with other individuals. Sexual acts and romantic attractions are categorized as homosexual or heterosexual according to the biological sex of the individuals involved in them, relative to each other. Indeed, it is by acting—or desiring to act—with another person that individuals express their heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality. This includes actions as simple as holding hands with or kissing another person. Thus, sexual orientation is integrally linked to the intimate personal relationships that human beings form with others to meet their deeply felt needs for love, attachment, and intimacy. In addition to sexual behavior, these bonds encompass nonsexual physical affection between partners, shared goals and values, mutual support, and ongoing commitment.<ref name=amici />}}
The [[Kinsey scale]], also called the Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale,<ref name="kinsey">{{cite web|url=http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/research/ak-hhscale.html|title=Kinsey's Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale|publisher=The [[Kinsey Institute]]|access-date=8 September 2011|archive-date=10 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510163753/http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/research/ak-hhscale.html|url-status=live}}</ref> attempts to describe a person's sexual history or episodes of their sexual activity at a given time. It uses a scale from 0, meaning exclusively [[heterosexuality|heterosexual]], to 6, meaning exclusively homosexual. In both the Male and Female volumes of the [[Kinsey Reports]], an additional grade, listed as "X", has been interpreted by scholars to indicate [[asexuality]].<ref name="Stange">{{cite book|author1=Mary Zeiss Stange|author2=Carol K. Oyster|author3=Jane E. Sloan|title=Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World|isbn=978-1-4129-7685-5|publisher=Sage Pubns|year=2011|page=2016|access-date=17 December 2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bOkPjFQoBj8C&pg=PA158|archive-date=14 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914220425/https://books.google.com/books?id=bOkPjFQoBj8C&pg=PA158|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Sexual identity=== {{Main|Sexual identity}}
Often, sexual orientation and [[sexual identity]] are not distinguished, which can impact accurately assessing sexual orientation. According to Bailey et al. "sexual identity, is one's self-conception (sometimes disclosed to others and sometimes not) as a homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual person". One's sexual identity label may not align with one's sexual behavior or sexual orientation (e.g. in the case of homosexual persons who may present themselves as heterosexual).<ref name="Bailey" />{{RP|pages=48, 89}}
=== Sexual fluidity === {{Main|Sexual fluidity}}
While [[sexual orientation]] is a stable attribute that is an innate characteristic and an immutable trait, some research suggests that some people may experience change in their [[sexual orientation identity]] over the course of their lives, and this is more likely for [[female]]s than for [[male]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Bailey et al. |date=2016 |title=Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301639075 |url-status=live |journal=Psychological Science in the Public Interest |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=45–101 |doi=10.1177/1529100616637616 |pmid=27113562 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611031054/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301639075 |archive-date=11 June 2020 |access-date=29 September 2019 |quote=Sexual fluidity is situation-dependent flexibility in a person’s sexual responsiveness, which makes it possible for some individuals to experience desires for either men or women under certain circumstances regardless of their overall sexual orientation....We expect that in all cultures the vast majority of individuals are sexually predisposed exclusively to the other sex (i.e., heterosexual) and that only a minority of individuals are sexually predisposed (whether exclusively or non-exclusively) to the same sex. |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Dennis Coon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EYwjCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA372 |title=Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior with Concept Maps and Reviews |author2=John O. Mitterer |publisher=[[Cengage Learning]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-1111833633 |page=372 |quote=Sexual orientation is a deep part of personal identity and is usually quite stable. Starting with their earliest erotic feelings, most people remember being attracted to either the opposite sex or the same sex. ... The fact that sexual orientation is usually quite stable doesn't rule out the possibility that for some people sexual behavior may change during the course of a lifetime. |access-date=18 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Eric Anderson |title=The Changing Dynamics of Bisexual Men's Lives |author2=Mark McCormack |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-3-319-29412-4 |page=47 |chapter=Measuring and Surveying Bisexuality |quote=[R]esearch suggests that women's sexual orientation is slightly more likely to change than men's (Baumeister 2000; Kinnish et al. 2005). The notion that sexual orientation can change over time is known as ''sexual fluidity''. Even if sexual fluidity exists for some women, it does not mean that the majority of women will change sexual orientations as they age – rather, sexuality is stable over time for the majority of people. |access-date=22 June 2019 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7_AgDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824071645/https://books.google.com/books?id=7_AgDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 |archive-date=24 August 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> The American Psychological Association distinguishes between sexual orientation (an innate attraction) and sexual orientation identity (which may change at any point in a person's life).<ref name="apa2009-2">{{cite web|title=Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]|pages=63, 86|date=2009|access-date=3 February 2015|url=http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/therapeutic-response.pdf|archive-date=3 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603121635/http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/therapeutic-response.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Same-sex relationships=== {{Main|Same-sex relationship}}
{{multiple image | align = vertical | width1 = 120 | image1 = Double Mars symbol.svg | caption1 = Male homosexuality symbol | width2 = 120 | image2 = Double Venus symbol.svg | caption2 = Female homosexuality symbol }} People with a homosexual orientation can express their sexuality in a variety of ways, and may or may not express it in their behaviors.<ref name=apahelp /> Many have sexual relationships predominantly with people of their own [[sex]], though some have sexual relationships with those of the opposite sex, [[bisexual]] relationships, or none at all ([[celibacy]]).<ref name=apahelp/> Studies have found same-sex and opposite-sex couples to be equivalent to each other in measures of satisfaction and commitment in relationships, that age and sex are more reliable than sexual orientation as a predictor of satisfaction and commitment to a relationship, and that people who are heterosexual or homosexual share comparable expectations and ideals with regard to romantic relationships.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/apa-elo011708.php |title=Relationship Satisfaction and Commitment |publisher=Eurekalert.org |date=22 January 2008 |access-date=24 August 2010 |archive-date=7 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507073038/http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/apa-elo011708.php |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Duffy>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1300/J082v12n02_01|title=Satisfaction and commitment in homosexual and heterosexual relationships|journal=Journal of Homosexuality|year=1985|first1=S.M|last1=Duffy|first2=C.E. |last2=Rusbult |volume=12|issue=2|pages=1–23|url=http://www.labmeeting.com/paper/17688909/duffy-rusbult-1985-satisfaction-and-commitment-in-homosexual-and-heterosexual-relationships|access-date=29 July 2009|pmid=3835198|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019190212/http://www.labmeeting.com/paper/17688909/duffy-rusbult-1985-satisfaction-and-commitment-in-homosexual-and-heterosexual-relationships|archive-date=19 October 2017|url-status=dead|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=Baccman>{{Cite journal|title=Expectations of romantic relationships: A comparison between homosexual and heterosexual men with regard to Baxter's criteria|journal=Social Behavior and Personality|year=1999|first=Baccman|last=Charlotte|author2=Per Folkesson|author3=Torsten Norlander|volume=27|issue=4|pages=363–374|doi=10.2224/sbp.1999.27.4.363|url=http://www.sbp-journal.com/index.php/sbp/article/view/976|access-date=4 October 2012|archive-date=23 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423143028/https://www.sbp-journal.com//index.php/sbp/article/view/976|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref>
===Coming out of the closet=== {{Main|Coming out}}
''Coming out'' (''of the closet'') is a phrase referring to one's disclosure of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and is described and experienced variously as a psychological process or journey.<ref name="Coming Out: A Journey">{{cite web |url=http://utahpridecenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=44 |title=Coming Out: A Journey |publisher=Utahpridecenter.org |access-date=22 July 2012 |archive-date=25 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090825202112/http://utahpridecenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=44 |url-status=live }}</ref> Generally, coming out is described in three phases. The first phase is that of "knowing oneself", and the realization emerges that one is open to same-sex relations.<ref>In a joint statement with other major American medical organizations, the APA says that "different people realize at different points in their lives that they are heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual". {{cite web |url=http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/justthefacts.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807205013/http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/justthefacts.html |archive-date=7 August 2007 |title=Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation & Youth: A Primer for Principals, Educators and School Personnel |access-date=28 August 2007 |year=1999 |publisher=American Academy of Pediatrics, American Counseling Association, American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, American Psychological Association, American School Health Association, The Interfaith Alliance, National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of Social Workers, National Education Association }}</ref> This is often described as an internal coming out. The second phase involves one's decision to come out to others, e.g. family, friends, or colleagues. The third phase more generally involves living openly as an LGBT person.<ref name=hrccontinuum>{{citation |access-date=4 May 2007 |url=http://dev.hrc.org/issues/3333.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102101657/http://dev.hrc.org/issues/3333.htm |archive-date=2 November 2007 |periodical=[[Human Rights Campaign]] |title=The Coming Out Continuum}}</ref> In the United States today, people often come out during high school or college age. At this age, they may not trust or ask for help from others, especially when their orientation is not accepted in society. Sometimes their own families are not even informed.
