111-511: Stop Murder Music is a campaign to oppose Caribbean artists who produce music with lyrics alleged to glorify murder of homosexual men . The campaign was mainly against Jamaican musicians, primarily dancehall and reggae artists such as Buju Banton , Bounty Killer , and the Bobo Ashanti Rastafarians Sizzla and Capleton . The campaign accuses these artists of promoting violence against LGBT people through
222-493: A crime against nature . The condemnation of anal sex between males, however, predates Christian belief. Throughout the majority of Christian history , most Christian theologians and denominations have considered homosexual behavior as immoral or sinful . Many historical figures, including Socrates , Lord Byron , Edward II , and Hadrian , have had terms such as gay or bisexual applied to them. Some scholars, such as Michel Foucault , have regarded this as risking
333-655: A freeborn male minor . Acceptable same-sex partners were males excluded from legal protections as citizens: slaves , male prostitutes , and the infames , entertainers or others who might be technically free but whose lifestyles set them outside the law. A male citizen who willingly performed oral sex or received anal sex was disparaged, but there is only limited evidence of legal penalties against these men. In courtroom and political rhetoric, charges of effeminacy and passive sexual behaviors were directed particularly at "democratic" politicians ( populares ) such as Julius Caesar and Mark Antony . Roman law addressed
444-408: A cult prostitute, or with someone whose gender roles were not considered solidly masculine. Such sexual relations were even seen as good fortune , with an Akkadian tablet , the Šumma ālu , reading, "If a man copulates with his equal from the rear, he becomes the leader among his peers and brothers". However, homosexual relationships with fellow soldiers, slaves, royal attendants, or those where
555-466: A eunuch". This law code condemns a situation that involves homosexual rape . Any Assyrian male could visit a prostitute or lie with another male, just as long as false rumors or forced sex were not involved with another male. In ancient Rome, the bodies of citizen youths were strictly off-limits, and the Lex Scantinia imposed penalties on those who committed a sex crime ( stuprum ) against
666-492: A group of young "butch queens" (cisgender gay men), transgender women, drag queens, and butch women. Since its release, the film has become a cult classic and has served as an organizing and academic tool for the gay and trans communities (though it has been subject to significant criticism). Meanwhile, the television reality program RuPaul's Drag Race has been on-air in the United States since 2009 and has introduced
777-571: A long history for gay men in the United States. In 1869 at the Hamilton Lodge in Harlem , the first drag balls were held. These balls were held in secret, but news grew of their existence as a safe place for gay men to congregate. The balls were deemed immoral and illegal, and a moral reform organization known as the Committee of Fourteen investigated alleged "immoral" activities. In 1916,
888-711: A number of gay men also identify as queer . Historic terminology for gay men has included inverts and uranians . Gay men continue to face significant discrimination in large parts of the world , particularly in most of Asia and Africa . In the United States and the western world , many gay men still experience discrimination in their daily lives, though some openly gay men have reached national success and prominence, including Apple CEO Tim Cook and heads of state or government such as Xavier Bettel (Luxembourg), Edgars Rinkēvičs (Latvia), Gabriel Attal (France), and Leo Varadkar (Ireland). The word gay
999-665: A people group, rather than male homosexuality as a sexual act. Kissing, mutual masturbation and love-letters between men were now seen as legitimate reasons for the police to make arrests. The law never defined a "sex offence", leaving it to interpretation. Between 1933 and 1945, an estimated 100,000 men were arrested as homosexuals under the Nazi regime, of whom some 50,000 were officially sentenced. Most of these men served time in prison, while an estimated 5,000 to 15,000 were incarcerated in Nazi concentration camps . Rüdiger Lautmann argued that
1110-489: A performance used for artistic or entertainment purposes. Drag shows often include lip-syncing , dancing, and live singing. They occur at events like drag pageants and gay pride parades and in nightclubs and cabarets , as well as in local gay bars. Drag queens vary by dedication, type, and culture, and range from professionals who star in films and on Broadway , such as Gene Malin , Divine , or Rupaul , to people who do drag only occasionally. Drag balls themselves have
1221-551: A positive light. Media coverage of gay men during the AIDS crisis depended on the location and therefore the local attitudes toward gay men. For example, in the Bay Area , The San Francisco Chronicle hired an openly gay man as a reporter and ran detailed stories on gay male topics. This was a sharp contrast to The New York Times , which refused to use the word "gay" in its writing, exclusively referring to gay men and lesbians with
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#17327729214521332-496: A press conference that the American scientist Robert Gallo had discovered the probable cause of AIDS, the retrovirus which would be named human immunodeficiency virus or HIV. In September 1985, during his second term in office, US President Ronald Reagan publicly mentioned AIDS for the first time after being asked about his administration's lack of medical research funding for the crisis. Four months later, Anthony Fauci ,
1443-622: A professor of anthropology at the University of the West Indies , writes, "A lot of Jamaican men, if you call them a homosexual, ... will immediately get violent. It's the worst insult you could give to a Jamaican man." Stewart writes that homophobia influences Caribbean society even at the micro level of language. He writes of urban youth vernacular, "It's like if you say, 'Come back here,' they will say, 'No, no, no don't say "come back".' You have to say, 'come forward,' because come back
1554-677: A prostitute or actor, could not as a matter of law be raped, nor could a slave, who was legally classified as property; the slave's owner, however, could prosecute the rapist for property damage. In the Roman army of the Republic, sex among fellow soldiers violated the decorum against intercourse with citizens and was subject to harsh penalties, including death, as a violation of military discipline . The Greek historian Polybius (2nd century BC) lists deserters , thieves, perjurers , and "...on young men who have abused their persons" as subject to
