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From Susan's Place Transgender Wiki

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A homosexual (from Greek homos, meaning "same;" and "sexual") is a person who is sexually attracted to people of the same sex or gender. Female homosexuals are often referred to as lesbians (also from Greek, referring to the Isle of Lesbos where the poet Sappho wrote about love between women), while male homosexuals are simply called gay. There are also many impolite terms for homosexuals of both genders, reflecting the discrimination faced by homosexual people.

The concept of homosexuality causes some confusion when considering transgendered people. A male-to-female transsexual who is attracted to men is sometimes considered to be a homosexual by people who aren't familiar with transsexuality, but the vast majority among the transgender community would assert that such a person is in fact heterosexual. (Likewise, a male-to-female transsexual who is attracted to women would be considered homosexual by the transgender community.) This misunderstanding is based on the mistaken belief that a person's gender is determined by their anatomy at birth.

Most of the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, etc.) oppose homosexuality. Because of the widespread influence of these religions, many societies do not afford certain rights to homosexuals or forbid homosexuality completely. In particular, Iran threatens homosexuals with execution, but there is often a significant difference between this policy and its enforcement.

Homosexual behavior is not limited to humans and has been observed in many other species. Gorillas, bears, swans, hedgehogs, whales, and hummingbirds are among the wide variety of animals that exhibit homosexual behavior. The prevalence of homosexual behavior in other species varies widely, ranging from 1% to 90%. It should be noted, however, that there is a distinction between homosexual behavior and homosexuality. The first is simply motor action, while the second is an internal characteristic that must be reported instead of observed.

The debate about whether homosexuality is an identity or a choice rages on, particularly in societies where homosexuality is taboo. Not surprisingly, there is a strong correlation between which side of the debate a person is on and whether they support or oppose homosexuality. Supporters tend to rally under the identity banner while opponents back the idea that homosexuality is a choice. However, this debate may be asking the wrong question. Contemporary research suggests that humans are bisexual as a species, human sexuality is a continuum, and an individual's sexuality changes over time. Homosexuals, then, are simply people on one end of the spectrum of human sexuality.

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*Some information provided in whole or in part by http://en.wikipedia.org/

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