Sexual attraction and Related Topics

Zephyrus and Hyacinthus
Attic red-figure cup from Tarquinia, 480 BC (Boston Museum of Fine Arts)

Homosexuality

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Burning of two homosexuals (the knight Richard von Hohenburg and his squire Anton Mätzler) at the stake outside Zürich, 1482 (from the Spiezer Schilling chronicle)

Dance to the Berdache
Sac and Fox Nation ceremonial dance to celebrate the two-spirit person. George Catlin (1796–1872); Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

A woman spying on a pair of male lovers. China, Qing Dynasty.

Female youths are depicted surrounding Sappho in this painting of Lafond "Sappho sings for Homer", 1824.

Sappho reading to her companions on an Attic vase of c. 435 BC

Photograph of the Finnish artist Touko Laaksonen (1920–1991) alias Tom of Finland, well known for his stylized highly masculinized homoerotic art, playing the piano in late 1950s. In the background, his partner Veli Mäkinen (left) and his sister Kaija (right).

An illustration from the 19th-century book Sawaqub al-Manaquib depicting homosexual anal sex with a wine boy

Shah Abbas I of Persia with a boy. By Muhammad Qasim (1627).

U.S. President Barack Obama signs into law the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010

LGBT activists at Cologne Pride in 2015 carrying a banner with the flags of 70 countries where homosexuality is illegal

Protests in New York City against Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Roy and Silo, two New York Central Park Zoo male chinstrap penguins similar to those pictured, became internationally known when they coupled and later were given an egg that needed hatching and care, which they successfully provided.

Blood donation policies for men who have sex with men
–Men who have sex with men may donate blood; No deferral
–Men who have sex with men may donate blood; Temporary deferral
–Men who have sex with men may not donate blood; Permanent deferral
–No Data

Original Rainbow Pride Flag in San Francisco, designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978

Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender.

Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender.

Bisexuality

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Venus flanked by Venus and Mars symbols for a bisexual woman

Mars flanked by Venus and Mars symbols for a bisexual man

Shudo (Japanese pederasty): a young male entertains an older male lover, covering his eyes while surreptitiously kissing a female servant.

Young man and adolescent engaging in intercrural sex, fragment of a black-figure Attic cup, 550 BC–525 BC, Louvre

Angelina Jolie is an openly bisexual American actress.

Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender.

Kinsey scale of sexual responses, indicating degrees of sexual orientation. The original scale included a designation of "X", indicating a lack of sexual behavior.

Asexuality

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Some members of the asexual community opt to wear a black ring on the middle finger of their right hand as a form of identification.

Asexuals marching in a pride parade in London

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle intentionally portrayed his character Sherlock Holmes as what would today be classified as asexual.

Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity.

Human sexuality

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Way people experience and express themselves sexually.

A women's liberation march in Washington, D.C., in August 1970, from Farragut Square to Lafayette Park.

A Gay Liberation march in London, UK, c. 1972. A Gay Liberation Front banner is visible. Location is believed to be Trafalgar Square.

Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex, same sex, or both sexes.

Ishtar, Mesopotamian goddess of sexual love and war. The goddess has been associated with sexuality, love, and fertility.

Physical attractiveness

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Degree to which a person's physical features are considered aesthetically pleasing or beautiful.

Xi Shi (西施), born 506 BC, was one of the Four Great Beauties of ancient China.

The Mannerist movement was not afraid to exaggerate body proportions for an effect considered attractive; Juno in a niche, engraving by Jacopo Caraglio, probably of a drawing by Rosso Fiorentino, 1526

This drawing of two male figures is a remake of the drawing of the leg-to-body ratio (LBR) extremes used in the experiment by Swami et al. (2006) to find out what LBR is considered the most attractive for men and women. The figure with the lowest LBR and shortest legs at left had the highest average attractiveness ratings whereas the male figure with the highest LBR and longest legs at right had the lowest ratings from British men and women.

This drawing of two female figures is a remake of the drawing of the leg-to-body ratio (LBR) extremes used in the experiment by Swami et al. (2006) to find out what LBR is considered the most attractive. The female figure with the lowest LBR and shortest legs at left had the lowest average attractiveness ratings whereas the figure with the highest LBR and longest legs at right had the highest average attractiveness ratings from both British men and women.

Les Deux Perles Fernand Le Quesne (The two pearls, 1889). This painting was intended to "contrast a Caucasian with an African beauty". In the painting, the black woman represents the beauty of a black pearl and the white woman represents the beauty of a white pearl.

A statue of Venus standing in a contrapposto pose with her weight borne predominantly on one leg. As shown here, this posture accentuates the curvature of her figure.

A University of Toronto study found that the facial proportions of Jessica Alba were close to the average of all female profiles.

Namie Amuro inspired the small-face fad in Japan which caused Japanese women to buy beauty products such as masks and creams to try to obtain a small face like hers.

This drawing is a remake of a drawing used in an experiment to research what South African, British white and British African men considered to be the most attractive size of posterior and breasts for white and black women. This image only shows the two extreme variations of size on black female figures used in the experiment. The figure at left received the highest average attractiveness rating from South African men while a figure with an intermediate size received the highest ratings from both white and black British men. The figure at right did not receive the highest average attractiveness rating from any group.

Bangladeshi bride exemplifying wedding day beauty

The term often implies sexual attractiveness or desirability, but can also be distinct from either.

Interpersonal attraction

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Study of the attraction between people which leads to the development of platonic or romantic relationships.

It can include various implications, such as sexual attractiveness, cuteness, similarity and physique.

Sexual capital

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Sexual capital or erotic capital is the social power an individual or group accrues as a result of their sexual attractiveness and social charm.

An 1870 oil painting by Ford Madox Brown of Romeo and Juliet, considered to be the archetypal romantic couple, depicting the play's iconic balcony scene.

Romance (love)

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Feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions.

Bernger von Horheim in the Codex Manesse (early 14th century)

La Belle Dame sans Merci 1893, by John William Waterhouse

Roman copy of a Greek sculpture by Lysippus depicting Eros, the Greek personification of romantic love

Archetypal lovers in Romeo and Juliet by Frank Dicksee, 1884

Although the emotions and sensations of romantic love are widely associated with sexual attraction, romantic feelings can exist without expectation of physical consummation and be subsequently expressed.