Hi, Rebecca! Yes, "heterosexuality" and "homosexuality" are Western in origin, but they have been exported with not inconsiderable success -- cultural imperialism is a real thing. Most of the big influential cultures around the world have embraced some form of the hetero/homo construct at this time.
But historically, we can see how things worked differently: for instance, historian Bret Hinsch wrote a beautiful monograph on the "passions of the cut sleeve," on male-male love in Imperial China. There are other people who've worked on similar things in other parts of the world, including in Native American/First Nations cultures in North America.
There are also non-Western cultures that currently embrace some alternate or plural sexualities in ways that the hetero/homo divide doesn't make space for. Some of the more recognizable examples are Thai kathoey (sometimes called "ladyboys") and Indian hijra, who occupy a different space, in their cultures, from identities we would label as either "gay" or "straight."
In reply to <p>Hi, Hanne! I'm wondering by Rebecca
Hi, Rebecca! Yes, "heterosexuality" and "homosexuality" are Western in origin, but they have been exported with not inconsiderable success -- cultural imperialism is a real thing. Most of the big influential cultures around the world have embraced some form of the hetero/homo construct at this time.
But historically, we can see how things worked differently: for instance, historian Bret Hinsch wrote a beautiful monograph on the "passions of the cut sleeve," on male-male love in Imperial China. There are other people who've worked on similar things in other parts of the world, including in Native American/First Nations cultures in North America.
There are also non-Western cultures that currently embrace some alternate or plural sexualities in ways that the hetero/homo divide doesn't make space for. Some of the more recognizable examples are Thai kathoey (sometimes called "ladyboys") and Indian hijra, who occupy a different space, in their cultures, from identities we would label as either "gay" or "straight."