177-399: Recognized Same-sex marriage , also known as gay marriage , is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex . As of 2024, marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 36 countries, with a total population of 1.5 billion people (20% of the world's population). The most recent jurisdictions to legalize same-sex marriage are Greece and Aruba and Curaçao in
354-400: A by-product . The influence of hormones on the developing fetus has been the most influential causal hypothesis of the development of sexual orientation. In simple terms, the developing fetal brain begins in a "female" state. Both INAH3 (third interstitial nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus) area on the left side of the hypothalamus, which stores gender preference, and the center area of
531-701: A learned borrowing from Latin mātrimōnium , which is derived from māter ' mother ' with the suffix -mōnium for an action, state, or condition. Anthropologists have proposed several competing definitions of marriage in an attempt to encompass the wide variety of marital practices observed across cultures. Even within Western culture , "definitions of marriage have careened from one extreme to another and everywhere in between" (as Evan Gerstmann has put it). In The History of Human Marriage (1891), Edvard Westermarck defined marriage as "a more or less durable connection between male and female lasting beyond
708-621: A 1955 article in Man , Leach argued that no one definition of marriage applied to all cultures. He offered a list of ten rights associated with marriage, including sexual monopoly and rights with respect to children, with specific rights differing across cultures. Those rights, according to Leach, included: In a 1997 article in Current Anthropology , Duran Bell describes marriage as "a relationship between one or more men (male or female) in severalty to one or more women that provides those men with
885-583: A case involving an Austrian same-sex couple who were denied the right to marry. The court found, by a vote of 4 to 3, that their human rights had not been violated. The court further stated that same-sex unions are not protected under art. 12 of ECHR ("Right to marry"), which exclusively protects the right to marry of opposite-sex couples (without regard if the sex of the partners is the result of birth or of sex change), but they are protected under art. 8 of ECHR ("Right to respect for private and family life") and art. 14 ("Prohibition of discrimination"). Article 12 of
1062-514: A century of anthropological research on households, kinship relationships, and families, across cultures and through time, provide no support whatsoever for the view that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution. Rather, anthropological research supports the conclusion that a vast array of family types, including families built upon same-sex partnerships, can contribute to stable and humane societies. Research findings from 1998 to 2015 from
1239-449: A correlation between " Bride price " and polygamy. A survey of other cross-cultural samples has confirmed that the absence of the plough was the only predictor of polygamy, although other factors such as high male mortality in warfare (in non-state societies) and pathogen stress (in state societies) had some impact. Marriages are classified according to the number of legal spouses an individual has. The suffix "-gamy" refers specifically to
1416-435: A demand-right of sexual access within a domestic group and identifies women who bear the obligation of yielding to the demands of those specific men." In referring to "men in severalty", Bell is referring to corporate kin groups such as lineages which, in having paid bride price, retain a right in a woman's offspring even if her husband (a lineage member) deceases ( Levirate marriage ). In referring to "men (male or female)", Bell
1593-452: A firstborn is homosexual. Research conducted in Sweden has suggested that gay and straight men respond differently to two odors that are believed to be involved in sexual arousal . The research showed that when both heterosexual women and gay men are exposed to a testosterone derivative found in men's sweat, a region in the hypothalamus is activated. Heterosexual men, on the other hand, have
1770-435: A form of human rights abuse, with concerns arising over domestic abuse, forced marriage, and neglect. The vast majority of the world's countries, including virtually all of the world's developed nations, do not permit polygamy. There have been calls for the abolition of polygamy in developing countries. Polygyny usually grants wives equal status, although the husband may have personal preferences. One type of de facto polygyny
1947-592: A form of plural mating, as are those societies dominated by female-headed families in the Caribbean , Mauritius and Brazil where there is frequent rotation of unmarried partners. In all, these account for 16 to 24% of the "monogamous" category. Serial monogamy creates a new kind of relative, the "ex-". The "ex-wife", for example, may remain an active part of her "ex-husband's" or "ex-wife's" life, as they may be tied together by transfers of resources (alimony, child support), or shared child custody. Bob Simpson notes that in
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#17330945053952124-673: A gender recognition certificate officially recognizing their new gender. Because in the United Kingdom marriages were until recently only for mixed-sex couples and civil partnerships are only for same-sex couples, a person had to dissolve their civil partnership before obtaining a gender recognition certificate, and the same was formerly true for marriages in England and Wales, and still is in other territories. Such people are then free to enter or re-enter civil partnerships or marriages in accordance with their newly recognized gender identity. In Austria,
2301-408: A greater need for adoption or assisted reproductive technology to become parents. Lesbian couples often use artificial insemination to achieve pregnancy, and reciprocal in vitro fertilization (where one woman provides the egg and the other gestates the child) is becoming more popular in the 2020s, although many couples cannot afford it. Surrogacy is an option for wealthier gay male couples, but
2478-492: A group of geneticists at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology bred female mice specifically lacking a particular gene related to sexual behavior. Without the gene, the mice exhibited masculine sexual behavior and attraction toward urine of other female mice. Those mice who retained the gene fucose mutarotase (FucM) were attracted to male mice. In interviews to the press, researchers have pointed that
2655-408: A homosexual preference through their life. Dissection of ram brains also found a similar smaller (feminized) structure in homosexually oriented rams in the brain region equivalent to human SDN, the ovine sexually dimorphic nucleus (oSDN). The size of the sheep oSDN has also been demonstrated to be formed in utero, rather than postnatally, underscoring the role of prenatal hormones in masculinization of
2832-403: A legitimacy-based definition of marriage is circular in societies where illegitimacy has no other legal or social implications for a child other than the mother being unmarried. Edmund Leach criticized Gough's definition for being too restrictive in terms of recognized legitimate offspring and suggested that marriage be viewed in terms of the different types of rights it serves to establish. In
3009-571: A male to whom they are married or divorced. Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at a time, the relationship is called polygyny , and there is no marriage bond between the wives; and when a woman is married to more than one husband at a time, it is called polyandry , and there is no marriage bond between the husbands. If a marriage includes multiple husbands or wives, it can be called group marriage . A molecular genetic study of global human genetic diversity argued that sexual polygyny
3186-407: A man and a woman a woman, a man would marry a woman and her daughter, and a woman would be married to two men." A few scholars believe that in the early Roman Empire some male couples were celebrating traditional marriage rites in the presence of friends. Male–male weddings are reported by sources that mock them; the feelings of the participants are not recorded. Various ancient sources state that
3363-600: A much older man. Several kinds of same-sex marriages have been documented in Indigenous and lineage-based cultures. In the Americas, We'wha ( Zuni ), was a lhamana (male individuals who, at least some of the time, dress and live in the roles usually filled by women in that culture); a respected artist, We'wha served as an emissary of the Zuni to Washington, where he met President Grover Cleveland . We'wha had at least one husband who
3540-910: A national level are: Bolivia , Croatia , Cyprus , the Czech Republic , Hungary , Italy , Latvia , Liechtenstein , Monaco , Montenegro and San Marino . Same-sex marriage performed remotely or abroad is recognized with full marital rights by Israel . Poland offers more limited rights. Additionally, various cities and counties in Cambodia and Japan offer same-sex couples varying levels of benefits, which include hospital visitation rights and others. Additionally, eighteen countries that have legally recognized same-sex marriage also have an alternative form of recognition for same-sex couples, usually available to heterosexual couples as well: Argentina , Australia , Austria , Belgium , Brazil , Chile , Colombia , Ecuador , France , Greece , Luxembourg , Malta ,
3717-578: A number of countries have enacted preventative constitutional bans , with the most recent being Mali and Tuvalu in 2023, and Gabon in 2024. In other countries, such restrictions and limitations are effected through legislation. Even before same-sex marriage was first legislated, some countries had constitutions that specified that marriage was between a man and a woman. In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in Schalk and Kopf v Austria ,
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#17330945053953894-546: A number of countries, including Kosovo , Lithuania , Peru , the Philippines , Poland , and Ukraine . On 12 March 2015, the European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution encouraging EU institutions and member states to "[reflect] on the recognition of same-sex marriage or same-sex civil union as a political, social and human and civil rights issue". In response to the international spread of same-sex marriage,
