Gay, Homosexual
Though I am not gay, I have many close friends who are gay as well as clients. Homosexuality is a lifestyle, as with all others having its learning lessons, both positive and negative. It has always been part of the human experience.
Since its coining the term, homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. In the original sense, it refers to an innate sexual orientation characterized by aesthetic attraction, romantic love, and sexual desire exclusively or primarily for members of the same sex or gender identity. It can also refer to the manifestation of that orientation in the sexual identity of an individual, an identity which may or may not be at odds with that person's sexual behavior. Finally, it can refer to sexual relations with another of the same sex or gender regardless of one's sexual orientation or self-identification.
Homosexuality is usually contrasted with heterosexuality and bisexuality. Three major forms are recognized by anthropologists: egalitarian, gender-structured, and age-structured. Of these, one is usually dominant in a given society at a given time. As there are different biological, historical and psycho-social components to sex and gender, no single label or description will fit all individuals. See discussions on sex and gender at sex and Homosexuality and transgender.
Starting with Alfred Kinsey in the 1940s, scientific research has pointed to the existence of exclusively homosexual and heterosexual minorities, with the majority being potentially bisexual to varying degrees, a position also supported by historical studies. The Kinsey Reports estimated that four percent of humans are homosexual. (The methodology used in his study continues to be the topic of dispute.) Findings in other mammals such as sheep reported by the Endocrine Society found that eight percent are homosexual and it is correlated with physiological brain structure differences with similar brain distinctions found in humans by Levay. During the 2000 elections exit polls indicated four percent of voters self-identified as gay or lesbian in the U.S.
Religious views of homosexuality vary, Native (aboriginal) religions generally grant gender-variant individuals honored status for their perceived spiritual powers. Greek and Roman religion took a positive outlook. Buddhism, Taoism and Hinduism have taken various positions, ranging from positive to neutral or antagonistic. Abrahamic religions have held varied views of homosexuality, depending on place, time, and form of same-sex desire. Continued
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