X-Nico

4 unusual facts about sexual orientation


Harry + Max

Harry is heterosexual, whereas Max is gay and, despite his youth, has come to terms with his sexuality.

Sexual orientation

Some researchers, such as Bruce Bagemihl, have criticized the labels "heterosexual" and "homosexual" as confusing and degrading.

The Kinsey scale, also called the Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale was first published in Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) by Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy, and Clyde Martin and also featured in Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953).

Were the World Mine

Timothy lives with his mother, Donna (Judy McLane), who is struggling with her son's sexuality and with getting a job, and his father who is not a part of his life.


National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010

Expanded federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

Sally Fingerett

Soon after, Christine Lavin passed a recording of Fingerett's song Home Is Where The Heart Is (about accepting people regardless of sexual orientation) to Peter, Paul and Mary, who covered the song on their album Lifelines.

Third Man Out

Rutka reveals that he had a file on Strachey, a former Sergeant in the U.S. military, who had to leave the service with an honorable discharge when his sexual orientation was revealed—at the expense of the lieutenant he was caught in bed with, who received a much more severe punishment as the scapegoat of the two.


see also

1975 in LGBT rights

Milton Shapp, governor of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, issues the first state executive order banning sexual orientation employment discrimination by the government.

1983 in LGBT rights

New York governor Mario Cuomo issues an executive order banning public sexual orientation discrimination.

1988 in LGBT rights

15 — Alexandria, Virginia bans discrimination in employment, housing and other practices based on sexual orientation.

1989 in LGBT rights

30 — U.S. city of Columbus, Ohio, adopts a hate crimes bill which includes sexual orientation.

1990 in LGBT rights

10 — Colorado Governor Roy Romer issues an executive order prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in the public sector.

1991 in LGBT rights

29 — Minnesota governor Arne Carlson issues an executive order banning sexual orientation discrimination in the public sector.

16 — New Jersey governor James Florio issues an executive order prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in the public sector.

1995 in LGBT rights

2 – U.S. President Bill Clinton signs Executive Order 12968, which bans discrimination based on "sexual orientation" as it establishes uniform policies for allowing government employees access to classified information.

2000 in LGBT rights

Montana governor Marc Racicot issues an executive order banning sexual orientation discrimination in the public sector.

Tom Vilsack, governor of the U.S. state of Iowa, rescinds an executive order he issued in 1999 banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in the public sector.

Alan G. Rogers

On March 31, 2008, an anonymous attempt was made to remove information relating to Rogers's sexual orientation from the present Wikipedia article.

Alan P. Bell

In 1968, Bell and a colleague, Martin S. Weinberg, began surveying nearly 1,000 gays in San Francisco to assess their mental health and to try to determine what, if anything, in their lives had influenced their sexual orientation.

Alfrēds Rubiks

Concerning Gay prides, Rubiks has expressed the opinion that if he were the mayor of Riga, 'all such public' would not be moving in the streets; he claims that people with innate non-traditional sexual orientation make up no more than 1% and the rest are profiteers and 'debauchees'.

Briggs Initiative

Singer and Florida Citrus Commission spokesperson Anita Bryant received national news coverage for her successful efforts to repeal a Dade County, Florida, ordinance preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Executive Order 11478

On May 28, 1998, President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13087, which amended Executive Order 11478 to add sexual orientation to the list of classes covered.

Fraternal birth order and male sexual orientation

Bearman and Brückner (2008) argue that studies showing a fraternal birth order effect have used nonrepresentative samples and/or indirect reports on siblings’ sexual orientation.

Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why

Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why was reviewed in New Scientist by journalist Deborah Blum, who called it "rational, smart and compassionate" but also observed that it showed that scientific understanding of sexual orientation had advanced less than might be hoped since LeVay's 1991 study.

Ifti Nasim

Having moved to the US to escape persecution for his sexual orientation, he became known locally for establishing Sangat, an organization to support LGBT south-Asian youths, and internationally for publishing Narman, a poetry collection that was the first open expression of homosexual themes in the Urdu language.

Joseph Abruzzo

Additionally, Abruzzo worked with State Representative Joe Saunders to propose the Competitive Workforce Act, which would "update the state's Civil Rights Act of 1992 to include protections against discrimination for reasons of sexual orientation and gender identity," which a University of Florida poll suggested that 73 percent of Floridians supported.

LGBT rights in California

In addition, sections of In re Marriage Cases not overturned by Proposition 8 include the establishment of sexual orientation as a "protected class" under California law, requiring heightened scrutiny in discrimination disputes.

LGBT rights in Hong Kong

On Nov 10, 2012, Denise Ho (何韻詩) announced her sexual orientation on stage at the "Dare to Love" event during the Hong Kong Pride Parade 2012.

LGBT rights in Iran

In 1972, Dr. Saviz Shafaii gave a public lecture on homosexuality at the Shiraz University and in 1976 would research sexual orientation and gender issues at the Syracuse University.

LGBT rights in Puerto Rico

In 2013, Senator Ramón Luis Nieves introduced Senate Bill 238 to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

LGBT rights in the European Union

Despite the European Parliament adopting a resolution on transsexuals’ rights as early as 1989, Transgender identity is not incorporated into any EU funding and was not mentioned in the law establishing the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) as sexual orientation was.

Libertas Spain

Antonio Robles, "C's" member of the Catalan Parliament, promptly objected, stating that he could not justify an alliance with a party that was diametrically opposed to "C's" position on xenophobia and social liberal issues such as freedom of sexual orientation, abortion, contraception, assisted suicide and stem cell research.

Michael Bailey

J. Michael Bailey, psychologist (born 1957), researcher of sexual orientation

Military Readiness Enhancement Act

It would have amended title 10, United States Code to include a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, replacing the policy known as "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT), which banned disclosing one's homosexuality while serving in the Armed Forces.

Nathan Christoffersen

In published obituaries, Christoffersen's family made no mention of his sexual orientation and requested that donations in his honor be made to New Creation Ministry, a church solely devoted to the ex-gay movement — a movement which promotes attempts to change the sexual orientation of gay people to straight, in a Christian context.

Recognition of same-sex unions in Hungary

On 1 January 2012, a new constitution enacted by the government of Viktor Orbán, leader of the ruling Fidesz party, came into effect, restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples and containing no guarantees of protection from discrimination on account of sexual orientation.

The Closet

Coming out of the closet, a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity

Third gender

On Dec. 27, 2007, the Supreme Court of Nepal issued a decision mandating that the government scrap all laws that discriminated based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity and establish a committee to study same-sex marriage policy.

Tim Gill

Gill's involvement in LGBT political action began in 1992, in response to the passage of Colorado Amendment 2, which prevented non-discrimination ordinances in the state from protecting people based on sexual orientation.

Walt Lastewka

He voted against Bill C-33 (1996), which amended the Canadian Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation as a prohibited basis for discrimination.