1665-605: A report documenting violations of the rights of LGBT people, including hate crimes , criminalization of homosexual activity , and discrimination . Following the issuance of the report, the United Nations urged all countries which had not yet done so to enact laws protecting basic LGBT rights. A 2022 study found that LGBT rights (as measured by ILGA-Europe 's Rainbow Index) were correlated with less HIV/AIDS incidence among gay and bisexual men independently of risky sexual behavior. The 2023 Equaldex Equality Index ranks
1776-489: A result of the growing influence and power of the conquistadors, many Native leaders started condemning homosexual acts themselves. During the period following European colonization , homosexuality was prosecuted by the Inquisition , sometimes leading to death sentences on the charges of sodomy, and the practices became clandestine. Many homosexual men went into heterosexual marriages to keep appearances, and some turned to
1887-454: A social better was submissive or penetrated , were treated as bad omens . Middle Assyrian Law Codes dating 1075 BC has a particularly harsh law for homosexuality in the military , which reads: "If a man have intercourse with his brother-in-arms, they shall turn him into a eunuch ." A similar law code reads, "If a seignior lay with his neighbor, when they have prosecuted him (and) convicted him, they shall lie with him (and) turn him into
1998-790: A specific law has been passed. Civil Unions proposed. Transgender persons have a law reserving 1% of Argentina's public sector jobs. Economic incentives included in the new law aim to help trans people find work in all sectors. [REDACTED] No Homophobia/biphobia is not illegal legal gender change possible since 2002. Since 2022, legal gender change allowed with only partial sex reassignment surgery . Difficulty remains to change gender information on diplomas and degrees. [REDACTED] Yes Anti-discrimination protections for gender expression. [REDACTED] Transgender people are not allowed to change gender since 2020. [REDACTED] Transgender people are not allowed to change gender since 2017. [REDACTED] Gender change
2109-437: A speech that, "A number of artists [such as Sizzla and Buju Banton] are effectively contributing to the spread of HIV by producing reggae and rap songs actually encouraging discrimination against those who have AIDS and encouraging violence against minority groups such as men who have sex with men...Yes, we believe in free speech, but nobody in a democracy should be able to incite violence against minorities." He cited John King and
2220-535: A transnational organization, with 140 chapters around the world, while the AIDS crisis ultimately became a global epidemic . By 2019, complications related to AIDS had taken 32.7 million lives worldwide. There are 54 nations in Africa recognized by the United Nations and/or African Union . In 34 of these states, male homosexuality is explicitly outlawed. In a 2015 report, Human Rights Watch noted that in Benin and
2331-765: A trial. Witnesses have also reported that the gay men are regularly beaten (with polypropylene pipes below the waist), tortured with electricity, and spat in the face by prison guards. In some cases the process of torture has resulted in the death of the person being tortured. As of 2021, the situation in Chechnya continues to worsen for gay men. In other countries in Eastern Europe, rights for gay men continue to deteriorate. Polish President Andrzej Duda has pledged to ban teaching about gay men in schools, forbid same-sex marriage and adoption, and establish " LGBT-free zones ". A 2017 Pew Research Center poll found that
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#17327729214522442-480: A woman. Yves Saint Laurent (b. 1935), also regarded as being among the foremost fashion designers in the twentieth century , was openly gay; his long-time partner was Pierre Berge. Gianni Versace (b. 1946), an Italian fashion designer and founder of Versace , publicly came out in an interview with The Advocate in July 1995. Versace was murdered in 1997. A younger generation of gay men gained prominence in
2553-462: Is chang'd I know not how, For men Kiss Men, not Women now; ... Of J. the First and Buckingham: He, true it is, his Wives Embraces fled, To slabber his lov'd Ganimede" ( Mundus Foppensis, or The Fop Display'd , 1691). In ancient Sumer , a set of priests known as gala worked in the temples of the goddess Inanna , where they performed elegies and lamentations. Gala took female names, spoke in
2664-723: Is implying that you're 'coming in the back,' which is how gay men have sex." In Eastern Europe, there has been a steady erosion of rights for gay men over the course of the last decade. In the Russian republic of Chechnya , gay men have been subjected to forced disappearances —secret abductions, imprisonment, torture —and extrajudicial killing by authorities. An unknown number of men, detained due to suspicion of them being gay or bisexual, have died while held in concentration camps . Independent media and human rights groups have reported that gay men are being sent to clandestine camps in Chechnya, described by one eyewitness as "closed prison,
2775-558: Is internationally recognized as an icon of queer cinema. The director Rainer Werner Fassbinder had an early influence on queer cinema with films like Querelle (1982). These filmmakers and others pioneered queer Hollywood productions like Brokeback Mountain (2005), which reached an audience of millions. Drag queens are a significant part of the popular culture of gay men and are regularly featured in gay bars . Drag queens use drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles as part of
2886-468: Is recognized as one of the most popular and most performed ballets in the world. Ailey remained closeted for much of his life, and he passed from an AIDS related illness at the age of 58. David Hockney (b. 1937), another major artist of the Silent Generation , was an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s and is considered one of the most influential British artists of
