User:RM395/Course/Manypedia/Sexual Orientation

Explain why you chose the subject/language

I chose sexual orientation because it is a controversial topic in the US and I wanted to know how other countries might treat the sensitive issue. I felt that other countries might display a more loose or tight treatment of the concept on account of the government in charge & their strict or non-strict policies. Specifically, I chose Russia because I had just watched a show covering Pussy Riot, and was wondering if the Russian wikipedia (or it's governement/people) would reflect the same bias they had towards Pussy Riot on the concept of sexual orientation.

Compare and contrast the two versions on the subpage you've created

In General

• Concept Similarity: 53%
• Total Revisions English/Russian: 2357 / 174
• Number of editors English/Russian: 966 / 110

Similarities

Both pages discuss hetero,homo and bisexuality. Both pages describe the concept as a part of "sexology" and describe its relation to sexual behavior. Both cite the American Psychological Association and define many different sexual terms and concepts. Both pages differentiate and discuss the difference of having a sexual orientation or preference and acting on it. Both provide extended lists for further reading.

Differences

The English page describes sexual orientation as a related concept to sexual identity, whereas the Russian page claims the two are different. The Russian page at one point even defines sexual orientation as an attraction to individuals of the same sex. The English page provides scores more information than the Russian page does. The Russian page provides a brief thrown-together summary of sexual orientation while the English page delves into varieties of sexuality, how it is and was perceived, different psychological links, the factors that go into determining sexual orientation, research, history and many, many other issues involving sexual orientation. The English page lists and goes into asexual preferences while the Russian page doesn't list it. The Russian page lists only three sources while the English page lists 138.

Does what you found deviate from what you expected?

Yes, in the sense that the Russian page seems harshly thrown together, although that could be attributed to Manypedia's translation services. I expected the Russian page to have less information than the English page, and for the Russian page to dodge public opinion and belief. I did not expect the Russian page to be so brief, not describing an research by Russian psychologists or theorists. I also didn't expect the English article to be so overly thorough, providing page after page of information on a huge range of topics that involve the subject matter. I did expect both pages to link to different terms and related concepts, but I did not expect the pages to be so different in terminology and description.