Editing Sodomy (section)

== Definitions ==
The term comes from the [[wikipedia:Ecclesiastical Latin|Ecclesiastical Latin]]: ''pecatum Sodomiticum'', or "sin of Sodom".<ref name="oed_sodomy" /> The expression has [[wikipedia:Bible|biblical]] origin and was used to characterize [[wikipedia:Human sexual behavior|sexual]] acts that were attributed to citizens of ancient [[wikipedia:Sodom and Gomorrah|Sodom and Gomorrah]].

The term includes all sexual acts other than [[wikipedia:Coitus|coital]] sex between a male and female.<ref name="oed_sodomy" /> In its widest definition "sodomy" refers to [[wikipedia:Anal sex|anal penetration]], [[oral sex]],  and [[paraphilia]]. The term is also sometimes used to describe human-animal sexual intercourse (also known as  [[bestiality]] or [[zoophilia]]);<ref name="oed_sodomy" /> this is the primary meaning of the cognate [[German language]] word ''Sodomie''.
 
In current usage, the term is particularly used in law.<ref>Sodomy Laws[http://www.sodomylaws.org/]</ref> [[Sodomy law]]s forbidding certain types of sex acts have been instituted in many cultures. In the various criminal codes of [[United States of America]], the term "sodomy" has generally been replaced by "[[Deviant sexual intercourse]]", which is precisely defined by statute.<ref>eg. New York State Penal Law, Article 130, "Deviant Sexual Intercourse". The definition in this particular instance is as follows- ''"Deviant sexual intercourse means sexual conduct between persons not married to each other consisting of contact between the penis and the anus, the mouth and the penis or the mouth and the vulva"''.[http://books.google.com/books?id=FqMoLytiNlUC&pg=PA150&lpg=PA150&dq=usa+deviant+sexual+intercourse+laws&source=web&ots=HQy3tIi2jj&sig=eL2UvEn-GrtPyvNGCYaYsMpeX0k#PPP1,M1].</ref> These laws have been under challenge and have in places been found unconstitutional or have been replaced with different acts.<ref>Lawrence v. Texas in which The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that sodomy laws are unconstitutional on June 26, 2003.[http://www.sodomylaws.org/legal.htm]</ref> Some countries, particularly in Africa, the Middle East and southern Asia retain "sodomy laws" against homosexual acts. Elsewhere the legal use of the term "sodomy" is restricted to [[rape]] cases where an act such as anal penetration has taken place.<ref>Sodomy Laws around the World [http://www.sodomylaws.org/index.htm]</ref> 
The [[English language|English]] term [[buggery]] is very closely related to sodomy in concept, and often interchangeably used in law and popular speech.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary: Buggery- "2.Sodomy. Also Bestiality."</ref><ref>In some legal systems the term buggery is used rather than sodomy eg. that of Santa Lucia which, despite calls for reform, retains a penalty of 25 years for anal intercourse between consenting adults.[http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/stlucia/stlucia.htm]</ref>