Sodomy

Often referred to as “the infamous crime against nature” and “unmentionable crime,” the term sodomy refers to an ecclesiastical sin that was codified into secular criminal law in the 16th century. What constitutes sodomy changes over time and reflects the social and cultural sexual mores of the particular time and place. The term sodomy has included acts such as bestiality, masturbation, fellatio, cunilingus, and anal sex, as well as referencing sexual acts between both men and women and same-sex partners. In the United States, for example, it changed from a ...