2997-415: Is recommended by LGBTQ groups and style guides to describe all people exclusively attracted to members of the same sex, while lesbian refers specifically to female homosexuals, and gay men to male homosexuals. Some scholars argue that the terms "homosexual" and "gay" are problematic when applied to men in ancient cultures since, for example, neither Greeks or Romans possessed any one word covering
3108-424: Is the most progressive concerning LGBT rights and recognizing unregistered cohabitation; however, it has faced criticism from academics such as Sarah Schulman and Jason Ritchie for " pinkwashing ." And although same-sex marriage is not legal in the country, there is public support for recognizing and registering same-sex marriages performed in other countries. Male same-sex activity is also punishable by death in
3219-610: Is the only country in Africa where LGBT discrimination is constitutionally forbidden; however, social discrimination against South African gay men persists in rural parts of the country, where high levels of religious tradition continue to fuel prejudice and violence. In the mainland Americas (both North and South ), male homosexuality is legal in every country (except Guyana ). In the Caribbean , however, nine nations have criminal punishment for " buggery " on their statute books. These countries include Barbados , Saint Vincent and
3330-696: Is true of many other non-Western cultures, it is difficult to determine the extent to which Western notions of sexual orientation apply to Pre-Columbian cultures. Evidence of homoerotic sexual acts between men has been found in many pre- conquest civilizations in Latin America , such as the Aztecs , Mayas , Quechuas , Moches , Zapotecs , the Incas , and the Tupinambá of Brazil. In fact, in Aztec mythology ,
3441-530: Is unclear due to fear of backlash and punishment. Since the early 20th century, gay men, both out and closeted, have worked as some of the world's most influential fashion designers and started some of the most important fashion houses. Cristóbal Balenciaga (b. 1895), who started the Balenciaga brand, was gay but remained private about his sexuality for his entire life. His long-time partner, Franco-Polish millionaire Władzio Jaworowski d'Attainville, set up
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3552-512: The Iliad . In Ancient Rome , young men's bodies remained a focus of male sexual attention, but relationships were between older free men and slaves or freed youths who took the receptive role in sex. The Hellenophile emperor Hadrian is renowned for his relationship with Antinous , but the Christian emperor Theodosius I decreed a law on 6 August 390, condemning passive males to be burned at
3663-775: The New York Native . Later that year, the CDC reported a cluster of Pneumocystis pneumonia in five gay men in Los Angeles. The next month, The New York Times ran the headline: "Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals". The illness was soon termed Gay Related Immunodeficiency (G.R.I.D.), because it was believed to only affect gay men. In June 1982, Larry Kramer founded the Gay Men's Health Crisis to provide food and support to gay men dying in New York City . During
3774-436: The eme-sal dialect, which was traditionally reserved for women, and appear to have engaged in homosexual intercourse. The Sumerian sign for gala was a ligature of the signs for "penis" and "anus". One Sumerian proverb reads: "When the gala wiped off his ass [he said], 'I must not arouse that which belongs to my mistress [i.e., Inanna]. ' " In later Mesopotamian cultures, kurgarrū and assinnu were male servants of
3885-445: The fustuarium , clubbing to death. Ancient sources are most concerned with the effects of sexual harassment by officers, but the young soldier who brought an accusation against his superior needed to show that he had not willingly taken the passive role or prostituted himself. Soldiers were free to have relations with their male slaves ; the use of a fellow citizen-soldier's body was prohibited, not homosexual behaviors per se. By
3996-720: The Central African Republic , male homosexuality is not explicitly outlawed, but both have laws which are applied differently for gay men than for straight men. In Mauritania , northern Nigeria , Somaliland , and Somalia , male homosexuality is punishable by death. In Sierra Leone , Tanzania , and Uganda , gay men receive life imprisonment for homosexual acts, though the law is not regularly enforced in Sierra Leone. In Nigeria , legislation has also made it illegal for family members, allies, and friends of gay men to openly express support for homosexuality, and
4107-752: The Jamaican police . In 2013, Amnesty International reported that "Gay men and lesbian women have been beaten, cut, burned, raped and shot on account of their sexuality. ... We are concerned that these reports are just the tip of the iceberg. Many gay men and women in Jamaica are too afraid to go to the authorities and seek help". As a result of this violence, hundreds of gay men from Jamaica sought to emigrate to countries with better human rights records. A 2016 poll from J-Flag showed that 88 percent of those polled disapprove of homosexuality, though since 2018, discriminatory attitudes have decreased slightly. In
4218-683: The Liu Song dynasty by Wang Shunu claimed that homosexuality was as common as heterosexuality in the late 3rd century China. Opposition to male homosexuality in China originates in the medieval Tang dynasty (618–907), attributed to the rising influence of Christian and Islamic values, but did not become fully established until the Westernization efforts of the late Qing dynasty and the Republic of China . The earliest Western documents (in
4329-512: The Met Gala , with the theme titled "Notes on Camp". That same year, the museum presented its full exhibit "Camp: Notes on Fashion", in which it presented numerous "campy" women's dresses. Nevertheless, in drag performances and at gay pride events, many gay men continue to embrace a camp aesthetic. In many forms of popular entertainment, gay men are portrayed stereotypically as promiscuous , flamboyant, flashy, and sassy. Gay men are also rarely
4440-736: The Mighty Gabby as examples of musicians who are positive role models against violence and discrimination. Tatchell and the Stop Murder Music campaign have been criticised by The Black Music Council, a British organisation formed in 2004 in response to the campaign by the president of Blacker Dread Records, Blacker Dread, in order "to protect the rights of the eight artists placed on the OutRage! hit list". Homosexual men Gay men are male homosexuals . Some bisexual and homoromantic men may dually identify as gay and
