變異的性行為

不是每一個國家都有男同性戀者與女同性戀者的性少數團體。這並不意味著那裏就沒有同性性行為，而是意味著一些國家是如此能夠容忍以至於勿需組織這樣的性少數團體，還意味著另一些國家是如此壓制同性性行為，以至於這種組織活動是不可能發生的。不過，最近數十年來，世界許多國家，已經形成對同性性行為更能夠容忍的世界範圍的基本趨勢。這部分由於公共衛生當局認識到了的原因：只要同性性行為仍舊是違法的，有效的愛滋病預防是不可能做到的；大量的人只要被迫在他們的感染源上撒謊，就不能夠設計好愛滋病的預防策略，而且對每一個人的感染風險也會增加。

當一個國家的男同性戀者與女同性戀者仍處於爭取權利鬥爭的初期時，另一個國家的男同性戀者與女同性戀者就已經取得了非同尋常的成功[1]。的確，在一些西方國家，現在最緊要的遺留問題是同性婚姻的問題。同性婚姻的反對者爭辯認為婚姻的真正含義在於生養後代，並且結婚應該是不同性別之間專有的結合。然而，既然婚姻對絕經期之後的婦女在任何情況下都是被允許的，那麼，這個論點最終未必令人信服。而且，許多同性性取向的男人和女人在異性性關係中確實有了孩子，並且在他們離異之後應該分擔撫養之責。女同性戀配偶通過捐精者的人工授精，能夠也確實有成為雙親的。考慮到這些現實的事例，一些國家現在已經給予了同性戀者結合的完整的婚姻地位，這些國家是：南非、加拿大、比利時、西班牙和荷蘭。另有一些國家准予同性戀者結合的一些基本權利（然而不是全部的權利），即註冊登記同性的民事結合；這些國家是丹麥、挪威、瑞典、冰島、芬蘭、德國、葡萄牙、捷克共和國、斯洛文尼亞、大不列顛聯合王國和新西蘭。還有一些國家以某種法律方式承認未註冊登記的同性性伴關係。在美國，對同性婚姻存在很大的阻力，不過在一些州，在一定程度上獲得了支持。這種情形正在改變之中，因而不可能提供一個確切的清單。在專門的網站裏刊載著最新的發展狀況。

Sexual Minorities: 1. Gays and Lesbians 3

Not every country has a sexual minority of gays and lesbians. This does not mean that there is no homosexual behavior, but some countries are so tolerant that there is no need to organize such a minority, and other countries are so repressive that the organization is impossible. However, in recent decades, there has been a world-wide general trend toward greater sexual tolerance in many parts of the world. In part, this has also been due to the realization by health authorities that no effective AIDS prevention is possible as long as homosexual behavior is illegal. As long as large numbers of people are forced to lie about the source of their infection, no effective prevention strategy can be designed, and the risk increases for everyone else.
While many gays and lesbians are still in the first phases of their struggle, others have achieved remarkable successes. Indeed, in some Western countries the most important remaining issue is now that of same-sex marriage. Its opponents argue that the true meaning of marriage is the raising of children, and that it should therefore be reserved for partners of different sex. However, since marriage has always been permitted for post-menopausal women, this argument is unlikely to prevail in the long run. Moreover, many homosexual men and women do have children in heterosexual relationships and want to share in their upbringing even after a separation. Lesbian couples can and do become parents through donor insemination. In view of these realities, some countries have now given same-sex unions the full status of marriages: South Africa, Canada, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands. Other countries grant some, but not all privileges of marriage to registered same-sex civil unions: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. Still other countries recognize unregistered same-sex partnerships in some legal fashion. In the USA, there is a great deal of resistance to same-sex marriage, but some of the states are supportive in various degrees. The situation is fluid, and thus it is not possible to provide a definite list. New developments may be recorded in special web sites.