Variations in Sexual Behavior

Sexual Minorities: Introduction

Every society accepts a certain segment of the spectrum of human sexual behavior as “normal”. However, some societies recognize a much wider segment of normality than others. Thus, some behaviors may be considered “normal” in one place, but “abnormal” in another. Some societies are relatively tolerant even of “abnormal” behavior unless it causes obvious harm, but many other societies severely condemn and try to suppress even socially harmless sexual “abnormalities”, i.e. private behaviors between consenting adults that do not affect others, but violate the proclaimed sexual norm. In the face of such condemnation, these adults feel unjustly restricted and oppressed. Very often, however, there is nothing they can do about the oppression. They just have to endure it and wait for some larger social change that would allow them to plead their case. Indeed, under favorable circumstances, various sexually oppressed individuals may be able to get together and organize as “sexual minorities” in order to fight for their “sexual rights”.
The term “sexual minority” is relatively new. It was coined in analogy to the older concepts of national, ethnic, and religious minorities, i.e. social groups that were formerly oppressed in some countries, but are now being recognized as deserving equal civil rights. However, before going any further, it may be useful to take a closer look at the concept of a social “minority” itself.

(Successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights)
In 1992, the United Nations adopted this resolution for the protection of some then “officially recognized” minorities. Shown here are the (slightly abbreviated) first two articles.

Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities Adopted by General Assembly resolution 47/135 of 18 December 1992 Article 1 1. States shall protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities... . Article 2 1. Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities ... have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, and to use their own language, in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination.