At different times and in different cultures, homosexual behaviour has been variously approved of, tolerated, punished, and banned. Before Christian ideas of morality were introduced to tribal African cultures in the late 1800s, there was little to no stigma attached to homosexuality. By the 21st century, many societies had been discussing sexuality and sexual practices with increased candour. A range of more recent surveys, concerning predominantly homosexual behaviour as well as same-gender sexual contact in adulthood, have yielded results that are both higher and lower than those identified by Kinsey. After encountering strong criticism from conservatives and some military leaders—including Colin Powell, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—Clinton was eventually forced to support a compromise policy—summed up by the phrase “Don’t ask, don’t tell”—that was viewed…, …Tell” policy that had prohibited gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, and legislation was enacted that extended medical benefits to first responders to the September 11 attacks. The recorded history of homosexuality is rather short; the binary of "straight" and "gay" is a newly recorded and talked about concept, globally speaking, and before the introduction of intolerant religious moral codes, most pre-colonial societies had more fluid concepts of gender roles. All of this history has turned Lesbos into a popular tourist destination for queer travelers over the years, which has, in turn, had the effect of turning Lesbos back into a lesbian haven. Some other information was added by the English scholars Richard Burton and Havelock Ellis. Despite the prevalence of male prostitutes and slaves among the Roman rulers and nobles, laws prohibiting passive anal sex between men were put in place. But the book makes … 1806 – Yorkshire gentlewoman Anne Lister starts writing love letters to and from Eliza Raine. Lesbians, especially those uninvolved with intravenous drugs and the sex trade, were probably the demographic group least affected by AIDS. Homosexuality is defined as a sexual orientation towards members of one's own gender rather than the opposite — it can refer both to men and women. ... (for a detailed history, see Lewes, 1988; for briefer summaries, see Bayer, 1987; Silverstein, 1991). Lesbos is a small island in the Aegean Sea (whose residents are indeed called "Lesbians") and is known as the home of Sappho, the lyric poet who wrote a number of passionate odes to female-female relationships. For example, in … Russia repeals its sodomy laws after the Bolshevik Revolution, citing their origin in Biblical … The ancient Egyptians were anything but uptight about same-gender and queer relationships. Their claims of success, however, are controversial. As long as there have been humans, there have been same-gender relationships; some societies have just been better about embracing that than others. “Intense excitement among 60 persons inside,” read the New York Times coverage on Feb. 22. The Kinsey report of 1948, for example, found that 30 percent of adult American males among Kinsey’s subjects had engaged in some homosexual activity and that 10 percent reported that their sexual practice had been exclusively homosexual for a period of at least three years between the ages of 16 and 55. When Heinrich Hössli and K. H. Ulrichs began their pioneering homosexual scholarship in the late 19th century, they found little in the way of comprehensive historical data, except for material from ancient Greece and Islam. Updates? From this time…. Lister … The stereotypes of male homosexuals as weak and effeminate and lesbians as masculine and aggressive, which were widespread in the West as recently as the 1950s and early ’60s, have largely been discarded. Ancient Greece itself was similarly divided, especially when considering there was no unified "Ancient Greece," but rather a loose collection of city-states in a similar geographic region that shared some similarities and some cavernous differences. 1998;35(1):25-51. doi: 10.1300/J082v35n01_02. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. The American Psychiatric Association, for example, declassified “ego-syntonic homosexuality” (the condition of a person content with his or her homosexuality) as a mental illness in 1973. The term gay is frequently used as a synonym for homosexual; female homosexuality is often referred to as lesbianism. It is likely that many instances of homosexuality result from a combination of inborn or constitutional factors and environmental or social influences. Judeo-Christian as well as Muslim cultures have generally perceived homosexual behaviour as sinful. Researchers such as Alfred Kinsey reported that homosexual activity was a frequent pattern in adolescence, among both males and females. The topic has threatened to cause outright schisms in some denominations. Many Jewish and Christian leaders, however, have gone to great lengths to make clear that it is the acts and not the individuals or even their “inclination” or “orientation” that their faiths proscribe. Adult, consensual intercourse between two male partners, on the other hand, was frowned upon. Relics of our evolutionary history, homosexuality and bisexuality are very commonly practiced in nearly every culture, whether tolerated or not. In Namibia, for example, police officers were instructed to “eliminate” homosexuals. After the Romans conquered the Greeks in 146 BCE, the acceptance of homosexual lifestyles in society began to erode. Publication date 2002-11-15 Topics Gay studies (Gay men), Sex & sexuality, Historiography, Homosexuality, Social Science, Gender Studies, Sociology, Gay Studies, Social Science / Gay Studies, Greece, History, Homosexuality, Male Publisher University Of Chicago Press Collection inlibrary; printdisabled; internetarchivebooks; china … Additionally, there are records of long-term sensual relationships between women in Lesotho called motsoalle that were celebrated alongside heterosexual pairings — up until the missionaries came in. The 19th-century psychologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing, whose Psychopathia Sexualis (1886) included masturbation, sado-masochism, and “lust-murder” in its list of sexual perversions, saw it as originating in heredity. How to Do the History of Homosexuality expands on this view, updates it, answers its critics, and makes greater allowance for continuities in the history of sexuality. Most tribes had unique words for different LGBTQ+ individuals and practices, and many tribes shared the belief homosexuality was just something adolescents engaged in as natural part of the development process. As has been frequently noted, the ancient Greeks did not have terms orconcepts that correspond to the contemporary dichotomy of‘heterosexual’ and ‘homosexual’ (e.g.,Foucault, 1980). Instrumental in the victory for Greece was a group of soldiers known as the Sacred Band of Thebes; a legion of soldiers composed entirely of men that were partnered with each other. Biases in psychoanalysis : Although psychoanalytic theories of … I certainly knew no gay men, except in the sublime stories I found and read — those by James Baldwin, E M Forster and Iris Murdoch.” By 2003, R Raj Rao’s novel, “The Boyfriend” had an increasingly self-aware, assertive audience, even though the police could still use creaking, colonial laws to prosecute and homosexual men in India. Homosexuality, sexual interest in and attraction to members of one’s own sex. Kinsey’s research methods and conclusions have been much criticized, however, and further studies have produced somewhat different and varying results. In response to their activism, many jurisdictions enacted laws banning discrimination against homosexuals, and an increasing number of employers in America and European countries agreed to offer “domestic partner” benefits similar to the health care, life insurance and, in some cases, pension benefits available to heterosexual married couples. One of the issues that loomed largest for gay men in the last two decades of the 20th century and beyond was AIDS. Many present-day African nations have strict anti-homosexuality laws in place, but contrary to assertions by the former President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe, homosexuality is not "anti-African" — and far from it. 1917. Psychologists in the 19th and 20th centuries, most of whom classified homosexuality as a form of mental illness, developed a variety of theories on its origin. The first known appearance of homosexual in print is found in an 1869 German pamphlet by the Austrian-born novelist Karl-Maria Kertbeny, published anonymously, arguing against a Prussian anti- sodomy law. Although the topic of homosexuality was little discussed in the public forum during the early part of the 20th century, it became a political issue in many Western countries during the late 20th century. In Ecuador a gay rights group called Quitogay received so much threatening e-mail that it was given support by Amnesty International. Historical literary evidence indicates that homosexuality has been prevalent across the Indian subcontinent throughout history, and that homosexuals were not necessarily considered inferior in any way until about 18th century during British colonial rule. In an UK Gay News op-ed piece, Baker wrote: “In my view the rainbow flag is unfinished, as the movement it represents, an arc that begins well before me, its breadth far broader than all of our experiences put together, reaching the farthest corners of the world with a message of solidarity and a beacon of hope for those who follow in our footsteps.” ... His colorful, provocative, and socially-conscious images form an … Nonetheless, some religious groups continue to emphasize reparative therapy in the attempt to “cure” homosexuality through prayer, counseling, and behaviour modification. Before there were any openly gay or lesbian leaders, political clubs, books, films, newspapers, businesses, neighborhoods, churches or le-gally recognized gay rights, several generations of pioneers spontane-ously created gay bathhouses and lesbian and gay bars. In 1987, Delta Airlines apologized for arguing in plane crash litigation that it should pay less in … While there has been some minimal pushback from the locals, LGBTQ+ tourism has been taking place since the 1970s. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Most people can be identified at a point on either side of the midpoint of the spectrum, with bisexuals (those who respond sexually to persons of either sex) situated in the middle. In Western history, we find little formal study of what was later called homosexuality before the 19th century, beyond medical texts identifying women with large clitorises as “tribades” and severe punishment codes for male homosexual acts. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. A look at the long road through love, discrimination, visibility, propaganda, activism, acceptance, and hope in the LGBTQ community around the world and throughout history. There are, however, some signs of change. Although homosexuality does not appear to be adaptive from an evolutionary standpoint, because homosexual sex does not produce children, there is evidence of its existence through human history. The problem with this is that it paints all historical people with the same intolerant brush. However, most shared with gay men the desire to have a secure place in the world community at large, unchallenged by the fear of violence, the struggle for equal treatment under the law, the attempt to silence, and any other form of civil behaviour that imposes second-class citizenship. Novelist and playwright Larry Kramer, who believed a more aggressive presence was needed, founded the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), which began promoting political action, including outing, through local chapters in such cities as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Paris. It was a cold February morning, 118 years ago this month, when New York City police conducted their first recorded raid on a gay bathhouse. “The conduct of some of the frequenters of the establishment was questionable.” Instead of categorizing people in absolute terms as either homosexual or heterosexual, Kinsey observed a spectrum of sexual activity, of which exclusive orientations of either type make up the extremes. The Buggery Act of 1533, passed by Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII, is the first time in law that male homosexuality was targeted for persecution in the UK. Johann Hari: the hidden history of homosexuality in the US. The Egyptians didn't view sexuality in binary terms and male-male relationships were accepted under a number of circumstances. In modern connotations, that word refers to sexual relations between a grown man and an underage boy. In Sparta, for example, pederasty between young and senior officials in the military was thought to be particularly prevalent. Attitudes toward homosexuality are generally in flux, partially as a result of increased political activism (see gay rights movement) and efforts by homosexuals to be seen not as aberrant personalities but as differing from “normal” individuals only in their sexual orientation. While there has been much debate about whether Sappho herself was actually attracted women, many have deemed her an international symbol for LGBTQ+ individuals. What follows is a brief description of ancientGreek attitudes, but it is important to recognize that there wasregional variation. In one such instance, Albania repealed its sodomy statutes in 1995, and gay couples in Amsterdam in 2001 were legally married under the same laws that govern heterosexual marriage (rather than under laws that allowed them to “register” or form “domestic” partnerships). In much of North America and western Europe, the heterosexual population became aware of gay and lesbian communities for the first time. How to Do the History of Homosexuality by David M. Halperin. In a society that was known for their sacred concubines, condoning inter-familial relationships, and believing in afterlife intercourse, homosexuality was seen as nothing out of the ordinary. The conflicting views of homosexuality—as a variant but normal human sexual behaviour on one hand, and as psychologically deviant behaviour on the other—remain present in most societies in the 21st century, but they have been largely resolved (in the professional sense) in most developed countries. Corrections? The Senate also ratified a new Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) treaty with Russia, capping what was one of the…, …with the consolidation of male homosexuality as a distinct social identity, given legal definition at the time (in the Labouchere amendment of 1885, which criminalized homosexuality as gross indecency), not least in the famous case involving the arrest and imprisonment of Irish poet and dramatist Oscar Wilde. Homo comes from the Greek meaning ‘the same’. Completely outlawing sodomy in Britain – and by extension what would become the entire British Empire – convictions were punishable by death. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/homosexuality, Official Site of the International Lesbian and Gay Association. His contemporary Sigmund Freud characterized it as a result of conflicts of psychosexual development, including identification with the parent of the opposite sex. Homosexuality, sexual interest in and attraction to members of one’s own sex. Female-female relationships are largely undocumented in ancient Greece, with one significant exception. The term gay is frequently used as a synonym for homosexual; female homosexuality is often referred to as lesbianism. In 1886, the psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing used the terms homosexual and heterosexual in his book Psychopathia Sexualis. Rather, homosexuality exists only within certain cultures and within certain time periods, most obviously Europe and North America after the nineteenth century. As such, gay bars and baths are an integral part of gay political history. In most of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, both the subject and the behaviour are considered taboo, with some slight exception made in urban areas. Others have looked at social influences and physiological events in fetal development as possible origins. Arthashastra of Kautilya -- a treatise on politics -- also mentions homosexuality. Author R Halwani 1 Affiliation 1 School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL 60603, USA. Ancient Greece, 500-400 BCE There is considerable documentation surrounding homosexuality in ancient Greece. The differences among cultures are the openness with which it is practiced. The legend is their deep love for their fellow soldiers led them to fight tenaciously and unselfishly, fiercely protecting their mates in battle. Homosexuality was not uncommon in ancient Greece and Rome, and the relationships between adult and adolescent males in particular have become a chief focus of Western classicists in recent years. In Western countries, attitudes were somewhat more liberal. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. With all the progress the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement has made in recent years, many see acceptance as the way of the future and homophobia as a marker of the past. Still others, notably those in the public eye, had their sexual orientation revealed in the media and against their will by activists either for or against gay rights—a controversial practice known as “outing.”. Here's a quick lesson on homosexuality throughout history. By the end of the century, however, when the Berlin Scientific-Humanitarian Committee was formed it was r… About half as many women in the study reported predominantly homosexual activity. …promise to end discrimination against gay men and lesbians in the military. Pride events are held all over the world in support of LGBTQ+ rights. Together with a growing acceptance of homosexuality as a common expression of human sexuality, long-standing beliefs about homosexuals had begun to lose credence. (See sexology.) The most documentation and debate revolves around the practice of paiderastia, or pederasty. Another thing we know from modern research is that some degree of bisexuality, in the absence of cultural taboos, is not only extremely common in men, but is probably the … The most documentation and debate revolves around the practice of paiderastia, or pederasty. Colonialism brought not just slavery, disease, and environmental exploitation, but also homophobia as well. Above all, Halperin offers a vigorous defense of the historicist approach to the construction of sexuality, an approach that sets a premium on the description of other societies in all their irreducible specificity and does not force them to fit our own … Omissions? The history of homosexuality entails discussions of two explicitly different topics: 1) The history of the word itself, underscoring that "homosexual" is a social construct, and 2) a more popular understanding of the concept "homosexuality", through the history of homosexual orientation in general, and how societies have treated people who are attracted to same-sex sexual or romantic partners.. … Wherever opinion can be freely expressed, debates about homosexuality will likely continue. The Greeks attached no such moral judgements to the word and used it instead as a descriptor of the wide-spread, legal, and socially sanctioned practice of mentorship — that is, mentorship that involved the mentor (or erastes) taking liberties with the mentee (the eromenos), which the mentee may or may not have consented to. ... Essentialism, social constructionism, and the history of homosexuality J Homosex. There is a wealth of material from ancient Greecepertinent to issues of sexuality, ranging from dialogues of Plato,such as the Symposium, to plays by Aristophanes, and Greekartwork and vases. The term "Luan Feng" was used to describe homosexuality in the "Shang Dynasty Records". In modern connotations, that word refers to sexual relations between a grown man and an underage