Changes

==Origin==

==Origin==

''Hetero''- comes from the [[Greek]] word έτερος [héteros], meaning "[[other]] party" or "another", used in [[science]] as a prefix [[meaning]] "different"; and the Latin word for sex (that is, characteristic sex or sexual differentiation). The term "heterosexual" was first published in 1892 in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Gilbert_Chaddock C.G. Chaddock's] translation of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_von_Krafft-Ebing Krafft-Ebing]'s "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathia_Sexualis_(book)#Psychopathia_Sexualis ''Psychopathia Sexualis'']. The noun came into use from early 1920s, but did not enter common use until [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960's 1960]s. The colloquial shortening "hetero" is attested from 1933. The abstract noun "heterosexuality" is first recorded in 1900. The word "heterosexual" was first listed in Merriam-Webster's New International Dictionary as a [[medical]] term for "morbid sexual [[passion]] for one of the opposite sex"; however, in 1934 in their Second Edition Unabridged it is defined as a "[[manifestation]] of sexual passion for one of the opposite [[sex]]; [[normal]] sexuality".  The adjective heterosexual is used for [[intimate]] relationships or sexual relations between [[male]] and [[female]].

''Hetero''- comes from the [[Greek]] word έτερος [héteros], meaning "[[other]] party" or "another", used in [[science]] as a prefix [[meaning]] "different"; and the Latin word for sex (that is, characteristic sex or sexual differentiation). The term "heterosexual" was first published in 1892 in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Gilbert_Chaddock C.G. Chaddock's] translation of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_von_Krafft-Ebing Krafft-Ebing]'s "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathia_Sexualis_(book)#Psychopathia_Sexualis ''Psychopathia Sexualis'']. The noun came into use from early 1920s, but did not enter common use until [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960's 1960]s. The colloquial shortening "hetero" is attested from 1933. The abstract noun "heterosexuality" is first recorded in 1900. The word "heterosexual" was first listed in Merriam-Webster's New International Dictionary as a [[medical]] term for "morbid sexual [[passion]] for one of the opposite sex"; however, in 1934 in their Second Edition Unabridged it is defined as a "[[manifestation]] of sexual passion for one of the opposite [[sex]]; [[normal]] sexuality".  The adjective heterosexual is used for [[intimate]] relationships or sexual relations between [[male]] and [[female]].

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century 1892]

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century 1892]

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*2: of or relating to [[different]] [[Gender|sexes]]  

*2: of or relating to [[different]] [[Gender|sexes]]  

==Description==

==Description==

'''Heterosexuality''' is [[romantic]] or sexual [[attraction]] or behavior between persons of [[opposite]] sex or [[gender]] in the gender binary. As a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_orientation sexual orientation], heterosexuality refers to "an [[enduring]] [[pattern]] of or disposition to [[experience]] sexual, affectionate, [[physical]] or [[romantic]] attractions to persons of the opposite sex"; it also refers to "an [[individual]]’s sense of personal and [[social]] [[identity]] based on those [[attractions]], behaviors [[expressing]] them, and membership in a [[community]] of others who share them". The term is usually applied to [[humans]], but it is also observed in all [[mammals]].

'''Heterosexuality''' is [[romantic]] or sexual [[attraction]] or behavior between persons of [[opposite]] sex or [[gender]] in the gender binary. As a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_orientation sexual orientation], heterosexuality refers to "an [[enduring]] [[pattern]] of or disposition to [[experience]] sexual, affectionate, [[physical]] or [[romantic]] attractions to persons of the opposite sex"; it also refers to "an [[individual]]’s sense of personal and [[social]] [[identity]] based on those [[attractions]], behaviors [[expressing]] them, and membership in a [[community]] of others who share them". The term is usually applied to [[humans]], but it is also observed in all [[mammals]].

It is one of the three main [[classifications]] of sexual orientation, along with a [[bisexual]] and a [[homosexual]] orientation, all a part of the heterosexual–homosexual continuum ([[asexuality]] also sometimes being included as the fourth).

It is one of the three main [[classifications]] of sexual orientation, along with a [[bisexual]] and a [[homosexual]] orientation, all a part of the heterosexual–homosexual continuum ([[asexuality]] also sometimes being included as the fourth).

[[History]] of heterosexual [[symbolism]] dates back to the earliest [[artifacts]] of [[humanity]], which included [[ritual]] [[fertility]] carvings and primitive rock art. This was later expressed in the symbolism of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertility_rites fertility rites] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytheism#Historical_polytheism polytheistic worship], which often included images of human reproductive organs. The [[modern]] [[symbols]] of heterosexuality in the [[societies]] derived from Europe are still referenced to the symbols used in these [[ancient]] [[beliefs]], with the image in this section being a combination of the symbol for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_(mythology) Mars] as the definitive [[male]] stereotype of a [[warrior]], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_(mythology) Venus], the Roman goddess of [[love]].

[[History]] of heterosexual [[symbolism]] dates back to the earliest [[artifacts]] of [[humanity]], which included [[ritual]] [[fertility]] carvings and primitive rock art. This was later expressed in the symbolism of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertility_rites fertility rites] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytheism#Historical_polytheism polytheistic worship], which often included images of human reproductive organs. The [[modern]] [[symbols]] of heterosexuality in the [[societies]] derived from Europe are still referenced to the symbols used in these [[ancient]] [[beliefs]], with the image in this section being a combination of the symbol for [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_(mythology) Mars] as the definitive [[male]] stereotype of a [[warrior]], and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_(mythology) Venus], the Roman goddess of [[love]].

==See also==

==See also==

*'''''[[Asexuality]]'''''

*'''''[[Asexuality]]'''''