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Homosexuality () is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to people of the same sex. It "also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions." Along with bisexuality and heterosexuality, homosexuality is one of the three main categories of sexual orientation within the heterosexual–homosexual continuum.〔 There is no consensus among scientists about why a person develops a particular sexual orientation.〔 Many scientists think that nature and nurture – a combination of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences – factor into the cause of sexual orientation.〔 They favor biologically-based theories,〔 which point to genetic factors, the early uterine environment, both, or the inclusion of genetic and social factors.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Submission to the Church of England's Listening Exercise on Human Sexuality )〕 There is no substantive evidence which suggests parenting or early childhood experiences play a role when it comes to sexual orientation;〔 when it comes to same-sex sexual behavior, shared or familial environment plays no role for men and minor role for women.〔 While some people believe that homosexual activity is unnatural, scientific research has shown that homosexuality is an example of a normal and natural variation in human sexuality and is not in and of itself a source of negative psychological effects.〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6803&Itemid=1926 ) archived here ().〕 Most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation,〔 and there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation.〔American Psychological Association: (Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts )〕 The most common terms for homosexual people are ''lesbian'' for females and ''gay'' for males, though ''gay'' is also used to refer generally to both homosexual males and females. The number of people who identify as gay or lesbian and the proportion of people who have same-sex sexual experiences are difficult for researchers to estimate reliably for a variety of reasons, including many gay or lesbian people not openly identifying as such due to homophobia and heterosexist discrimination.〔LeVay, Simon (1996). ''(Queer Science: The Use and Abuse of Research into Homosexuality ).'' Cambridge: The MIT Press ISBN 0-262-12199-9〕 Homosexual behavior has also been documented and is observed in many non-human animal species.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Same-sex Behavior Seen In Nearly All Animals, Review Finds )〕〔(''1,500 animal species practice homosexuality''. ''The Medical News'', 23 October 2006 )〕〔Sommer, Volker & Paul L. Vasey (2006), Homosexual Behaviour in Animals, An Evolutionary Perspective. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0-521-86446-1〕〔 Many gay and lesbian people are in committed same-sex relationships, though only recently have census forms and political conditions facilitated their visibility and enumeration.〔 *(Census statistics show quarter of California same-sex couples raising kids ) *(Region Saw Increase In Same-Sex Households ) *(Census 2010: One Quarter of Gay Couples Raising Children ) *(Minnesota Sees 50% Rise in Number of Gay Couples ) *(Census:Dutchess, Ulster Gay Households Increase ) *(Same Sex Couples' Numbers Soar In N.Y, 2010 Census Finds ) *(87% Increase in Same-Sex Nevada Households Since 2000 ) *(2010 Census indicates increase among same-sex homeowners in Oklahoma ) *(Spike In Number of City's Same-Sex Couples )〕 These relationships are equivalent to heterosexual relationships in essential psychological respects.〔 Homosexual relationships and acts have been admired, as well as condemned, throughout recorded history, depending on the form they took and the culture in which they occurred.〔(Sexual Orientation ). ''American Psychiatric Association''.〕 Since the end of the 19th century, there has been a global movement towards increased visibility, recognition, and legal rights for homosexual people, including the rights to marriage and civil unions, adoption and parenting, employment, military service, equal access to health care, and the introduction of anti-bullying legislation to protect gay minors. ==Etymology== (詳細はhybrid, with the first element derived from Greek ὁμός ''homos'', "same" (not related to the Latin ''homo'', "man", as in ''Homo sapiens''), thus connoting sexual acts and affections between members of the same sex, including lesbianism. 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.〔 In 1886, Richard von Krafft-Ebing used the terms ''homosexual'' and ''heterosexual'' in his book ''Psychopathia Sexualis''. Krafft-Ebing's book was so popular among both laymen and doctors that the terms "heterosexual" and "homosexual" became the most widely accepted terms for sexual orientation.〔(Krafft-Ebing, Richard von (1840–1902) ). ''glbtq.com''.〕 As such, the current use of the term has its roots in the broader 19th-century tradition of personality taxonomy. Many modern style guides in the U.S. recommend against using ''homosexual'' as a noun, instead using ''gay man'' or ''lesbian''.〔(Media Reference Guide ) (citing AP, NY Times, Washington Post style guides), GLAAD. Retrieved 10 May 2007.〕 Similarly, some recommend completely avoiding usage of ''homosexual'' as it has a negative, clinical history and because the word only refers to one's sexual behavior (as opposed to romantic feelings) and thus it has a negative connotation.〔 ''Gay'' and ''lesbian'' are the most common alternatives. The first letters are frequently combined to create the initialism LGBT (sometimes written as GLBT), in which ''B'' and ''T'' refer to bisexual and transgender people. ''Gay'' especially refers to male homosexuality, but may be used in a broader sense to refer to all LGBT people. In the context of sexuality, ''lesbian'' refers only to female homosexuality. The word ''lesbian'' is derived from the name of the Greek island Lesbos, where the poet Sappho wrote largely about her emotional relationships with young women.〔Marguerite Johnson, Terry Ryan: ''Sexuality in Greek and Roman society and literature: a sourcebook'' p.4〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Lesbian | Define Lesbian at Dictionary.com )〕 Although early writers also used the adjective ''homosexual'' to refer to any single-sex context (such as an all-girls school), today the term is used exclusively in reference to sexual attraction, activity, and orientation. The term ''homosocial'' is now used to describe single-sex contexts that are not specifically sexual. There is also a word referring to same-sex love, ''homophilia''. Some synonyms for same-sex attraction or sexual activity include ''men who have sex with men'' or ''MSM'' (used in the medical community when specifically discussing sexual activity) and ''homoerotic'' (referring to works of art).〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher= UNAIDS )〕 Pejorative terms in English include ''queer'', ''faggot'', ''fairy'', ''poof'', and ''homo''.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Dictionary of Sexual Terms )〕 Beginning in the 1990s, some of these have been reclaimed as positive words by gay men and lesbians, as in the usage of queer studies, queer theory, and even the popular American television program ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy''. The word ' occurs in many other languages without the pejorative connotations it has in English. As with ethnic slurs and racial slurs, however, the misuse of these terms can still be highly offensive; the range of acceptable use depends on the context and speaker. Conversely, ''gay'', a word originally embraced by homosexual men and women as a positive, affirmative term (as in gay liberation and gay rights), has come into widespread pejorative use among young people. The U.S. organization GLAAD (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) advises the media to avoid using the term ''homosexual.''〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=GLAAD Media Reference Guide - Terms To Avoid )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「homosexuality」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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