The term homosexuality emerged in 19th-century expert discourse to refer primarily to men’s same-sex desire; during the 20th century, the term increasingly came to refer to female same-sex desire. Since the 1970s, the terms gay and lesbian have developed to distinguish between male and female identity and experience. The issue of homosexuality is important to theoretical debates about the social construction of sexuality and gender and is often the focus of discussions about the relationship between sexuality, gender, and power. Studies variously emphasize the historical, cultural, and relational nature of constructions of homosexuality in exploring its interrelatedness with gender. Some theorists have examined this interrelatedness as part of broader explorations of the centrality of sexuality to the modern social order. Other theorists have examined this interrelatedness for the insights it generates into gender relations in the patriarchal order. Social and cultural theorists have…