4551-629: The Nordic countries , Chile , Uruguay , Canada , the Benelux countries, Spain , Andorra , and Malta among the best for LGBT rights. The index ranks Nigeria , Yemen , Brunei , Afghanistan , Somalia , Mauritania , Palestine , and Iran among the worst. Asher & Lyric ranked Canada, Sweden , and the Netherlands as the three safest nations for LGBT people in its 2023 index. Laws that affect LGBT people include, but are not limited to,
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4662-535: The UAE , Saudi Arabia , Iran , and Qatar . In the Gaza Strip and Yemen , punishment for male homosexuality varies between death and imprisonment depending on the act committed. In 2018, a transnational survey conducted in the region by Pew Research Center found that 80% of people polled believed homosexuality was "morally unacceptable", though others argue that the true number of people who support rights for gay men
4773-590: The aegis of the Officers of the Night court, were prosecuting, fining, and imprisoning a good portion of that population. From the second half of the 13th century, death was the punishment for male homosexuality in most of Europe. The relationships of socially prominent figures, such as King James I and the Duke of Buckingham , served to highlight the issue, including in anonymously authored street pamphlets: "The world
4884-581: The anachronistic introduction of a contemporary construction of sexuality foreign to their times, though other scholars challenge this. The first recorded possible homosexual male couple in history is commonly deemed to be Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum , an ancient Egyptian couple, who lived around 2400 BCE. The pair are portrayed in a nose-kissing position, the most intimate pose in Egyptian art , surrounded by what appear to be their heirs. The 6th- or 7th-century Ashmolean Parchment AN 1981.940 provides
4995-486: The lyrics in their music and attempts to stop this. Stop Murder Music is jointly run by OutRage! , the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group , and J-Flag . The term was coined by British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell in 1992. The Reggae Compassionate Act was an agreement signed in 2007 by artists including Beenie Man , Capleton , and Sizzla . It has now been somewhat discredited as some artists have felt it
5106-497: The rape of a male citizen as early as the 2nd century BC when it was ruled that even a man who was "disreputable and questionable" had the same right as other citizens not to have his body subjected to forced sex. A law probably dating to the dictatorship of Julius Caesar defined rape as forced sex against "boy, woman, or anyone"; the rapist was subject to execution, a rare penalty in Roman law. A male classified as infamis , such as
5217-621: The 18 " Middle Eastern " countries and is punishable by death in six. According to scholars, recent popular turns toward Islamic fundamentalism has strongly influenced the extreme violence against gay men. While all same-sex activity is legal in Bahrain , Cyprus , the West Bank , Turkey , Lebanon , Israel , Jordan , and Iraq , male homosexuality is illegal and punishable by imprisonment in Syria , Oman , Qatar , Kuwait , and Egypt . Israel
5328-545: The 19th century when the British Empire was at its peak. As of 2018, more than half of the 71 countries that criminalised homosexuality were former British colonies or protectorates. In 2001, the Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage . Note that for simplicity the table below does not distinguish between 'legal' and 'lawful'. An action can only be legal or illegal where
5439-461: The 20th century, gay men were amongst the Western world's most influential and prolific artists, writers, and dancers. In the United States by mid-century, James Baldwin (b. 1924) was considered one of the best writers of his generation. His work, including Giovanni's Room (1956) dealt openly with homosexuality and bisexuality at a time when sex between men was still illegal throughout much of
5550-575: The 20th century. He has been openly gay for much of his life. Many of the most influential gay and bisexual artists of the Boomer and X generations died at very early ages during the AIDS crises, including Carlos Almaraz (b. 1941), Robert Mapplethorpe (b. 1946), Félix González-Torres (b. 1957), and Keith Haring (b. 1958). Much of the Art of the AIDS Crisis was highly political and critical of
5661-548: The African and Caribbean communities in Canada to form the group. Despite not causing any artists to be denied entry visas, the campaign was able to get concert venues cancelled, and also get iTunes to remove some tracks by Buju Banton, Elephant Man and TOK that they deemed contrary to their standards. The Green Party of England and Wales and OutRage! campaigned on behalf of the stop murder music campaign, including petitioning
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#17327729214525772-519: The Caribbean, like in other developing countries around the world, homosexual identity is often associated with Westernization , and as a result, homophobia is believed to be an anti-colonial tool. Wayne Marshall wrote that gay men are believed to be "decadent products of the West" and "are thus to be resisted alongside other forms of colonization, cultural or political". Wayne cites the example of
5883-528: The Grenadines , Dominica , Saint Kitts and Nevis , Grenada , Saint Lucia , Antigua and Barbuda , Guyana , and Jamaica . In Jamaica , sexual intercourse between men is legally punishable by imprisonment, though the law's repeal is pending. Sexual intercourse between women is already legal, though lesbians in Jamaica still experience a high level of social stigma. In Jamaica, reports of vigilante violence and torture against gay men have been reported by
5994-522: The Jamaican dancehall hit " Dem Bow " by Shabba Ranks , which calls for the violent murder of gay men alongside a call for the "freedom for Black people". Marshall notes the irony of this ideological position, considering the historical evidence that homophobia was introduced to colonies by European colonists. Nevertheless, Caribbean scholars have noted the importance of opposition to gay men for Jamaican male gender construction. Kingsley Ragashanti Stewart,
6105-504: The Lord" and the death penalty was prescribed to its inhabitants – and to Lot's wife , who was turned into a pillar of salt because she turned back to watch the cities' destruction. In Deuteronomy 22:5, cross-dressing is condemned as "abominable". In Assyrian society, sex crimes were punished identically whether they were homosexual or heterosexual. An individual faced no punishment for penetrating someone of equal social class ,