[[Outing]] is the practice of publicly revealing the sexual orientation of a closeted person.<ref name=glbtqouting>{{citation|last=Neumann |first=Caryn E |url=http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/outing.html |title=Outing |year=2004 |periodical=[[glbtq.com]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609220520/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/outing.html |archive-date=9 June 2007 }}</ref> Notable politicians, celebrities, military service people, and clergy members have been outed, with motives ranging from malice to political or moral beliefs. Many commentators oppose the practice altogether,<ref name=biasfreeusage>{{citation |title=The Dictionary of Bias-Free Usage: A Guide to Nondiscriminatory Language |last=Maggio |first=Rosalie |year=1991 |publisher=Oryx Press |isbn=0-89774-653-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofbias00rosa/page/208 208] |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofbias00rosa/page/208 }}</ref> while some encourage outing public figures who use their positions of influence to harm other gay people.<ref name=statesmanouting>{{citation |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/life-and-society/2007/04/human-rights-gay-outing-outed |title=Outing hypocrites is justified |first=Peter |last=Tatchell |date=23 April 2007 |access-date=4 May 2007 |periodical=[[New Statesman]] |archive-date=14 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914090034/http://www.newstatesman.com/life-and-society/2007/04/human-rights-gay-outing-outed |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Demographics== {{Main|Demographics of sexual orientation}}
Homosexuality occurs in most, and perhaps all, human cultures and societies.<ref name=Bailey/><ref name=LeVay/><ref name=Balthazart/> In their 2016 literature review, Bailey ''et al.'' stated that they "expect that in all cultures ... a minority of individuals are sexually predisposed (whether exclusively or non-exclusively) to the same sex." They state that there is no persuasive evidence that the demographics of sexual orientation have varied much across time or place.<ref name=Bailey/> Men are more likely to be exclusively homosexual than to be equally attracted to both sexes, while the opposite is true for women.<ref name=Bailey/><ref name=LeVay/><ref name=Balthazart/>
Surveys in Western cultures find, on average, that about 93% of men and 87% of women identify as completely heterosexual, 4% of men and 10% of women as mostly heterosexual, 0.5% of men and 1% of women as evenly bisexual, 0.5% of men and 0.5% of women as mostly homosexual, and 2% of men and 0.5% of women as completely homosexual.<ref name=Bailey/> An analysis of 67 studies found that the lifetime prevalence of sex between men (regardless of orientation) was 3–5% for East Asia, 6–12% for South and South East Asia, 6–15% for Eastern Europe, and 6–20% for Latin America.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Caceres|first1=C.|last2=Konda|first2=K.|last3=Pecheny|first3=M.|last4=Chatterjee|first4=A.|last5=Lyerla|first5=R.|title=Estimating the number of men who have sex with men in low and middle income countries|journal=Sexually Transmitted Infections|date=2006|volume=82|issue=Suppl. III|pages=iii3–iii9|doi=10.1136/sti.2005.019489|pmid=16735290|pmc=2576725}}</ref> The [[International HIV/AIDS Alliance]] estimates that worldwide between 3 and 16% of men have had some form of [[men who have sex with men|sex with another man]] at least once during their lifetime.<ref name="International HIV/AIDS Alliance 2003">{{cite book |author=International HIV/AIDS Alliance |author-link=Frontline AIDS |title=Between Men: HIV/STI Prevention For Men Who Have Sex With Men |url=https://www.who.int/hiv/topics/vct/sw_toolkit/Between_men_full_version.pdf |year=2003 |oclc=896761012 |access-date=5 October 2020 |archive-date=15 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615021020/https://www.who.int/hiv/topics/vct/sw_toolkit/Between_men_full_version.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
According to major studies, 2% to 11% of people have had some form of same-sex sexual contact within their lifetime;<ref name = Billy1993>{{Cite journal|doi=10.2307/2136206|vauthors=Billy JO, Tanfer K, Grady WR, Klepinger DH |title=The sexual behavior of men in the United States|jstor=2136206 |journal=Family Planning Perspectives |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=52–60 |year=1993 |pmid=8491287}}</ref><ref name = Fay1989>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Fay RE, Turner CF, Klassen AD, Gagnon JH |title=Prevalence and patterns of same-gender sexual contact among men |journal=Science |volume=243 |issue=4889 |pages=338–48 |date=January 1989 |pmid=2911744 |doi=10.1126/science.2911744|bibcode=1989Sci...243..338F }}</ref><ref name = Sell1995>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1007/BF01541598|vauthors=Sell RL, Wells JA, Wypij D |title=The prevalence of homosexual behavior and attraction in the United States, the United Kingdom and France: results of national population-based samples |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=235–48 |date=June 1995 |pmid=7611844|s2cid=12929812 }}</ref><ref name=SavinWilliams2009>{{Cite book |editor1-last = Hope | editor1-first = Debra A | title = Contemporary Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identities | doi = 10.1007/978-0-387-09556-1 | series = Nebraska Symposium on Motivation | volume = 54 | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-0-387-09555-4 | url = https://archive.org/details/contemporarypers0000nebr}}</ref> this percentage rises to 16–21% when either or both same-sex attraction and behavior are reported.<ref name=SavinWilliams2009/>
According to the 2021 [[United States Census]], there were about 1.2 million same-sex couple households.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=United States Census Bureau |year=2022 |title=Key Demographic and Economic Characteristics of Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Couples Differed |url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/11/same-sex-couple-households-exceeded-one-million.html |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=Census.gov}}</ref> In the [[United States]], according to a report by [[The Williams Institute]] in April 2011, 3.5% or approximately 9 million of the adult population identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/census-lgbt-demographics-studies/how-many-people-are-lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender |author=Gary Gates |title=How Many People are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender? |publisher=[[UCLA School of Law#Sexual orientation law|The Williams Institute]] |date=April 2011 |access-date=12 May 2014 |archive-date=21 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721165514/http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/census-lgbt-demographics-studies/how-many-people-are-lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> A 2013 study by the CDC, in which over 34,000 Americans were interviewed, puts the percentage of self-identifying lesbians and gay men at 1.6%, and of bisexuals at 0.7%.<ref name="cdc.gov">{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr077.pdf |title=Sexual Orientation and Health Among U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2013 |last1=Ward |first1=Brian W |last2=Dahlhamer |first2=James M |last3=Galinsky |first3=Adena M |last4=Joestl |first4=Sarah S |date=July 15, 2014 |publisher=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |access-date=October 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204023729/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr077.pdf |archive-date=4 December 2018}}</ref>
In October 2012, [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] started conducting annual surveys to study the demographics of LGBT people, determining that 3.4% (±1%) of adults identified as LGBT in the United States.<ref name=gallup>{{cite web|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/158066/special-report-adults-identify-lgbt.aspx|title=Special Report: 3.4% of U.S. Adults Identify as LGBT|last1=Gates|first1=Gary J.|last2=Newport|first2=Frank|date=18 October 2012|website=[[Gallup (company)|Gallup]]|access-date=13 January 2015|archive-date=2 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902104955/http://www.gallup.com/poll/158066/special-report-adults-identify-lgbt.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> It was the nation's largest poll on the issue at the time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gallup-survey-claims-34-percent-in-us-are-lgbt |title=Gallup survey claims 3.4 percent in U.S. are LGBT |date=18 October 2012 |publisher=[[CBS News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=13 January 2015 |archive-date=19 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119124710/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gallup-survey-claims-34-percent-in-us-are-lgbt/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/18/adults-lesbian-gay-bisexual/1642203|title=New survey: 3.4% of U.S. adults are LGBT|last1=Jayson|first1=Sharon|date=19 October 2012|website=[[USA Today]]|access-date=13 January 2015|archive-date=5 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705221340/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/18/adults-lesbian-gay-bisexual/1642203/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, the percentage was estimated to have risen to 4.5% of adults, with the increase largely driven by [[millennials]]. The poll attributes the rise to greater willingness of younger people to reveal their sexual identity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/234863/estimate-lgbt-population-rises.aspx|title=In U.S., Estimate of LGBT Population Rises to 4.5%|last=Newport|first=Frank|date=22 May 2018|website=[[Gallup (company)|Gallup]]|access-date=17 June 2018|archive-date=22 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522203115/http://news.gallup.com/poll/234863/estimate-lgbt-population-rises.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>
Measuring the prevalence of homosexuality presents difficulties. It is necessary to consider the measuring criteria that are used, the cutoff point and the time span taken to define a sexual orientation.<ref name="levay" /> Many people, despite having same-sex attractions, may be reluctant to identify themselves as gay or bisexual. The research must measure some characteristic that may or may not be defining of sexual orientation. The number of people with same-sex desires may be larger than the number of people who act on those desires, which in turn may be larger than the number of people who self-identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.<ref name="black">{{cite journal |last1=Black |first1=Dan |last2=Gates |first2=Gary |last3=Sanders |first3=Seth |last4=Taylor |first4=Lowell |year=2000 |title=Demographics of the Gay and Lesbian Population in the United States: Evidence from Available Systematic Data Sources |journal=Demography |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=139–154 |doi=10.2307/2648117 |jstor=2648117 |pmid=10836173 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
Reliable data as to the size of the gay and lesbian population are of value in informing public policy.<ref name="black" /> For example, demographics are of help in calculating the costs and benefits of [[domestic partnership benefits]], of the impact of legalizing [[LGBT adoption|gay adoption]], and of the impact of the U.S. military's former [[Don't Ask Don't Tell]] policy.<ref name="black" /> Further, knowledge of the size of the "gay and lesbian population holds promise for helping social scientists understand a wide array of important questions—questions about the general nature of labor market choices, accumulation of human capital, specialization within households, discrimination, and decisions about geographic location."<ref name="black" />
==Psychology== {{Main|Homosexuality and psychology}} {{Citation style|date=April 2025|reason=it uses multiple citation styles|section}} The [[American Psychological Association]], the [[American Psychiatric Association]], and the [[National Association of Social Workers]] state: {{cquote|In 1952, when the American Psychiatric Association published its first [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]], homosexuality was included as a disorder. Almost immediately, however, that classification began to be subjected to critical scrutiny in research funded by the [[National Institute of Mental Health]]. That study and subsequent research consistently failed to produce any empirical or scientific basis for regarding homosexuality as a disorder or abnormality, rather than a normal and healthy sexual orientation. As results from such research accumulated, professionals in medicine, mental health, and the behavioral and social sciences reached the conclusion that it was inaccurate to classify homosexuality as a mental disorder and that the DSM classification reflected untested assumptions based on once-prevalent social norms and clinical impressions from unrepresentative samples comprising patients seeking therapy and individuals whose conduct brought them into the criminal justice system.
In recognition of the scientific evidence,<ref>{{cite journal | year = 1998 | title = Gay Is Okay With APA—Forum Honors Landmark 1973 Events | url = http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=187846 | journal = [[JAMA (journal)|JAMA]] | volume = 280 | issue = 6 | pages = 497–499 | doi = 10.1001/jama.280.6.497 | pmid = 9707127 | last1 = Lamberg | first1 = L. | access-date = 29 September 2012 | archive-date = 3 May 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130503022720/http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=187846 | url-status = live | url-access = subscription }}</ref> the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the DSM in 1973, stating that "homosexuality per se implies no impairment in judgment, stability, reliability, or general social or vocational capabilities." After thoroughly reviewing the scientific data, the American Psychological Association adopted the same position in 1975, and urged all mental health professionals "to take the lead in removing the stigma of mental illness that has long been associated with homosexual orientations." The National Association of Social Workers has adopted a similar policy.
