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Index: Homosexuality:  Biological  or  Learned ? - Public School Issues - Transgender / Transvestite / Transsexual - Lesbian  &  Bisexual Women - Homo-Negativity / Phobia - Identity Formation  &  Coming Out - Counseling  &  Therapy - Professional Education  - Bisexuality - Religion   &  Spirituality - Male  Youth Prostitution - HIV-AIDS - Gay & Bisexual Male Suicide Problems - GLBT  History - Community Attributes  &  Problems - Drug / Alcohol Use / Abuse / Addiction  -  - Couples / Families / Children / Adoption / Spousal Violence - The Elderly - Race/Ethnic Minority Issues: U.S., Canada, Europe,  New Zealand & AustraliaLatin America / Africa - Middle East / Asia

Homosexuality:
Is It Biological ? or Learned ?

Applied Knowledge Fails

"For more than a decade now, the unchecked spread of HIV/AIDS around the world has made
our profound ignorance concerning human sexuality painfully evident" (N/A = Not Available).
Google Citation Reference
This quotation begins the paper by Parker, Richard (1995).
The social and cultural construction of sexual risk, or how to have (sex) research in an epidemic.
In: Han ten Brummelhuis, Gilbert Herdt, Eds..
Culture and Sexual Risk: Anthropological Perspectives on AIDS, 256-269. (Routledge Reference)

Global sex: sexuality and sexual practices around the world.

Profound Ignorance of Human Sexuality

The Desire and Pursuit of the Whole: Testosterone, Perceived Dominance, 
and Sexual Preference in Men (by Ross Brooks, 2004: HTML, PDF)

The Politics of Biology by Shivanda Khan (PDF)

"Self-masturbating is a same-sex behaviour. It is a ‘manly’ hand holding the penis,
no matter what the surface imagination relates."
Visual Definition of a Male Masturbating
(Likely the most engaged-in sexual behavior of males in western countries):
'A male having sex with a male who happens to be himself'

Biological Determination Of Sexuality Heating Up As A Research Field (The Scientist, Jan 8, 1996).- Is homosexuality genetic? A critical review and some suggestions. - Some of the ongoing research on the genetics of homosexuality and on masculinity, femininity, and sexual orientation by J. Michael Bailey. - Are people straight or gay? Most theories say yes. - The Question of Questions: Beyond Binary Thinking. (Google Cache) - Sexual Gender: This essay will show you how gender is a lot less 'black and White' than we have always believed. - From limp wrist to long finger (New Statesman). - The Binary Oppositions of Inclusive Identities. - An Interview with my Inner Critic. - Now What? The Latest Theory of Homosexuality. - Searching for the Sin Gene. - Defining terms used in working with male-to-male sex: PDF Download. - New Genetics Study Undermines Gay Gene Theory. (Alternate Link). The Gay Gene: What does it matter? - Sniffing Out the Gay Gene. - Homosexuality is natural. - 1,500 animal species practice homosexuality (Alternate Link).  - Saint Aelred the Queer: The Surprising History of Homosexuality and Homophobia.  - Gay By Choice? The Science of Sexual Identity: If science proves sexual orientation is more fluid than we've been led to believe, can homosexuality still be a protected right? - Queer physiognomies; or, how many ways can we do the history of sexuality?

The Portrayal of Research into Genetic-Based Differences of Sex and Sexual Orientation: A Study of "Popular" Science Journals, 1980 to 1997: "The study uncovered a number of enduring images of genetic research and genetic differences that underlie shifts in research foci evident during this period. The article discusses the nature of these images and implicit gender and heterosexist biases and argues the case for further analysis of how the media portrays genetic difference." - Constructing the ‘Gay Gene’ in the News: Optimism and Skepticism in the US and British Press.. Cultural Context and the Conventions of Science Journalism: Drama and Contradiction in Media Coverage of Biological Ideas about Sexuality. - Science reporting to the public: Does the message get twisted? - Genes and Psychology in The News by Carl Ratner (New Ideas in Psychology, 2004, 22, in press: Download Page) (PDF Download). - Sex and Race in the Long Shadow of the Human Genome Project - 2005 - by Roger N. Lancaster. - Jurassic Park and the "Gay Gene": The new genetics seen through the distorting lens of the media. - The gay baby: Science may soon allow you to predict - and even alter - the sexual orientation of your unborn child. If that happens, no matter what you believe about gay rights or abortion, life will never be the same. - My top ten reasons for believing that there is a genetic component to homosexuality (Word Download). - Homosexuality is biological, not just genetic. - I'm gay, but I'm not sure it's genetic. - Metaphysics, Science, Homosexuality. Are we talking biology or choice? 13 possible causes for homosexuality.  - Causes of Homosexuality: A Christian Appraisal of the Data. - ProCon Summary: Is sexual orientation determined at birth?

A Pre-Birth Determination? Pity the poor fetus. There's a lot coming its way. And now there's talk on a conservative evangelical blog of a hypothetical hormone patch that an expectant mother might wear to eradicate her fetus's natural gayness. The patch, the biological determinism: It's all conjecture, for now..."  - Born That Way? Facts and Fiction about homosexuality. - Choosing the Sexual Orientation of Children: "This paper considers the moral and legal implications of such procedures (whether or not they would work). It is argued that the availability of procedures to select the sexual orientation of children would contribute to discrimination and prejudice against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals and, more generally, undermine the maintenance of a just society." - Is Your Baby Gay? What If You Could Know? What If You Could Do Something About It? - A Critique of Schüklenk and Brookey: “Biomedical Research on Sexual Orientation: Researchers Taking Our Chances in Homophobic Societies”: "They develop several themes of which the most radical appear to be that “research has no value of its own” and that the products of research may be used for evil purposes, that we should greatly fear advances in knowledge, and (at least by implication) that we should put a stop to research and to advancing knowledge on the origins of sexual orientation." - The Ethics of Genetic Research on Sexual Orientation. (Alternate Link) - Gay Times: The origins of homosexuality are uncertain and hotly debated. Is it biologically defined? A free choice? And, ultimately, does it matter? - How homosexuality is 'inherited'. - Consider Dilemma of a ‘Gay Gene’…If One Exists.

Gay dolphins: Biologists Claim to have found evidence of homosexual relationships between dolphins. - Wild dolphins off Brazil engage in homosexual behavior. - Gay penguins : the love that dare not squeak its name. - They're in love. They're gay. They're penguins... And they're not alone. - Central Park Zoo's gay penguins ignite debate. - Scientists engineer gay fruit flies. - Homosexual behavior in wild Sumatran orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abelii).. - Researchers discover gay orangutans. (Alternate Link) - Lesbian Japanese monkeys challenge Darwin's assumptions. - Sexual Partner Preference in Female Japanese Macaques: "Whether animals ever exhibit a preference for same-sex sexual partners is a subject of debate... Thus, in some populations of Japanese macaques, females prefer certain same-sex sexual partners relative to certain male mates, and vice versa. Taken together, this evidence suggests that female Japanese macaques are best characterized as bisexual in orientation, not preferentially homosexual or preferentially heterosexual." - Homosexuality is biological, suggests gay sheep study. (Alternat Link). - Origin of homosexuality unresolved despite study. - Evolutionary Origins of Homosexuality.