4071-413: A person with higher or lower status than them. Others want to marry people who have similar status. In many societies, women marry men who are of higher social status. There are marriages where each party has sought a partner of similar status. There are other marriages in which the man is older than the woman. Some persons also wish to engage in transactional relationship for money rather than love (thus
4248-603: A potential autosomal genetic contribution to the development of homosexual orientation has also been suggested. In a study population composed of more than 7000 participants, Ellis et al. (2008) found a statistically significant difference in the frequency of blood type A between homosexuals and heterosexuals. They also found that "unusually high" proportions of homosexual males and homosexual females were Rh negative in comparison to heterosexuals. As both blood type and Rh factor are genetically inherited traits controlled by alleles located on chromosome 9 and chromosome 1 respectively,
4425-405: A practice called sororal polygyny ; the pre-existing relationship between the co-wives is thought to decrease potential tensions within the marriage. Fox argues that "the major difference between polygyny and monogamy could be stated thus: while plural mating occurs in both systems, under polygyny several unions may be recognized as being legal marriages while under monogamy only one of the unions
4602-483: A requirement of a male and female, these complications do not occur. In addition, some legal jurisdictions recognize a legal and official change of gender, which would allow a transgender male or female to be legally married in accordance with an adopted gender identity. In the United Kingdom, the Gender Recognition Act 2004 allows a person who has lived in their chosen gender for at least two years to receive
4779-780: A resolution calling on the European Commission to ensure that the ruling is respected across the EU. On 8 January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued an advisory opinion that states party to the American Convention on Human Rights should grant same-sex couples accession to all existing domestic legal systems of family registration, including marriage, along with all rights that derive from marriage. The Court recommended that governments issue temporary decrees recognizing same-sex marriage until new legislation
4956-400: A role in the regulation of sexual behaviour in animals , and because INAH2 and INAH3 had previously been reported to differ in size between men and women. He obtained brains from 41 deceased hospital patients. The subjects were classified into three groups. The first group comprised 19 gay men who had died of AIDS -related illnesses. The second group comprised 16 men whose sexual orientation
5133-511: A royal lineage by attaching these wives' children to it. The relationships are considered polygynous, not polyandrous, because the female husband is in fact assuming masculine gendered political roles. Religious groups have differing views on the legitimacy of polygyny . It is allowed in Islam and Confucianism . Judaism and Christianity have mentioned practices involving polygyny in the past, however, outright religious acceptance of such practices
5310-578: A significant generational difference are placed to the right. A 2016 survey by the Varkey Foundation found similarly high support of same-sex marriage (63%) among 18–21-year-olds in an online survey of 18 countries around the world. (The sampling error is approx. 4% for Nigeria and 3% for the other countries. Because of legal constraints, the question on same-sex marriage was not asked in the survey countries of Russia and Indonesia.) Marriage Marriage , also called matrimony or wedlock ,
5487-411: A similar provision requiring transsexual people to divorce before having their legal sex marker corrected was found to be unconstitutional in 2006. In Quebec, prior to the legalization of same-sex marriage, only unmarried people could apply for legal change of gender. With the advent of same-sex marriage, this restriction was dropped. A similar provision including sterilization also existed in Sweden, but
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5664-449: A similar response to an estrogen-like compound found in women's urine. The conclusion is that sexual attraction, whether same-sex or opposite-sex oriented, operates similarly on a biological level. Researchers have suggested that this possibility could be further explored by studying young subjects to see if similar responses in the hypothalamus are found and then correlating these data with adult sexual orientation. A number of sections of
5841-466: A sperm donation. Muslim controversies related to Nikah Mut'ah have resulted in the practice being confined mostly to Shi'ite communities. The matrilineal Mosuo of China practice what they call "walking marriage". In some jurisdictions cohabitation , in certain circumstances, may constitute a common-law marriage , an unregistered partnership , or otherwise provide the unmarried partners with various rights and responsibilities; and in some countries,
6018-492: A strong correlation between intensive plough agriculture, dowry and monogamy. This pattern was found in a broad swath of Eurasian societies from Japan to Ireland. The majority of Sub-Saharan African societies that practice extensive hoe agriculture, in contrast, show a correlation between " bride price " and polygamy. A further study drawing on the Ethnographic Atlas showed a statistical correlation between increasing size of
6195-449: A strong indicator for female autonomy and is continuously used by economic history research. Marriage can be recognized by a state , an organization , a religious authority, a tribal group , a local community , or peers. It is often viewed as a contract . A religious marriage ceremony is performed by a religious institution to recognize and create the rights and obligations intrinsic to matrimony in that religion. Religious marriage
6372-509: A sufficient amount of testosterone is received by INAH3 at 12 weeks following conception, the testosterone stimulates the enlargement of INAH3, which is known to be involved in directing typical male sex behavior, such as attraction to females. If INAH3 does not receive enough testosterone to override the circulating estrogen, it may not grow to the size typically observed in males. Subsequently, INAH3 may function as female or partially female, potentially causing same-sex attraction to males. Although
6549-440: A trait, they are concordant for this trait; and when they differ they are discordant . If identical twins have a higher rate of concordance for a trait than fraternal twins, it indicates that genes may contribute to the trait. The 2016 Bailey et al. meta-analysis of all twin studies on sexual orientation found that the median concordance for homosexual or non-heterosexual orientation in twins in unbiased probability samples
6726-442: A type of marriage of convenience). Such people are sometimes referred to as gold diggers . Separate property systems can however be used to prevent property of being passed on to partners after divorce or death. Biology and sexual orientation The relationship between biology and sexual orientation is a subject of on-going research. While scientists do not know the exact cause of sexual orientation , they theorize that it
6903-417: A variety of other issues. Scientific literature indicates that parents' financial, psychological and physical well-being is enhanced by marriage and that children benefit from being raised by two parents within a legally recognized union (either a mixed-sex or same-sex union). As a result, professional scientific associations have argued for same-sex marriage to be legally recognized as it will be beneficial to
7080-574: A woman such that children born to the woman are the recognized legitimate offspring of both partners." In recognition of a practice by the Nuer people of Sudan allowing women to act as a husband in certain circumstances (the ghost marriage ), Kathleen Gough suggested modifying this to "a woman and one or more other persons." In an analysis of marriage among the Nayar , a polyandrous society in India, Gough found that
7257-446: Is concubinage , where only one woman gets a wife's rights and status, while other women remain legal house mistresses. Although a society may be classified as polygynous, not all marriages in it necessarily are; monogamous marriages may in fact predominate. It is to this flexibility that Anthropologist Robin Fox attributes its success as a social support system: "This has often meant – given
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7434-455: Is "a relationship established between a woman and one or more other persons, which provides a child born to the woman under circumstances not prohibited by the rules of relationship, is accorded full birth-status rights common to normal members of his society or social stratum." Economic anthropologist Duran Bell has criticized the legitimacy-based definition on the basis that some societies do not require marriage for legitimacy. He argued that
7611-404: Is "switched off". The inactivation of the X chromosome occurs randomly throughout the embryo, resulting in cells that are mosaic with respect to which chromosome is active. In some cases though, it appears that this switching off can occur in a non-random fashion. Bocklandt et al. (2006) reported that, in mothers of homosexual men, the number of women with extreme skewing of X chromosome inactivation
7788-603: Is 24% for monozygotic identical twins, and 15% for dizygotic twins. According to Rice et al. the identical twin concordance for homosexuality is similar to identical twin concordance for two other traits influenced by prenatal androgens: cryptorchidism and hypospadias (feminized male gonads) which have an identical twin concordance around 25%, despite twins sharing genes and prenatal environments. Twin studies have also found that among twins with differing sexual orientations, homosexual twins were significantly more gender nonconforming than their heterosexual co-twin, and that this
7965-505: Is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses . It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and between them and their in-laws . It is nearly a cultural universal , but the definition of marriage varies between cultures and religions , and over time. Typically, it is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual , are acknowledged or sanctioned. In some cultures, marriage
