Can you easily tell if someone is gay or not? Do gays commit perverse sexual acts? Read on and discover more facts and fallacies about homosexuality.

Homosexuals are easily recognized. False. People who openly profess their homosexuality are easy to identify but silent homosexuals are indistinguishable. They act, look and speak like everyone else. Not all homosexuals act like girls nor do all lesbians look masculine. In most cases, Sherlock Holmes can't tell the difference.

"In our society, conventional images of male homosexuals are that they are in some way ‘feminine' or perhaps that their sex interests make them a danger to children. The vast majority of homosexuals fit neither of these ideas. They are just ordinary people - not identifiable by body type, mannerisms, dress or occupation. Most non-homosexual people will, without realizing it, have friends and relatives who are homosexual," said the Diagram Group in "Man's Body (An Owner's Manual)."

"In terms of age, social class, education, occupation and interests, the homosexual is represented in every segment of society. Homosexuals do not usually act, speak or dress differently from heterosexuals. But many prefer to conceal their inclinations and activities because of the ridicule, alienation and legal punishments that they would possibly face if their activities become known," added Paul M. Insel and Walton T. Roth in "Core Concepts in Health."

Homosexuals perform perverse sexual acts. False. The sexual practices of homosexuals are no different from those of other people. No single sex act can be singled out as truly or exclusively homosexual for this is also practiced by other couples.

Like heterosexuals, homosexuals also perform mutual kissing and caressing. Their main sexual techniques, however, are mutual masturbation, fellatio (oral stimulation of the penis), pederasty or anal intercourse, and interfemoral intercourse (where the penis is stimulated by being moved between the partner's thighs). Except for the latter, most of these techniques are common in heterosexual activity.

Female homosexuals or lesbians, on the other hand, perform cunnilingus (oral stimulation of the vulva and vagina) and mutual masturbation. Contrary to popular belief, lesbians do not always use phallic substitutes or dildoes to mimic heterosexual intercourse. In most cases, the fingers are enough to stimulate the clitoris and achieve orgasm.

"The manner in which homosexuals behave in their sexual relationship does not differ from the way heterosexuals behave. Homosexuals often maintain that a member of one's own sex is far more capable of understanding one's sexual needs than a member of the opposite sex," according to Dr. Niels Lauersen, a diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Steven Whitney in "It's Your Body (A Woman's Guide to Gynecology)."

"What characterizes an act as homosexual is not the act itself but the fact that both partners are of the same sex," Insel and Roth said.

It is commonly believed that homosexuals take an exclusively male or female role while having sex. In truth, homosexuals often alternate between active and passive roles in sex. They may assume both the male and female role at a time they choose.

"Another common misconception is that homosexuals assume and maintain either an active or passive role in their sexual activities. To the contrary, most partners alternate between active and passive in any given act or from one relationship to another," Insel and Roth explained. (Next: Still more myths about homosexuality.)

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