The dangers of labeling non-humans as being "gay":  - The Science of Gaydar: "But for most in the animal kingdom, same-sex pairing is either fleeting or situational. Even Silo and Roy, for six years the poster-penguins for same-sex love in the Central Park Zoo—they famously raised a daughter together—were not destined to last forever. Silo waddled off with a female named Scrappy in 2005, says zoo director Dan Wharton, adding that we shouldn't worry about Roy's hurt feelings. "Penguins are matter-of-fact about these things." - Flap over a tale of gay penguins: "But the twist in the tale - which is not touched on in the book - would please social conservatives who see gay marriage as a threat to society. In real life the gay penguins of Central Park split up last year after Silo took up with a female penguin called Scrappy." - The Penguin is Political.

'Gay' Sheep Controversy: - Of Gay Sheep, Modern Science and Bad Publicity: " Dr. Roselli, a researcher at the Oregon Health and Science University, has searched for the past five years for physiological factors that might explain why about 8 percent of rams seek sex exclusively with other rams instead of ewes... But since last fall, when People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals started a campaign against the research, it has drawn a torrent of outrage from animal rights activists, gay advocates and ordinary citizens around the world — all of it based, Dr. Roselli and colleagues say, on a bizarre misinterpretation of what the work is about. The story of the gay sheep became a textbook example of the distortion and vituperation that can result when science meets the global news cycle..." 'Gay sheep man' fights back. - The politics of gay sheep: How the science of sheep sexuality somehow became a controversial subject. - Brokeback Mutton: gay sheep and human destiny: ust up the road from Brokeback Mountain, closeted away in their own private Idaho, the gay sheep were getting it on. Well, it wasn't exactly private. They were doing it in front of scientists at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station near the Idaho-Montana-Wyoming border. The scientists arranged the trysts. It's called "sexual partner preference testing." - Scientists try to turn gay sheep straight. - Martina Navratilova Slams 'Gay Sheep' Experiments.  - On Gay Sheep and Shepherds. Google Search: "Gay Sheep".

Gay flies turned on by heat. - Even the whales are gay down Mexico way. *Note: "gay" is a recently invented socially constructed identity, like being "African American" or "French Canadian." Furthermore: behavior does not an identity make! - Homosexual, but not Gay. For challenging concepts, see: Male homosexuality in South Asia: 1, 2. - 'Acadia, Arcadia - what's the difference?' ["Gay" concept, as  it is presently understood, cannot exist where the majority of males know they can enjoy relating sexually with other males and have had such experiences.] - Defining the word gay

History of human sexuality.. - Homosexuality in History. - GLBTQ; Ethnography. - Biased Use of Cross-Cultural and Historical Perspectives on Male Homosexuality in Human Sexuality Textbooks. - Semen 'Cults': Melanesia. -  Bernard SERGENT, Homosexualité et initiation chez les peuples indo-européens, Payot & Rivages, 1996. - HN Parker, "The Myth of the Heterosexual: Anthropology and Sexuality for Classicists," Arethusa 34 (2001) 313-62: PDF Download, subscription needed. - Sexuality in Fifth Century Athens: "There is now a very considerable body of evidence to suggest that human sexual behaviour is, to a great extent, socially constructed. That is to say that the way women and men conduct their sexual lives is determined to a marked degree by what a particular society finds acceptable. Before we come to Athens in the fifth century BC, it is instructive to consider the case of Ireland in the 19th and 20th centuries... Sexuality in fifth century Athens was also socially constructed. The basic point here is that human sexuality in Athens was organised to meet the needs of the adult male citizen, whose body was the locus of all power in the state. All other human beings--all women, all slaves, all foreigners, and adolescent aristocratic boys--existed sexually in relation to the adult male citizen and existed for his sexual gratification. Aristocratic women existed to provide, after marriage, legitimate children; all other women were regarded as sexually available to the male citizen, whether they were prostitutes, concubines, or high-class courtesans. Slaves, who were women and boys, the lowest level of society, were similarly sexually available to male citizens. These citizens also engaged in homosexual relationships with adolescent boys between the ages of 12 and 18 from their own class, these relationships being more complicated in their practice and ideology...."

Cultural constructions of male sexualities in India (1995: Word Download): PDF Download, Must Scroll. Socio-cultural constructions of male sexual behaviours in South Asia: Word Download N/A. Khan, Shivananda (2001). Culture, sexualities, and identities: men who have sex with men in India. Journal of Homosexuality, 40(3/4), 99-115: Excerpt. Excerpts.

Gay? it's all in the genes, says UCLA study: "Is there such a thing as a gay gene? Scientists at UCLA have discovered 54 genes in mice which suggest that homosexuality may not be a choice as sexual identity is hard-wired into the brain before birth... While stressing the study was "not about finding the gay gene," Dr Vilain said “the first human implication will be to understand transexualism, which is different than homosexuality.” ...Dr Vilain added that finding the exact gene that results in homosexuality would require considerable more research and added that if future research does determine conclusively that homosexuality is genetic and not a choice, the implications would be huge."

Preference v. Orientation: The Search for a Gay Gene. - 6/12/95 Science, Time Magazine: Search for a gay gene. -  Studies of human body may find causes for homosexuality: Is biology to blame for my being gay?  - Homosexuality: genetic or acquired behavior? An interview with Simon LeVay - Gay Brains. - All in the Genes. - Simon LeVay's Home Page (Includes recent articles). - LeVay Shares Thoughts On 'Gay Gene' Research. - The Biology of Sexual Orientation by Simon Levay. - Queer Science Indeed N/A (Scientific American, Oct., 1997 Book Review: Excerpt, must scroll). - Survival of genetic homosexual traits explained. - Biology not Bigotry. - Origins of Homosexuality? An Evolutionary Perspective.

Challeging Levay's Findings: "The Interstitial Nuclei of the Human Anterior Hypothalamus: An Investigation of Variation with Sex, Sexual Orientation, and HIV Status: (Alternate Link) "HIV status significantly influenced the volume of INAH1 (8% larger in HIV+ heterosexual men and women relative to HIV- individuals)... Although there was a trend for INAH3 to occupy a smaller volume in homosexual men than in heterosexual men, there was no difference in the number of neurons within the nucleus based on sexual orientation."

The genetics of homosexuality.xq28 The 'Gene For Geneder'Report Suggests Homosexuality is Linked to Genes. - Fingers give tip to sexual orientation. - Homosexuality and Neoteny; Are Homosexuals Maturationally Delayed? (Neoteny Web Site) - Sexual Differentiation of the Central Nervous System. - NPR Letters on the Biological Basis of Homosexuality. - More Evidence that Homosexuality is Genetic. - Homosexual males, their brains and evolution. - A Revolution In Evolution. - Steven Rose is not entirely convinced by Joan Roughgarden's theory of 'social selection' in Evolution's Rainbow. - Evolution of Sexuality.- Evolution's Rainbow. - On adaptive success and theories of homosexuality. - Is Homosexuality Biologically Determined (1992, Related to Levay's work: PDF Download)? - Study of gay brothers may find clues about sexuality

Researchers believe that they may have found the genetic reason for Lesbianism. - Lesbian women are at least three times as likely as heterosexual women to have a sister who is also a lesbian. - Study Suggests Biological Basis for Lesbianism Researchers Say Hearing Discrepancy Finding Supports Brain Anatomy Theory - (Washington Post article - 3/3/98). - Research links inner ear and sexual preference. - The Relation Between Sexual Orientation and Penile Size. - Genesis of sexual orientation - from Plato to Dorner.

From The Knitting Circle:  School of genetics & bibliography: - Links to press articles relating to homosexuality and genetics. - In Search of the 'Gay Gene' By Jack Lucentini - An article proposing an evolutionary reason for bisexuality. (Alternate Link) - "Gays Go Straight" Paper Unleashes Storm N/A. - The Politics of Homosexuality.