8142-410: Is also liable to other penalties, which also vary between jurisdictions. Governments that support monogamy may allow easy divorce. In a number of Western countries, divorce rates approach 50%. Those who remarry do so usually no more than three times. Divorce and remarriage can thus result in "serial monogamy", i.e. having multiple marriages but only one legal spouse at a time. This can be interpreted as
8319-400: Is also significantly stronger among younger generations, with a clear trend of continually increasing support. Pew Research polling results from 32 countries found 21 with statistically higher support for same-sex marriage among those under 35 than among those over 35 in 2022–2023. Countries with the greatest absolute difference are placed to the left in the following chart. Countries without
8496-558: Is associated with TSHR abnormalities, with previous research indicating that Graves' disease is more common in gay men than in straight men. Research indicated that gay people have lower body weight than straight people. It had been suggested that the overactive TSHR hormone lowered body weight in gay people, though this remains unproven. In 2018, Ganna et al. performed another genome-wide association study on sexual orientation of men and women with data from 26,890 people who had at least one same-sex partner and 450,939 controls. The data in
8673-457: Is based on claims such as that homosexuality is unnatural and abnormal, that the recognition of same-sex unions will promote homosexuality in society, and that children are better off when raised by opposite-sex couples. These claims are refuted by scientific studies , which show that homosexuality is a natural and normal variation in human sexuality, that sexual orientation is not a choice, and that children of same-sex couples fare just as well as
8850-477: Is brought in. They also said that it was inadmissible and discriminatory for a separate legal provision to be established (such as civil unions ) instead of same-sex marriage. Civil union, civil partnership , domestic partnership , registered partnership , unregistered partnership, and unregistered cohabitation statuses offer varying legal benefits of marriage. As of 1 December 2024, countries that have an alternative form of legal recognition other than marriage on
9027-419: Is caused by a complex interplay of genetic , hormonal , and environmental influences . However, evidence is weak for hypotheses that the post-natal social environment impacts sexual orientation, especially for males. Biological theories for explaining the causes of sexual orientation are favored by scientists. These factors, which may be related to the development of a sexual orientation, include genes ,
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#17330945053959204-625: Is caused by sex differences in hormone exposure. Also, the INAH-3 region is bigger in males than in females, and is known to be critical for sexual behavior. Dissection studies found that gay men had significantly smaller INAH-3 than heterosexual men, a shift in the female direction, as first demonstrated by neuroscientist Simon LeVay , which has been replicated. Dissection studies are rare, however, due to lack of funding and brain samples. Long-term studies of homosexual behavior in domesticated sheep led by Charles Roselli have found that 6-8% of rams have
9381-509: Is criminalized . There are records of marriage between men dating back to the first century . Michael McConnell and Jack Baker are the first same sex couple in modern recorded history known to obtain a marriage license , have their marriage solemnized, which occurred on September 3, 1971, in Minnesota , and have it legally recognized by any form of government. The first law providing for marriage equality between same-sex and opposite-sex couples
9558-717: Is different from the practice of polygamy, since it requires wealth to establish multiple households for multiple wives. The actual practice of polygamy in a tolerant society may actually be low, with the majority of aspirant polygamists practicing monogamous marriage. Tracking the occurrence of polygamy is further complicated in jurisdictions where it has been banned, but continues to be practiced ( de facto polygamy ). Zeitzen also notes that Western perceptions of African society and marriage patterns are biased by "contradictory concerns of nostalgia for traditional African culture versus critique of polygamy as oppressive to women or detrimental to development." Polygamy has been condemned as being
9735-894: Is estimated to account for between 15 and 29% of gay men, while other gay and bisexual men are thought to owe sexual orientation to genetic and hormonal interactions. Socialization theories, which were dominant in the 1900s, favored the idea that children were born "undifferentiated" and were socialized into gender roles and sexual orientation. This led to medical experiments in which newborn and infant boys were surgically reassigned into girls after accidents such as botched circumcisions. These males were then reared and raised as females without telling them, but contrary to expectations, this did not make them feminine nor attracted to men. All published cases providing sexual orientation grew up to be strongly attracted to women. The failure of these experiments demonstrate that socialization effects do not induce feminine sexual behavior or psychology in males, and that
9912-604: Is found in other parts of the world as well (including some Mormon sects and Muslim families in the United States). In some societies such as the Lovedu of South Africa, or the Nuer of the Sudan, aristocratic women may become female 'husbands.' In the Lovedu case, this female husband may take a number of polygamous wives. This is not a lesbian relationship, but a means of legitimately expanding
10089-600: Is known variously as sacramental marriage in Christianity (especially Catholicism ), nikah in Islam , nissuin in Judaism , and various other names in other faith traditions, each with their own constraints as to what constitutes, and who can enter into, a valid religious marriage. The word marriage appeared around 1300 and is borrowed from Old French mariage (12th century), itself descended from Vulgar Latin maritāticum (11th century), ultimately tracing to
10266-409: Is lacking. Although consistent differences have been identified, including the size of the brain and of specific brain regions, male and female brains are very similar. LeVay also conducted some of these early researches. He studied four groups of neurons in the hypothalamus called INAH1, INAH2, INAH3 and INAH4. This was a relevant area of the brain to study, because of evidence that it played
10443-485: Is legally performed and recognized in 36 countries: Andorra , Argentina , Australia , Austria , Belgium , Brazil , Canada , Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Denmark , Ecuador , Estonia , Finland , France , Germany , Greece , Iceland , Ireland , Luxembourg , Malta , Mexico , the Netherlands , New Zealand , Norway , Portugal , Slovenia , South Africa , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , Taiwan ,
10620-618: Is most common in egalitarian societies marked by high male mortality or male absenteeism. It is associated with partible paternity , the cultural belief that a child can have more than one father. The explanation for polyandry in the Himalayan Mountains is related to the scarcity of land; the marriage of all brothers in a family to the same wife ( fraternal polyandry ) allows family land to remain intact and undivided. If every brother married separately and had children, family land would be split into unsustainable small plots. In Europe, this
10797-783: Is normal for females, INAH3 may enlarge somewhat or even to the size that is normal for males, increasing the likelihood of same sex attraction. Supporting this are studies of the finger digit ratio of the right hand, which is a robust marker of prenatal testosterone exposure . Lesbians tend to have significantly more masculine digit ratios, a finding which has been replicated in numerous cross-cultural studies. Controlled experiments in animals, where scientists manipulate exposure to sex hormones during gestation, can also induce lifelong male-typical behavior and mounting in females, and female-typical behavior in males. Maternal immune responses during fetal development are strongly demonstrated as causing male homosexuality and bisexuality. Research since
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#173309450539510974-556: Is not seen as homosexual, but is instead a way for families without sons to keep their inheritance within the family. Among the Igbo people and probably other peoples in the south of the country, there are circumstances where a marriage between women is considered appropriate, such as when a woman has no child and her husband dies, and she takes a wife to perpetuate her inheritance and family lineage. The American Anthropological Association stated on 26 February 2004: The results of more than
11151-507: Is observed for both boys and girls, the overwhelming majority of child spouses are girls. In many cases, only one marriage-partner is a child, usually the female, due to the importance placed upon female virginity . Causes of child marriage include poverty , bride price , dowry , laws that allow child marriages, religious and social pressures , regional customs, fear of remaining unmarried, and perceived inability of women to work for money. Today, child marriages are widespread in parts of
11328-595: Is recommended or considered to be compulsory before pursuing sexual activity . A marriage ceremony is called a wedding , while a private marriage is sometimes called an elopement . Around the world, there has been a general trend towards ensuring equal rights for women and ending discrimination and harassment against couples who are interethnic , interracial , interfaith , interdenominational , interclass , intercommunity , transnational , and same-sex as well as immigrant couples, couples with an immigrant spouse, and other minority couples. Debates persist regarding
11505-474: Is referring to women within the lineage who may stand in as the "social fathers" of the wife's children born of other lovers. (See Nuer " ghost marriage ".) Monogamy is a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse during their lifetime or at any one time (serial monogamy). Anthropologist Jack Goody 's comparative study of marriage around the world utilizing the Ethnographic Atlas found
