"Modern sexuality offers a two-tiered dichotomy based on sexual preference. A homosexual is characterized by his exclusive sexual preference for same-sex relationships. Similarly, a heterosexual favors exclusive sexual relationships with members of the opposite sex. Ancient sexuality, on the other hand, finds its basis in status. The active partner, i.e. the partner of a higher social status, assumes the role of the penetrator; whereas, the passive partner, i.e. the partner of inferior social status, takes on the penetrated position.(www.princeton.edu/~clee/paper.html) - Malakos

我们现代对性的关注依赖于对同性恋和异性恋的区分。改变性别的行动和其他不太引人注目的变性行为正在模糊我们整洁的边界，这应该有助于我们理解罗马人截然不同的态度。今天你可以看到一个女同性恋生为男人，一个男同性恋生为女人，或者一个在监狱里的男人，他们的行为在外界看来是同性恋，但在监狱里，​除了传统的同性恋、双性恋和异性恋角色外，社区没有。

罗马人是如何看待性别的？

古罗马（和希腊）的性取向可以分为被动和主动，而不是今天的性别取向。男性的社会偏好行为是积极的；被动部分与女性对齐。

"The relation between the 'active' and 'passive' partner is thought of as the same kind of relation as that obtaining between social superior and social inferior. - Malakos

但在我进一步讨论之前，让我强调一下：这是一种过于简单化的做法。

做一个有良好声誉的古罗马男性

"...Walters makes a crucial distinction between 'males' and 'men': 'Not all males are men, and therefore impenetrable.' In particular, he refers to the special nuance of the term vir, which 'does not simply denote an adult male; it refers specifically to those adult males who are freeborn Roman citizens in good standing, those at the top of the Roman social hierarchy -- those who are sexually impenetrable penetrators'" Craig A. Williams' Bryn Mawr Classical Review of Roman Sexualities

而且。。。

"... since the concepts 'heterosexual' and 'homosexual' did not exist, but there does seem to be a high degree of correlation between the conduct of men identified as cinaedi and that of some men now labeled 'homosexuals,' though it must be appreciated that the modern term is clinical while the ancient one is emotional and even hostile, and that both have been imposed from outside." Richard W. Hooper's Bryn Mawr Classical Review of The Priapus Poems

作为一个有良好声誉的古罗马男性，意味着你发起了渗透性行为。不管你是对女性还是男性、被奴役者还是自由人、妻子还是妓女这样做，只要你不在接受方，就没有什么区别。不过，有些人是不受限制的，其中包括自由青年。这与希腊人的态度不同，希腊人的态度再次简化，在学习环境中纵容这种行为。古希腊对年轻人的教育开始于战斗所需的艺术训练。因为身体健康是目标，所以教育是在健身房进行的（在那里体育锻炼是最重要的）。随着时间的推移，教育逐渐包含更多的学术部分，但如何成为城邦中有价值的一员的教学仍在继续。这通常包括让一只年长的雄性在翅膀下咬下一只年轻的（青春期后，但仍未受孕）雄性——以及所有这些。

"Although later Romans sometimes asserted that homosexuality was imported from Greece, by the close of the 6th century B.C.E, Polybius reported, there was widespread acceptance of homosexuality [Polybius, Histories, xxxii, ii]." Lesbian and Gay Marriages

古罗马人声称采取了古希腊人的其他“消极”行为，对他们来说，自由青年是不可触碰的。由于青少年仍然具有吸引力，罗马男性以年轻的奴隶满足自己。据说在浴场（在许多方面，是希腊体育馆的继承者），自由人脖子上戴着护身符，以表明他们的裸体是不可触摸的。