Is There a Genetic Basis for Sexual Orientation?  - The Hypothetical Genetics of Sexual Orientation.Biological Correlates of being Gay - Biological Determinism?The Gay Gene: Assertions, Retraction Biological Determination Of Sexuality: Heating Up As A Research Fields, and Controversy.. - Is there a Biological Basis for Sexual Orientation? - The "Gay Gene" WebSite. Moderated by Chandler Burr, author of A separate creation: the search for the biological origins of sexual orientation (1996). - The Gay Gene: Research and Commentary. - On-Going Studies.Why Conservatives Should Embrace the Gay Gene. - A review of current literature provides a compelling body of research linking sexual orientation to genes. But I'd like to play devil's advocate here. - Homosexuality and biology by C. Burr in the Atlantic Monthly. - The Gay Gene: Assertions, Retractions, and Controversy.  

Do Genes Determine Whether We are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Straight? (The Council for Responsible Genetics) - Links to Critiques of "Gay Gene" Studies. - Are People "Born Gay?" A look at the most cited biological research studies. Quotations from Gay Researchers LeVay and Hamer. - Genetics and Homosexuality: No conclusions can be drawn from studies relating genetics to sexual orientation, according to an October 30, 1996 panel at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) annual meetings in San Francisco. (Nov. '96: New site does not supply this item). (Gene Letter Review) - Science, 'Gay Genes', and the 'Third Sex' by Udo Schüklenk. - But God made me this way (PDF Download). - Demystifying homosexuality.

Born Gay Forum: Paul Billings & Jonathan Beckwith.  - Billings, Paul (1993): Genetic discrimination and behavioral genetics: The analysis of sexual orientation. -  The Gay Gene? (Jeffrey Satinover, M.D.)Homosexuality: Nature, Nurture and Compassion (Probe Ministries).Science and Sexuality (Anglican, New Zealand). - The New Eugenics: "The problem is that it may eventually become possible not just to cull embryos associated with dwarfism, but also to screen out baldness, pug noses or homosexuality, or even to choose the embryo most likely to get into Yale." - A critical review of recent biological research on human sexual orientation. (Full Text). - Discover Magazine June 2007 Article (PDF Download): Born Gay? Is homosexuality nature or nurture?  Science is homing in on the answer. 

Gene Scam? (Or access via search) - No "homosexual gene" can be found, new study says. - Is there a homosexuality gene? - Genes influencing male homosexuality identified. - The Search For a "Gay Gene": Quest Finds Few Solid Answers, Opens Up Debate Over Its Merits. - The repressive politics of homosexuality : To suggest, as he does, that homosexuality is changeable threatens the prevailing homosexual credo - that it is inborn and immutable.- Discovery of "Gay Gene" Questioned: Research 1999 - University of Western Ontario. (Related article - Study fails to support existence of a `gay gene'.) - The "Gay Gene" studies. - A gay gene? How about 54 of them? - Science - research on genetic aspects of sexual identity. (Note: All human identities are learned. e.g. Having an "African American" identity is "learned" and did not exist before Black Afican people came to America). - The self-righteous gene: debunking the notion of a gay gene. - Homosexuality: "For years scientists have been attempting to ascertain whether or not homosexual behavior can be linked to a biological catalyst..." - Sexual Orientation Lecture Notes. Lesbigay Special Interest Group of NAFSA: Association of International Educators: About 400 human sexualities. - Why Are We Gay? (The Advocate, 2001). - Genetic essentialism and social deviance: an anthology: Paper in Book: Deviance and Deviants

The great nature/nurture debate. - Homosexuality: Nature or Nurture. - Science tried to find deviancy in our faces, ears and genes. - Homosexuality, the causes. - Homosexuality: biologically or environmentally constructed. - Theories of Sexualities; "Queer in Germany: Sexual Culture and National Discourses". - Homosexuality: An Analysis of Biological Theories of Causation. -  NGLTF Statement on NIH Genetic Study on Homosexuality. - L'homosexualité : innée ou acquise? - Homosexualité : une origine génétique… peu convaincante. - The origins of sexuality. - Is there a straight gene? - Essentialized Social Categories I: Gender Essentialism. - Implications of the Transsexual Identity: "Although the exact science behind transgender identity is still undetermined, it is generally agreed upon in the scientific (and cultural) community that there are direct biological causes for transsexuality.  A transsexual individual, born one sex but associating their gender identity with the opposite sex, is born with this identity..." - Major Theorists on the Origin of Sexual Orientation.

The resurgence of biological determinism (Word Download): "Homosexuality and Biological Determinism: Does it really matter whether we can scientifically ascertain the cause of homosexuality? And if we can, what are the social, political, and personal ramifications of such knowledge? When it comes to human diversity and social acceptance of people who are different than the majority, biological determinism has often been called on to support the extermination, alteration, or marginalization of minority groups. This historical precedence creates a wariness and reluctance for us to advocate the biological innateness of sexual orientation. However, environment as a “cause” is equally problematic. If one’s surroundings lead to a certain sexual orientation and social values label that orientation as deviant, then demands can be made to force people away from those surroundings. Neither biological determinism nor environmental influences matter when it comes to protecting people from discrimination. Science cannot be a justification for marginalizing people, and scientists ethically must be the guardians of their research. Therefore, until gay people are protected from discrimination and harassment, scientists cannot ignore the social implications of their research on the potential causes of homosexuality."

We Boys Together: Teenagers in Love Before Girl-Craziness - 2007 - by Jeffery P. Dennis: "Teenage boys are wild about girls.When their hormones kick in at puberty, they can think of nothing else, and that"s the way it has always been-- right? Wrong. Before World War II, only sissies liked girls. Masculine, red-blooded, all-American boys were supposed to ignore girls until they were 18 or 19. Instead, parents, teachers, psychiatrists, and especially the mass media encouraged them to form passionate, intense, romantic bonds with each other. This book explores romantic relationships between teenage boys as they were portrayed before, during, and immediately after World War II. The author takes the reader through a rich landscape of media -- sci fi pulps, comics, adventure stories, tales of teen sleuths, boys' serial novels, wartime bestsellers, and movies populated by many types of male adolescents: Boys Next Door, Adventure Boys, Jungle Boys, and Lost Boys. In Hollywood movies, Boys Next Door like Jackie Cooper, Ronald Sinclair, and Jimmy Lydon were constantly falling in love, but not with girls. In serial novels, Jungle Boys like Bomba, Sorak, and Og Son of Fire swung through the trees to rescue teenage boys, not teenage girls. In comic strips and on the radio, Adventure Boys like Don Study, Jack Armstrong, and Tim Tyler formed lasting romantic partnerships with other boys or men. Lost Boys like Frankie Darro, Leo Gorcey, and Billy Halop starred in dozens of movies about pairs of poor urban teenagers sticking together, with never a girl in sight."

What is Queer? "The lesbian woman or the gay man is constructed by a heterosexual society and a part of this. The opposite standpoint is essentialism, or biodeterminism, and would argue that there is a biological explanation of homosexuality, as well as arguing that gender is rooted in our biological sexes. We both find this idea quite absurd; if gender is biological,..." - Notes on show (Listen to Episode): Original Airdate 04/19/2005 - Genetic Determinism: "ohn Dupré, Professor of Sociology and Director of EGenIS (ESRC Centre for Genomics in Society), University of Exeter... Are there genes for practically everything? For being gay? For being mean? For being a philosopher? Does modern science show that we are largely the product of our genes --- or not? ... Dupre thinks that genetic determinism is false. Does this mean that anyone can become anything? What does his view entail? There are limits, but they are not imposed solely by genes. Dupre thinks we should shift from focusing on the genome to concentrating on development."