11682-434: Is significantly higher than in mothers without gay sons. In a study of 94 participants, 13% of mothers with one gay son, and 23% of mothers with two gay sons, showed extreme skewing, compared to 4% of mothers without gay sons. Blanchard and Klassen (1997) reported that each additional older brother increases the odds of a man being gay by 33%. This is now "one of the most reliable epidemiological variables ever identified in
11859-497: Is so recognized. Often, however, it is difficult to draw a hard and fast line between the two." As polygamy in Africa is increasingly subject to legal limitations, a variant form of de facto (as opposed to legal or de jure ) polygyny is being practiced in urban centers. Although it does not involve multiple (now illegal) formal marriages, the domestic and personal arrangements follow old polygynous patterns. The de facto form of polygyny
12036-650: Is wide cross-cultural variation in the social rules governing the selection of a partner for marriage. There is variation in the degree to which partner selection is an individual decision by the partners or a collective decision by the partners' kin groups, and there is variation in the rules regulating which partners are valid choices. The United Nations World Fertility Report of 2003 reports that 89% of all people get married before age forty-nine. The percent of women and men who marry before age forty-nine drops to nearly 50% in some nations and reaches near 100% in other nations. In other cultures with less strict rules governing
12213-560: The AIDS epidemic led to increased attention on the legal aspects of same-sex relationships. Andrew Sullivan made the first case for same sex marriage in a major American journal in 1989, published in The New Republic . In 1989, Denmark became the first country to legally recognize a relationship for same-sex couples, establishing registered partnerships , which gave those in same-sex relationships "most rights of married heterosexuals, but not
12390-784: The Catholic Church , and the Southern Baptist Convention , use the term traditional marriage to mean opposite-sex marriage. A reference to marriage between same-sex couples appears in the Sifra , which was written in the 3rd century CE. The Book of Leviticus prohibited homosexual relations, and the Hebrews were warned not to "follow the acts of the land of Egypt or the acts of the land of Canaan" (Lev. 18:22, 20:13). The Sifra clarifies what these ambiguous "acts" were, and that they included marriage between same-sex couples: "A man would marry
12567-454: The European Court of Justice ruled, in a case from Romania , that, under the specific conditions of the couple in question, married same-sex couples have the same residency rights as other married couples in an EU country, even if that country does not permit or recognize same-sex marriage. However, the ruling was not implemented in Romania and on 14 September 2021 the European Parliament passed
12744-516: The Latin maritātus 'married', past participle of maritāre 'to marry'. The adjective marītus, -a, -um 'matrimonial, nuptial' could also be used, through nominalization , in the masculine form as a noun for 'husband' and in the feminine form for 'wife'. The related word matrimony is borrowed from the Old French word matremoine , which appears around 1300 CE and is in turn ultimately
12921-608: The Netherlands , Portugal , South Africa , Spain , the United Kingdom and Uruguay . They are also available in parts of the United States ( Arizona , California , Colorado , Hawaii , Illinois , New Jersey , Nevada and Oregon ) and Canada. Female same-sex marriage is practiced among the Gikuyu , Nandi , Kamba , Kipsigis , and to a lesser extent neighboring peoples. About 5–10% of women are in such marriages. However, this
13098-616: The Neuroligin 4 Y-linked protein was responsible for a later son being gay. They found that women had significantly higher anti-NLGN4Y levels than men. In addition, mothers of gay sons, particularly those with older brothers, had significantly higher anti-NLGN4Y levels than did the control samples of women, including mothers of heterosexual sons. The results suggest an association between a maternal immune response to NLGN4Y and subsequent sexual orientation in male offspring. The fraternal birth order effect, however, does not apply to instances where
13275-571: The Oneida Perfectionists in up-state New York. Of the 250 societies reported by the American anthropologist George Murdock in 1949, only the Kaingang of Brazil had any group marriages at all. A child marriage is a marriage where one or both spouses are under the age of 18. It is related to child betrothal and teenage pregnancy . Child marriage was common throughout history, even up until
13452-578: The United Kingdom , the United States , and Uruguay . Same-sex marriage performed remotely or abroad is recognized with full marital rights by Israel . Same-sex marriage will begin to be performed by Liechtenstein and Thailand in January 2025, and is under consideration by the legislature or the courts in El Salvador , Italy , Japan , Nepal , and Venezuela . Civil unions are being considered in
13629-608: The University of Virginia , Michigan State University , Florida State University , the University of Amsterdam , the New York State Psychiatric Institute , Stanford University , the University of California-San Francisco , the University of California-Los Angeles , Tufts University , Boston Medical Center , the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, and independent researchers also support
13806-430: The brain have been reported to be sexually dimorphic; that is, they vary between men and women. There have also been reports of variations in brain structure corresponding to sexual orientation. In 1990, Dick Swaab and Michel A. Hofman reported a difference in the size of the suprachiasmatic nucleus between homosexual and heterosexual men. In 1992, Allen and Gorski reported a difference related to sexual orientation in
13983-579: The size of INAH3 in homosexual men compared to heterosexual men may not be statistically different, homosexual men may have a greater cell density per unit volume than heterosexual men, though a similar total number of INAH3 neurons. Studies have shown that INAH3 in gay men has likely been exposed to lower levels of testosterone in the brain compared to straight men, or had different levels of receptivity to its masculinizing effects, or experienced hormone fluctuations at critical times during fetal development. In women, if INAH3 receives more testosterone than
14160-482: The social construct across cultures around the world. Many proposed definitions have been criticized for failing to recognize the existence of same-sex marriage in some cultures, including those of more than 30 African peoples , such as the Kikuyu and Nuer . With several countries revising their marriage laws to recognize same-sex couples in the 21st century, all major English dictionaries have revised their definition of
14337-480: The "INAH-3 did not differ between the brains of straight men who died of AIDS and those who did not have the disease". Bailey has further criticized the second objection that was raised, that being gay might have somehow caused the difference in INAH-3, and not vice-versa, saying "the problem with this idea is that the hypothalamus appears to develop early. Not a single expert I have ever asked about LeVay's study thought it
14514-438: The 1900s in the United States, where in 1880 CE, in the state of Delaware , the age of consent for marriage was 7 years old. Still, in 2017, over half of the 50 United States have no explicit minimum age to marry and several states set the age as low as 14. Today it is condemned by international human rights organizations. Child marriages are often arranged between the families of the future bride and groom, sometimes as soon as
14691-428: The 1990s has demonstrated that as a woman has more sons, there is a higher chance of later born sons being gay. During pregnancy, male cells enter a mother's bloodstream, which provoke an immune response to neutralize them. These antibodies are then released on future male fetuses and may neutralize Y-linked antigens, which play a role in brain masculinization, leaving areas of the brain responsible for sexual attraction in
14868-463: The 2015 article, underlined the importance of Prenatal Thyroid Model and supported developments in this field. Afterwards, several authors have emphasized the role of thyroid system in sexuality while citing the Prenatal Thyroid Model. Among them, Carosa et al. concluded that thyroid hormones, affecting the human sexual function strongly, the thyroid gland must be considered, along with
15045-412: The 35 countries (as of 2023) that constitutionally define marriage to prevent marriage between couples of the same sex, with most of those provisions enacted in recent decades as a preventative measure. Other countries have constitutionally mandated Islamic law , which is generally interpreted as prohibiting marriage between same-sex couples. In six of the former and most of the latter, homosexuality itself
15222-511: The British case, serial monogamy creates an "extended family" – a number of households tied together in this way, including mobile children (possible exes may include an ex-wife, an ex-brother-in-law, etc., but not an "ex-child"). These "unclear families" do not fit the mould of the monogamous nuclear family . As a series of connected households, they come to resemble the polygynous model of separate households maintained by mothers with children, tied by
15399-540: The Czech Republic and San Marino. The legal status of same-sex marriage may have implications for the marriages of couples in which one or both parties are transgender , depending on how sex is defined within a jurisdiction. Transgender and intersex individuals may be prohibited from marrying partners of the "opposite" sex or permitted to marry partners of the "same" sex due to legal distinctions. In any legal jurisdiction where marriages are defined without distinction of
15576-574: The European Convention on Human Rights states that: "Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and to found a family, according to the national laws governing the exercise of this right", not limiting marriage to those in a heterosexual relationship. However, the ECHR stated in Schalk and Kopf v Austria that this provision was intended to limit marriage to heterosexual relationships, as it used