6216-545: The U.S. government and has been described as "afraid, angry, fearful, and defiant". In the aftermath of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, gay men and other queer artists pioneered a new form of experimental filmmaking called New Queer Cinema . Today, gay men such as Mark Bradford , Julio Salgado , and Kehinde Wiley are amongst the most influential artists of their generation. Much of contemporary Western gay art today deals with themes of body, identity, and experience. Outside of
6327-848: The United Kingdom Home Secretary in 2004. Tatchell has called for laws against homophobic music and the Campaign participated in protests outside concerts. The Campaign has especially objected to lyrics which they allege to support violence, including allegedly murder, towards gay men. Dennis Carney, chair of the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group, argued in 2004 that the MOBO Awards had a responsibility to exclude anti-gay artists because, "homophobic lyrics in music normalise hatred towards black gay men." The UK International Development Minister Gareth Thomas argued in
6438-528: The United States as symbols of social decadence by evangelists and organizations such as Focus on the Family . Historically, many films have included negative sub-texts regarding male homosexuality, such as in Alfred Hitchcock 's films, whose villains used implied homosexuality to heighten senses of evil and alienation. In news programming, male homosexuality was rarely directly mentioned, but it
6549-578: The West, art containing themes of gay male sexuality is still considered subversive and taboo. In Singapore , which criminalized all sexual acts between men through Section 377A of the Penal Code until 2022, art by gay men is considered countercultural . Gay men in Singapore historically have been depicted negatively in local mainstream media, and efforts to counter this discrimination from wider Singaporean society has been made difficult because of
6660-515: The Western world. Other major artists of Baldwin's generation, including Robert Rauschenberg (b. 1925) and Jasper Johns (b. 1930), were less open about their sexuality, and even made fun of other young gay artists of their generation, such as Andy Warhol , for being too feminine. In the world of New York dance, Alvin Ailey (b. 1931) fused theater, modern dance, ballet, and jazz with black vernacular, and his choreographic magnum opus Revelations
6771-452: The adult male and the perceived feminizing effect of being the passive partner, relations between adult men of comparable social status were considered highly problematic, and usually associated with social stigma. This stigma, however, was reserved for only the passive partner in the relationship. According to contemporary opinion, Greek men who took on a passive sexual role after reaching adulthood – at which point they were expected to take
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#17327729214526882-736: The books as a penalty for adultery , which (in light of the illegality of gay marriage in those countries) would by default include gay sex, but this is enforced by the legal authorities in Iran and Nigeria (in the northern third of the country). In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed its first resolution recognizing LGBT rights, following which the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued
6993-456: The bride (with a freedman Pythagoras ) and once as the groom. His consort Sporus appeared in public as Nero's wife wearing the regalia that was customary for the Roman empress. Apart from measures to protect the prerogatives of citizens, the prosecution of homosexuality as a general crime began in the 3rd century of the Christian era when male prostitution was banned by Philip the Arab . By
7104-569: The classical novel Dream of the Red Chamber seem as familiar to observers in the present as do equivalent stories of romances between heterosexual people during the same period. Confucianism , being primarily a social and political philosophy, focused little on sexuality, whether homosexual or heterosexual. Ming dynasty literature, such as Bian Er Chai (弁而釵/弁而钗), portray homosexual relationships between men as more enjoyable and more "harmonious" than heterosexual relationships. Writings from
7215-445: The cleaners, he is forced to wear a woman's feather-trimmed robe. When another character asks about his robe, he responds, "Because I just went gay all of a sudden!" Since this was a mainstream film at a time, when the use of the word to refer to cross-dressing (and, by extension, homosexuality) would still be unfamiliar to most film-goers, the line can also be interpreted to mean, "I just decided to do something frivolous." In 1950,
7326-791: The clergy to escape public scrutiny. During the Mexican Inquisition , after a series of denunciations, authorities arrested 123 men in 1658 on suspicion of homosexuality. Although many escaped, the Royal Criminal Court sentenced fourteen men from different social and ethnic backgrounds to death by public burning, in accordance to the law passed by Isabella the Catholic in 1497. The sentences were carried out together on one day, 6 November 1658. The records of these trials and those that occurred in 1660, 1673 and 1687, suggest that Mexico City , like many other large cities at
7437-488: The committee released a report describing "'phenomenal ... male perverts' in expensive frocks and wigs, looking like women". By the 1920s, the balls grew in public visibility. In New York, the events, once called Masquerade and Civic Balls, were called "Faggots Balls" by the general public. The balls, however, also attracted some of the city's top artists and writers, including Charles Henri Ford and Parker Tyler . The men, who co-authored The Young and Evil , described
7548-483: The country is generally recognized for its "cold-blooded" attitudes toward gay men. Nigerian law states that any heterosexual person "who administers, witnesses, abets or aids" male homosexual activity should receive a 10-year jail sentence. In Uganda , Christian fundamentalist organizations from the United States funded the introduction of Kill the Gays legislation to impose the death penalty for gay men. The bill
