Homosexuality

The concept of sexual orientation, of identifying a person based on their sexual preferences, is a social not biological construction. "In ancient Rome, Latin has no equivalent translation for defining homosexuality, nor heterosexuality as an individual’s sexual nature. Gay or straight, there would be no distinction."

The practice of categorizing people based on sexual orientations didn't begin until the 19th century. "Before the late 19th to mid 20th centuries, there were no homosexuals. Neither were there heterosexuals, bisexuals or pedophiles. The concepts didn't exist."

In the 1980s, the concept was still quite vague. "Despite the fact that the concept homosexual identity has been used extensively in the literature on homosexuality since the late 1960s, investigators have shown little concern for defining or discussing the manner in which it is used. As a result, the study of homosexual identity has been characterized by confusion, disarray, and ambiguity."