15753-486: The Mormons, a home and family for every woman." Nonetheless, polygyny is a gender issue which offers men asymmetrical benefits. In some cases, there is a large age discrepancy (as much as a generation) between a man and his youngest wife, compounding the power differential between the two. Tensions not only exist between genders, but also within genders; senior and junior men compete for wives, and senior and junior wives in
15930-637: The Netherlands. Two more countries, Liechtenstein and Thailand , are set to begin performing same-sex marriages in January 2025. Same-sex marriage is legally recognized in a large majority of the world's developed countries ; notable exceptions are Italy , Japan , South Korea and the Czech Republic . Adoption rights are not necessarily covered, though most states with same-sex marriage allow those couples to jointly adopt as other married couples can. Some countries, such as Nigeria and Russia , restrict advocacy for same-sex marriage. A few of these are among
16107-647: The United States have correlated legalization of same-sex marriage to lower rates of HIV infection, psychiatric disorders, and suicide rate in the LGBT population . While few societies have recognized same-sex unions as marriages, the historical and anthropological record reveals a large range of attitudes towards same-sex unions ranging from praise, through full acceptance and integration, sympathetic toleration, indifference, prohibition and discrimination, to persecution and physical annihilation. Opponents of same-sex marriages have argued that same-sex marriage, while doing good for
16284-471: The X chromosome to test for similar alleles. In another finding, thirty-three of the forty sibling pairs tested were found to have similar alleles in the distal region of Xq28 , which was significantly higher than the expected rates of 50% for fraternal brothers. This was popularly dubbed the " gay gene " in the media, causing significant controversy. In 1998, Sanders et al. reported on their similar study, in which they found that 13% of uncles of gay brothers on
16461-550: The Xq28 linkage results. Meta-analysis of all available linkage data indicates a significant link to Xq28, but also indicates that additional genes must be present to account for the full heritability of sexual orientation. Mustanski et al. (2005) performed a full-genome scan (instead of just an X chromosome scan) on individuals and families previously reported on in Hamer et al. (1993) and Hu et al. (1995), as well as additional new subjects. In
16638-506: The bed stria terminalus (BSTc) area on the right side of the hypothalamus, which stores gender identity, are undeveloped and function as female. The action of the SRY gene in the Y-chromosome in the fetus prompts the development of testes, which release testosterone, the primary androgen receptor-activating hormone, to allow testosterone to enter the cells and masculinize the fetus and fetal brain. If
16815-407: The brain for sexual attraction. Other studies in humans have relied on brain imaging technology, such as research led by Ivanka Savic which compared hemispheres of the brain. This research found that straight men had right hemispheres 2% larger than the left, described as modest but "highly significant difference" by LeVay. In heterosexual women, the two hemispheres were the same size. In gay men,
16992-609: The center for women's studies at Beijing University, told a Newsday correspondent, "Walking marriages reflect sweeping changes in Chinese society." A "walking marriage" refers to a type of temporary marriage formed by the Mosuo of China, in which male partners live elsewhere and make nightly visits. A similar arrangement in Saudi Arabia , called misyar marriage , also involves the husband and wife living separately but meeting regularly. There
17169-456: The children of opposite-sex couples. Some proponents of the legal recognition of same-sex marriage—such as Marriage Equality USA (founded in 1998), Freedom to Marry (founded in 2003), Canadians for Equal Marriage , and Marriage for All Japan - used the terms marriage equality and equal marriage to signal that their goal was for same-sex marriage to be recognized on equal ground with opposite-sex marriage. The Associated Press recommends
17346-452: The children of same-sex parents benefit from being raised by married same-sex couples within a marital union that is recognized by law and supported by societal institutions. At the same time, no harm is done to the institution of marriage among heterosexuals. Social science research indicates that the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage stigmatizes and invites public discrimination against gay and lesbian people, with research repudiating
17523-435: The children of same-sex parents or carers. Scientific research has been generally consistent in showing that lesbian and gay parents are as fit and capable as heterosexual parents, and their children are as psychologically healthy and well-adjusted as children reared by heterosexual parents. According to scientific literature reviews, there is no evidence to the contrary. Compared to heterosexual couples, same-sex couples have
17700-685: The cost is prohibitive. Other same-sex couples adopt children or raise the children from earlier opposite-sex relationships. All states that allow same-sex marriage also allow the joint adoption of children by those couples with the exception of Ecuador and a third of states in Mexico, though such restrictions have been ruled unconstitutional in Mexico. In addition, Bolivia, Croatia, Israel and Liechtenstein, which do not recognize same-sex marriage, nonetheless permit joint adoption by same-sex couples. Some additional states do not recognize same-sex marriage but allow stepchild adoption by couples in civil unions, namely
17877-578: The couples that participate in them and the children they are raising, undermines a right of children to be raised by their biological mother and father. Some supporters of same-sex marriages take the view that the government should have no role in regulating personal relationships, while others argue that same-sex marriages would provide social benefits to same-sex couples. The debate regarding same-sex marriages includes debate based upon social viewpoints as well as debate based on majority rules, religious convictions, economic arguments, health-related concerns, and
18054-693: The data of current psychological and other social science studies on same-sex marriage in comparison to mixed-sex marriage indicate that same-sex and mixed-sex relationships do not differ in their essential psychosocial dimensions; that a parent's sexual orientation is unrelated to their ability to provide a healthy and nurturing family environment; and that marriage bestows substantial psychological, social, and health benefits. Same-sex parents and carers and their children are likely to benefit in numerous ways from legal recognition of their families, and providing such recognition through marriage will bestow greater benefit than civil unions or domestic partnerships. Studies in
18231-494: The development of same-sex sexual behavior. A two-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) with a total sample of 1478 homosexual males and 3313 heterosexual males in Han Chinese populations identified two genetic loci (FMR1NB and ZNF536) showing consistent association with male sexual orientation. A study suggests linkage between a mother's genetic make-up and homosexuality of her sons. Women have two X chromosomes, one of which
18408-419: The difference. LeVay has said that "given that my study had already reported a INAH3 to be smaller in gay men, a one tailed approach would have been more appropriate, and it would have yielded a significant difference [between heterosexual and homosexual men]". J. Michael Bailey has criticized LeVay's critics—describing the claim that the INAH-3 difference could be attributable to AIDS as "aggravating", since
18585-661: The earliest documented same-sex wedding in Latin Christendom occurred in Rome, Italy , at the San Giovanni a Porta Latina basilica in 1581. Several cultures have practised temporary and conditional marriages. Examples include the Celtic practice of handfasting and fixed-term marriages in the Muslim community. Pre-Islamic Arabs practiced a form of temporary marriage that carries on today in
18762-533: The early uterine environment (such as prenatal hormones ), and brain structure. While the evolutionary explanation for heterosexuality in organisms that reproduce sexually is straightforwardly understood to be a psychological adaptation resulting from greater reproductive success , evolutionary explanations for homosexuality rely upon other mechanisms of evolution such as kin selection and inclusive fitness , or antagonistic pleiotropy that favors heterozygotes causing homosexuality among homozygotes as
18939-429: The emperor Nero celebrated two public weddings with males, once taking the role of the bride (with a freedman Pythagoras ), and once the groom (with Sporus ); there may have been a third in which he was the bride. In the early 3rd century AD, the emperor Elagabalus is reported to have been the bride in a wedding to his male partner. Other mature men at his court had husbands, or said they had husbands in imitation of
19116-459: The emperor. Roman law did not recognize marriage between males, but one of the grounds for disapproval expressed in Juvenal's satire is that celebrating the rites would lead to expectations for such marriages to be registered officially. As the empire was becoming Christianized in the 4th century, legal prohibitions against marriage between males began to appear. Michael McConnell and Jack Baker are
19293-438: The evidence of genetic influences should not be equated with genetic determinism. According to Dean Hamer and Michael Bailey, genetic aspects are only one of the multiple causes of homosexuality. In 2017, Scientific Reports published an article with a genome wide association study on male sexual orientation. The research consisted of 1,077 homosexual men and 1,231 heterosexual men. A gene named SLITRK6 on chromosome 13
19470-520: The female-typical default position, i.e. expressing attraction to men. Each subsequent son will increase the levels of these antibodies, creating the observed fraternal birth order effect . Biochemical evidence to support this effect was confirmed in a lab study in 2017, finding that mothers with a gay son, particularly those with older brothers, had heightened levels of antibodies to the NLGN4Y Y-protein than mothers with heterosexual sons. This effect
