Gay and Lesbian Dating

A "gay and lesbian" identity is also a relatively recent occurrence, although not as recent as today's religious zealots would have us believe. The word "homosexual" was first coined about 1895 by a Hungarian physician. Scholarship on modern gay and lesbian identity has traced its development from the German Homophile Movement of the late-19th century. According to historians and geographers, the "gay and lesbian" identity which we know today is largely the product of an industrialized Western society. Thus, the formation of an independent lesbian and gay identity was dependent upon the technology and ideas of Europe and the U.S What is forgotten in many scholars' accounts, however, is the history of Latino/a gay men and lesbians.

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