Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Austrian-born novelist Karl-Maria Kertbeny coined the word homosexuality and first printed it in an 1868 letter. He used this new vocabulary to argue against a Prussian anti-sodomy law, marking the beginning of a linguistic shift that would eventually redefine how society understood human desire.
The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the DSM-II in 1973. This decision was made in recognition of scientific evidence that it was not a mental disorder and paved the way for a global movement towards freedom and equality for gay people.
The earliest record of a possible homosexual couple in history dates back to 2400 BCE and features Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum, two ancient Egyptian men portrayed in a nose-kissing position. This image challenges the modern assumption that same-sex relationships were always hidden or condemned in the ancient world.
Ten countries or jurisdictions, all of which are predominantly Islamic and governed according to sharia law, have imposed the death penalty for homosexuality. These include Afghanistan, Iran, Brunei, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, and several regions in Nigeria and Jubaland.
Same-sex marriage became legal across all 50 states in the United States in 2015. This expansion occurred through various state court rulings, state legislation, direct popular votes, and federal court rulings.
Scientists have come to favor biological causes of sexual orientation, with considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial, biological causes than social ones. The prenatal hormonal theory posits that variations in exposure to sex hormones during critical periods of early brain development play a central role in shaping sexual orientation.