19647-434: The findings of this study. The overall socio-economic and health effects of legal access to same-sex marriage around the world have been summarized by Badgett and co-authors. The review found that sexual minority individuals took-up legal marriage when it became available to them (but at lower rates than different-sex couples). There is instead no evidence that same-sex marriage legalization affected different-sex marriages. On
19824-418: The first same sex couple in modern recorded history known to obtain a marriage license , have their marriage solemnized, which occurred on September 3, 1971, in Minnesota , and have it legally recognized by any form of government. Historians variously trace the beginning of the modern movement in support of same-sex marriage to anywhere from around the 1980s to the 1990s. During the 1980s in the United States ,
20001-470: The four variants could reliably predict sexual orientation. In August 2019, a genome-wide association study of 493,001 individuals concluded that hundreds or thousands of genetic variants underlie homosexual behavior in both sexes, with 5 variants in particular being significantly associated. Some of these variants had sex-specific effects, and two of these variants suggested links to biological pathways that involve sex hormone regulation and olfaction . All
20178-616: The full sample they did not find linkage to Xq28. Results from the first large, comprehensive multi-center genetic linkage study of male sexual orientation were reported by an independent group of researchers at the American Society of Human Genetics in 2012. The study population included 409 independent pairs of gay brothers, who were analyzed with over 300,000 single-nucleotide polymorphism markers. The data strongly replicated Hamer's Xq28 findings as determined by both two-point and multipoint (MERLIN) LOD score mapping. Significant linkage
20355-506: The gay one tended to recall being much more feminine than the straight one. This means that the environmental factors that cause the twin differences are there early on, by childhood. Based on other things we know, such as studies of children with cloacal exstrophy, I suspect that these factors operate in the womb. Identical twins reared apart from birth are another method of studying the origin of psychological traits. Unfortunately, such twin pairs are rare. Three sets of male twin pairs exist in
20532-456: The genetic effects that differentiate heterosexual from homosexual behavior are not the same as those that differ among nonheterosexuals with lower versus higher proportions of same-sex partners, which suggests that there is no single continuum from heterosexual to homosexual preference, as suggested by the Kinsey scale . In October 2021, another research paper reported that genetic factors influence
20709-469: The genitals and the brain, a sexual organ. As a tertiary source, an authoritative book on the subject of interplay between endocrinology, brain and behavior has also cited the thyroid-homosexuality proposal article in the latest edition. Multiple genes have been found to play a role in sexual orientation. Scientists caution that many people misconstrue the meanings of genetic and environmental . Environmental influence does not automatically imply that
20886-490: The girl is born. However, in the late 1800s in England and the United States, feminist activists began calling for raised age of consent laws, which was eventually handled in the 1920s, having been raised to 16–18. Child marriages can also occur in the context of bride kidnapping . In the year 1552 CE, John Somerford and Jane Somerford Brereton were both married at the ages of 3 and 2, respectively. Twelve years later, in 1564, John filed for divorce. While child marriage
21063-430: The group lacked a husband role in the conventional sense. The husband role, unitary in the west, was instead divided between a non-resident "social father" of the woman's children, and her lovers, who were the actual procreators. None of these men had legal rights to the woman's child. This forced Gough to disregard sexual access as a key element of marriage and to define it in terms of legitimacy of offspring alone: marriage
21240-418: The group marriage, and all members of the marriage share parental responsibility for any children arising from the marriage. No country legally condones group marriages, neither under the law nor as a common law marriage, but historically it has been practiced by some cultures of Polynesia, Asia, Papua New Guinea and the Americas – as well as in some intentional communities and alternative subcultures such as
21417-572: The groups from which a partner can be chosen the selection of a marriage partner may involve either the couple going through a selection process of courtship or the marriage may be arranged by the couple's parents or an outside party, a matchmaker . Some people want to marry a person that is older or younger than they. This may impact marital stability and partners with more than a 10-year gap in age tend to experience social disapproval In addition, older women (older than 35) have increased health risks when getting pregnant. Some people want to marry
21594-517: The groups in the size of INAH1, INAH2 or INAH4. However, the INAH3 group appeared to be twice as big in the heterosexual male group as in the gay male group; the difference was highly significant, and remained significant when only the six AIDS patients were included in the heterosexual group. The size of INAH3 in the homosexual men's brains was comparable to the size of INAH3 in the heterosexual women's brains. William Byne and colleagues attempted to identify
21771-517: The health side, same-sex marriage legalization increased health insurance coverage for individuals in same-sex couples (in the US), and it led to improvements in sexual health among men who have sex with men, while there is mixed evidence on mental health effects among sexual minorities. In addition, the study found mixed evidence on a range of downstream social outcomes such as attitudes toward LGBTQ+ people and employment choices of sexual minorities. As of 2006,
21948-455: The heterosexual female brains, while the results for the gay male group were between those of the other two groups but not quite significantly different from either. The neuron count also found a male-female difference in INAH3, but found no trend related to sexual orientation. LeVay has said that Byne replicated his work, but that he employed a two-tailed statistical analysis, which is typically reserved for when no previous findings had employed
22125-403: The heterosexual men, and larger than that of the heterosexual women, though neither difference quite reached statistical significance. Byne and colleagues also weighed and counted numbers of neurons in INAH3 tests not carried out by LeVay. The results for INAH3 weight were similar to those for INAH3 size; that is, the INAH3 weight for the heterosexual male brains was significantly larger than for
22302-423: The husband had freedom to engage in outside sexual liaisons. The Codex Theodosianus ( C. Th. 9.7.3) issued in 438 CE imposed severe penalties or death on same-sex relationships, but the exact intent of the law and its relation to social practice is unclear, as only a few examples of same-sex relationships in that culture exist. Same-sex unions were celebrated in some regions of China, such as Fujian . Possibly
22479-419: The imbalance in the sex ratios, the higher male infant mortality, the shorter life span of males, the loss of males in wartime, etc. – that often women were left without financial support from husbands. To correct this condition, females had to be killed at birth, remain single, become prostitutes, or be siphoned off into celibate religious orders. Polygynous systems have the advantage that they can promise, as did
22656-454: The laws recognize cohabitation in lieu of institutional marriage for taxation and social security benefits. This is the case, for example, in Australia. Cohabitation may be an option pursued as a form of resistance to traditional institutionalized marriage. However, in this context, some nations reserve the right to define the relationship as marital, or otherwise to regulate the relation, even if
22833-424: The legal status of married women, leniency towards violence within marriage, customs such as dowry and bride price , marriageable age , and criminalization of premarital and extramarital sex . Individuals may marry for several reasons, including legal , social , libidinal , emotional , financial , spiritual , cultural , economic , political , religious , sexual , and romantic purposes. In some areas of
23010-461: The likelihood that the exposed son will be more attracted to men than women. It is this antigen which maternal H-Y antibodies are proposed to both react to and 'remember'. Successive male fetuses are then attacked by H-Y antibodies which somehow decrease the ability of H-Y antigens to perform their usual function in brain masculinization. In 2017, researchers discovered a biological mechanism of gay people who tend to have older brothers. They believed
23187-467: The literature. In the first pair found by Thomas Bouchard, both male twins reared apart from birth were homosexual. In a second pair found by Whitham, both males were also homosexual. In the third pair found by Bouchard, the male twins were neither definitively concordant nor discordant, as both had relations with males and females, thus this pair may be concordant for bisexuality. Among the female twin pairs; four female twin pairs were all discordant, although
23364-438: The manner in which same-sex marriage has been introduced into democratic jurisdictions. A " majority rules " position holds that same-sex marriage is valid, or void and illegal, based upon whether it has been accepted by a simple majority of voters or of their elected representatives. In contrast, a civil rights view holds that the institution can be validly created through the ruling of an impartial judiciary carefully examining
23541-478: The maternal side were homosexual, compared with 6% on the paternal side. A later analysis by Hu et al. replicated and refined the earlier findings. This study revealed that 67% of gay brothers in a new saturated sample shared a marker on the X chromosome at Xq28. Two other studies (Bailey et al., 1999; McKnight and Malcolm, 2000) failed to find a preponderance of gay relatives in the maternal line of homosexual men. One study by Rice et al. in 1999 failed to replicate