boy. As a result homosexuals were at the forefront of advocacy for research into the disease and support for its victims through groups such as Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York City. While it's true queer people through the course of history have been marginalized and oppressed in many cultures, there were many places and times in history when being gay was celebrated, or at least understood as a normal part of life. There is considerable documentation surrounding homosexuality in ancient Greece. Others—from factions within mainstream Protestantism to organizations of Reform rabbis—have advocated, on theological as well as social grounds, the full acceptance of homosexuals and their relationships. Plato once wrote of homosexual relations that it was "utterly unholy" and "the ugliest of things.". Find out about the history of gay rights in the UK. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. See Article History. In the 20th-century United States, a field known as sex research was established among the social and behavioral sciences in an effort to investigate actual sexual practice. As mentioned above, different societies respond differently to homosexuality. This was particularly true in the United States, where the gay rights movement is often seen as a late offshoot of various civil rights movements of the 1960s. While the vast majority of Sappho's work has been lost to history, her one complete surviving poem is "Ode to Aphrodite" (also known as "Hymn to Aphrodite"), a prayer to the goddess of love from an unnamed speaker who desperately seeks the affections of a young woman. In the late 20th century gay men and lesbians proudly revealed their sexual orientation in increasing numbers. The Pride parade in London will be taking place on Saturday. Situational homosexual activity tends to occur in environments such as prisons, where there are no opportunities for heterosexual contact. History of Homosexuality in the West. The disease also took a heavy toll on the arts communities in these centres, and virtually none of the artistic output of gay men in the late 20th century was untouched by the topic and the sense of great loss. In Germany, Albert Mollpublished a volume containing lists of famous homosexuals. Although conditions for gay people had generally improved in most of Europe and North America at the turn of the 21st century, elsewhere in the world violence against gay people continued. "Homosexuality is assuredly no advantage, but it is nothing to be ashamed of, no vice, no degradation, it cannot be classified as an illness; we consider it to be a variation of the sexual function produced by a certain arrest of sexual development. History of Homosexuality Formal historical data provided by ancient records dealing with male homosexuality in China can be dated back to the Shang Dynasty (c. 16th century - 11th century BC), according to Li Yinhe in her book History of Chinese Homosexuality. The Buggery Act 1533 The gay and bisexual community of America pre-dates Columbus – and continues to shape the nation. At different times and in different cultures, homosexual behaviour has been variously approved of, tolerated, punished, and banned. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. "Homosexual" is a term that was coined in the late nineteenth century by German psychologists who considered it a mental illness. After the 1969 Stonewall riots, in which New York City policemen raided a gay bar and met with sustained resistance, many homosexuals were emboldened to identify themselves as gay men or lesbians to friends, to relatives, and even to the public at large. Even in parts of the world where physical violence is absent, intolerance of homosexuality often persists. And then the empire converted to Christianity — which reinforced homophobia. Originally founded in the United Kingdom in 1976 as the Gay Christian Movement, the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM) supported homosexual Christians experiencing discrimination within their churches, urged denominations to reexamine doctrines concerning homosexuality, advocated for civil rights within the church and through legislation, and networked with other groups. PMID: 9524916 DOI: … Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Elsewhere in the world AIDS was transmitted principally by heterosexual sex, but in the United States and in some European centres it was particularly prevalent in urban gay communities. Gay students at Jamaica’s Northern Caribbean University were beaten, and an anti-gay group in Brazil by the name of Acorda Coracao (“Wake Up, Dear”) was blamed for murdering several gay people. Many gay men and lesbians began to demand equal treatment in employment practices, housing, and public policy. Bret Hinsch’s classic account of homosexuality in ancient China, Passions of the Cut Sleeve, quite factually posits that before the 19th century homosexuality and homoeroticism were not just accepted, but actually celebrated.
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