Thus, mental health professionals and researchers have long recognized that being homosexual poses no inherent obstacle to leading a happy, healthy, and productive life, and that the vast majority of gay and lesbian people function well in the full array of social institutions and interpersonal relationships.<ref name=amici /> }}
The consensus of research and clinical literature demonstrates that same-sex sexual and romantic attractions, feelings, and behaviors are normal and positive variations of human sexuality.<ref name=response>{{cite web |publisher=American Psychological Association |url=http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/therapeutic-response.pdf |title=Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation |date=2009 |access-date=October 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615023708/http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/therapeutic-response.pdf |archive-date=15 June 2010}}</ref> There is now a large body of research evidence that indicates that being gay, lesbian or bisexual is compatible with normal mental health and social adjustment.<ref name="rcp2007" /> The [[World Health Organization]]'s [[ICD-9]] (1977) listed homosexuality as a mental illness; it was removed from the [[ICD-10]], endorsed by the Forty-third World Health Assembly on 17 May 1990.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-do/health-topics/communicable-diseases/hivaids/news/news/2011/6/stop-discrimination-against-homosexual-men-and-women |title=Stop discrimination against homosexual men and women |publisher=World Health Organisation – Europe |date=17 May 2011 |access-date=8 March 2012 |archive-date=9 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709194330/http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-do/health-topics/communicable-diseases/hivaids/news/news/2011/6/stop-discrimination-against-homosexual-men-and-women |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilga.org/news_results.asp?LanguageID=1&FileCategory=50&FileID=546 |title=The decision of the World Health Organisation 15 years ago constitutes a historic date and powerful symbol for members of the LGBT community |publisher=ILGA |access-date=24 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030051630/http://www.ilga.org/news_results.asp?LanguageID=1&FileCategory=50&FileID=546 |archive-date=30 October 2009 }}</ref><ref name=pinknewsstigma>{{citation |title=Homophobic stigma – A community cause |url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-1496.html |date=17 May 2006 |periodical=PinkNews.co.uk |first=Marc |last=Shoffman |access-date=4 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070419234733/http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-1496.html |archive-date=19 April 2007 }}</ref> Like the DSM-II, the ICD-10 added [[ego-dystonic sexual orientation]] to the list, which refers to people who want to change their [[gender identity|gender identities]] or sexual orientation because of a psychological or behavioral disorder ({{ICD10|F|66|1|f|60}}). The [[Chinese Society of Psychiatry]] removed homosexuality from its [[Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders]] in 2001 after five years of study by the association.<ref>{{cite web |website=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/08/health/08PSYC.html |title=Homosexuality Not an Illness, Chinese Say |date=March 8, 2001 |access-date=October 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722131618/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/08/health/08PSYC.html |archive-date=22 July 2016}}</ref>
According to the [[Royal College of Psychiatrists]], "[t]his unfortunate history demonstrates how marginalisation of a group of people who have a particular personality feature (in this case homosexuality) can lead to harmful medical practice and a basis for discrimination in society."<ref name="rcp2007" />
Most lesbian, gay, and bisexual people who seek psychotherapy do so for the same reasons as heterosexual people (stress, relationship difficulties, difficulty adjusting to social or work situations, etc.); their sexual orientation may be of primary, incidental, or no importance to their issues and treatment. Whatever the issue, there is a high risk for anti-gay bias in psychotherapy with lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients.<ref name=textbook>Cabaj, R; Stein, T. eds. ''Textbook of Homosexuality and Mental Health'', p.421</ref> Psychological research in this area has been relevant to counteracting prejudicial ("[[Homophobia|homophobic]]") attitudes and actions, and to the [[LGBT rights]] movement generally.<ref name=intro>{{cite book |editor=Sandfort, T |display-editors=et al |title=Lesbian and Gay Studies: An Introductory, Interdisciplinary Approach |chapter=Chapter 2}}</ref>
According to the American Psychological Association,<ref name="response" /> the appropriate application of psychotherapy is grounded in acceptance of evidence that: same-sex attractions and orientations are natural variations of human sexuality, not signs of mental or developmental disorders. While homosexuality and bisexuality have often been stigmatized, leading to social stress and other negative effects, these orientations are part of the normal range of human experience. People with same-sex orientations can and do lead fulfilling lives, forming stable, loving relationships and families. There is no scientific evidence supporting claims that same-sex orientation results from family dysfunction or trauma.<ref name="response"/>
=== Sexual orientation change efforts === {{Main|Sexual orientation change efforts}}
There are no studies of adequate scientific rigor that conclude that sexual orientation change efforts work to change a person's sexual orientation. Those efforts have been controversial due to tensions between the values held by some faith-based organizations, on the one hand, and those held by LGBT rights organizations and professional and scientific organizations and other faith-based organizations, on the other.<ref name="apa2009" /> The longstanding consensus of the behavioral and social sciences and the health and mental health professions is that homosexuality ''per se'' is a normal and positive variation of human sexual orientation, and therefore not a mental disorder.<ref name="apa2009" /> The American Psychological Association says that "most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation".<ref name="answers">{{cite web |title=Answers to Your Questions: For a Better Understanding of Sexual Orientation & Homosexuality |url=http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/sorientation.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111050857/http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/sorientation.pdf |archive-date=11 January 2014 |access-date=20 December 2010 |publisher=American Psychological Association}}</ref> Some individuals and groups have promoted the idea of homosexuality as symptomatic of developmental defects or spiritual and moral failings and have argued that sexual orientation change efforts, including psychotherapy and religious efforts, could alter homosexual feelings and behaviors. Many of these individuals and groups appeared to be embedded within the larger context of conservative religious political movements that have supported the stigmatization of homosexuality on political or religious grounds.<ref name="apa2009" />
No major mental health professional organization has sanctioned efforts to change sexual orientation and virtually all of them have adopted policy statements cautioning the profession and the public about treatments that purport to change sexual orientation. These include the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, American Counseling Association, National Association of Social Workers in the U.S.,<ref>{{cite web |title=Expert affidavit of Gregory M. Herek, PhD |url=http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/2009-11-17-doma-aff-herek.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828054600/http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/2009-11-17-doma-aff-herek.pdf |archive-date=28 August 2010 |access-date=24 August 2010}}</ref> the Royal College of Psychiatrists,<ref name="royal2009">{{cite web |website=Royal College of Psychiatrists |url=http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/press/pressreleasearchives/2009/statement.aspx |title=Statement from the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Gay and Lesbian Mental Health Special Interest Group |date=April 24, 2009 |access-date=December 17, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527055029/http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/press/pressreleasearchives/2009/statement.aspx |archive-date=27 May 2010}}</ref> and the [[Australian Psychological Society]].<ref name="aps">{{cite web |website=Australian Psychological Society |url=http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/tip_sheets/orientation/ |title=Sexual orientation and homosexuality |access-date=December 17, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090717121843/http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/tip_sheets/orientation/ |archive-date=17 July 2009}}</ref> The American Psychological Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists expressed concerns that the positions espoused by [[National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality|NARTH]] are not supported by the science and create an environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish.<ref name="royal2009" /><ref name="apaexgay">{{cite web |title=Statement of the American Psychological Association |url=http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/policy/ex-gay.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514111323/http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/policy/ex-gay.pdf |archive-date=14 May 2011 |access-date=24 August 2010}}</ref>
The American Psychiatric Association says "individuals maybe become aware at different points in their lives that they are heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual" and "opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as 'reparative' or [[Conversion therapy|'conversion' therapy]], which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality ''[[Per se (terminology)|per se]]'' is a mental disorder, or based upon a prior assumption that the patient should change his/her homosexual orientation". They do, however, encourage [[gay affirmative psychotherapy]].<ref name="What is">{{cite web |url=http://www.psychiatry.org/lgbt-sexual-orientation |title=LGBT-Sexual Orientation: What is Sexual Orientation? |website=American Psychiatric Association |access-date=December 17, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628094701/http://www.psychiatry.org/lgbt-sexual-orientation |archive-date=28 June 2014}}</ref> Similarly, the American Psychological Association is doubtful about the effectiveness and side-effect profile of sexual orientation change efforts, including conversion therapy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts |url=http://www.apa.org/about/policy/sexual-orientation.aspx |access-date=December 17, 2025 |website=American Psychological Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422190850/http://www.apa.org/about/policy/sexual-orientation.aspx |archive-date=22 April 2018}}</ref>
The American Psychological Association "encourages mental health professionals to avoid misrepresenting the efficacy of sexual orientation change efforts by promoting or promising change in sexual orientation when providing assistance to individuals distressed by their own or others' sexual orientation and concludes that the benefits reported by participants in sexual orientation change efforts can be gained through approaches that do not attempt to change sexual orientation".<ref name="apa2009" />
==Causes== {{Main|Biology and sexual orientation|Environment and sexual orientation}}
Scientists have come to favor biological causes of sexual orientation.<ref name="Bailey" /><ref name="Frankowski"/> There is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial, biological causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males.<ref name="Bailey"/><ref name=":2" /> There is no substantive evidence which suggests parenting or early childhood experiences play a role with regard to sexual orientation.<ref name="rcp2007"/><ref name="Frankowski"/><ref name="Bailey" />
The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] stated in ''[[Pediatrics (journal)|Pediatrics]]'' in 2004:
{{cquote|There is no scientific evidence that abnormal parenting, sexual abuse, or other adverse life events influence sexual orientation. Current knowledge suggests that sexual orientation is usually established during early childhood.<ref name="Frankowski"/> }}
The [[American Psychological Association]], [[American Psychiatric Association]], and [[National Association of Social Workers]] stated in 2006: {{cquote|Currently, there is no scientific consensus about the specific factors that cause an individual to become heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual—including possible biological, psychological, or social effects of the parents' sexual orientation. However, the available evidence indicates that the vast majority of lesbian and gay adults were raised by heterosexual parents and the vast majority of children raised by lesbian and gay parents eventually grow up to be heterosexual.<ref name="apahelp"/> }}
=== Prenatal hormones === {{main|Prenatal hormones and sexual orientation}}
The prenatal hormonal theory of homosexuality posits that variations in exposure to sex hormones, particularly androgens and estrogens, during critical periods of early brain development play a central role in shaping sexual orientation. Evidence from natural experiments in humans and animal studies have found that elevated prenatal androgens are associated with increased attraction to females, while reduced androgen signaling or increased prenatal estrogen exposure may be linked to increased attraction to males.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tasos |first=Emmanouil |date=2022-09-19 |title=To What Extent are Prenatal Androgens Involved in the Development of Male Homosexuality in Humans? |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352125966 |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |language=en |volume=69 |issue=11 |pages=1928–1963 |doi=10.1080/00918369.2021.1933792 |pmid=34080960 |issn=0091-8369}}</ref><ref name="Bailey" />
=== Genes === {{main|Biology and sexual orientation}}
Evidence from [[Twin study|twin studies]] and molecular genetics studies indicate that genes likely play some role in sexual orientation.<ref name="Bailey" />{{Reference page|pages=74-77}}<ref name=":5">{{cite book |last1=Ngun |first1=TC |url=https://www.religiousforums.com/data/attachment-files/2019/12/40282_16ed12d7833a298ffd4e46994391da60.pdf |title=Epigenetic Shaping of Sociosexual Interactions - from Plants to Humans |last2=Vilain |first2=E |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-12-800222-3 |series=Adv Genet |volume=86 |pages=167–84 |chapter= The Biological Basis of Human Sexual Orientation|doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-800222-3.00008-5 |pmid=25172350}}</ref> Scientists caution that many people misconstrue the meanings of ''genetic'' and ''environmental''. [[Environment and sexual orientation|Environmental influence]] does not automatically imply that the social environment influences or contributes to the development of sexual orientation. Hypotheses for the impact of the post-natal social environment on sexual orientation are weak, especially for males.<ref name="Bailey" />
=== Maternal immune response === {{Main|Fraternal birth order and male sexual orientation}}
One environmental hypothesis of homosexuality is the maternal immune hypothesis, which proposes that male homosexuality might arise from a biological response by a mother's immune system to a male fetus during pregnancy.<ref name="Bailey" /> According to the hypothesis, when a woman is pregnant with a male fetus, her body is exposed to male-specific antigens linked to the Y chromosome. In some mothers, this exposure triggers an immune response that produces antibodies against these proteins. With each successive male pregnancy, the maternal immune response is thought to strengthen, and the resulting antibodies may cross the placenta to affect the sexual differentiation of the developing fetal brain. This process is hypothesized to underlie the [[fraternal birth order effect]], the observation that the likelihood of a man being homosexual increases with the number of older biological brothers he has.<ref name="Bailey" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Balthazart |first=Jacques |date=2018-01-09 |title=Fraternal birth order effect on sexual orientation explained |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=115 |issue=2 |pages=234–236 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1719534115 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=5777082 |pmid=29259109 |bibcode=2018PNAS..115..234B }}</ref><ref name=":2" />
=== Epigenetic hypothesis === {{Main|Epigenetic theories of homosexuality}}
A hypothesis developed by Rice et al. proposes that [[Epigenetics|epigenetic]] "epi‐marks" (non–DNA sequence modifications like [[DNA methylation]]) play a central buffering role in sexual development, by controlling how strongly fetal androgen signaling influences tissues.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last1=Rice |first1=William R. |last2=Friberg |first2=Urban |last3=Gavrilets |first3=Sergey |date=2012 |title=Homosexuality as a Consequence of Epigenetically Canalized Sexual Development |url=https://scottbarrykaufman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Rice-et-al.-2012.pdf |journal=The Quarterly Review of Biology |language=en |volume=87 |issue=4 |pages=343–368 |doi=10.1086/668167 |pmid=23397798 |issn=0033-5770}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> Some of those epi‐marks are sex‐specific (i.e. different in XX vs. XY embryos) and help protect against atypical androgen exposure (too much in XX, too little in XY). Occasionally, some of these protective epi‐marks escape erasure across generations, and find themselves in an opposite‐sex individual, causing a gonad–trait discordance (a mismatch between gonadal sex and some sexually dimorphic traits).<ref name=":6" /> Rice et al. propose that such a discordance may be causing same‐sex sexual orientations.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" />
===Evolution=== Since homosexuality tends to lower [[reproductive success]], it is unclear how it is maintained in the population at a relatively high frequency.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Zietsch | first1=B | last2=Morley | first2=K | last3=Shekar | first3=S | last4=Verweij | first4=K | last5=Keller | first5=M | last6=Macgregor | first6=S | last7=Wright | first7=M | last8=Bailey | first8=J | last9=Martin | first9=N | title=Genetic factors predisposing to homosexuality may increase mating success in heterosexuals | journal=Evolution and Human Behavior | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=29 | issue=6 | year=2008 | issn=1090-5138 | doi=10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2008.07.002 | pages=424–433| bibcode=2008EHumB..29..424Z }}</ref> There are many proposed explanations, such as genes predisposing to homosexuality also conferring advantage in heterosexuals (sexual antagonism),<ref name="Bailey" /> a [[kin selection]] effect,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Evolutionary-Mystery-of/135762/|title=The Evolutionary Mystery of Homosexuality|newspaper=The Chronicle of Higher Education|author=David P. Barash|date=19 November 2012|access-date=13 November 2017|archive-date=13 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113113529/http://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Evolutionary-Mystery-of/135762/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[self-domestication]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wrangham |first=Richard W. |title=The goodness paradox: the strange relationship between virtue and violence in human evolution |date=2019 |publisher=Vintage Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC |isbn=978-1-101-97019-5 |edition=1 |location=New York}}</ref> and more.
