Gay man

man who is sexually or romantically attracted to other men

A gay man is a homosexual man. This means a man who is sexually attracted to other men, and not to women.[1]

Two young gay men kissing.

Gay rights movement

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Gay men were involved in the early gay liberation (a movement of homosexuals who want to be treated equally to heterosexuals) movement.[2] Gay liberation is the political and social movements that promote LGBT equality and rights. However, there was conflict between homosexuals and transgender people in the gay right's movement.[3] In the 1970s some homosexual activists wanted the transgender people out of the gay's rights movement. They wanted gay liberation to be accepted by society. They believed transgender people were less accepted by society and might hurt the gay movement.[4]

Gay men as parents

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Two fathers with their child.

Many gay couples want to have children of their own. In order to raise children, they sometimes adopt. However some places do not allow homosexual couples to adopt children,[5] so many of them want to be able to adopt children.

Some gay couples also have their own biological children. To do this they may use surrogates.[6] This is when sperm from one father is placed in a female surrogate to make a pregnancy. Some gay men do this with a friend they choose to be the donor. However many may use professional surrogate agencies. These are medical businesses that match couples who need surrogates with women who will carry the child until birth.[7]

Law and religion

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Countries in red outlaw all homosexuality. In blue countries only male homosexuality is illegal

Unlike lesbian sex between females, gay sex is against the law in many places.[8] Some religions that say nothing about gay female sex but condemn gay sex between men. Abrahamic religions usually see all homosexual relations as immoral.

In most parts of the world gay couples cannot marry.[9] This means they do not have the legal benefits and protection of marriage. This can cause gay men, and lesbians, many problems.

Other websites

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  •   Media related to Gay men at Wikimedia Commons
  •   Quotations related to Gay men at Wikiquote

References

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  1. Martin, James I. "Gay Men". Oxford Bibliographies. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  2. Lemmey, Huw. "Party and protest: the radical history of gay liberation, Stonewall and Pride". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  3. Lavietes, Matthew. "Tensions between trans women and gay men boil over at Stonewall anniversary". Reuters. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  4. Ellis, Nick (2020). "Power and Community: The Queer Liberation Movement of the 1960s and 1970s". Historical Perspectives: Santa Clara University Undergraduate Journal of History. 2 (25). Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  5. "Same-sex adoption". Equaldex. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  6. Kleeman, Jenny. "'We are expected to be OK with not having children': how gay parenthood through surrogacy became a battleground". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  7. Tinker, Ben. "The top 10 questions about surrogacy for same-sex couples, answered". CNN. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  8. Kelleher, Patrick. "Here's all the places where it's illegal to be LGBTQ+ – and yes, it's all colonialism's fault". The Pink News. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  9. "Marriage Equality: Global Comparisons". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 23 May 2023.