Sexual orientation

"Sexual preference" redirects here. For the book, see Sexual Preference (book).

Sexual orientation
Sexual orientations
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Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns are generally categorized under heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality,[1][2][3] while asexuality (experiencing no sexual attraction to others) is sometimes identified as the fourth category.[4][5]

These categories are aspects of the more nuanced nature of sexual identity and terminology.[3] For example, people may use other labels, such as pansexual or polysexual,[3][6] or none at all.[1] According to the American Psychological Association, sexual orientation "also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions".[1][7] Androphilia and gynephilia are terms used in behavioral science to describe sexual orientation as an alternative to a gender binary conceptualization. Androphilia describes sexual attraction to masculinity; gynephilia describes the sexual attraction to femininity.[8] The term sexual preference largely overlaps with sexual orientation, but is generally distinguished in psychological research.[9] A person who identifies as bisexual, for example, may sexually prefer one sex over the other.[10] Sexual preference may also suggest a degree of voluntary choice,[9][11][12] whereas sexual orientation is not a choice.[13][14][15]

Although no single theory on the cause of sexual orientation has yet gained widespread support, scientists favor biological theories.[16][17][18] There is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial, biological causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males.[16][19][20] A major hypothesis implicates the prenatal environment, specifically the organizational effects of hormones on the fetal brain.[16][18] There is no substantive evidence which suggests parenting or early childhood experiences play a role in developing a sexual orientation.[16][21] Across cultures, most people are heterosexual, with a minority of people having a homosexual or bisexual orientation.[16][22]: 8 [23]: 9–10  A person's sexual orientation can be anywhere on a continuum, from exclusive attraction to the opposite sex to exclusive attraction to the same sex.[1]

Sexual orientation is studied primarily within biology, anthropology, and psychology (including sexology), but it is also a subject area in sociology, history (including social constructionist perspectives), and law.[24]

  1. ^ a b c d "Sexual Orientation & Homosexuality". American Psychological Association. 2020. Archived from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  2. ^ "Sexual Orientation". American Psychiatric Association. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "Definitions Related to Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity in APA Documents" (PDF). American Psychological Association. 2015. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 22, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2020. Sexual orientation refers to the sex of those to whom one is sexually and romantically attracted. [...] [It is] one's enduring sexual attraction to male partners, female partners, or both. Sexual orientation may be heterosexual, same-sex (gay or lesbian), or bisexual. [...] A person may be attracted to men, women, both, neither, or to people who are genderqueer, androgynous, or have other gender identities. Individuals may identify as lesbian, gay, heterosexual, bisexual, queer, pansexual, or asexual, among others. [...] Categories of sexual orientation typically have included attraction to members of one's own sex (gay men or lesbians), attraction to members of the other sex (heterosexuals), and attraction to members of both sexes (bisexuals). While these categories continue to be widely used, research has suggested that sexual orientation does not always appear in such definable categories and instead occurs on a continuum [...]. Some people identify as pansexual or queer in terms of their sexual orientation, which means they define their sexual orientation outside of the gender binary of 'male' and 'female' only.
  4. ^ Marshall Cavendish Corporation, ed. (2009). "Asexuality". Sex and Society. Vol. 2. Marshall Cavendish. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-0-7614-7905-5. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  5. ^ Bogaert, AF (April 2015). "Asexuality: What It Is and Why It Matters". The Journal of Sex Research. 52 (4): 362–379. doi:10.1080/00224499.2015.1015713. PMID 25897566. S2CID 23720993.
  6. ^ Firestein, Beth A. (2007). Becoming Visible: Counseling Bisexuals Across the Lifespan. Columbia University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-231-13724-9. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  7. ^ "Case No. S147999 in the Supreme Court of the State of California, In re Marriage Cases Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding No. 4365(...) – APA California Amicus Brief — As Filed" (PDF). p. 33 n. 60 (p. 55 per Adobe Acrobat Reader);citation per id., Brief, p. 6 n. 4 (p. 28 per Adobe Acrobat Reader). p. 30. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 18, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. ^ Schmidt J (2010). Migrating Genders: Westernisation, Migration, and Samoan Fa'afafine, p. 45 Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., ISBN 978-1-4094-0273-2
  9. ^ a b "Avoiding Heterosexual Bias in Language" (PDF). American Psychological Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 13, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
  10. ^ Rosario, M.; Schrimshaw, E.; Hunter, J.; Braun, L. (2006). "Sexual identity development among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths: Consistency and change over time". Journal of Sex Research. 43 (1): 46–58. doi:10.1080/00224490609552298. PMC 3215279. PMID 16817067.
  11. ^ Friedman, Lawrence Meir (1990). The republic of choice: law, authority, and culture. Harvard University Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-674-76260-2. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  12. ^ Heuer, Gottfried (2011). Sexual revolutions: psychoanalysis, history and the father. Taylor & Francis. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-415-57043-5. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
  13. ^ Frankowski BL; American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Adolescence (June 2004). "Sexual orientation and adolescents". Pediatrics. 113 (6): 1827–32. doi:10.1542/peds.113.6.1827. PMID 15173519. Archived from the original on 2013-03-20. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
  14. ^ Gloria Kersey-Matusiak (2012). Delivering Culturally Competent Nursing Care. Springer Publishing Company. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-8261-9381-0. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016. Most health and mental health organizations do not view sexual orientation as a 'choice.'
  15. ^ Lamanna, Mary Ann; Riedmann, Agnes; Stewart, Susan D (2014). Marriages, Families, and Relationships: Making Choices in a Diverse Society. Cengage Learning. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-305-17689-8. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016. The reason some individuals develop a gay sexual identity has not been definitively established  – nor do we yet understand the development of heterosexuality. The American Psychological Association (APA) takes the position that a variety of factors impact a person's sexuality. The most recent literature from the APA says that sexual orientation is not a choice that can be changed at will, and that sexual orientation is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors...is shaped at an early age...[and evidence suggests] biological, including genetic or inborn hormonal factors, play a significant role in a person's sexuality (American Psychological Association 2010).
  16. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference Bailey was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Frankowski BL; American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Adolescence (June 2004). "Sexual orientation and adolescents". Pediatrics. 113 (6): 1827–32. doi:10.1542/peds.113.6.1827. ISSN 0031-4005. PMID 15173519. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  18. ^ a b Bogaert, Anthony F.; Skorska, Malvina N. (2020-03-01). "A short review of biological research on the development of sexual orientation". Hormones and Behavior. 119: 104659. doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104659. ISSN 0018-506X. PMID 31911036.
  19. ^ LeVay, Simon (2017). Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-029737-4. OL 26246092M – via Open Library.
  20. ^ Balthazart, Jacques (2012). The Biology of Homosexuality. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199838820. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  21. ^ "Submission to the Church of England's Listening Exercise on Human Sexuality". The Royal College of Psychiatrists. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  22. ^ LeVay, Simon (2017). Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199752966. OL 26246092M – via Open Library.
  23. ^ Balthazart, Jacques (2012). The Biology of Homosexuality. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199838820. OL 16142775W – via Open Library.
  24. ^ Cruz, David B. (1999). "Controlling Desires: Sexual Orientation Conversion and the Limits of Knowledge and Law" (PDF). Southern California Law Review. 72 (5): 1297–400. PMID 12731502. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2015-05-21.