7659-496: The crisis is known as the "lost generation". At its start, the epidemic was particularly severe in the United States . In 1980, San Francisco resident Ken Horne was reported to the CDC with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). He was retroactively identified as the first patient of the AIDS epidemic in the US. In 1981, Lawrence Mass became the first journalist in the world to write about the epidemic in
7770-585: The crisis, American media tended to focus on the "raunchiness" of gay culture, and divided gay men in to two archetypes: "victims" (those affected by HIV) and "villains" (who allegedly spread HIV, deliberately). The AIDS pandemic delayed positive representations of gay men until the 1990s , when the first positive representations of gay men began to appear in American media. However, most of these gay men were White, masculine, apolitical and never depicted romantically with other men. This new depiction of gay men catered to heterosexual audiences, and did not reflect
7881-480: The death penalty on consensual same-sex sexual acts: Iran and Afghanistan . The death penalty is officially law , but generally not practiced , in Mauritania , Saudi Arabia , Somalia (in the autonomous state of Jubaland ) and the United Arab Emirates . LGBT people also face extrajudicial killings in the Russian region of Chechnya . Sudan rescinded its unenforced death penalty for anal sex (hetero- or homosexual) in 2020. Fifteen countries have stoning on
7992-426: The death rate of homosexuals in concentration camps may have been as high as 60%. Gay men in the camps suffered an unusual degree of cruelty by their captors and were regularly used as the subjects for Nazi medical experiments as scientists tried to find a "cure" for homosexuality. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is considered the deadliest period in modern history for gay men, and the generation of young gay men who died in
8103-404: The deity Xochipilli was a symbol of gay men and male prostitutes . The Spanish conquistadors expressed horror at discovering sodomy openly practiced among native men and used it as evidence of their supposed inferiority. The conquistadors talked extensively of sodomy among the natives to depict them as savages and hence justify their conquest and forced conversion to Christianity. As
8214-500: The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , stated, "One million Americans have already been infected with the virus and that this number will jump to at least 2 million or 3 million within 5 to 10 years." Gay men, trans women , and bisexual men faced the brunt of deaths during the first decade of the crisis. Activists claimed the government was responding to the epidemic with apathy because of
8325-462: The drag ball as "a scene whose celestial flavor and cerulean coloring no angelic painter or nectarish poet has ever conceived ... lit up like high mass." This flourishing of gay life in the 1920s and 30s was part of a period known as the Pansy Craze . More recently, the film Paris is Burning (1990) detailed the drag ball scene of New York City and showcased the lives and experiences of
8436-513: The earliest reference found to date for the word gay as a self-described name for male homosexuals came from Alfred A. Gross, executive secretary for the George W. Henry Foundation, who said in the June 1950 issue of Sir magazine: "I have yet to meet a happy homosexual. They have a way of describing themselves as gay, but the term is a misnomer. Those who are habitues of the bars frequented by others of
8547-465: The early years of the AIDS crisis, gay men were treated pitilessly in hospital quarantine wards, left alone without contact for weeks at a time. During the early years of the epidemic, there was significant misinformation surrounding the illness. Rumors swirled that being in the same room or being touched by a gay man could lead one to contract HIV. It was not until April 1984 that the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Margaret Heckler announced in
8658-608: The end of the 4th century, after the Roman Empire had come under Christian rule , passive homosexuality was punishable by burning . "Death by sword" was the punishment for a "man coupling like a woman" under the Theodosian Code . Under Justinian , all same-sex acts, passive or active, no matter who the partners are, were declared contrary to nature and punishable by death. The United Kingdom introduced anti-homosexuality laws throughout its colonies, particularly in
8769-575: The existence of which no one officially knows". Some gay men have attempted to flee the region, but have been detained by Russian police and sent back to Chechnya. Reports have emerged of prison officials releasing accused gay men from the camps after securing assurances from their families that their families will kill them (at least one man was reported by a witness as having died after returning to his family). These imprisoned men are kept in extremely cramped conditions, with 30 to 40 people detained in one room (two to three metres big), and few are afforded
8880-521: The fact that most victims of AIDS were gay Black and Hispanic men . However, by the late 1980s it had become undeniable that most of the victims of AIDS were gay men of color , and the media finally came to acknowledge this commonly-known fact. Yet the new coverage maintained the image of White men as heroic leaders in the fight against AIDS; while ignoring the perspectives of the gay men of color. Kohnen attributes this favorable (and unwarranted) representation of White men to white privilege . During
8991-476: The fashion world during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Tom Ford (b. 1961) founded his eponymous brand Tom Ford in 2005 and has stated that he realized he was gay as a young man visiting Studio 54 in the 1980s. Alexander McQueen (b. 1969), who was also openly gay, founded his own label Alexander McQueen in 1992 and was recognized as a fashion prodigy for his revolutionary designs. McQueen said he realized his sexual orientation when he
9102-651: The following: Ayoni or non-vaginal sex of all types is punishable in the Arthashastra . Homosexual acts are, however, treated as a smaller offence punishable by a fine, while unlawful heterosexual sex carries much harsher punishment. The Dharmsastras , especially the later ones, prescribe against non-vaginal sex like the Vashistha Dharmasutra . The Yājñavalkya Smṛti prescribes fines for such acts including those with other men. Manusmriti prescribes light punishments for such acts. Vanita states that
