and other literature written by some Muslims from the medieval period onward and which celebrated love between men. In fact these were more common than expressions of attraction to women. Turkey The Ottoman Empire In a world before sexual preferences defined identity, men who desired other men were not thought of as members of a biologically-determined, distinctive subculture with a constant nature. Because men and women were not thought of as opposites, same-sex relationships were not considered to go against nature. (In fact, women were thought of as biologically imperfect men.) Pre-Columbian Americas Among Indigenous peoples of the Americas prior to European colonization, a number of nations had respected roles for homosexual, bisexual, and gender-nonconforming individuals; in some Indigenous communities, these social and spiritual roles are still observed. While the Indigenous cultures that preserve (or have adopted) these roles have their own names, in their own languages, for these individuals, a modern, pan-Indian term that some have adopted is "Two-Spirit". In a traditional culture that holds these roles as sacred, these individuals are recognized early in life, raised in the appropriate manner, learning from the Elders the customs, spiritual, and social duties fulfilled by these people in the community. While this new term has not been universally accepted—it has been criticized as a term of erasure by traditional communities who already have their own terms for the people being grouped under this new term, and by those who reject what they call the "western" binary implications, such as implying that Natives believe these individuals are "both male and female"—it has generally received more acceptance and use than the anthropological term it replaced. Sub-Saharan Africa Lesotho Anthropologists Stephen Murray and Will Roscoe reported that women in Lesotho engaged in socially sanctioned "long term, erotic relationships," named motsoalle (). Often, a motsoalle relationship was acknowledged publicly with a ritual feast and with the community fully aware of the women's commitment to one another. Motsoalle relationships commonly existed among school girls where it functioned like a type of "puppy love" or mentorship. However, different from the western notion of lesbianism, motsoalle relationships are not seen as an "alternative to heterosexual marriage." Women in motsoalle relationships are still expected to "marry men and conform, or appear to conform, to gender expectations." Motsoalle relationships are usually not seen as proper sexual and romantic relationship due to the Sesotho notion of sex, where an act is