23718-411: The men who identified as heterosexual specifically denied ever engaging in a homosexual sex act. The records of the remaining heterosexual subjects contained no information about their sexual orientation; they were assumed to have been primarily or exclusively heterosexual "on the basis of the numerical preponderance of heterosexual men in the population". LeVay found no evidence for a difference between
23895-466: The mere act of propagation till after the birth of the offspring." In The Future of Marriage in Western Civilization (1936), he rejected his earlier definition, instead provisionally defining marriage as "a relation of one or more men to one or more women that is recognized by custom or law". The anthropological handbook Notes and Queries (1951) defined marriage as "a union between a man and
24072-416: The notion that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon restricting marriage to heterosexuals. Same-sex marriage can provide those in committed same-sex relationships with relevant government services and make financial demands on them comparable to that required of those in opposite-sex marriages, and also gives them legal protections such as inheritance and hospital visitation rights. Opposition
24249-443: The number of spouses, as in bi-gamy (two spouses, generally illegal in most nations), and poly-gamy (more than one spouse). Societies show variable acceptance of polygamy as a cultural ideal and practice. According to the Ethnographic Atlas , of 1,231 societies noted, 186 were monogamous; 453 had occasional polygyny; 588 had more frequent polygyny, and 4 had polyandry. However, as Miriam Zeitzen writes, social tolerance for polygamy
24426-1211: The offspring. Autoimmune destructive process as seen in Hashimoto thyroiditis, diminished supply of thyroid hormones and impacts on prenatal androgen system were all considered as contributing mechanisms. In a follow-up theoretical paper, previous research findings indicating higher rates of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in female-to-male transsexuals and lesbian women were conceived as an indication of Prenatal Thyroid Model since PCOS and autoimmune thyroiditis are frequently comorbid diseases. Likewise, increased rates of autism spectrum disorder in children born to mothers with thyroid dysfunction and overrepresentation of ASD individuals in gender dysphoria populations suggest such an association. A second group of young children with this pattern were presented in IACAPAP Congress, Prague (2018). Furthermore, 9 additional cases were reported in IACAPAP Congress, [1] Rio de Janeiro (Sabuncuoglu, 2024). The findings from previous research in LGBT populations had called for attention to be paid to thyroid system. A commentary by Jeffrey Mullen, published shortly after
24603-539: The only ones in Asia . The summary table below lists in chronological order the sovereign states (the United Nations member states and Taiwan ) that have legalized same-sex marriage. As of 2024, 38 states have legalized in some capacity. Dates are when marriages between same-sex couples began to be officially certified, or when local laws were passed if marriages were already legal under higher authority. Same-sex marriage
24780-415: The organizational effects of hormones on the fetal brain prior to birth have permanent effects. These indicate the primary role of nature, not post-birth nurture, in the development of male sexual orientation. In the brain, the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area (SDN-POA) is a key region which differs between males and females in humans and a number of mammals (e.g., sheep/rams, mice, rats), and
24957-715: The population, but sometimes failing to erase across generations and causing reversed sexual preference. On grounds of evolutionary plausibility, Gavrilets, Friberg and Rice argue that all mechanisms for exclusive homosexual orientations likely trace back to their epigenetic model. Testing this hypothesis is possible with current stem cell technology. Prenatal thyroid theory of same-sex attraction/gender dysphoria has been based on clinical and developmental observations of youngsters presenting to child psychiatry clinics in Istanbul/Turkey. The report of 12 cases with same-sex attraction/gender dysphoria born to mothers with thyroid diseases
25134-579: The practice of Nikah mut'ah , a fixed-term marriage contract. The Islamic prophet Muhammad sanctioned a temporary marriage – sigheh in Iran and muta'a in Iraq – which can provide a legitimizing cover for sex workers. The same forms of temporary marriage have been used in Egypt, Lebanon and Iran to make the donation of a human ova legal for in vitro fertilisation ; a woman cannot, however, use this kind of marriage to obtain
25311-461: The presence of multiple contributing genetic factors throughout the genome. In 1993, Dean Hamer and colleagues published findings from a linkage analysis of a sample of 76 gay brothers and their families. Hamer et al. found that the gay men had more gay male uncles and cousins on the maternal side of the family than on the paternal side. Gay brothers who showed this maternal pedigree were then tested for X chromosome linkage, using twenty-two markers on
25488-409: The questioning and finding that the right to marry regardless of the gender of the participants is guaranteed under the civil rights laws of the jurisdiction. Numerous polls and studies on the issue have been conducted. A trend of increasing support for same-sex marriage has been revealed across many countries of the world, often driven in large part by a generational difference in support. Polling that
25665-532: The relation has not been registered with the state or a religious institution. Conversely, institutionalized marriages may not involve cohabitation. In some cases, couples living together do not wish to be recognized as married. This may occur because pension or alimony rights are adversely affected; because of taxation considerations; because of immigration issues, or for other reasons. Such marriages have also been increasingly common in Beijing . Guo Jianmei, director of
25842-533: The right to adopt or obtain joint custody of a child". In 2001, the continental Netherlands became the first country to broaden marriage laws to include same-sex couples. Since then, same-sex marriage has been established by law in 34 other countries, including most of the Americas and Western Europe . Yet its spread has been uneven — South Africa is the only country in Africa to take the step; Taiwan and Thailand are
26019-400: The same household may experience radically different life conditions, and internal hierarchy. Several studies have suggested that the wive's relationship with other women, including co-wives and husband's female kin, are more critical relationships than that with her husband for her productive, reproductive and personal achievement. In some societies, the co-wives are relatives, usually sisters,
26196-448: The sexual differentiation of vertebrates". These Y-linked proteins would not be recognized in the mother's immune system because she is female, causing her to develop antibodies which would travel through the placental barrier into the fetal compartment. From here, the anti-male bodies would then cross the blood/brain barrier (BBB) of the developing fetal brain, altering sex-dimorphic brain structures relative to sexual orientation, increasing
26373-480: The size differences reported in INAH 1–4 by replicating the experiment using brain sample from other subjects: 14 HIV-positive homosexual males, 34 presumed heterosexual males (10 HIV-positive), and 34 presumed heterosexual females (9 HIV-positive). The researchers found a significant difference in INAH3 size between heterosexual men and heterosexual women. The INAH3 size of the homosexual men was apparently smaller than that of
26550-444: The size of the anterior commissure , but this research was refuted by numerous studies, one of which found that the entirety of the variation was caused by a single outlier. Research on the physiologic differences between male and female brains are based on the idea that people have male or a female brain, and this mirrors the behavioral differences between the two sexes. Some researchers state that solid scientific support for this
26727-480: The small number of cases prevent any strong conclusions. According to William Rice and colleagues, the concordance of homosexuality among twins raises the possibility that homosexuality is not caused by genes nor atypical levels of hormones, but an epigenetic mechanism controlling how sensitive fetuses are to prenatal hormones. Sanders et al. 2015 Sanders et al. 2015 Sanders et al. 2017 Chromosome linkage studies of sexual orientation have indicated
26904-697: The social environment influences or contributes to the development of sexual orientation. Hypotheses for the impact of the post-natal social environment on sexual orientation are weak, especially for males. There is, however, a vast non-social environment that is non-genetic, such as prenatal development , which remains poorly understood. Twin studies are one method of testing genetic and environmental influences, although they cannot reveal what kind of environmental influence this may include (social or non-social). Identical or monozygotic twins share their genes, while fraternal or dizygotic twins are only as genetically similar as any other sibling pair. When twins both share
27081-402: The society, the belief in "high gods" to support human morality, and monogamy. In the countries which do not permit polygamy, a person who marries in one of those countries a person while still being lawfully married to another commits the crime of bigamy . In all cases, the second marriage is considered legally null and void. Besides the second and subsequent marriages being void, the bigamist
27258-447: The study indicates a potential link between genes on autosomes and homosexuality. The biology of sexual orientation has been studied in detail in several animal model systems. In the common fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster , the complete pathway of sexual differentiation of the brain and the behaviors it controls is well established in both males and females, providing a concise model of biologically controlled courtship. In mammals,