==Parenting== {{Main|Same-sex parenting||}}
Scientific research has been generally consistent in showing that lesbian and gay parents are as fit and capable as heterosexual parents, and their children are as psychologically healthy and well-adjusted as children reared by heterosexual parents.<ref name="cpa2006">{{cite web |title=Marriage of Same-Sex Couples – 2006 Position Statement Canadian Psychological Association |url=http://www.cpa.ca/cpasite/userfiles/Documents/Marriage%20of%20Same-Sex%20Couples%20Position%20Statement%20-%20October%202006%20(1).pdf |access-date=2 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419195945/http://www.cpa.ca/cpasite/userfiles/Documents/Marriage%20of%20Same-Sex%20Couples%20Position%20Statement%20-%20October%202006%20%281%29.pdf |archive-date=19 April 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="apsp">{{cite web |url=http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/LGBT-Families-Lit-Review.pdf |title=Elizabeth Short, Damien W. Riggs, Amaryll Perlesz, Rhonda Brown, Graeme Kane: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Parented Families – A Literature Review prepared for The Australian Psychological Society |access-date=5 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304014530/http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/LGBT-Families-Lit-Review.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2011 }}</ref><ref name="amici2010">{{cite web |url=http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/general/2010/10/27/amicus29.pdf |title=Brief of the American Psychological Association, The California Psychological Association, The American Psychiatric Association, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy as Amici Curiae in support of plaintiff-appellees |access-date=21 December 2010 |archive-date=13 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413160709/http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/general/2010/10/27/amicus29.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="amici" /><ref name="pediatrics">{{cite journal |vauthors=Pawelski JG, Perrin EC, Foy JM, etal |title=The effects of marriage, civil union, and domestic partnership laws on the health and well-being of children |journal=Pediatrics |volume=118 |issue=1 |pages=349–64 |date=July 2006 |pmid=16818585 |doi=10.1542/peds.2006-1279|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="herek2006">{{cite journal|author=Herek GM |title=Legal recognition of same-sex relationships in the United States: a social science perspective |journal=The American Psychologist |volume=61 |issue=6 |pages=607–21 |date=September 2006 |pmid=16953748 |doi=10.1037/0003-066X.61.6.607 |url=http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/AP_06_pre.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610164736/http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/AP_06_pre.PDF |archive-date=10 June 2010 }}</ref><ref name="cpa2005">{{cite web |url=http://www.cpa.ca/cpasite/userfiles/Documents/advocacy/brief.pdf |title=Brief presented to the Legislative House of Commons Committee on Bill C38 by the Canadian Psychological Association | date=2 June 2005 |access-date=2 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013225547/http://www.cpa.ca/cpasite/userfiles/Documents/advocacy/brief.pdf |archive-date=13 October 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Some research has examined the sexual orientation of children raised by same-sex couples. A 2005 review of studies by [[Charlotte J. Patterson]] for the American Psychological Association did not find higher rates of homosexuality among the children of lesbian or gay parents.<ref name="APAreport">{{cite web |website=American Psychological Association |url=http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/parenting-full.pdf |title=Lesbian & Gay Parenting |date=2005 |access-date=December 17, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923221332/http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/parenting-full.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref> According to Bailey et al. 2016, available data do not suggest higher rates of non-heterosexuality among children of same-sex couples. However, they state that even given a modest heritability of sexual orientation, it would be expected that biological children of non-heterosexuals would be more likely to have a non-heterosexual orientation due to genes alone.{{Sfn|Bailey|Vasey|p=84|Diamond|Breedlove|2016}} According to a 2011 data, 80% of the children being raised by same-sex couples in the US are their own biological children.<ref name="ABCNews2">{{cite news |last=DONALDSON JAMES |first=SUSAN |date=23 June 2011 |title=Census 2010: One-Quarter of Gay Couples Raising Children |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/sex-couples-census-data-trickles-quarter-raising-children/story?id=13850332 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101191951/https://abcnews.go.com/Health/sex-couples-census-data-trickles-quarter-raising-children/story?id=13850332 |archive-date=1 November 2019 |access-date=11 July 2013 |publisher=ABC News |location=United States |quote="Still, more than 80 percent of the children being raised by gay couples are not adopted, according to Gates."}}</ref> In addition, accepting social environments may facilitate the open expression of individuals same-sex attraction.{{Sfn|Bailey|Vasey|p=87|Diamond|Breedlove|2016}} Thus, it is necessary to control for various confounding factors.{{Sfn|Bailey|Vasey|p=84|Diamond|Breedlove|2016}} One study by Bailey et al. found that the sexual orientation of sons raised by gay men was not related to length of time they had lived with their fathers (social theories of homosexuality would predict sons who lived with a gay father the longest would be most likely to be gay).<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Glen |url=http://archive.org/details/borngaypsychobio0000wils_w8m9 |title=Born Gay? The Psychobiology of Sex Orientation |last2=Rahman |first2=Qazi |date=2008 |publisher=London : Peter Owen |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7206-1309-4 |pages=36 |ol=32175341M |ol-access=free}}</ref> The Bailey et al. review conclude that social environmental influence on male sexual orientation is not well supported, while it remains more plausible for female sexual orientation.{{Sfn|Bailey|Vasey|p=87|Diamond|Breedlove|2016}}
==Health== {{Further|Lesbian#Health}}
===Physical=== [[File:Map_of_blood_donation_policies_for_men_who_have_sex_with_men.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|[[Blood donation restrictions on men who have sex with men|Blood donation policies for men who have sex with men]] {{legend|#9F9|– Men who have sex with men may donate blood; '''No deferral'''}} {{legend|#FFB|– Men who have sex with men may donate blood; '''Temporary deferral'''}} {{legend|#F99|– Men who have sex with men may not donate blood; '''Permanent deferral'''}} {{legend|#C0C0C0|– No Data}}]]
The terms "[[men who have sex with men]]" (MSM) and "[[women who have sex with women]]" (WSW) refer to people who engage in sexual activity with others of the same sex regardless of how they identify themselves—as many choose not to accept [[identity (social science)|social identities]] as lesbian, gay and bisexual.<ref name=msmafrica>{{cite web|url=http://www.aidsportal.org/News_Details.aspx?id=5208&nex=5 |title=MSM in Africa: highly stigmatized, vulnerable and in need of urgent HIV prevention |publisher=Aidsportal.org |access-date=24 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713125016/http://www.aidsportal.org/News_Details.aspx?ID=5208 |archive-date=13 July 2007 }}</ref><ref name=UNAIDS1>{{cite web |title=UNAIDS: Men who have sex with men |publisher=UNAIDS |url=http://www.unaids.org/en/PolicyAndPractice/KeyPopulations/MenSexMen/default.asp |format=asp |access-date=24 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618190907/http://www.unaids.org/en/PolicyAndPractice/KeyPopulations/MenSexMen/default.asp |archive-date=18 June 2008 }}</ref><ref name=TGHIVINF>{{cite web |last=Greenwood |first=Cseneca |author2=Mario Ruberte |title=African American Community and HIV (Slide 14 mentions TG women) |publisher=East Bay AIDS Education and Training Center |date=9 April 2004 |url=http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/African_American_Transgenders_and_HIV.ppt |format=ppt |access-date=24 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910171338/http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/African_American_Transgenders_and_HIV.ppt |archive-date=10 September 2008 }}</ref><ref name=MSTSW>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Operario D, Burton J, Underhill K, Sevelius J |title=Men who have sex with transgender women: challenges to category-based HIV prevention |journal=AIDS Behav |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=18–26 |date=January 2008 |pmid=17705095 |doi=10.1007/s10461-007-9303-y|s2cid=31831055 }}</ref><ref name=TGMSMNET>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Operario D, Burton J |title=HIV-related tuberculosis in a transgender network—Baltimore, Maryland, and New York City area, 1998–2000 |journal=MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. |volume=49 |issue=15 |pages=317–20 |date=April 2000 |pmid=10858008 |url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4915a1.htm |access-date=9 September 2017 |archive-date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019190220/https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4915a1.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> These terms are often used in medical literature and [[social research]] to describe such groups for study, without needing to consider the issues of sexual self-identity. The terms are seen as problematic by some, however, because they "obscure social dimensions of sexuality; undermine the self-labeling of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people; and do not sufficiently describe variations in sexual behavior".<ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Young RM, Meyer IH |title=The trouble with "MSM" and "WSW": erasure of the sexual-minority person in public health discourse |journal=Am J Public Health |volume=95 |issue=7 |pages=1144–9 |date=July 2005 |pmid=15961753 |pmc=1449332 |doi=10.2105/AJPH.2004.046714}}</ref>
In contrast to its benefits, sexual behavior can be a [[Vector (epidemiology)|disease vector]]. [[Safe sex]] is a relevant [[harm reduction]] philosophy.<ref>{{cite web|title=STI Epi Update: Oral Contraceptive and Condom Use |url=http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/epiu-aepi/std-mts/std511_e.html |publisher=[[Public Health Agency of Canada]] |date=23 April 1998 |access-date=11 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927063228/http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/epiu-aepi/std-mts/std511_e.html |archive-date=27 September 2006 }}</ref> Many countries [[Gay male blood donor controversy|currently prohibit men who have sex with men from donating blood]]; the policy of the [[United States of America|United States]] [[Food and Drug Administration]] states that "they are, as a group, at increased risk for [[HIV]], [[hepatitis B]] and certain other infections that can be transmitted by transfusion."<ref name=Blood>{{cite web|author=Cber / Fda |url=https://www.fda.gov/cber/faq/msmdonor.htm |title=FDA Policy on Blood Donations from Men Who Have Sex with Other Men |website=[[Food and Drug Administration]] |access-date=24 August 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071011035223/https://www.fda.gov/cber/faq/msmdonor.htm |archive-date = 11 October 2007}}</ref>
===Mental=== When it was first described in medical literature, homosexuality was often approached from a view that sought to find an inherent psychopathology as its root cause. Much literature on mental health and homosexual patients centered on their [[Clinical depression|depression]], [[substance abuse]], and suicide. Although these issues exist among people who are [[non-heterosexual]], discussion about their causes shifted after homosexuality was removed from the [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual]] (DSM) in 1973. Instead, social ostracism, legal discrimination, internalization of negative stereotypes, and limited support structures indicate factors homosexual people face in Western societies that often adversely affect their mental health.<ref> Schlager, Neil, ed. (1998). ''Gay & Lesbian Almanac''. St. James Press. {{ISBN|1-55862-358-2}}, p.152.</ref> Stigma, prejudice, and discrimination stemming from negative societal attitudes toward homosexuality lead to a higher prevalence of mental health disorders among lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals compared to their heterosexual peers.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=[[Ilan Meyer|Meyer, Ilan H.]] |title=Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: conceptual issues and research evidence |journal=Psychological Bulletin |volume=129 |issue=5 |pages=674–97 |date=September 2003 |pmid=12956539 |pmc=2072932 |doi=10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674 |bibcode=2003PsycB.129..674M }}</ref> Evidence indicates that the liberalization of these attitudes is associated with a decrease in such mental health risks among younger sexual minority people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-10/cums-bgm100207.php |title=Black gay men, lesbians, have fewer mental disorders than whites, says Mailman School of PH study |publisher=Eurekalert.org |access-date=24 August 2010 |archive-date=7 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507073023/http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-10/cums-bgm100207.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Gay and lesbian youth=== {{See also|Suicide among LGBT youth}} Gay and lesbian youth bear an increased risk of suicide, substance abuse, school problems, and isolation because of a "hostile and condemning environment, verbal and physical abuse, rejection and isolation from family and peers".<ref name=dhhs>{{citation |title=Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide |editor-first=Marcia R. |editor-last= Fenleib |year=1989 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |isbn=0-16-002508-7 |last=Gibson |first=P. |contribution=Gay and Lesbian Youth Suicide}}</ref> Further, LGBT youths are more likely to report psychological and physical abuse by parents or caretakers, and more sexual abuse. Suggested reasons for this disparity are that (1) LGBT youths may be specifically targeted on the basis of their [[sexual orientation profiling|perceived sexual orientation]] or gender non-conforming appearance, and (2) that "risk factors associated with sexual minority status, including discrimination, invisibility, and rejection by family members...may lead to an increase in behaviors that are associated with risk for victimization, such as substance abuse, sex with multiple partners, or running away from home as a teenager."<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.apa.org/journals/features/ccp733477.pdf |title=Victimization Over the Life Span: A Comparison of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Siblings |first=Kimberly F. |last=Balsam |author2=Esther D. Rothblum |date=June 2005 |journal=Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology |volume=73 |issue=3 |pages=477–487 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311233920/http://www.apa.org/journals/features/ccp733477.pdf |archive-date=11 March 2007 |doi=10.1037/0022-006x.73.3.477 |pmid=15982145}}</ref>
Crisis centers in larger cities and information sites on the Internet have arisen to help youth and adults.<ref name=suicideorg>{{citation |title=Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Suicide |url=http://www.suicide.org/gay-and-lesbian-suicide.html |first=Kevin |last=Caruso |website=Suicide.org |access-date=4 May 2007 |archive-date=30 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430000229/http://www.suicide.org/gay-and-lesbian-suicide.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[The Trevor Project]], a suicide prevention helpline for gay youth, was established following the 1998 airing on HBO of the [[Academy Award]] winning short film ''[[Trevor (film)|Trevor]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/07/02/trevor.project/index.html | title=24-hour help for gay youth | publisher=CNN | date=2 July 2008 | access-date=26 July 2015 | author=Wilson, Jacque | archive-date=30 December 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230213800/http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/07/02/trevor.project/index.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
==Law and politics== {{Main|LGBT rights by country or territory}}
===Legality=== {{World homosexuality laws map|align=right|size=350px}} {{LGBT rights}} {{main|Criminalization of homosexuality}}
Most nations do not prohibit consensual sex between unrelated persons above the local [[age of consent]]. Some jurisdictions further recognize identical rights, protections, and privileges for the family structures of same-sex couples, including [[same-sex marriage|marriage]]. Some countries and jurisdictions mandate that all individuals restrict themselves to heterosexual activity and disallow homosexual activity via [[sodomy law]]s. Offenders can face the death penalty in Islamic countries and jurisdictions ruled by [[sharia]]. There are, however, often significant differences between official policy and real-world enforcement.
Although homosexual acts were decriminalized in some parts of the [[Western world]], such as [[LGBT rights in Poland|Poland]] in 1932, [[LGBT rights in Denmark|Denmark]] in 1933, [[LGBT rights in Sweden|Sweden]] in 1944, and [[LGBT rights in the United Kingdom|England and Wales]] in 1967, it was not until the mid-1970s that the [[LGBT community|gay community]] first began to achieve limited [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]] in some [[Developed country|developed countries]]. A turning point was reached in 1973 when the [[American Psychiatric Association]], which previously listed homosexuality in the [[DSM-I]] in 1952, removed homosexuality in the [[DSM-II]], in recognition of scientific evidence.<ref name=amici/> In 1977, [[Quebec]] became the first state-level jurisdiction in the world to prohibit [[discrimination]] on the grounds of sexual orientation. During the 1980s and 1990s, several developed countries enacted laws decriminalizing homosexual behavior and prohibiting discrimination against lesbian and gay people in employment, housing, and services. On the other hand, many countries today in the Middle East and Africa, as well as several countries in Asia, the Caribbean and the South Pacific, outlaw homosexuality. In 2013, the [[Supreme Court of India]] upheld Section 377 of the [[Indian Penal Code]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Shyamantha |first=Asokan |title=India's Supreme Court turns the clock back with gay sex ban |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-rights-gay-idUSBRE9BA05620131211 |access-date=23 December 2013 |work=[[Reuters]] |date=11 December 2013 |archive-date=16 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216040454/https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/11/us-india-rights-gay-idUSBRE9BA05620131211 |url-status=live }}</ref> but in 2018, overturned its previous ruling and legalized homosexual activity in India.<ref>{{cite news |title=Supreme Court of India scraps ban on homosexuality with its judgment on Section 377. |date=9 September 2018 |work=[[NDTV]] |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/supreme-court-verdict-of-section-377-full-text-1912373 |access-date=7 September 2018 |archive-date=7 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907192214/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/supreme-court-verdict-of-section-377-full-text-1912373 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ten countries or jurisdictions, all of which are predominantly [[Islam]]ic and governed according to [[sharia]] law, have imposed the [[Capital punishment for homosexuality|death penalty for homosexuality]]. These include Afghanistan, Iran, Brunei, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, and several regions in Nigeria and Jubaland.<ref name="ILGA 2015">{{cite web|author1=Aengus Carroll|author2=Lucas Paoli Itaborahy|title=State-Sponsored Homophobia: A World Survey of Laws: criminalisation, protection and recognition of same-sex love|url=https://ilga.org/downloads/2017/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2017_WEB.pdf|website=International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex association|access-date=5 April 2019|date=May 2015|archive-date=23 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423183404/https://ilga.org/downloads/2017/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2017_WEB.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/28/brunei-brings-in-death-by-stoning-as-punishment-for-gay-sex|title=Brunei introduces death by stoning as punishment for gay sex|last=Ellis-Petersen|first=Hannah|date=28 March 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=28 March 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=14 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314174740/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/28/brunei-brings-in-death-by-stoning-as-punishment-for-gay-sex|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Brunei says it won't enforce gay death penalty after backlash |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brunei-lgbt-sultan/brunei-says-it-wont-enforce-gay-death-penalty-after-backlash-idUSKCN1SB0FS |work=Reuters |date=6 May 2019 |access-date=19 August 2019 |archive-date=14 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814145052/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brunei-lgbt-sultan/brunei-says-it-wont-enforce-gay-death-penalty-after-backlash-idUSKCN1SB0FS |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://ilga.org/downloads/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2019.pdf|title=State-Sponsored Homophobia 2019|last=Mendos|first=Lucas Ramón|publisher=ILGA|year=2019|location=Geneva|pages=359|access-date=4 February 2021|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222220100/https://ilga.org/downloads/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2019.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=UAE Penal Code |url=https://www.adjd.gov.ae/sites/Authoring/AR/ELibrary%20Books/E-Library/PDFs/Penal%20Code.pdf |website=ADJD.gov.ae |access-date=1 February 2020 |archive-date=29 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200429154519/https://www.adjd.gov.ae/sites/Authoring/AR/ELibrary%20Books/E-Library/PDFs/Penal%20Code.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/13/here-are-the-10-countries-where-homosexuality-may-be-punished-by-death-2/ |title=Here are the 10 countries where homosexuality may be punished by death |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=16 June 2016 |access-date=25 August 2017 |archive-date=24 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824094144/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/13/here-are-the-10-countries-where-homosexuality-may-be-punished-by-death-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Laws against sexual orientation discrimination===
====United States==== * [[Employment discrimination]] refers to discriminatory employment practices such as bias in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, and compensation, and various types of harassment. [[Employment discrimination law in the United States|In the United States]] there is "very little statutory, common law, and case law establishing employment discrimination based upon sexual orientation as a legal wrong."<ref name=soandthelaw>{{citation |title=Sexual Orientation and the Law |first=James M |last=Donovan |author2=American Association of Law Libraries Standing Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues |year=2007 |publisher=William S. Hein & Co. |isbn=978-0-8377-0166-0}} § 5:17</ref> Some exceptions and alternative legal strategies are available. President [[Bill Clinton]]'s [[Executive Order 13087]] (1998) prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in the competitive service of the federal civilian workforce,<ref name=clintonexecorder>{{citation |title=Executive Order 13087 of May 28, 1998 |url=http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=1998_register&docid=fr02jn98-135.pdf |periodical=[[Federal Register]] |volume=63 |number=105 |date=2 June 1998 |access-date=7 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041118191439/http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=1998_register&docid=fr02jn98-135.pdf |archive-date=18 November 2004 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and federal non-civil service employees may have recourse under the [[Due Process Clause]] of the [[United States Constitution|U.S. Constitution]].<ref name=ashtonciviletti>''Ashton v. Civiletti'', 613 [[Federal Reporter|F.2d]] 923, 20 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. ([[Bloomberg BNA|BNA]]) 1601, 21 Empl. Prac. Dec. ([[CCH (company)|CCH]]) paragraph 30297 (D.C. Cir. 1979)</ref> Private sector workers may have a [[Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964]] action under a quid pro quo [[sexual harassment]] theory,<ref name=kellyoakland>''Kelly v. City of Oakland'', 198 F.3d 779, 81 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1455, 77 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) paragraph 46281 (9th Cir. 1999)</ref> a "[[hostile work environment]]" theory,<ref name=oncalesundowner>{{ussc|name=Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.|link=|volume=523|page=75|pin=|year=1998}}.</ref> a sexual stereotyping theory,<ref name=pwchopkins>{{ussc|name=Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins|link=|volume=490|page=228|pin=|year=1989}}.</ref> or others.<ref name=soandthelaw/> * [[Housing discrimination]] refers to discrimination against potential or current tenants by landlords. In the United States, there is no federal law against such discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, but at least thirteen states and many major cities have enacted laws prohibiting it.<ref name=findlawrenters>{{citation |access-date=7 September 2007 |url=http://realestate.findlaw.com/tenant/tenant-fair-housing/tenant-fair-housing-orientation.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210161544/http://realestate.findlaw.com/tenant/tenant-fair-housing/tenant-fair-housing-orientation.html |archive-date=10 December 2007 |title=Renter's Rights Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination}}</ref> * [[Hate crime]]s are crimes motivated by [[homophobia]], or bias against an identifiable [[social group]], usually groups defined by [[race (human classification)]], [[religion]], sexual orientation, [[disability]], [[ethnicity]], [[nationality]], age, [[gender]], [[gender identity]], or [[political affiliation]]. In the United States, 45 states and the [[District of Columbia]] have statutes criminalizing various types of bias-motivated violence or intimidation (the exceptions are [[Arizona|AZ]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|GA]], [[Indiana|IN]], [[South Carolina|SC]], and [[Wyoming|WY]]). Each of these statutes covers bias on the basis of race, religion, and ethnicity; 32 of them cover sexual orientation, 28 cover gender, and 11 cover transgender/gender-identity.<ref name=adl>{{citation|url=http://www.adl.org/99hatecrime/state_hate_crime_laws.pdf |title=State Hate Crime Laws |periodical=[[Anti-Defamation League]] |date=June 2006 |access-date=4 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614124916/http://www.adl.org/99hatecrime/state_hate_crime_laws.pdf |archive-date=14 June 2007 }}</ref> In October 2009, the [[Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act]], which "...gives the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability", was signed into law and makes hate crime based on sexual orientation, amongst other offenses, a federal crime in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hrc.org/13699.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028224353/http://www.hrc.org/13699.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 October 2009 |title=President Barack Obama Signs Hate Crimes Legislation into Law |publisher=HRC |date=28 October 2009 |access-date=24 August 2010 }}</ref>
