As I think back on the past 24 years of providing couples counseling for gay male relationships, I sometimes get asked what the differences are that I see (in general) in gay male relationships that are (again, in general), different from straight relationships.

I offer these thoughts to both single and coupled gay men, based on my perspective of what I’ve seen through the years. My experiences and observations as a gay men’s specialist psychotherapist might differ from other gay men, and even other gay male therapists, and we always have to be mindful of not indulging in unfair assumptions, stereotypes, or even prejudices. But since making a relationship work (which I define, in part, as the relationship’s level of satisfaction for each partner and in its overall longevity and subjective “quality” for each partner) is at least in part based on a skills-building process, skills that I believe …

Data collected from 28,000 adults between 1989 and 2014 found that more and more Americans answered “yes” to this question. In fact, in the early 2000s, twice as many U.S. adults reported having had at least one same-sex partner in their lifetime as compared to the early 1990s. (The study, which I co-authored with Ryne Sherman and Brooke Wells, was published today in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.) The percentage of men who had had sex with at least one man rose from 4.5% to 8.2%, and the percentage of women who had sex with at least one woman went from 3.6% to 8.7%.

Almost all of this increase is due to more people having sexual partners of both genders—bisexual behavior. People generally felt freer to have sex with both men and women if they chose. Acceptance of same-sex sexuality also shot up, with 49% saying it …

This timeline provides information about the gay rights movement in the United States from 1924 to the present: including the Stonewall riots; the contributions of Harvey Milk; the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy; the first civil unions; the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York; and more.

1924

The Society for Human Rights in Chicago becomes the country’s earliest known gay rights organization.

1948

Alfred Kinsey publishes Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, revealing to the public that homosexuality is far more widespread than was commonly believed.

1951

The Mattachine Society, the first national gay rights organization, is formed by Harry Hay, considered by many to be the founder of the gay rights movement.

1955

The first lesbian-rights organization in the United States, the Daughters of Bilitis, was established in San Francisco in 1955.

1956

The Daughters of Bilitis, a pioneering national lesbian organization, is founded.

1958

Joe …