The term “homosexual” was created in 1868 by journalist Karl-Maria Kertbeny. Before that, there wasn’t really a nonjudgmental word (at least in the Western world) that described gay people, which meant we couldn’t define ourselves or create communities. (Consider how hard it would be to identify or understand yourself if there were no accurate terminology that describes who you are.) Kertbeny, who was straight, recognized homosexuality was an unchangable identity and not a behavior. He was one of the first people to advocate for LGBT equality.
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