Homosexuality: choice or fixed orientation? - Accepting What Cannot Be Changed. (Alternate Link) - Toward the "New Synthesis": Evolution, Human Nature, and the Social Sciences (Choice Magazine, Sept., 1998).  -  Homosexuality and the Truth: Is it Natural and Normal? - Sexual acts are a choice, but desire simply exists (Must Scroll). - Study says gender identity may be malleable after all. - Being gay is a choice. - Is homosexuality inherited? - Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy: Special 1998 Issue on Etiology of Homosexuality - Abstracts. - Homosexuality: Theories of Etiology. - Of evolution and homosexuality. - Breve reseña de algunas teorías lésbicas (Alternate Link). - Scientific communities, gay communities and the production of knowledge: The social construction of biological ideas about same-sex sexuality- Ain't no cure for love: "If life for homosexuals is limited to choices between prayer, punishment or therapy, where's the good stuff? With support groups that offer homosexuals a space to express thoughts and feelings without making them feel like they need to change. This, rather than pathologising their lives, is what really helps, writes Vinay Chandran..." 

Homosexuality and Science: Biology and the Social Sciences (By Jeramy Townsley, Presented at the Midwestern Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Allies College Conference, February 2001). Sexuality/Gender Terms. - Theories of Etiology: Psycho-social Origins, Biological Origins. - Social Science Research Homosexuality: Professional Opinion on our Mental Health, Psychological Testing, Queer relationships, Myths about Homosexual Behaviors, Prevalence of Homosexuality in Contemporary Western Societies, Mental Health Issues Facing the Queer Community.

Conservatives applaud "gay gene" theory: The Weekly Standard Says Theory Shows "Cure" Potential. - Studies suggest human behavior isn't as predetermined as some thought. - Official says genetic link won't help gays. - New research claims to prove that homosexuals are born and not made. Peter Ray thinks that idea is unscientific, irrational - and very dangerous. (by Peter Ray, from Living Marxism, No. 50, December 1992—on Simon LeVay's "gay brain" study.). Genetic Testing's Political Implications Must Be Addressed (The Scientist). - The Science Of Sexuality Still Needs Social Science (The Scientist): "Even though the researcher himself is offering genetics only as part of the explanation for an unknown percentage of the homosexual population, many scientists and laypersons alike have jumped on the genetic bandwagon as a complete answer to the more cosmic question of sexual orientation.

Special Issue: Sex and Sociology: Sociological Studies of Sexuality, 1910-1978 (Abstracts): - “The Sociologist as Voyeur”: Social Theory and Sexuality Research, 1910–1978. - The City as a Sexual Laboratory: The Queer Heritage of the Chicago School. - Introduction to “Sexual Scripts: Origins, Influences and Changes.” - Sexual Scripts: Origins, Influences and Changes: Sex and Sociology: Sociological Studies of Sexuality, 1910-1978. - Sex and Gender in the 1970s: Sex and Sociology: Sociological Studies of Sexuality, 1910-1978: "Even in the 2000s, the stigma of homosexuality has not entirely disappeared. And, above all, the essentializing categories of homosexual, bisexual and heterosexual remain firmly entrenched in public discourse, sociological analysis, homophobia and gay activism." - Queers, Bodies and Postmodern Sexualities: A Note on Revisiting the “Sexual” in Symbolic Interactionism. - Gay-for-Pay: Straight Men and the Making of Gay Pornography. - Gay For Pay. - Gay for Pay: Are there really any straight men in gay porn? - What Makes People Gay? "The debate has always been that it was either all in the child's upbringing or all in the genes. But what if it's something else?" - Does Biology Have Anything to Contribute to Thinking About Sex and Gender?

Rejecting the Gay Brain (and choosing homosexuality). (Alternate Link) - On choosing a homosexual lifestyle.  - Choice in Sexual Orientation: The Sword That Cuts Both Ways. - We're here, we're queer, we're genetically determined N/A. - La recherche des causes de l'homosexualité: une science-fiction? by Michel Dorais (Now Available - Dorais Michel, 1994, “ La recherche des causes de l'homosexualité : une science fiction ? ” in Welzer-Lang D., Dutey P., Dorais M., La peur de l'autre en soi, du sexisme à l'homophobie, Montréal, V.L.B., pp. 92-146.) - Queer by Choice Site. - A variety of information related to 'choosing' one's sexual orientation. - The Sociology of Human Sexuality: Homosexuality: Gay and Lesbian Sexual Behavior. - What Ever Happened to Ritual Homosexuality? The Incitement of Modern Sexual Subjects in Melanesia and Elsewhere by Bruce M. Knauft, Department of Anthropology, Emory University (Word 97 Download). - Beyond Lisping: code switching and gay speech styles. - Speech, male sexual orientation, and childhood gender nonconformity (CGN).

The "g0y" phenomenon: Their slogan is "G0ys take the 'A' out of 'Gay'. They are men who have feelings of "real warmth and affection for other guys" but do not classify themselves as homosexual. Turned off by the idea of anal sex, g0ys enjoy being affectionate with other men, whether that means kissing, cuddling, hugging, drunken wrestling (according to http://www.g0ys.org) or oral stimulation. Furthermore, while they respect masculinity, they detest the ways in which homosexuality has been linked to effeminacy. - G0YS.org - Spelled with a ZER0. - g0ydar. - g0y sites & groups.

Measuring Gender: "I will argue that the concepts of gender used in the attempt to demonstrate a causal connection between CGN and sexual orientation are inappropriate because they provide no uniform, consistent method for identifying and measuring the biologically significant components of gender. I will also argue that the concept of gender that does emerge from these studies suggests an hypothesis about the connection between sexuality and gender that is not consistent with the cross-gendered theory of the etiology of homosexuality." - Defining and Measuring Sexual Orientation: A Review: "If advances in the understanding of sexual orientations are to be made, it is critical that definitions and measures of sexual orientation be standardized." - What is a Sexual Act? "The author analyses the meanings that sexual intercourses between sexes take for the Baruya, a population of inner New Guinea. There are two kinds of intercourses, homosexual before marriage, heterosexual after..." - Evidence that male sexual orientation is a matter of degree. - A Question of Sexual Orientation: "ASU Professor Frederick Whitam studies questions related to sexual orientation. His research suggests that gay and lesbian people are a permanent part of sexual orientation arragements in all societies..."

Studies Reporting the Prevalence of Homosexuality / Bisexuality / Heterosexuality: - Prevalence and dimensions of sexual orientation in Swiss adolescents: a cross-sectional survey of 16 to 20-year-old students. Acta Paediatrica, 2003; 92(2): 233-9 (Abstract). - Demographics of sexual orientation among native American adolescents. (Abstract/Paper) - Prevalence and dimensions of sexual orientation in Swiss adolescents: a cross-sectional survey of 16 to 20-year-old students. - On the prevalence of homosexuality and bisexuality, in a random community survey of 750 men aged 18 to 27. - Sex in Australia: sexual identity, sexual attraction and sexual experience among a representative sample of adults. - The Prevalence of Bisexual and Homosexual Orientation and Related Health Risks Among Adolescents in Northern Thailand. - Australia: small gay population but many curious. - What percentage of the population is gay? - Census information on same-sex couples.

