Sodomy
de:Analverkehr fr:Sodomie nl:Sodomie zh:鸡奸
Sodomy is a term used in sodomy law for various forbidden sex acts. It is commonly used to describe the specific act of anal sex, but can also include non-coital sexual acts such as oral sex, bestiality and paedophilia.
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 (Sodom and Gomorrah). In today's common language it identifies the practice of anal intercourse, even if in the Bible Sodom was not unambiguously a town of homosexuality.
Traditionally, the misdeeds of Sodom have been understood to be male homosexual anal intercourse, but it should be noted that the primary crime stated in the narrative in the book of Genesis was attempted homosexual gang rape, not simply homosexual behavior. Furthermore, in Ezekiel 16.49f God speaks through his prophet saying, "Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen" (New International Version). Clearly from the Biblical perspective, the sins of Sodom were many, though not all were explicit in the narrative account, and the attempted homosexual gang rape serves to emphasize the Sodomites depravity rather than uniquely characterize it.
The book of Jude, however, recalls mainly the sexually immoral aspect: "(J)ust as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire" (v. 7, New American Standard). It is not entirely clear what "strange flesh" refers to. One plausible theory is that it was a reference to the strangers who were angels. It was about A.D. 96 that Josephus first used (in his Antiquities) the term sodomy to mean homosexual acts, which meaning has come down to our day.
See also: List of sexology topics, Sodomy law, human sexual behavior