27435-414: The study of sexual orientation". To explain this finding, it has been proposed that male fetuses provoke a maternal immune reaction that becomes stronger with each successive male fetus. This maternal immunization hypothesis (MIH) begins when cells from a male fetus enter the mother's circulation during pregnancy or while giving birth. Male fetuses produce H-Y antigens which are "almost certainly involved in
27612-678: The study was meta-analyzed and obtained from the UK Biobank study and 23andMe . The researchers identified four variants more common in people who reported at least one same-sex experience on chromosomes 7, 11, 12, and 15. The variants on chromosomes 11 and 15 were specific to men, with the variant on chromosome 11 located in an olfactory gene and the variant on chromosome 15 having previously been linked to male-pattern baldness. The four variants were also correlated with mood and mental health disorders; major depressive disorder and schizophrenia in men and women, and bipolar disorder in women. However, none of
27789-477: The term "men and women" instead of "everyone". Nevertheless, the court accepted and is considering cases concerning same-sex marriage recognition, e.g. Andersen v Poland . In 2021, the court ruled in Fedotova and Others v. Russia —followed by later judgements concerning other member states—that countries must provide some sort of legal recognition to same-sex couples, although not necessarily marriage. On 5 June 2018,
27966-570: The two hemispheres were also the same size, or sex atypical, while in lesbians, the right hemispheres were slightly larger than the left, indicating a small shift in the male direction. A model proposed by evolutionary geneticist William R. Rice argues that a misexpressed epigenetic modifier of testosterone sensitivity or insensitivity that affected development of the brain can explain homosexuality, and can best explain twin discordance. Rice et al. propose that these epimarks normally canalize sexual development, preventing intersex conditions in most of
28143-414: The use of same-sex marriage over gay marriage . In deciding whether to use the term gay marriage , it may also be noted that not everyone in a same-sex marriage is gay – for example, some are bisexual – and therefore using the term gay marriage is sometimes considered erasure of such people. Anthropologists have struggled to determine a definition of marriage that absorbs commonalities of
28320-400: The variants together captured between 8 and 25% of the variation in individual differences in homosexual behavior. These genes partly overlap with those for several other traits, including openness to experience and risk-taking behavior. Additional analyses suggested that sexual behavior, attraction, identity, and fantasies are influenced by a similar set of genetic variants. They also found that
28497-468: The word marriage to either drop gender specifications or supplement them with secondary definitions to include gender-neutral language or explicit recognition of same-sex unions. The Oxford English Dictionary has recognized same-sex marriage since 2000. Opponents of same-sex marriage who want marriage to be restricted to pairings of a man and a woman, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ,
28674-480: The world's major medical and scientific communities , along with human rights and civil rights organizations, while its most prominent opponents are religious fundamentalist groups. Polls consistently show continually rising support for the recognition of same-sex marriage in all developed democracies and in many developing countries. Scientific studies show that the financial, psychological, and physical well-being of gay people are enhanced by marriage, and that
28851-421: The world, arranged marriage , forced marriage , polygyny marriage , polyandry marriage , group marriage , coverture marriage , child marriage , cousin marriage , sibling marriage , teenage marriage , avunculate marriage , incestuous marriage , and bestiality marriage are practiced and legally permissible, while others areas outlaw them to protect human rights . Female age at marriage has proven to be
29028-515: The world; being most common in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa , with more than half of the girls in some countries in those regions being married before 18. The incidence of child marriage has been falling in most parts of the world. In developed countries, child marriage is outlawed or restricted. Girls who marry before 18 are at greater risk of becoming victims of domestic violence , than those who marry later, especially when they are married to
29205-531: Was passed in the continental Netherlands in 2000 and took effect on 1 April 2001. The application of marriage law equally to same-sex and opposite-sex couples has varied by jurisdiction, and has come about through legislative change to marriage law, court rulings based on constitutional guarantees of equality, recognition that marriage of same-sex couples is allowed by existing marriage law, and by direct popular vote, such as through referendums and initiatives . The most prominent supporters of same-sex marriage are
29382-541: Was also detected in the pericentromeric region of chromosome 8, overlapping with one of the regions detected in the Hamer lab's previous genomewide study. The authors concluded that "our findings, taken in context with previous work, suggest that genetic variation in each of these regions contributes to development of the important psychological trait of male sexual orientation". Female sexual orientation does not seem to be linked to Xq28, though it does appear moderately heritable. In addition to sex chromosomal contribution,
29559-480: Was conducted in developed democracies in this century shows a majority of people in support of same-sex marriage. Support for same-sex marriage has increased across every age group, political ideology, religion, gender, race and region of various developed countries in the world. Various detailed polls and studies on same-sex marriage that were conducted in several countries show that support for same-sex marriage significantly increases with higher levels of education and
29736-502: Was first presented in EPA Congress, Vienna (2015) and published as an article in the same year. The extremely significant relationship between the two conditions suggested an independent model, named as Prenatal Thyroid Model of Homosexuality . According to Turkish child & adolescent psychiatrist Osman Sabuncuoglu, who generated the theory, maternal thyroid dysfunction may lead to abnormal deviations from gender-specific development in
29913-420: Was generally recognized as such. While it is a relatively new practice to grant same-sex couples the same form of legal marital recognition as commonly granted to mixed-sex couples, there is some history of recorded same-sex unions around the world. Ancient Greek same-sex relationships were like modern companionate marriages, unlike their different-sex marriages in which the spouses had few emotional ties, and
30090-439: Was identified. The research supports another study which had been done by the neuroscientist Simon LeVay . LeVay's research suggested that the hypothalamus of gay men is different from straight men. The SLITRK6 is active in the mid-brain where the hypothalamus is. The researchers found that the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) on chromosome 14 shows sequence differences between gay and straight men. Graves' disease
30267-479: Was not addressed until its rejection in later passages. They do explicitly prohibit polygyny today. Polyandry is notably more rare than polygyny, though less rare than the figure commonly cited in the Ethnographic Atlas (1980) which listed only those polyandrous societies found in the Himalayan Mountains. More recent studies have found 53 societies outside the 28 found in the Himalayans which practice polyandry. It
30444-422: Was noticeable from a young age. Bailey states: What kind of environmental factor can cause genetically identical twins reared in the same family from birth—often dressed alike and given the same toys—to differ in their sexual orientations? It is a fascinating question that we haven’t begun to answer well. One hint comes from the childhood behavior findings. When identical twins differed in their sexual orientation,
30621-525: Was phased out in 2013. In the United States, transgender and intersex marriages was subject to legal complications. As definitions and enforcement of marriage are defined by the states, these complications vary from state to state, as some of them prohibit legal changes of gender. In the United States before the case of Obergefell v. Hodges , couples in same-sex marriages could only obtain a divorce in jurisdictions that recognized same-sex marriages, with some exceptions. There are differing positions regarding
30798-457: Was plausible that sexual behavior caused the INAH-3 differences." The SCN of homosexual males has been demonstrated to be larger (both the volume and the number of neurons are twice as many as in heterosexual males). These areas of the hypothalamus have not yet been explored in homosexual females nor bisexual males nor females. Although the functional implications of such findings still have not been examined in detail, they cast serious doubt over
30975-406: Was prevented through the social practice of impartible inheritance (the dis-inheriting of most siblings, some of whom went on to become celibate monks and priests). Group marriage (also known as multi-lateral marriage ) is a form of polyamory in which more than two persons form a family unit, with all the members of the group marriage being considered to be married to all the other members of
31152-477: Was typical of human reproductive patterns until the shift to sedentary farming communities approximately 10,000 to 5,000 years ago in Europe and Asia, and more recently in Africa and the Americas. As noted above, Anthropologist Jack Goody 's comparative study of marriage around the world utilizing the Ethnographic Atlas found that the majority of Sub-Saharan African societies that practice extensive hoe agriculture show
31329-455: Was unknown, but whom the researchers presumed to be heterosexual. Six of these men had died of AIDS-related illnesses. The third group was of six women whom the researchers presumed to be heterosexual. One of the women had died of an AIDS-related illness. The HIV-positive people in the presumably heterosexual patient groups were all identified from medical records as either intravenous drug abusers or recipients of blood transfusions . Two of
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