====European Union==== In the [[European Union]], discrimination of any type based on sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal under the [[Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union]].<ref>[[s:Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union#CHAPTER III. EQUALITY|Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union]]</ref>
===Political activism=== {{Further|LGBT social movements}} {{more citations needed section|date=January 2018}}
Since the 1960s, many LGBT people in the West, particularly those in major metropolitan areas, have developed a so-called [[Queer culture|gay culture]]. To many,{{Who|date=January 2012}} gay culture is exemplified by the [[gay pride]] movement, with annual parades and displays of rainbow flags. Yet not all LGBT people choose to participate in "queer culture", and many gay men and women specifically decline to do so. To some{{Who|date=January 2012}} it seems to be a frivolous display, perpetuating gay stereotypes.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}} [[File:OriginalRainbowPrideFlag.jpg|thumb|Original Rainbow Pride Flag in [[San Francisco]], designed by [[Gilbert Baker (artist)|Gilbert Baker]] in 1978]]
With the outbreak of [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] in the early 1980s, many LGBT groups and individuals organized campaigns to promote efforts in AIDS education, prevention, research, patient support, and community outreach, as well as to demand government support for these programs.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
The death toll wrought by the AIDS epidemic at first seemed to slow the progress of the gay rights movement, but in time it galvanized some parts of the LGBT community into community service and political action, and challenged the heterosexual community to respond compassionately. Major American motion pictures from this period that dramatized the response of individuals and communities to the AIDS crisis include ''[[An Early Frost]]'' (1985), ''[[Longtime Companion]]'' (1990), ''[[And the Band Played On]]'' (1993), ''[[Philadelphia (film)|Philadelphia]]'' (1993), and ''[[Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt]]'' (1989).{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
[[Coming out|Publicly gay politicians]] have attained numerous government posts, even in countries that had [[sodomy law]]s in their recent past. Examples include [[Guido Westerwelle]], Germany's [[Vice-Chancellor of Germany|Vice-Chancellor]]; [[Pete Buttigieg]], the [[United States Secretary of Transportation]], [[Peter Mandelson]], a British [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] cabinet minister and [[Per-Kristian Foss]], formerly [[Norway|Norwegian]] [[Minister of Finance]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
LGBT movements are opposed by a variety of individuals and organizations. Some [[social conservatism|social conservatives]] believe that all sexual relationships with people other than an opposite-sex spouse undermine the traditional family<ref>{{cite web |url=http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=a1312e636369f010VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD |title=First Presidency Message on Same-Gender Marriage |publisher=Newsroom |date=20 October 2004 |access-date=October 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603123925/http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=a1312e636369f010VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD |archive-date=3 June 2008}}</ref> and that children should be reared in homes with both a father and a mother.<ref name=DMD>{{cite web|last=Brownback |first=Sam |title=Defining Marriage Down – We need to protect marriage. |work=[[National Review]] |date=9 July 2004 |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/brownback200407090921.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080601155703/http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/brownback200407090921.asp |archive-date=1 June 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng |title=''The Family: A Proclamation to the World'' |publisher=Lds.org |date=23 September 1995 |access-date=24 August 2010 |archive-date=3 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603234916/https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng |url-status=live }}</ref> Some argue that gay rights may conflict with individuals' freedom of speech,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/michael_gove/article805241.ece |newspaper=The Times |title=I'd like to say this, but it might land me in prison |date=24 December 2002 |first=Michael |last=Gove |location=London |access-date=27 June 2008 |archive-date=18 September 2008 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080918211024/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/michael_gove/article805241.ece |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/christian-group-likens-tory-candidate-review-to-witch-hunt-1.644299 |title=Christian group likens Tory candidate review to witch hunt |date=28 November 2007 |publisher=[[CBC News]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605082143/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/christian-group-likens-tory-candidate-review-to-witch-hunt-1.644299 |archive-date=5 June 2008 }}</ref> religious freedoms in the workplace,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1193735028038 |title=Employer's Dilemma: When Religious Expression and Gay Rights Cross |first=Judith |last=Moldover |work=[[New York Law Journal]] |date=31 October 2007 |access-date=27 June 2008 |archive-date=28 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928053154/http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1193735028038 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1374/is_1_68/ai_n24944645 |title=Collision of religious and gay rights in the workplace |work=Humanist |date=January–February 2008 |first=Bob |last=Ritter |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305210524/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1374/is_1_68/ai_n24944645/ |archive-date=5 March 2012 }}</ref> the ability to run churches,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/6904057.stm |title=Bishop loses gay employment case |date=18 July 2007 |work=[[BBC News Online]] |access-date=27 June 2008 |archive-date=30 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930123030/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/6904057.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> charitable organizations<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2080669/Catholic-adoption-service-stops-over-gay-rights.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2080669/Catholic-adoption-service-stops-over-gay-rights.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Catholic adoption service stops over gay rights |date=5 June 2008 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |first=Martin |last=Beckford | location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/03/11/catholic_charities_stuns_state_ends_adoptions/ |title=Catholic Charities to halt adoptions over issue involving gays |date=10 March 2006 |last=LeBlanc |first=Steve |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |access-date=14 September 2009 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212653/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/03/11/catholic_charities_stuns_state_ends_adoptions/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and other religious organizations<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.therecord.com/News/CanadaWorld/article/341201 |date=24 April 2008 |first=Greg |last=Mercer |work=The Record |title=Christian Horizons rebuked: Employer ordered to compensate fired gay worker, abolish code of conduct |access-date=21 August 2009 |archive-date=6 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706173512/http://news.therecord.com/News/CanadaWorld/article/341201 |url-status=live }}</ref> in accordance with one's religious views, and that the acceptance of homosexual relationships by religious organizations might be forced through threatening to remove the tax-exempt status of churches whose views do not align with those of the government.<ref name=BannedBoston>{{Cite news |url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/191kgwgh.asp |title=Banned in Boston: The coming conflict between same-sex marriage and religious liberty |first=Maggie |last=Gallagher |date=15 May 2006 |volume=011 |issue=33 |access-date=27 June 2008 |archive-date=16 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516000949/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/191kgwgh.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/nyregion/14civil.html |date=14 August 2007 |title=Church Group Complains of Civil Union Pressure |first=Jill |last=Capuzzo |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=8 February 2017 |archive-date=30 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630114638/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/nyregion/14civil.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/nyregion/18grove.html |title=Group Loses Tax Break Over Gay Union Issue |first=Jill |last=Capuzzo |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=18 September 2007 |access-date=31 March 2010 |archive-date=28 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628033942/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/nyregion/18grove.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700226242,00.html |title=LDS Church expresses disappointment in California gay marriage decision |date=15 May 2008 |first=Carrie |last=Moore |work=[[Deseret News]] |access-date=21 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601193325/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1%2C5143%2C700226242%2C00.html |archive-date=1 June 2009 }}</ref>
===Military service=== {{Main|Sexual orientation and military service}} [[File:Obama signs DADT repeal.jpg|thumb|U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] signs into law the [[Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010]].]]Policies and attitudes toward gay and lesbian [[military]] personnel vary widely around the world. Some countries allow gay men, lesbians, and bisexual people to serve openly and have granted them the same rights and privileges as their heterosexual counterparts. Many countries neither ban nor support LGB service members. A few countries continue to ban homosexual personnel outright.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
Most Western military forces have removed policies excluding sexual minority members. Of the 26 countries that participate militarily in [[NATO]], more than 20 permit openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people to serve. Of the permanent members of the [[United Nations Security Council]], three ([[United Kingdom]], [[France]] and [[United States]]) do so. The other two generally do not: [[China]] bans gay and lesbian people outright, [[Russia]] excludes all gay and lesbian people during peacetime but allows some gay men to serve in wartime (see below). [[Israel]] is the only country in the Middle East region that allows openly LGB people to serve in the military.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
