变异的性行为

不是每一个国家都有男同性恋者与女同性恋者的性少数团体。这并不意味着那里就没有同性性行为，而是意味着一些国家是如此能够容忍以至于勿需组织这样的性少数团体，还意味着另一些国家是如此压制同性性行为，以至于这种组织活动是不可能发生的。不过，最近数十年来，世界许多国家，已经形成对同性性行为更能够容忍的世界范围的基本趋势。这部分由于公共卫生当局认识到了的原因：只要同性性行为仍旧是违法的，有效的艾滋病预防是不可能做到的；大量的人只要被迫在他们的感染源上撒谎，就不能够设计好艾滋病的预防策略，而且对每一个人的感染风险也会增加。

当一个国家的男同性恋者与女同性恋者仍处于争取权利斗争的初期时，另一个国家的男同性恋者与女同性恋者就已经取得了非同寻常的成功[1]。的确，在一些西方国家，现在最紧要的遗留问题是同性婚姻的问题。同性婚姻的反对者争辩认为婚姻的真正含义在于生养后代，并且结婚应该是不同性别之间专有的结合。然而，既然婚姻对绝经期之后的妇女在任何情况下都是被允许的，那么，这个论点最终未必令人信服。而且，许多同性性取向的男人和女人在异性性关系中确实有了孩子，并且在他们离异之后应该分担抚养之责。女同性恋配偶通过捐精者的人工授精，能够也确实有成为双亲的。考虑到这些现实的事例，一些国家现在已经给予了同性恋者结合的完整的婚姻地位，这些国家是：南非、加拿大、比利时、西班牙和荷兰。另有一些国家准予同性恋者结合的一些基本权利（然而不是全部的权利），即注册登记同性的民事结合；这些国家是丹麦、挪威、瑞典、冰岛、芬兰、德国、葡萄牙、捷克共和国、斯洛文尼亚、大不列颠联合王国和新西兰。还有一些国家以某种法律方式承认未注册登记的同性性伴关系。在美国，对同性婚姻存在很大的阻力，不过在一些州，在一定程度上获得了支持。这种情形正在改变之中，因而不可能提供一个确切的清单。在专门的网站里刊载着最新的发展状况。

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.