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This is a partial list of confirmed and debated famous lesbian, bisexual, or gay people. The historical concept and definition of sexual orientation has changed greatly over time— the word "gay" wasn't used to describe sexual orientation until the mid 20th century. See homosexuality and bisexuality for more about the primary (and by far the most controversial) distinguishing criterion of "lesbigay" people.
Some historical figures on this list wouldn't be considered "lesbigay" by today's standards, but they are included here because they were known to have had same-sex relationships. But even by today's standards, a relationship or two doesn't necessarily mean one is bisexual. Many people who identify as gay or lesbian have had different-gender relationships in their youth, and many who identify as heterosexual have experimented with same-sex relationships. Due to social norms that have remained consistent throughout history, little information about such matters when discussing historical figures is available; therefore, only educated guesses can be made, based on limited evidence.
It is important to note that the sexual orientation of famous individuals is often fodder for tabloid press. As such, it is often subject to rumor simply because of a tabloid article. Some stars, especially those about whom rumors most often circulate, wish to maintain a public image of heterosexuality—perhaps believing that assertions to the contrary would negatively affect their profitability—and are vigorous in their legal pursuit of those who would question their heterosexuality. An excellent example of this is actor Tom Cruise, who has been involved in at least three such lawsuits. In 1998, he successfully sued a British tabloid that alleged that his marriage to Nicole KidmanNicole Mary Kidman (born June 20, 1967) is a famous American and Australian actress and singer. Biography Kidman was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She lived in the United States until she was four, when her family moved to Australia. Her father, Tony Kidman, was a sham designed to cover up his homosexuality. He obtained a default judgment against a gay porn actor ( Chad Slater , aka "Kyle Bradford") who had given an interviewAn interview is a conversation between two or more people where questions are asked to obtain information about the interviewee. Interviews can be divided into two rough types, interviews of assessment and interviews for information. Assessment The most c to a tabloid newspaper in which he claimed he had a sexual relationship with Tom Cruise, and he sued Michael Davis , a magazineThis article is about the magazine as a published medium. For other meanings, see magazine (disambiguation A magazine is a periodical publication containing a variety of articles on various subjects. some magazines Magazines are typically published weekly publisherA publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. Major publishing companies include AOL Time Warner, including subsidiaries Warner Books and Little, Brown ASCII Baen Books Farrar, Straus and Giroux Hachette Filipacchi Media Harleq, who alleged that he had photographA photograph (often just called a photo is an image (or a representation of that on e. paper) created by collecting and focusing electromagnetic radiation. The most common photographs are those created of visible wavelengths, producing permanent records os that would prove Tom Cruise was homosexual: this suit was dropped in exchange for a public statement by Davis that Tom Cruise was heterosexual. Because of the threat of litigation, it is considered prudent not to assert the homosexuality or bisexuality of a celebrity unless the celebrity has personally publicly asserted it. Some homosexual groups (e.g., Outrage!), have followed a policy of outing public figures regularly for politicalPolitics is the process and method of decision-making for groups of human beings. Although it is generally applied to governments, politics is also observed in all human group interactions including corporate, academic, and religious. Political science is purposes, usually only if that person is publicly anti-gay. However, such a policy is generally condemned within the lesbian and gay community as an infringement on a person's right to privacy, because of concerns about their family, their right to cope with their own sexuality on their own terms, or the risk of discrimination or loss of reputation.
Note that several of the people on this list were prosecuted for their behaviour under existing " sodomy laws".
Wikipedians: Edit this list with caution, because misidentifying the sexual identity of living individuals can lead to a charge of libel. It has not been tested whether Wikipedia's sponsor, Bomis, is liable for libel in the Wikipedia. Furthermore, categorization of historical figures no longer alive to define their own sexual orientation often leads to pointless debate. Recognize that just as adding non-gay people to this list would be wrong, removing gay people from this list is also wrong. You should justify additions or removals on the list's talk page: providing written sources would be best. The most convincing evidence about living persons would be a self-description by that individual.
Persons of debated lesbian, gay, or bisexual orientationThe following list includes those people who have confirmed their homosexual or bisexual orientation or whose homosexual or bisexual orientation is not debated.
The following list includes those who some people believe there is evidence the person was gay, lesbian or bisexual. More information about what is known about each individual's sexuality should be available in the individual's biography.
The following list includes people who at one point identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual but no longer do.
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