According to the [[American Psychological Association]], [[empirical evidence]] fails to show that sexual orientation is relevant to military effectiveness including [[unit cohesion]], morale, recruitment and retention.<ref>{{cite web | publisher=American Psychological Association | url=http://www.apa.org/about/governance/council/policy/military.aspx | title=Proceedings of the American Psychological Association, Incorporated, for the legislative year 2004. Minutes of the meeting of the Council of Representatives July 28 & 30, 2004, Honolulu, HI | access-date=18 November 2004 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215235251/http://www.apa.org/about/governance/council/policy/military.aspx |archive-date=15 February 2010 }}</ref>
==Society and sociology== {{Further|Societal attitudes toward homosexuality}}
===Public opinion=== [[File:Acceptance of Homosexuality Worldwide (Pew Research Poll 2019-20).svg|thumb|upright=1.35|right|2019 Pew Global Research Poll: Should homosexuality be accepted in society? Percentage of responders that answered ''accept'': {{div col|colwidth=6em}} {{legend|#a50026|0–10%}} {{legend|#d73027|11–20%}} {{legend|#f46d43|21–30%}} {{legend|#fdae61|31–40%}} {{legend|#fee090|41–50%}} {{legend|#e0f3f8|51–60%}} {{legend|#abd9e9|61–70%}} {{legend|#74add1|71–80%}} {{legend|#4575b4|81–90%}} {{legend|#313695|91–100%}} {{legend|#c0c0c0|No data}} {{div col end}}]] Societal acceptance of non-heterosexual orientations such as homosexuality is lowest in Asian, African and Eastern European countries,<ref>{{cite news |title=Anti-LGBT views still prevail, global survey finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/17/global-lgbt-rights-new-survey-ilga |work=The Guardian |date=17 May 2016 |access-date=4 August 2019 |archive-date=18 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518105707/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/17/global-lgbt-rights-new-survey-ilga |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe |url=https://www.pewforum.org/2017/05/10/social-views-and-morality/ |work=Pew Research Center |date=10 May 2017 |access-date=4 August 2019 |archive-date=13 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913212457/https://www.pewforum.org/2017/05/10/social-views-and-morality/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and is highest in Western Europe, Australia, and the Americas. Western society has become increasingly accepting of homosexuality since the 1990s. In 2017, Professor Amy Adamczyk contended that these cross-national differences in acceptance can be largely explained by three factors: the relative strength of democratic institutions, the level of economic development, and the religious context of the places where people live.<ref name="Adamczyk">{{cite book|last=Adamczyk|first=Amy|title=Cross-National Public Opinion about Homosexuality: Examining Attitudes across the Globe|year=2017|publisher=University of California Press|pages=3–7|isbn=9780520963597|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wly8DQAAQBAJ|access-date=12 February 2017|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728131506/https://books.google.com/books?id=wly8DQAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>
These [[Stereotype|stereotypical]] beliefs of the people against the LGBTQ+ community have caused rejection and discriminatory behavior against them. Various researches have shown that LGBTQ+ people in societies that do not recognize homosexuality as a sexual identity of such group feel insecure, psychological pressure and isolated from the society.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Coleman |first=Hazir |date=2019 |title=The Impact of Discrimination Against The LGBTQ Community. |journal=Ramifications |volume=1 |issue=1 |url=https://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/ramifications/vol1/iss1/4/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Takács |first=Judit |date=April 2006 |title=Social exclusion of young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Europe. |url=https://www.salto-youth.net/downloads/4-17-948/ReportSocialExclusionIGLYOilga.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=A brief history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender social movements |url=https://www.apa.org/topics/lgbtq/history |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=American Psychological Association}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Love is a human right |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/discrimination/lgbti-rights/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Amnesty International |language=en}}</ref> Legal restrictions such as imprisonment, fear of [[execution]], not been to allowed employment in governmental jobs, along with informal restrictions such as sexual abuse in society, exclusion from family and social groups, verbal and public humiliation, etc., have all made life difficult for the LGBTQ+ groups.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |date=2023-05-11 |title=Investigating the Dynamics of the Iranian LGBT Community from Legal and Religious Perspectives |url=https://lampyridjournal.com/index.php/journal/article/view/192 |journal=Lampyrid: The Journal of Bioluminescent Beetle Research |language=en |volume=13 |pages=846–869 |issn=2041-4900}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |date=2021 |title=LGBT IN IRAN: THE HOMOPHOBIC LAWS AND SOCIAL SYSTEM IN ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN |url=https://archives.palarch.nl/index.php/jae/article/view/10978 |journal=PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt / Egyptology |language=en |volume=18 |issue=18 |pages=1446–1464 |issn=1567-214X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Ahmady, Kameel. Narratives and minority: Stories from lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals in Iran: And an overview on the prevalence of LGB groups, Paper presented at the 2th International Conferences on Economics and Social Sciences Hosted by The Polytechnic of Guarda PORTUGAL, pp. 543–557, August 27 – 28, 2022. |journal=2th International Conferences on Economics and Social Sciences}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Ahmady, Kameel Et al 2018: Forbidden Tale (A comprehensive study on lesbian, gay, bisexuals (LGB) in Iran). Mehri Publishing, London-UK.}}</ref>
===Relationships=== In 2006, the [[American Psychological Association]], [[American Psychiatric Association]] and [[National Association of Social Workers]] stated in an [[Amicus curiae|amicus brief]] presented to the [[Supreme Court of California]]: "Gay men and lesbians form stable, committed relationships that are equivalent to heterosexual relationships in essential respects. The institution of marriage offers social, psychological, and health benefits that are denied to same-sex couples. By denying same-sex couples the right to marry, the state reinforces and perpetuates the stigma historically associated with homosexuality. Homosexuality remains stigmatized, and this stigma has negative consequences. California's prohibition on marriage for same-sex couples reflects and reinforces this stigma". They concluded: "There is no scientific basis for distinguishing between same-sex couples and heterosexual couples with respect to the legal rights, obligations, benefits, and burdens conferred by civil marriage."<ref name=amici />
===Religion=== {{Main|Homosexuality and religion}}
Though the relationship between [[homosexuality and religion]] is complex, current authoritative bodies and doctrines of the world's largest religions view homosexual behaviour negatively.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} This can range from quietly discouraging homosexual activity, to explicitly forbidding same-sex sexual practices among adherents and actively opposing social acceptance of homosexuality. Some teach that homosexual desire itself is sinful,<ref name=OPCtrial>{{cite web|url=http://www.upper-register.com/irons_trial/charges.pdf|title=Charge #1 and specifications preferred by the Presbytery of Southern California against The Rev. C. Lee Irons|access-date=27 June 2008|publisher=Presbytery of Southern California of the [[Orthodox Presbyterian Church]]|quote=claiming that homosexuality is an unchosen "condition," rather than a sin of the heart, ... contradicts the teaching of Scripture that both the desire and the act are sin.|archive-date=23 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723194409/http://www.upper-register.com/irons_trial/charges.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> others state that only the sexual act is a sin,<ref>Sex and Society – Volume 3 – Page 824</ref> while others are completely accepting of gays and [[lesbian]]s.<ref>The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Religion and Social Justice – Page 543, Michael D. Palmer, Stanley M. Burgess – 2012</ref> Some claim that homosexuality can be overcome through religious faith and practice. On the other hand, voices exist within many of these religions that view homosexuality more positively, and liberal [[religious denomination]]s may bless [[same-sex marriage]]s. Some view same-sex love and sexuality as sacred, and a [[LGBT themes in mythology|mythology of same-sex love]] can be found throughout the world.{{sfn|Cabezón|1992|p=vii}} According to a 2025 poll conducted by [[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]], almost half of LGBT Americans identify as religious.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kallo |first=Becka A. Alper and Asta |date=22 August 2025 |title=Religion and spirituality among LGBT Americans |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/08/22/religion-and-spirituality-among-lgbt-americans/ |access-date=2025-10-29 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Discrimination== [[File:Cologne Germany Cologne-Gay-Pride-2015 Parade-17a.jpg|thumb|LGBT activists at [[Cologne Pride]] in 2015 carrying a banner with the flags of 70 countries where [[LGBT rights by country or territory|homosexuality is illegal]]]]
===Gay bullying=== {{main|Gay bullying}}
Gay bullying can be the [[verbal abuse|verbal]] or [[physical abuse]] against a person who is perceived by the aggressor to be [[lesbian]], [[gay]], [[bisexual]], [[transgender]], or generally queer, including persons who are actually [[heterosexual]] or of non-specific or unknown [[sexual orientation]]. In the US, teenage students heard anti-gay slurs such as "homo", "faggot" and "sissy" about 26 times a day on average, or once every 14 minutes, according to a 1998 study by Mental Health America (formerly National Mental Health Association).<ref>{{cite web|title=Mental Health American, Bullying and Gay Youth |url=http://www.nmha.org/go/information/get-info/children-s-mental-health/bullying-and-gay-youth |publisher="Mental Health America" formerly National Mental Health Association |access-date=27 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414144851/http://www.nmha.org/go/information/get-info/children-s-mental-health/bullying-and-gay-youth |archive-date=14 April 2012 }}</ref>
===Heterosexism and homophobia=== {{Further|Heterosexism|Homophobia}} [[File:Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill protest.jpg|thumb|left|Protests in New York City against [[Uganda]]'s [[Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill|Anti-Homosexuality Bill]]]] In many cultures, homosexual people are frequently subject to prejudice and discrimination. A 2011 Dutch study concluded that 49% of Holland's youth and 58% of youth foreign to the country reject homosexuality.<ref>{{cite web|title=Half of young Dutch people reject homosexuality|url=http://community.expatica.com/forums/topic/2993/half-of-young-dutch-people-reject-homosexuality|publisher=Expatica/COC|access-date=9 January 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111201212113/http://community.expatica.com/forums/topic/2993/half-of-young-dutch-people-reject-homosexuality|archive-date=1 December 2011}}</ref> Similar to other minority groups they can also be subject to [[LGBT stereotypes|stereotyping]]. These attitudes tend to be due to forms of homophobia and heterosexism (negative [[attitude (psychology)|attitude]]s, bias, and discrimination in favor of opposite-sex sexuality and relationships). Heterosexism can include the presumption that everyone is heterosexual or that opposite-sex attractions and relationships are the [[norm (social)|norm]] and therefore superior. [[Homophobia]] is a fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexual people. It manifests in different forms, and a number of different types have been postulated, among which are internalized homophobia, social homophobia, emotional homophobia, rationalized homophobia, and others.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.genderandhealth.ca/en/modules/sexandsexuality/gss-homophobia-02.jsp |title=Riddle Homophobia Scale |access-date=27 April 2021 |archive-date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427192627/http://www.genderandhealth.ca/en/modules/sexandsexuality/gss-homophobia-02.jsp |url-status=live }}</ref> Similar is [[lesbophobia]] (specifically targeting lesbians) and [[biphobia]] (against bisexual people). When such attitudes manifest as crimes they are often called [[hate crimes]] and [[gay bashing]].
