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It is currently fashionable, in the social sciences & the popular educated press, to see any assessment of a behavior as "abnormal" as representing nothing more than society's view that the behavior is undesirable. This interpretation is examined & found to be logically & empirically indefensible. All of the various causal explanations for homosexuality are examined; none now available can reasonably conclude that homosexuality is normal. Modified AA.

How have major civilizations of the last two millennia treated people who were attracted to their own sex? In a narrative tour de force, Louis Crompton chronicles the lives and achievements of homosexual men and women alongside a darker history of persecution, as he compares the Christian West with the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome, Arab Spain, imperial China, and pre-Meiji Japan. Ancient Greek culture celebrated same-sex love in history, literature, and art, making high claims for its moral influence. By contrast, Jewish religious leaders in the sixth century B.C.E. branded male homosexuality as a capital offense and, later, blamed it for the destruction of the biblical city of Sodom. When these two traditions collided in Christian Rome during the late empire, the tragic repercussions were felt throughout Europe and the New World. Louis Crompton traces Church-inspired mutilation, torture, and burning of "sodomites" in sixth-century Byzantium, medieval France, Renaissance Italy, and in Spain under the Inquisition. But Protestant authorities were equally committed to the execution of homosexuals in the Netherlands, Calvin's Geneva, and Georgian England. The root cause was religious superstition, abetted by political ambition and sheer greed. Yet from this cauldron of fears and desires, homoerotic themes surfaced in the art of the Renaissance masters—Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Sodoma, Cellini, and Caravaggio—often intertwined with Christian motifs. Homosexuality also flourished in the court intrigues of Henry III of France, Queen Christina of Sweden, James I and William III of England, Queen Anne, and Frederick the Great. Anti-homosexual atrocities committed in the West contrast starkly with the more tolerant traditions of pre-modern China and Japan, as revealed in poetry, fiction, and art and in the lives of emperors, shoguns, Buddhist priests, scholars, and actors. In the samurai tradition of Japan, Crompton makes clear, the celebration of same-sex love rivaled that of ancient Greece. Sweeping in scope, elegantly crafted, and lavishly illustrated, Homosexuality and Civilization is a stunning exploration of a rich and terrible past

The Sexual Offences Act, 1967, which made private homosexual behaviour between consenting males over the age of 21 years legal in England, marked a significant stage in the gradual change of social attitudes on this topic. A substantial body of opinion, including perhaps most of those personally affected, now takes the line that homosexuality is a common and relatively minor variant from the normal, that its occurrence is inevitable and that it is about time that the community learned to live and let live, recognizing that many ordinary folk, as well as many outstanding citizens, are unalterably homosexual.

Cover -- Copyright page -- Title page -- Dedication -- Acknowledgements -- Abbreviations -- Contents -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: General Discussions on Homosexuality -- Sexual Orientation -- Definitions of Homosexuality -- Types of Homosexuals -- The Distinction between Inversion and Perversion -- Homosexual Practice or Behaviour -- Homosexual Orientation and the Homosexual Act -- Causes of Homosexuality -- Sexual Orientation Change -- Natural Law Morality and Homosexuality -- Conclusion -- Chapter 2: The Homosexuality Debate in Malawi -- Introduction -- Legal Status of Homosexuality in Malawi -- Homosexuality Offences in Malawi -- Pro-Homosexuality Arguments in Malawi -- Anti-Homosexuality Responses in the Debate -- Homosexuality and Health -- Homosexuality and Donor Aid to Malawi -- Homophobic Practices against Homosexuals in Malawi -- Blackmail, Extortion and Homosexuality in Malawi -- Conclusion -- Chapter 3: The Prevalence of Homosexuality in Malawi -- Introduction -- Prevalence of Homosexuality in Malawi -- Prevalence of Homosexuality in Contemporary Malawian Communities -- Prevalence of Homosexuality in Educational Institutions -- Prevalence of Homosexuality in Malawian Prisons -- Factors which Promote Homosexuality in Malawi -- Conclusion -- Chapter 4: The Homosexuality Debate in Africa -- Introduction -- The Notion that Homosexuality is Un-African -- The Notion that Homosexuality is African -- Conclusion -- Chapter 5: International Debate on Human Rights and Homosexuality -- Introduction -- Human Rights and Homosexuality -- The International Debate on Homosexuality -- Conclusion -- Chapter 6: Homosexuality, the Bible and the Quran -- Introduction -- The Old Testament and Homosexuality -- The New Testament and Homosexuality -- Homosexuality in the City of Corinth -- Homosexuality in Islam: Qur'an, Hadith and Sharia

Intro -- Contensts -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Theorizing the Prohibition against Homosexuality -- Part I. Before Homosexuality -- 2 Homosexual Relations in Kinship-Structured Societies -- 3 Inequality and the State: Homosexual Innovations in Archaic Civilizations -- 4 Early Civilizations: Variations on Homosexual Themes -- 5 Sexual Asceticism in the Ancient World -- 6 Feudalism -- Part II. The Construction of Modern Homosexuality -- 7 Repression and the Emergence of Subcultures -- 8 The Rise of Market Economies -- 9 The Medicalization of Homosexuality -- 10 Bureaucracy and Homosexuality -- 11 Gay Liberation -- Epilogue: Under the Sign of Sociology -- References -- Index.

Homosexuality is a cross-cutting challenge to Malawian society with theological, socio-cultural, economic, legal, political, and human rights implications. This book argues that the solution to the homosexuality debate in Malawi does not lie in either the criminalization or decriminalization of homosexuality; neither does it lie in homophobia nor heterophobia. However, the solution to the homosexuality debate lies in achieving a harmonious co-sexistence of both heterosexuals and homosexuals by practicing mutual tolerance. The book concludes by suggesting various activities to be taken by: The Government of Malawi; Gay Rights Activists; Religious Leaders; Traditional Leaders; and Malawian Society to ensure the aforementioned tolerance and understanding is encouraged.