Sexual diversity in urban Norwegians: Study Sample: In November 1997, the Central Bureau of Statistics drew a random sample of 5,000 persons aged 18-49 years residing in Norway's capital, Oslo... Table 1 shows the percentage of the respondents who reported experience with the four different aspects of sexual diversity, by gender. A total of 92.5% reported to have been in love with only persons of the opposite gender, 90.9% had had sex with only the opposite gender, 87.9% reported to have felt sexually attracted to only the opposite gender, and 75.9% had fantasized about having sex with only the opposite gender. More women than men reported never to have had bisexual fantasies or felt homosexual attraction, but there was no gender difference in bisexual contact and love. More men than women reported exclusively homosexual experiences..."

Country Report, Sri Lanka, 2006 (PDF Download):  National Survey on Emerging Issues among Adolescents in Sri Lanka: 18.2% of in-school boys aged 14-19 reported “homosexual relations” (N=4664). 13.0% of out-of-school boys aged 15-19 reported “homosexual relations” (N=5042).  Results or other studies given. MSM identity is complex because MSM refers to behaviour: some gay men marry due to social and cultural pressure. there are MSM who consider themselves straight but have sex with men. MSM face harassment from law enforcement in cruising areas as well as extortion of money and forced sex; violence against MSM impacts negatively on their sexual and emotional health. Poverty and exposure to sexual violence leads men to work as sex workers...

Perera B, Reece M (2006). Sexual behavior of young adults in Sri Lanka: Implications for HIV prevention. AIDS Care, 18(5): 497-500 (Abstract). "Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected from 3,134 higher secondary school (grades 12 and 13) students between the ages of 1820 in six geographically representative districts of Sri Lanka... Homosexual relationships of the participants were not examined extensively in this study, but data on some aspects of same gendered sexual relationships were collected. Twenty female students (1.1%) and 138 (10%) male students reported that they had a same gendered partner at the time of the study (x2 (1, 3134)/126.1, pB/0.001). With regard to past sexual experiences, less than 1% of female students (n/14), but 13.1% of male students (n/180) reported that they had engaged in oral sex with a same gender partner (x2 (1, 3134)/199.1, pB/ 0.01). About 20% (n/279) of male students reported having had inter-femoral sex with a male parter." It is also reported that 17.7% of males (age = 17), 21.7% of males (age = 18) and 22.9% of males (age = 19) reported having experienced anal sex with at leat one other male.

The Kingdom in the Closet (Part of Article): (Alternate Link) (Alternate Link) (Alternate Link) Sodomy is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, but gay life flourishes there. Why it is “easier to be gay than straight” in a society where everyone, homosexual and otherwise, lives in the closet... “It’s a lot easier to be gay than straight here,” he had said. “If you go out with a girl, people will start to ask her questions. But if I have a date upstairs and my family is downstairs, they won’t even come up.” ... "They’re quite shameless about it." Talal, a Syrian who moved to Riyadh in 2000, calls the Saudi capital a "gay heaven." This is surprising enough. But what seems more startling, at least from a Western perspective, is that some of the men having sex with other men don’t consider themselves gay. For many Saudis, the fact that a man has sex with another man has little to do with "gayness." The act may fulfill a desire or a need, but it doesn’t constitute an identity. Nor does it strip a man of his masculinity, as long as he is in the "top," or active, role. This attitude gives Saudi men who engage in homosexual behavior a degree of freedom. But as a more Westernized notion of gayness -- a notion that stresses orientation over acts -- takes hold in the country, will this delicate balance survive? ... When Yasser hit puberty, he grew attracted to his male cousins. Like many gay and lesbian teenagers everywhere, he felt isolated. "I used to have the feeling that I was the queerest in the country," he recalled. "But then I went to high school and discovered there are others like me. Then I find out, it’s a whole society." ,,, In Saudi Arabia, "It’s easier to be a lesbian [than a heterosexual]. There’s an overwhelming number of people who turn to lesbianism," Yasmin said, adding that the number of men in the kingdom who turn to gay sex is even greater. "They’re not really homosexual," she said. "They’re like cell mates in prison." ,,, What is ‘gay’? In The History of Sexuality, a multivolume work published in the 1970s and ’80s, Michel Foucault proposed his famous thesis that Western academic, medical, and political discourse of the 18th and 19th centuries had produced the idea of the homosexual as a deviant type: In Western society, homosexuality changed from being a behavior (what you do) to an identity (who you are). In the Middle East, however, homosexual behavior remained just that -- an act, not an orientation. That is not to say that Middle Eastern men who had sex with other men were freely tolerated. But they were not automatically labeled deviant. The taxonomy revolved around the roles of top and bottom, with little stigma attaching to the top. "‘Sexuality’ is distinguished not between ‘homosexual’ and ‘heterosexual’ but between taking pleasure and submitting to someone (being used for pleasure),"...A magazine editor in Jeddah told me that many boys in Mecca, where he grew up, have sexual relations with men, but they don’t see themselves as gay. Abubaker Bagader, a human-rights activist based in Jeddah, explained that homosexuality can be viewed as a phase. "Homosexuality is considered something one might pass by," he said. "It’s to be understood as a stage of life, particularly at youth." This view of sexual behavior, in combination with the strict segregation of the sexes, serves to foster homosexual acts, shifting the stigma onto bottoms and allowing older men to excuse their younger behavior -- their time as bottoms -- as mere youthful transgressions...

Veil of Separation, Veils of Identity: But it prompts the question: why do homosexuals exist in societies where a separation of sexes doesn't necessarily apply? Moreover, does such a separation predicate the effect of genuine homosexual desires? And then, are these so-called "homosexuals" homosexuals in the sense that we in the West have defined it? Or are they individuals forced to fulfill a natural desire in the only way they can? Maybe homosexuals [or men who engage in sex with other men] in countries like Saudi Arabia are not necessarily "in the closet" but actually free from having to identify themselves. And rather, we [both homosexuals and heterosexuals in the West] are trapped in a closet of our own, a closet of monosexuality where we veil ourselves with endless layers attempting to define and label sexualities that we eventually [like with everything] ship and market around the world [the international gay?!?].

The Mythological Realm of Pre-sexuality: Reading Porno through Queer Theory: We are used to think that sexuality is a realm of nature. We think that it only needs some liberation from the boundaries of culture. If we apply Foucaultian reading to pornography we can notice that there is no distinction between nature and culture. There is nothing which can be liberated, for the reason that beyond culture images which give shape to our sexual fantasies does not lay any pre given, natural sexuality. Sexuality is always shaped and it works through the images given within the culture. Therefore pornography is very important phenomena for the task of analysing the formation and function of sexual fantasy and the sexuality itself. In the gay’s world pornography has a very interesting role. In my paper I do not intend to analyse any particular films, I want to concentrate on the particular phenomenological relation between the porno film and the audience. Gay porno films intend to show the pure sex; sex, which is not limited by the social. The vision of purity porno aims to achieve by different visual effects. Nevertheless at some point it is always about the relations of power. When we analyse the gay identity we cannot avoid the phenomena of pornography. In XX century Western culture pornography was of a crucial meaning to the formation of gay identity and gay culture. It is important to try to depict the problems of gay identity from the pornography as the formation of particular shape of the sexual fantasy.

Factors affecting sexual and non-sexual risks behavior among bisexual and homosexual Filipino youth: Evidence from the 1994 "Young Adolescent Fertility Survey" in the Philippines (Dr. Rommel "Mely" Jacinto D. Silverio, Demographic Research and Development Foundation, Inc., Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 186 Antonio Luna Street, Barangay Marilag, Project 4, Quezon City, 1109, Philippines, (632) 4212734, mely62@yahoo.com). Abstract: "Despite strong social stigma in a predominantly Catholic country like the Philippines, a sizeable sexual minority group exists among the Filipino youth. In particular, among 10,879 youth respondents aged 15 to 24 in the second nationwide “Young Adolescent Fertility Survey” conducted in 1994 by the University of the Philippines, about 7% of these young adults indicated bisexuality and slightly over 10% professed homosexuality. As Philippine society tends to traditionally censure sociological studies of human sexuality as taboo, much remains largely unknown about the social lifestyle of bisexual and homosexual Filipino youth, even much less about their sexual and non-sexual risk behaviors that impinge adversely upon health. In this light, this paper aims to identify some influential socioeconomic and demographic factors affecting the incidence of such sexual and non-sexual risk behaviors as premarital sexual activity, smoking, drug and alcohol use, and prostitution among these two sexual minority groups. The ultimate objective of the study focuses on establishing more responsive program approaches that will effectively address the unique conditions and needs of bisexual and homosexual Filipino youth, particularly with respect to these contemporary health issues." Presented at The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA: 2002.

Sodomy and the Pirate Tradition - 1983, 1995 - by Barry R. Burg (Amazon.com Reference). Review: "You have to love a book that begins, "The England that produced three generations of sodomitical pirates was a land far different from modern Britain or America." Burg, a professor of history at Arizona State University, wrote Sodomy and the Pirate Tradition in 1983 and updated it in 1995 (it's now in paperback). It describes how most if not all of the pirates and buccaneers who sailed the Caribbean from 1650 to 1700 had sex with each other. Homosexual behavior was rarely condemned in the West Indies or Great Britain during that century, when most of the pirates were growing up. By the early 1800s, the party was over and sailors were being executed for the crime of loving another man — or at least having sex with him. The first chapters trace the history of the perception of homosexuality in modern English society. For the most part it was tolerated if kept discreet. Sex was sex. Even in the American colonies, sexual crimes were condemned severely in the law but not in practice... Burg contrasts the pirate lifestyle with homosexual acts you find among prison inmates and notes many differences. In prison, men see their homosexuality as temporary — it's more about power, a way of saying "I'm in charge." Among the pirates, it more closely expressed their sexualities. Burg documents how many pirates, if they came upon a ship with women aboard, wouldn't touch them... The lesson Burg draws from his research is that "aside from the production of children, homosexuals alone can fulfill satisfactorily all human needs, wants and desires, all the while supporting and sustaining a human community remarkable by the very fact that it is unremarkable.... The male engaging in homosexual activity aboard a pirate ship in the West Indies three centuries past was simply an ordinary member of his community, completely socialized and acculturated." Except for that killing and looting part, sure." - Under the Black Flag - 1997 - by David Cordingly (Amazon.com Reference): "Cordingly separates fact from fiction about the 17th century pirates who terrorized the seas, including challenging Burg's theory that many pirates were gay..."

Debate on Black homosexuals by Cleo Manago: "I was recently involved in a public debate on "Black Homosexuality" organized by members of the Nation of Islam. "The Great Debate: The Origins of Homosexuality In the Black Community" featured renowned Africentric health scholar, Dr. Llaila Afrika, and I as opponents. Afrika believes homosexuality is a degenerative state and a disease resulting from sexual addiction, white supremacy, diet (yes, diet!) and institutionalized subliminal recruitment techniques. He also believes that homosexuality was introduced to Blacks/Africans by European invasions on Black/African life." Boy Wives and Female Husbands: Studies in African Homosexualities: Homosexuality in “Traditional” Sub-Saharan Africa and Contemporary South Africa - Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Sudan -Mabasha and Their Mashoga in Mombasa. - Interpreting Absence of Evidence and Assertions of Absence (Nuer and Lango). - Spiritual Vocations in Western Africa. - Hausa Roles. - Yoruba Exceptionalism: Antagonistic Acculturation? - A Sometimes Lifelong ”Adolescent Phase” (Dahomey). - Gender-Crossing Wolof and Their Neighbors. - The Kitesha Role Among the Bala - Other Central African Reports. - Angola. - Wives of the South African Mines. - Contemporary Black South Africa and Zimbabwe. - Relations Between Women. (Book Review) (Book Review) (Excerpts) (Amazon.com Reference) (A review by Gert Hekma par Gert Hekma, Université d'Amsterdam, published in Thamyris). - Homosexuality in "Traditional" Sub-Saharan Africa and Contemporary South Africa: An overview by Stephen O. Murray (49 pages, PDF Download, or access web page for PDF Download, in 2 paper sizes.)

My genes made me do it: (Alternate Link) " Just about every week now, we read new headlines about the genetic basis for breast cancer, homosexuality, intelligence, or obesity. In previous years, these stories were about the genes for alcoholism, schizophrenia, and manic depression. Such news stories may lead us to believe our lives are being revolutionized by genetic discoveries. We may be on the verge of reversing and eliminating mental illness, for example. In addition, many believe, we can identify the causes of criminality, personality, and other basic human foibles and traits. But these hopes, it turns out, are based on faulty assumptions about genes and behavior. Although genetic research wears the mantle of science, most of the headlines are more hype than reality... In the debate over the genetics of homosexuality, the data supporting a genetic basis are similarly weak... But for many, the politics of a homosexual gene outweigh the science. A genetic explanation for homosexuality answers bigots who claim homosexuality is a choice which should be rejected. But to accept that nongenetic factors contribute to homosexuality does not indicate prejudice against gays..." - A Modern Refrain: My Genes Made Me Do It.

The Hypocrites of Homosexuality: " When I was an undergraduate theatre student, I was aware, and not happily so, how pervasive was the reach of the underculture of homosexuality among my friends and acquaintances. After a while I stopped being shocked to discover that someone I had known well, or whose talent I admired, was either moving into or already a part of the not-so-clandestine network of gay relationships. I learned that being homosexual does not destroy a person's talent or deny those aspects of their character that I had already come to love and admire. I did learn that for most of them their highest allegiance was to their membership in the community that gave them access to sex. As a not-particularly-pure-minded heterosexual adolescent, I understood the intensity of sexual desire; as a student of human communities, I have since come to understand how character is shaped by -- or surrendered to -- one's allegiances...  The argument by the hypocrites of homosexuality that homosexual tendencies are genetically ingrained in some individuals is almost laughably irrelevant. We are all genetically predisposed toward some sin or another; we are all expected to control those genetic predispositions when it is possible...  The average fifteen-year-old teenage boy is genetically predisposed to copulate with anything that moves. We are compassionate and forgiving of those who cannot resist this temptation, but we do not regard as adult anyone who has not overcome it; and we can only help others overcome those "genetic predispositions" by teaching them that we expect them to meet a higher standard of behavior than the one their own body teaches them..."

Queer, Isn't It?: The Ugly Duckling has Two Daddies: "If, in fact, animals instinctively engage in same-sex behavior for whatever reason (some say it is pleasure driven, others maintain it is a form of bonding), then one can safely assume that such behavior is natural. It’s hard to imagine that radical lesbian Japanese macaques are hanging out in the wild enticing innocent young macaques with anti-patriarchy speeches, or that flaming male ostriches are luring younglings into a life of debauchery against their will with jello shots and disco music. Dolphins don’t have ex-gay ministries, and flamingoes, who also participate in same-sex couple parenting, don’t have to worry about being declared unfit parents due to their choice of a mate. The implications of all this rampant gayness in the wild is that it casts doubt on the assertion that homosexuality is a “choice”. Animals engage in homosexuality without concern for the moral implications; it is instinctive. Could the same be true for people? Many scientists would argue “yes”. Although no “gay gene” has been identified, biological factors have been found which indicate that homosexual tendencies are predetermined... There is a downside to the idea that homosexuality is genetic, and it is straight out of science fiction: if it is genetic, then it can be cured (or at least, altered). Assuming there is some biological factor that leads one to be gay, then one can assume that science will eventually find a way to “fix” that factor. Some evangelicals have actually embraced the idea that homosexuality is genetic for this reason, so that scientists can begin to work on a way to correct the wayward genes. It’s simple . . . with surgery we’ll just tweak that part of the brain that malfunctions, there, with drugs we’ll alter the DNA strand before this kid is born, and with a bit of hoo doo magic we’ll alter the genetic composition of the person to make him or her look and act just the way we’d like. Now, isn’t that natural?"

