Sodomy

Sodomy is a term of religious origin to characterise certain sexual acts. Most commonly used to describe the specific act of anal sex between two males or between a male and a female, the term "sodomy" also may include non-coital sexual acts such as oral sex and other paraphilia. Laws forbidding certain types of sex acts have been found in some pre-modern cultures and are prevalent in some industrialized nations as well.

Etymology

The term sodomy derives from the name of the ancient city of Sodom, which according to the Bible was destroyed by God for its misdeeds (see Sodom and Gomorrah). In today's common language it identifies the practice of anal intercourse, despite the opinion of some that Sodom's biblical condemnation may not have been primarily or exclusively for committing homosexual acts.

Alternate understandings of the sins of Sodom

Furthermore, in the book of Ezekiel, God speaks through his prophet saying, "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good." (16:49-50, KJV). From the Biblical perspective, the sins of Sodom were many, though not all were explicit in the narrative account, and the act of attempted homosexual gang rape may be read into it, serving to emphasise the Sodomites' depravity rather than uniquely characterise it. According to recent critiques by some liberal Christians [1] the sins of Sodom were related more to violation of hospitality laws than sexual sins.

First century opinions

The epistle of Jude in the New Testament, however, echos the Genesis narrative and recalls mainly the sexually immoral aspects of Sodom's sins: "...just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire" (v. 7, ESV). The phrase rendered "unnatural desire" is literally translated "strange flesh," but it is not entirely clear what it refers to. The ESV translators supply one plausible paraphrase in making the phrase refer to the illicit sexual activity of the Genesis account (cf. the language of the epistle to the Romans 1:21-32), but another theory is that it is a simply reference to the "strange flesh" of the intended rape victims, who were angels, not men.

The first known use of the term sodomy used in a more general sense to mean "crimes against nature" is found in the writings of Jewish historian Josephus (circa A.D. 96) as he summarises the Genesis narrative: "About this time the Sodomites grew proud, on account of their riches and great wealth; they became unjust towards men, and impious towards God, insomuch that they did not call to mind the advantages they received from him: they hated strangers, and abused themselves with Sodomitical practices" (Antiquities 1.11.1). Note that the final element of his assessment goes beyond the Biblical data, even in the New Testament. Despite the inaccuracy, this meaning is the primary one that we use today.

Banning of sodomy in the United States

From the earliest times in the United States, sodomy (variously defined) was prohibited in the United States. In the 1950s, all states had some form of law criminalizing sodomy. In 2003, only 10 states had laws prohibiting all sodomy, with penalties ranging from 1 to 15 years imprisonment. Additionally, four other states had laws that specifically prohibited same-sex sodomy. The United States Supreme Court, in Lawrence v. Texas, invalidated these laws as being an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. See Sodomy law.

Evolution of the term in other languages

In modern German, the word Sodomie has no connotation of anal or oral sex, and refers specifically to zoophilia; it has connotations similar to the English-language word "bestiality". (See Paragraph 175, version of June 28, 1935.) The same goes for the Norwegian word sodomi.