The Same Sex, Different Cultures: Gay and Lesbians Across Cultures - Hardcover

Because homoerotic relations can be found in so many cultures, Gilbert Herdt argues that we should think of these relations as part of the human condition. This new cross-cultural study of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals around the world, Same Sex, Different Cultures provides a unique perspective on maturing and living within societies, both historical and contemporary, that not only acknowledge but also incorporate same-gender desires and relations. }Because homoerotic relations can be found in so many cultures, Gilbert Herdt argues that we should think of these relations as part of the human condition. This new cross-cultural study of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals around the world, Same Sex, Different Cultures provides a unique perspective on maturing and living within societies, both historical and contemporary, that not only acknowledge but also incorporate same-gender desires and relations. Examining what it means to organize sex in a society that lacks a category for sex, or to love someone of the same gender when society does not have a homosexual or gay/lesbian role, Herdt provides provocative new insights in our understanding of gay and lesbians lives. Accurate in both its scientific conceptions and wealth of cultural and historical material, examples range from the ancient Greeks and feudal China and Japan to the developing countries of Africa, India, Mexico, Brazil, and Thailand, from a New Guinea society to contemporary U.S. culture, including Native Americans. For all of these peoples, homoerotic relations emerge as part of cultureand not separate from history or society.In many of these groups, loving or engaging in sexual relations is found to be the very basis of the local cultural theory of human nature and the mythological basis for the cosmos and the creation of society. The mistake of modern Western culture, Gilbert contends, is to continue the legalization of prejudice against lesbians and gays.In this light, the book addresses the issue of universal versus particular practices and reveals positive role models that embrace all aspects of human sexuality. Finally, it offers knowledge of the existence of persons who have loved and have been intimate sexually and romantically with the same gender in other lands through divergent cultural practices and social roles.The most important lesson to learn from this cross-cultural and historical study of homosexuality is that there is room for many at the table of humankind. } This new authoritative study of gays and lesbians presents a unique perspective on maturing and living within ancient and contemporary societies that provide a place for same-gender desires and relations.Gilbert Herdt reveals patterns of same-gender relations that offer provocative new insights on change occurring in the emerging understanding of gay and lesbian lives. Accurate in both its scientific conceptions and its wealth of cultural and historical material, the book gives examples ranging from ancient Greece and feudal China and Japan to the developing countries of Africa, India, Mexico, Brazil, and Thailand, from a New Guinea society to contemporary U.S. culture, including Native Americans. For all of these peoples, homoerotic relations emerge as part of their culture, not apart from history or society. In many of these groups, loving or engaging in homosexual relations is found to be the very basis of the local cultural theory of human nature and the mythological basis for the cosmos and the creation of society. The most important lesson to learn from this cross-cultural and historical study of homosexuality is that there is room for many at the table of humankind in societies around the world. Herdt contends that modern Western culture is mistaken in continuing the legislation of prejudice against lesbians and gays. He shows us that gay and lesbian practice is treated as an acceptable, natural expression of human nature in most other cultures, from ancient to contemporary times. Ultimately, what emerges from Herdts observations of love and sex in other cultures is a long-overdue documentation of homoerotic relations as part of the fabric of any culture, not as a separate, deviant lifestyle, as so many of us have been taught.

Gilbert Herdt is professor of human sexuality, professor of anthropology, and director of Human Sexuality Studies Programs at San Francisco State University. He is the author of numerous articles and fifteen books, including Guardians of the Flutes: Idioms of Masculinity and Sambia: Ritual and Gender in New Guinea, and coauthor of Children of Horizons: How Gay and Lesbian Youth Are Forging a New Way Out of the Closet.