Genetic homosexuality: 21st century phrenology: "It’s a modern, Western conceit that homosexuality is something aberrant and unusual, which must be “explained.” There have been numerous societies in which homosexual behavior was accepted as a social norm and even seen as desirable, and in these societies essentially all of the men engaged in homosexuality when circumstances allowed. There are too many of these societies, arising independently from too many different races and in too many different areas, for there to be a common genetic explanation for the near-total incidence of homosexuality in these societies (accepting the genetic hypothesis, one would have to assume all men in these societies had the “gay gene”). Social norms, not genetics, dictated these societal differences; the idea that we are stamped “GAY” or “STRAIGHT” at conception reflects ignorance of the historical record. Similar study of any other sexual preference also tends to show virtually all of our sexual preferences (skin color, body type, lip size, eye color, hair color) are more a function of our social environment than our genes..."

On the Historiography of Sexuality: "The past twenty-five years, the argument over the etiology of homosexuality has dominated the field of GLBTQ (Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered/Queer) studies. Essentialists maintain that sexual orientation is hard-wired in our consciousness. Biology determines, in short, our sexual orientation. Social constructionists, in contrast, argue that the social environment configures the direction of our sexual desires. The wide-ranging debate between these two viewpoints has made for some strange bedfellows. Social constructionists, for example, comprise groups such as queer theorists and activists on the left and Christian fundamentalists on the right, as well as traditional psychoanalysts who do not fit neatly into any political category. Essentialists bring together scientists, especially geneticists and neurologists, and political centrists. The American public, too, has been shifting decidedly in the direction of essentialism in the past generation. This movement has occurred within the gay and lesbian community, as well, particularly among those who want to depoliticize and “normalize” homosexuality.... n 2007, we simply do not have the means, scientific or socially-scientific, to offer definitive proof about the origins of homosexuality, heterosexuality, or any other form of sexual desire, behavior, or identity."

Studies Discover Clues to the Roots of Homophobia." (New York Times, 1990). (Alternate Link) - Riddle Homophobia Scale Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Identity.(Alternate Link) - Is Homophobia Associated With Homosexual Arousal? - A related article: Protesting too Largely.  - APA article: New Study Links Homophobia with Homosexual Arousal. (Alternate Link) - A similar perspective from Singapore: An Epidemic of Self-Hate. - The Hate That Makes Men Straight: Psychoanalysts probe the roots of homophobia. - Psychologists Examine the Motives of Perpetrators and the Origins of Homophobia. - Fear and loathing. Prejudice, abuse, violence, sometimes murder. Why are lesbians and gay men hated? Dennis Altman explores the psychology behind the hostility.

Discussing results of "genetic" studies in Singapore: Brother and Twins. - Discovery and dissimulation.The Hormones Did It! - Essence and Fluidity. - Where Straight Men Come From. - "Where Gay Boys Come From" by Camille Paglia, Havard Gay & Lesbian Review (Short Excerpt, Must Scroll) - The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review. - The Hate That Makes Men Straight: Psychoanalysts probe the roots of homophobia. (Village Voice Article) 

A major theorist in the social construction of human sexuality: Michel Foucault. - The History of Sexuality : An Introduction by Michel Foucault (Abstract). - Is social constructionism an appealing construction? - Synopsis of Foucault's The History of Sexuality, Vol. I (Society of Social Research Page, U.Chicago)  -  Welcome to the World of Michel Foucault.- Queer Theory Web Site Foucault Index. - Foucauldian Cautions on the Subject and the Educative Implications of Contingent Identity. - Historicizing inversion: or, how to make a homosexual: "At the end of the 19th century, the vocabulary of sexuality - perversion - became one of the primary means by which people began to articulate and think about their individuality, their sense of self... An essential attribute of the literature on 'inversion' was precisely such an historically formed understanding of pathological individuals; an understanding that ushered in the transformation from acts to natures, from individuals to kinds, from sodomites to homosexuals." - Social Construction or Destruction of Homosexuals?-Conservative or Revolutionary Constructionism of the Reality of Homosexuality.

Behavior and Not a Person: Chapter One Essentialism or Social Constructionism. - Chapter Two Biological Basis for Homosexuality. - Chapter Three "Gay Brains" and Gay Genes". - Chapter Six Types of Homosexualities/ Gay and Lesbian Homosexual Identity. - Chapter Ten Homosexual Identity Formation.  - The origins of homosexuality: A prominent psychiatrist has revived a bitter controversy by claiming that “motivated” gays and lesbians can change their orientation through psychotherapy. Is homosexuality an inborn trait or the reversible product of emotional conditioning?

Michel Foucault: problématique pour une histoire de l’homosexualité, Lawrence Olivier avec la collaboration de Roger Noël, Revue sexologique/ Sexological Review, Vol. 2, no 1, printemps 1994 Vol. 2 No. 1 Spring 1994 (PDF Download, or access web for PDF Download - In HTML at Revue sexologique/ Sexological Review) - Des identités homosexuelles - Propos sur la génèse et les avatars d'un genre contesté, Cécile Bénito de Sanchez, Revue h, été 1996. (PDF Download, or access web page for PDF Download) - Genres et orientations sexuelles: une question d'apparences?, Rommel Mendès-Leité, 1990. (bibliographie) Publication originale : Mendès-Leite, R. " Genres et orientations sexuelles: une question d'apparences ? ". GREH et. al. Homosexualités et Lesbianisme: mythes, mémoires, historiographies. Actes du colloque international (3 volumes). Lille, Cahiers GKC, 1989-1990. pp. 109 - 147.

Suck My Nation – Masculinity, Ethnicity and the Politics of (Homo)sex (PDF Download) - by Sasho A. Lambevski. - Abstract: "Class and ethnicity represent major obstacles in establishing new forms of homosexual encounters and emotional engagements between Macedonian and Albanian men at the ‘gay’ scene in Skopje. This article pays special attention to the nationalist imperatives that order Macedonian and Albanian ‘gay’ men to use each other’s penises and orifices as weapons and targets of torture. More precisely, the article offers a multilevel analysis of a range of social (class, ethnic, and gender) relations, as invested in and experienced in the male body, that prevent Macedonian and Albanian ‘gay’ men from establishing new forms of mutual friendship and love." Note: Unfortunately, the author criticizes the socially constructed form of male homosexuality described and does not perceive it to be as valid as the recently invented - also socially constructed - "gay" concept present in western countries. The latter, however, occupies a minority status in the world of male homosexualties. - The Origins of Homosexuality: Insights From The Deep Feeling Psychotherapies. - Peter Tatchell suggests that gay identity has nothing to do with biology and everything to do with homophobia. Winning gay freedom will make gay identity redundant.

The social construction of gender: case study of early male-to-female sex change supports this. Abstract. - Full text online. - American Indian Sexual/Gender Constructions and Spirituality. - On Gender and Sexual Orientation. - Orientational Diversity: A New Spin, Part 1: "In this first of a three-part series, the author invites us to recognize the ways we unconsciously label ourselves when we play by and listen to society’s recordings. The b-side may surprise and enlighten you." - Jeffrey Weeks: The Construction of Homosexuality. - ‘I am my own special creation’: Mexican homosexual transvestites’ construction of femininity (Young, Nordic Journal of Youth Research, 1994, 2(3): s. 3-17). - The Social Construction of A Discreet Male Gender. - Learning the Power of Sexuality (PDF Download). - Suck My Nation: Masculinity, Ethnicity and the Politics of (Homo)sex: "This article pays special attention to the nationalist imperatives that order Macedonian and Albanian 'gay' men to use each other's penises and orifices as weapons and targets of torture." - Eroticism and language.

Toward A Global History of Same-Sex Sexuality:  I favor the term “same-sex sexuality” as one that gets beyond the use of terms such as “queer,” “gay,” “lesbian,” or “homosexual.”  Yet I would like to proceed by looking at manifestations of what we call “same-sex sexuality” in different times and places in order both to explore global patterns and to consider how those patterns problematize the two parts of the term “same-sex sexuality.”  That is, sometimes such manifestations cannot really be considered “same-sex.”  And sometimes they should not really be labeled “sexuality.”  These complications suggest that even the attempt to avoid assumptions about the meanings of desires and acts and relationships by using a term such as “same-sex sexuality” may inadvertently lump together phenomena that are quite different.  This is the difficulty of thinking about a global history of same-sex sexuality.

What's a Modern Homosexual?  An Introduction: Cultures define and regulate sexual desire differently, and homosexuality is a uniquely modern, Western way of thinking about sex between men... - 'Being a Man' in the Ancient World (by Craig Williams, author of Roman Homosexuality, 1999): "What was most important for a man's reputation was that he be thought to play the insertive and not the receptive role in penetrative acts. If he played the insertive role, he might do so with either male or female partners, or both, as he pleased; the sex of his partner had no bearing on his own status as a man." - Male Homosexuality: From Common to a Rarity. - The social construction of male homosexuality, related suicide problems. - Sexuality in Fifth Century Athens. - Gay Species: Language and Social Construction. - Sexual Orientation - Essentialism Or Social Construction.

True Nature: A Theory of Human Sexual Evolution. Part 1: "A historical review of homosexuality in diverse cultures reveals that significantly many cultures have existed where (male) bisexuality has been rather universal and that all cultures have condemned exclusive homosexuality, either legally or with the threat of social rejection. Neither of these facts can be rationalized using the ballpark ‘10%’ statistic for homosexuality believed to be representative of human beings..." - True Nature: A Theory of Human Sexual Evolution. Parts 2–4. - New phylism theory and the homosexualization of the visualization of lust: "Nature needs nurture is the paradigm that replaces nature versus nurture."

Le Moyen Age: Faits Divers: "Les homosexuels américains ont une sorte de cheval de bataille, selon lequel 10% de la population serait homosexuelle et ils croient que cela a été toujours comme ça. Je ne saurait le dire. En Ancienne Grèce, il faisait partie du procès de citoyenneté que le jeune homme, le garçon, ait un amant, un homme bien formé, qui devait l'initier à la vie sexuelle. Cela n'avait rien de dégradant ni pour le garçon qui avait, semble-t-il des fonctions plus passives ni pour l'adulte, dans la plupart du temps marié et père de famille. A Rome, où l'esprit familial était un peu différent, plus dynastique, cette naturalité n'était pas tellement acceptée, mais elle était loin d'être abominée..."

The social construction of identities: "The perils of postmodernism". - Des identités homosexuelles:  Propos sur la génèse et les avatars d'un genre contesté. - Studies on Gay & Lesbian Language: A Partial Bibliography. - The Scenography of HIV Infection for Young Gay Men: Educating Emotion and Desire: Individuation and sexual identity. - A Unified Theory on Homosexual Identity (PDF Download). - Sexual Orientation: The History and Significance of an Idea (in Word & World, 1994: PDF Download). - Social Contructionist History Links. - It's what you do: most of the men who have sex with men in the South probably don't identify themselves as `gay' or `bisexual'.

Inescapable Essentialism: Bisexually-Identified Women's Strategies in the Late 80s and Early 90s: "Essentialism, in many ways, is a product of the western political and philosophical use of binary oppositions. Binaries have been used to produce socially meaningful categories in which to classify and understand the world, both human and non-human (Innes 65). Within the assumptions of binaries, however, is the tendency to see these categories as natural and unchanging. In addition to naturalizing or essentializing binaries,western philosophy has also tended to privilege only one side of the opposition while the other is disparaged. The final outcome of this logic is a limited and fixed understanding of the world that masks the political and social power in which the binary categories were created and sustained."

Male homosexual identity in Hong Kong: a social construction. - Social construction of male homosexualities in Vietnam. Some keys to understanding discrimination and implications for HIV prevention strategy. - Political-economic construction of gay male clone identity. - 

Same-Sex Sexual Relations in Antiquity and Sexuality and Sexual Identity in Contemporary American Society: (Alternate Link) "In antiquity sexual identity was based on the natural fact of sex. Genitals determined gender. For ancient Israel the binary differentiation of male and female served as the structuring of both the natural and social worlds, and was guarded by the Holiness Code of Lev. 17. Same-sex sexual relations were forbidden, at least explicitly to men, and Christianity adopted and transmitted this ideology. The homosexuality that is condemned in the letters ascribed to Paul: Romans, 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy is identifiable as pederasty. There are no ancient texts that suggest that homosexual relationships existed between same-age adults. The word homosexuality first appeared in an English dictionary in 1892. Today the taxonomy of male and female is being subverted by science and technology..."

Male 'Homosexualities' In India / South Asia: Excerpts from - Khan, Shivananda (2001). Culture, sexualities, and identities: men who have sex with men in India. Journal of Homosexuality, 40(3/4), 99-115. & Asthana S, and Oostvogels R (2001). The social construction of male 'homosexuality' in India: implications for HIV transmission and prevention. Social Science & Medicine, 52: 707-21. - Cultural Construction(s) of Same Sex Sexual Relations: A course outline (PDF Download).

Un-queer anti-theory. - Multiple Masculinity's a world of subculture and homosexual interaction. - The Role of Masculinity in Male Homosexual Culture by Shazza Nakkim N/A. - The (Re) Construction of African-American Masculinity -- Homosexuality. - Boys in Schools: Addressing the Politics of Hegemonic Masculinities. - Masculinity and Academic Discourse: Issues and Themes. - Masculinities and men in nursing (PDF Download). - The Gendering of Molecular Biology (PDF Download).

Les méandres de l'identité et de l'orientation sexuelle des hommes. - Gay and homosexual are terms, used sometimes interchangeably, but the two words have different meanings. - Exploration of the Preconceived Notions of Homosexuality. - An Analysis: heterosexuality in the male. - Social Protest and the Performance of Gay Identity. - New Directions for Gay Liberation: The Politics of Identity. - A queer geography: journeys toward a sexual self: "'Do Gays exist?' is the provocative question behind Frank Browning's latest jaunt around the globe." - Identité homosexuelle et communauté gaie.

Tyranny of the heterosexual/homosexual binary?  - Unresolved Issues in Scientific Sexology: "The majority of men and women who report homosexual feelings and/or behavior report predominant heterosexual feelings and behavior and do not identify as homosexual. These consistent findings remain ignored. Studies of the etiology and development of homosexuality and heterosexuality treat them as distributed categorically rather than dimensionally and investigate only self-identified homosexuals