Negative stereotypes characterize LGB people as less romantically stable and more likely to abuse children, but there is no scientific basis to such assertions. Gay men and lesbians form stable, committed relationships that are equivalent to heterosexual relationships in essential respects.<ref name=amici /> Sexual orientation does not affect the likelihood that people will abuse children.<ref name=lamb>{{cite web |url=http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/gill-v-office-of-personnel-management/2009-11-17-doma-aff-lamb.pdf |title=Affidavit of Michael Lamb |publisher=United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts |date=2009 |access-date=December 17, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225193923/http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/gill-v-office-of-personnel-management/2009-11-17-doma-aff-lamb.pdf |archive-date=25 December 2010}}</ref><ref name=herekm>{{cite web |first=Gregory M. |last=Herek |url=http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_molestation.html |title=Facts About Homosexuality and Child Molestation |website=UC Davis |access-date=December 17, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419022239/http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/HTML/facts_molestation.html |archive-date=19 April 2010}}</ref><ref name="APAreport" /> Claims that there is scientific evidence to support [[pedophilia and homosexuality|an association between being gay and being a pedophile]] are based on misuses of those terms and misrepresentation of the actual evidence.<ref name="herekm"/>
===Violence against homosexuals=== {{Main|Violence against LGBT people}}
{{Further|Rape}}
In the United States, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] reported that 20.4% of hate crimes reported to law enforcement in 2011 were based on sexual orientation bias. 56.7% of these crimes were based on bias against homosexual men. 11.1% were based on bias against homosexual women. 29.6% were based on anti-homosexual bias without regard to gender.<ref name=fbicrime>{{citation |title=Victims |url=https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2011/narratives/victims |periodical=[[FBI]] |access-date=26 July 2013 |archive-date=8 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708091754/https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2011/narratives/victims |url-status=live }}</ref> Lesbians, may become the victims of "[[corrective rape]]", a violent crime with the supposed aim of making them heterosexual.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}} In certain parts of the world, LGBT people are also at risk of "[[honor killing]]s" perpetrated by their families or relatives,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/honor-killings-target-turkeys-lgbt-community/ |title='Honor killings' target Turkey's LGBT community |publisher=CBS News |date=12 October 2011 |access-date=23 December 2013 |archive-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213215545/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/honor-killings-target-turkeys-lgbt-community/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Di Piero Russo |url=http://bari.repubblica.it/cronaca/2011/08/05/news/sei_il_disonore_della_famiglia-20061452/ |title=Sei il disonore della famiglia" e accoltella il fratello gay |date=5 August 2011 |publisher=bari.repubblica.it |access-date=23 December 2013 |archive-date=24 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224192322/http://bari.repubblica.it/cronaca/2011/08/05/news/sei_il_disonore_della_famiglia-20061452/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/father-confesses-to-killing-his-own-son-in-landmark-homosexual-murder-case.aspx?PageID=238&NID=47579&NewsCatID=341 |title=Father confesses to killing his own son in landmark homosexual murder case |date=25 May 2013 |publisher=hurriyetdailynews.com |access-date=23 December 2013 |archive-date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019185457/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/father-confesses-to-killing-his-own-son-in-landmark-homosexual-murder-case.aspx?PageID=238&NID=47579&NewsCatID=341 |url-status=live }}</ref> or violence perpetrated by the state.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.dk/samling/20161/almdel/uui/bilag/148/1735024.pdf|title=Morocco Situation of LGBT Persons|access-date=21 March 2019|publisher=Danish Immigration Service|archive-date=21 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821132917/https://www.ft.dk/samling/20161/almdel/uui/bilag/148/1735024.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Homosexual behavior in other animals== {{Main|Homosexual behavior in animals}}
[[File:Manchot 01.jpg|thumb|[[Roy and Silo]], two [[New York City|New York]] [[Central Park Zoo]] male [[chinstrap penguin]]s similar to those pictured, became internationally known when they coupled and later were given an egg that needed hatching and care, which they successfully provided.<ref name="Love That Dare Not Squeak">{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Dinitia |date=7 February 2004 |title=Love That Dare Not Squeak Its Name |work=The New York Times |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0C1EF83A5F0C748CDDAB0894DC404482 |access-date=10 September 2007 |archive-date=29 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129081419/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0C1EF83A5F0C748CDDAB0894DC404482 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
Homosexual and bisexual behaviors occur in a number of other animal species. Such behaviors include [[Animal sexual behaviour|sexual activity]], [[courtship]], [[affection]], [[pair bond]]ing, and [[parenting]],<ref name=Bagemihl/> and are widespread; a 1999 review by researcher [[Bruce Bagemihl]] shows that homosexual behavior has been documented in about 500 species, ranging from [[primate]]s to [[Acanthocephala|gut worms]].<ref name=Bagemihl/><ref name="Biological Exuberance: Animal">{{Cite magazine |last=Harrold |first=Max |date=16 February 1999 |title=Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Biological+Exuberance:+Animal+Homosexuality+and+Natural+Diversity.-a053877996 |magazine=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]] |via=[[TheFreeLibrary]]|access-date=10 November 2023 |archive-date=20 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520172429/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Biological+Exuberance:+Animal+Homosexuality+and+Natural+Diversity.-a053877996 |url-status=live|publisher=Regent Media }}</ref> Animal sexual behavior takes many different forms, even within the same species. The motivations for and implications of these behaviors have yet to be fully understood, since most species have yet to be fully studied.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gordon |first=Dennis |date=10 April 2007 |title='Catalogue of Life' reaches one million species |url=http://www.niwascience.co.nz/pubs/mr/archive/2007-04-10-3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713004634/http://www.niwascience.co.nz/pubs/mr/archive/2007-04-10-3 |archive-date=13 July 2007 |access-date=10 September 2007 |publisher=[[National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research]]}}</ref> According to Bagemihl, "the animal kingdom [does] it with much greater sexual diversity—including homosexual, bisexual and nonreproductive sex—than the scientific community and society at large have previously been willing to accept".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gay Lib for the Animals: A New Look At Homosexuality in Nature – 2/1/1999 – Publishers Weekly |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19990201/26501-gay-lib-for-the-animals-a-new-look-at-homosexuality-in-nature-.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729131204/http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/19990201/26501-gay-lib-for-the-animals-a-new-look-at-homosexuality-in-nature-.html |archive-date=29 July 2012 |access-date=2 September 2012 |publisher=Publishersweekly.com}}</ref> According to [[J. Michael Bailey|Bailey]] et al., [[domestic sheep]] are the only conclusively documented example of animals to exhibit an exclusively homosexual orientation, besides humans.<ref name="Bailey"/>
A review paper by N. W. Bailey and [[Marlene Zuk]] looking into studies of same-sex sexual behaviour in animals challenges the view that such behaviour lowers reproductive success, citing several hypotheses about how same-sex sexual behavior might be adaptive; these hypotheses vary greatly among different species.<ref name="Bailey et al.">{{Cite journal |last1=Bailey |first1=N. W. |last2=Zuk |first2=M. |year=2009 |title=Same-sex sexual behavior and evolution |url=http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~mzuk/Bailey%20and%20Zuk%202009%20Same%20sex%20behaviour.pdf |journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution |volume=24 |issue=8 |pages=439–446 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2009.03.014 |pmid=19539396 |bibcode=2009TEcoE..24..439B |access-date=21 April 2013 |archive-date=14 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514185847/http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/~mzuk/Bailey%20and%20Zuk%202009%20Same%20sex%20behaviour.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
In October 2023, biologists reported studies of animals (over 1,500 different species) that found [[same-sex behavior]] (not necessarily related to human orientation) may help improve social stability by reducing conflict within the groups studied.<ref name="NAT-20231003">{{cite journal |author=Gómez, José M. |display-authors=et al. |date=3 October 2023 |title=The evolution of same-sex sexual behaviour in mammals |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=14 |article-number=5719 |bibcode=2023NatCo..14.5719G |doi=10.1038/s41467-023-41290-x |pmc=10547684 |pmid=37788987 |number=5719}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20231003cz">{{cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |date=3 October 2023 |title=Same-Sex Behavior Evolved in Many Mammals to Reduce Conflict, Study Suggests |url=Same-Sex Behavior Evolved in Many Mammals to Reduce Conflict, Study Suggests |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004011315/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/science/same-sex-behavior-evolution-mammals.html#permid=128206761 |archivedate=4 October 2023 |accessdate=4 October 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |authorlink=Carl Zimmer}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|LGBTQ}} {{cols|colwidth=18em}} * [[LGBT rights by country or territory]] * [[LGBT rights at the United Nations]] * [[Anti-LGBT rhetoric]] * [[Biology and sexual orientation]] * [[Fraternal birth order and male sexual orientation]] * [[Gender dysphoria]] * [[Hate speech]] * [[Human male sexuality]] * [[List of nonfiction books about homosexuality]] * [[List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people]] * [[Religion and sexuality]] * [[Riddle scale|Riddle homophobia scale]] * [[Sexual practices between men]] * [[Sexual practices between women]] * [[Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures]] * [[LGBTQ music]] {{Div col end}}
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==References== {{Refbegin|30em}}
===Books=== ;1980s * Adam, Barry (1987). ''The Rise of a Gay and Lesbian Movement'', G. K. Hall & Co. {{ISBN|0-8057-9714-9}} * {{Citation |first=John |last=Boswell |url=https://archive.org/details/christianitysoci00john |title=Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1980 |isbn=978-0-226-06711-7 }} * Dover, Kenneth J., ''Greek Homosexuality'', Gerald Duckworth & Co. 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===Online articles=== * Burr, Chandler. [https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/199706/homosexuality-biology/ Homosexuality and biology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516011900/http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/199706/homosexuality-biology |date=16 May 2008 }}. ''The Atlantic'', June 1997, {{ISSN|1072-7825}}. An overview of recent research in layman's language. * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/55169.stm BBC News (Feb 1998)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219052528/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/55169.stm |date=19 February 2006 }}: Fingerprints Study * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/325979.stm BBC News (Apr 1999)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060207094555/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/325979.stm |date=7 February 2006 }}: Doubt cast on 'gay gene' * {{cite web |url=https://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/news/20000329/pointing-finger-androgen-cause-homosexuality |title=Pointing the Finger at Androgen as a Cause of Homosexuality |website=WebMD |date=March 2000 |access-date=31 January 2017 |archive-date=14 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314190108/http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/news/20000329/pointing-finger-androgen-cause-homosexuality |url-status=live }} * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3735668.stm BBC News (Oct 2004)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060704142807/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3735668.stm |date=4 July 2006 }}: Genetics of homosexuality * James Davidson, ''[[London Review of Books]]'', 2 June 2005, [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n11/davi02_.html "Mr and Mr and Mrs and Mrs"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051012111141/http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n11/davi02_.html |date=12 October 2005 }}—detailed review of ''The Friend'', by Alan Bray, a history of same-sex marriage and other same-sex formal bonds {{Refend}}
==External links== {{Sister project links}} <!--======================== {{No more links}} ============================ | PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS IN ADDING MORE LINKS TO THIS ARTICLE. Wikipedia | | is not a collection of links nor should it be used for advertising. | | | | Excessive or inappropriate links WILL BE DELETED. | | See [[Wikipedia:External links]] & [[Wikipedia:Spam]] for details. | | | | If there are already plentiful links, please propose additions or | | replacements on this article's discussion page, or submit your link | | to the relevant category at the Open Directory Project (dmoz.org) | | and link back to that category using the {{dmoz}} template. | ====== ========{{No more links}}=== ======== --> * [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/homosexuality/ ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' – Homosexuality] * [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1529100616637616 Sexual Orientation, Controversy and Science]
{{LGBTQ|main=yes|orientation=yes}} {{Sexual identities}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Homosexuality| ]] [[Category:LGBTQ studies]] [[Category:Love]] [[Category:Psychiatric false diagnosis]] [[Category:1860s neologisms]] [[Category:Sexual orientations]]