9213-524: The form of literary works, art objects, and mythographic materials ) concerning same-sex male relationships are derived from ancient Greece . These relationships were constrained between "normal" men and their young male lovers. Relationships between adult men, however, were still largely considered taboo in Ancient Greek culture. Given the importance in Greek society of cultivating the masculinity of
9324-526: The fund for him to start the house. After d'Attainville died, Balenciaga's following collection was designed entirely in black to mourn his loss. The French fashion designer Christian Dior (b. 1905) was another hugely influential fashion designer of the 20th century. Dior never married nor openly identified as a gay man, however, he was known to frequent the gay cultural scene in Paris and was infamously described by Coco Chanel as never having intimately "known"
9435-605: The goddess Ishtar (Inanna's East Semitic equivalent), who dressed in female clothing and performed war dances in Ishtar's temples. Several Akkadian proverbs seem to suggest that they may have also engaged in homosexual intercourse. In ancient Assyria , male homosexuality was present and common; it was also not prohibited, condemned, nor looked upon as immoral or disordered. Some religious texts contain prayers for divine blessings on homosexual relationships. The Almanac of Incantations contained prayers favoring on an equal basis
9546-545: The kind, are about the saddest people I've ever seen." Gay men were one of the primary victims of the Nazi Holocaust . Historically, the earliest legal step towards the Nazi persecution of male homosexuality was 1871's Paragraph 175 , a law passed after the unification of the German Empire . Paragraph 175 read: "An unnatural sex act committed between persons of male sex ... is punishable by imprisonment;
9657-633: The late Republic and throughout the Imperial period , there is increasing evidence that men whose lifestyle marked them as "homosexual" in the modern sense served openly. Although Roman law did not recognize marriage between men, and in general Romans regarded marriage as a heterosexual union with the primary purpose of producing children, in the early Imperial period some male couples were celebrating traditional marriage rites . Juvenal remarks with disapproval that his friends often attended such ceremonies. The emperor Nero had two marriages to men, once as
9768-530: The law after the Night of the Long Knives . The 1935 version of Paragraph 175 declared "expressions" of homosexuality as prosecutable crimes. The most important change to the law was the definitional shift of male homosexuality from "An unnatural sex act committed between persons of male sex" to instead "A male who commits a sex offense with another male." This expanded the reach of the law to persecute gay men as
9879-611: The loss of civil rights might also be imposed." The law was interpreted in varying ways in Germany until 23 April 1880, when the Reichsgericht ruled that criminal homosexual acts involved either anal , oral , or intercrural sex between two men. Anything less (such as kissing and cuddling) was deemed harmless play. Franz Gürtner , the Reich Justice Minister amended Paragraph 175 to address "loopholes" in
9990-432: The love of a man for a woman, of a woman for a man, and of a man for man. The use of gay to mean a "homosexual" man was first used as an extension of its application to prostitution: a gay boy was a young man or adolescent serving male clients. Similarly, a gay cat was a young man apprenticed to an older hobo and commonly exchanging sex and other services for protection and tutelage. The application to homosexuality
10101-436: The main characters in mainstream films; they frequently play the role of stereotyped supporting characters or are portrayed as either a victim or the villain . Despite the stereotypical depictions of gay men, television shows since the 1990s, such as Queer as Folk , Queer Eye , and Modern Family have promoted broader social acceptance of gay men as "normal people". Nevertheless, gay men are still frequently portrayed in
10212-534: The majority of Orthodox Christians in the Eastern European and former USSR states surveyed believe that homosexuality "should not be accepted by society"; 45% of Orthodox Christians in Greece and 31% in the United States answered the same way. In Southwest Asia and North Africa , gay men face some of the harshest and most hostile laws anywhere in the world. Sex between men is explicitly outlawed in 10 of
10323-591: The men, it contained no negative stereotypes. With the emergence of the AIDS epidemic and its explicit associations with gay men, media outlets in the U.S. varied in their coverage, portrayal, and acceptance of gay male communities. The American Family Association , the Coalition for Better Television, and the Moral Majority organized boycotts against advertisers on television programs which showed gay men in
10434-621: The only example in the Coptic language of a love spell between men. More recently, the European colonization of Africa resulted in the introduction of anti-sodomy laws, and is generally regarded as the central reason why African nations have such stringent laws against gay men today. Three countries or jurisdictions have imposed the death penalty for gay men in Africa. These include Mauritania and several regions in Nigeria and Jubaland. As
10545-404: The perceived "social undesirability" of these groups. To address this perceived apathy, activists such as Vito Russo , Larry Kramer , and others, took more militant approaches to AIDS activism, organizing direct action through organizations like ACT UP in order to force pharmaceutical corporations and government agencies to respond to the epidemic with more urgency. ACT UP eventually grew into
10656-476: The reverse role in pederastic relationships and become the active and dominant member – thereby were feminized or "made a woman" of themselves. There is ample evidence in the theater of Aristophanes that derides these passive men and gives a glimpse of the type of biting social opprobrium and shame ("atimia") heaped upon them by their society. Some scholars argue that there are examples of male homosexual love in ancient literature, such as Achilles and Patroclus in
10767-442: The risk of jail, bans, and censorship by the state. In the United States, Andy Warhol made underground films with queer themes and actors. His work had an international influence in queer film art. The avant-garde director Rosa von Praunheim has made more than 100 films on queer topics since the late 1960s, some of them have been evaluated internationally. Some films are considered milestones in queer cinema. Von Praunheim
10878-420: The same semantic range as the modern concept of "homosexuality". Furthermore, there were diverse sexual practices that varied in acceptance depending on time and place. Other scholars argue that there are significant similarities between ancient and modern male homosexuals. In cultures influenced by Abrahamic religions , the law and the church established sodomy as a transgression against divine law or
10989-461: The stake. During the Renaissance , wealthy cities in northern Italy — Florence and Venice in particular—were renowned for their widespread practice of same-sex love, engaged in by a considerable part of the male population and constructed along the classical pattern of Greece and Rome. But even as many of the male population were engaging in same-sex relationships, the authorities, under
11100-524: The straight mainstream to gay men's popular culture through drag. The original American series has since developed into the global Drag Race franchise . In the 2020s, a wave of anti-LGBT backlash in the United States resulted in what is known as the Drag panic . As part of this backlash, some U.S. states, such as Tennessee , criminalized the public performance of drag. Camp is a visual aesthetic style often associated with gay men. An English definition of
11211-409: The term "homosexuals", because it was believed to be a more clinical term. The Times also limited its verbal and visual coverage of issues pertaining to gay men. In the 1980s, the AIDS crisis greatly affected the representation of gay men in American media. Melanie Kohnen writes that, initially, the news media portrayed AIDS as a disease that affects mainly urban, White gay men; in spite of
11322-756: The term first appeared in a 1909 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary : "ostentatious, exaggerated, affected, theatrical; effeminate or homosexual; pertaining to, characteristic of, homosexuals". From its original meaning, the term has evolved to signify an inversion of aesthetic attributes such as beauty, value, and taste through exaggeration and irony . Camp is often mistaken with kitsch and has been described as "cheesy". In 1964, Susan Sontag's essay Notes on "Camp" emphasized camp's key elements as: "artifice, frivolity, naïve middle-class pretentiousness, and shocking excess". In recent years, gay men have sought to disassociate themselves from
11433-533: The term. In a 2018 interview, director Ryan Murphy said he believed camp was "a lazy catchall that gets thrown at gay artists in order to marginalize their ambitions, to frame their work as niche" and preferred to describe his visual aesthetic style as " baroque ". As some gay men have moved away from the term, however, mainstream straight society has appropriated it. In 2019, the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted its annual event,
11544-431: The time had an active underworld. In East Asia , same-sex relations between men has been noted since the earliest recorded history. Homosexuality in China , known as the passions of the cut peach and various other euphemisms, has been recorded since approximately 600 BCE. Male homosexuality was mentioned in many famous works of Chinese literature. The instances of same-sex affection and sexual interactions described in
11655-583: The true diversity of the LGBT community. LGBT rights by country or territory Rights affecting lesbian , gay , bisexual , transgender and queer ( LGBTQ ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality . Notably, as of May 2024 , 37 countries recognize same-sex marriage . By contrast, not counting non-state actors and extrajudicial killings, only two countries are believed to impose
11766-611: The verses about punishment for a sex between female and a maiden is due to its strong emphasis on a maiden's sexual purity. The ancient Law of Moses (the Torah ) forbids people from lying with people of the same sex (i.e., from having intercourse ) in Leviticus 18 and gives a story of attempted homosexual rape in Genesis 19 , in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah , after which the cities were soon destroyed with "brimstone and fire, from
11877-442: Was also an extension of the word's sexualized connotation of "uninhibited", which implied a willingness to disregard conventional sexual mores . In court in 1889, the prostitute John Saul stated: "I occasionally do odd-jobs for different gay people." Bringing Up Baby (1938) was the first film to use the word gay in an apparent reference to homosexuality. In a scene in which Cary Grant 's character's clothes have been sent to
11988-442: Was badly worded, while others have denied signing it. Others (including Elephant Man , T.O.K. , Bounty Killa , and Vybz Kartel ) have simply refused to sign it. Stop Murder Music (Canada) is an independent branch of the organization in Canada, founded by Akim Adé Larcher, after learning at a local West Indian store about a Canadian Tour by Elephant Man. Larcher, a Canadian/Saint Lucian, brought together over 20 organizations from
12099-476: Was often portrayed as a sickness, perversion, or crime. In 1967, CBC released a news segment on homosexuality; however, the segment was simply a compilation of negative stereotypes of gay men. The 1970s showed an increase in gay men's visibility in Western media with the 1972 ABC show That Certain Summer . The show was about a gay man raising a family, and although it did not show any explicit relations between
12210-662: Was ruled unconstitutional by the Ugandan Supreme Court in 2014, but retains support in the country and has been reconsidered for implementation. Of all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa has the most liberal attitudes toward gay men. In 2006, South Africa became the fifth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage, and the Constitution of South Africa guarantees gay men and lesbians full equal rights and protections. South Africa
12321-488: Was six years old. In 2000, McQueen had a marriage ceremony with his partner George Forsyth, a documentary filmmaker, on a yacht in Ibiza . McQueen died by suicide in 2010, shortly after the death of his mother. In recent years, gay men have continued to produce some of the most influential fashion in the world, including by designers such as Jeremy Scott (b. 1975), Jason Wu (b. 1982), and Alexander Wang (b. 1983). In
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