5.1: Sexual Orientation

Who we are attracted to has a profound effect on our personal lives and how we are treated by others. In this chapter, we will examine sexual orientation, identity formation, and the fluid nature of human sexuality. We will provide definitions for a variety of sexual orientations.

There is no question that progress has been made in the United States surrounding sexuality and gender equity; however, local, state, and federal governments continue to legislate policy that disadvantages the LGBTQIA+ community, while hate crimes and other forms of discrimination persist. This is why LGBTQIA+ is still considered a protected category.

"A Moment of Blissful Connection" by Charlie Marshall is licensed under CC BY 2.0

There are three dimensions of sexuality: sexual orientation, sexual desire, and sexual behaviors. Sexual orientation describes one’s sexual attraction, and there are multiple labels that one can use in order to describe it. There are an infinite number of identities, and it should be noted that the meanings of these labels often change due to social or cultural shifts. Our sexuality is not fixed, but rather, it is fluid; people may identify with different labels at different points in their life. Some people will figure out what term they identify as, and identify that way their whole life, while for others, the labels they use to express their identity may shift. As new definitions and understanding emerge with regard to sexual orientation, people may then redefine themselves.        

Sexual desire is the attractions we have for sexual partners and experience that exist independent of our behaviors. Sexual behaviors are our actual sexual actions and interactions. It is important to note that orientations, desires, and behaviors are not always the same thing. They do overlap at times. For example, a heterosexual male may have had a homosexual experience in the past, or not. He may at times desire males and females regardless of his actual sexual activities. A lesbian female may have had a short-term heterosexual relationship, yet define herself as a lesbian.

When considering the congruence of these three concepts it is helpful to use visual aids. Figure 6 below shows how sexual orientation, desires, and behaviors are at times: congruent, meaning they correspond directly with each other, or incongruent, meaning they do NOT correspond together with each other. These three dimensions of our sexuality are surprisingly incongruent among adults in the US society.

    

Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\) Sexual Orientation, Desires, and Behaviors: A Venn Diagram

When orientation, desires, and behaviors are congruent that implies dimensional continuity, meaning there is congruency between the three sexual dimensions of: orientation, desire, and behaviors. This is very common and much of the US population has dimensional continuity. Yet, when desires and orientation are not congruent with behaviors it implies dimensional discontinuity.

The proportion of the U.S. society that is homosexual varies because of the difficulty in defining how to measure it. If researchers ask people their sexual behaviors then the proportion of the population having sex with a same-sex partner is lower than the proportion having ever had sex with a same-sex partner. One researcher, Tom Smith, 2003 reported that:

Edward O. Laumann et al wrote the largest sociological study of US sexuality ever published. (1994, The Social Organization of Sexuality U. of Chicago Press ISBN 0226-46957-3). In this book he wrote about the prevalence of self-identified sexual orientations. Laumann and the other researchers surveyed about 3,400 respondents. By far, most members of US society are heterosexual. Laumann avoided the use of the words, “heterosexual or homosexual.” Their data was collected by asking about behaviors or how many male or female partners a respondent had sex with in the past (page 292:note 9). They found that 7.1 percent of males and 3.8 percent of females had ever had sex with a partner of the same sex (page 294).

Laumann also reported that over 96 percent of males and 98 percent of females identified themselves as heterosexual. Only 2 percent of males and 0.9 percent of females identified themselves as homosexual, while 0.8 percent of males and 0.5 percent of females reported bisexuality (page 311 Table 8.3B). The Janus Report also reported their findings on sexual behaviors and sexual orientation. Their sample reported 22 percent of men and 17 percent of women said yes to the question, “Have you had a homosexual experience (page 69 Table 3.14).”

Janus also reported that 91 percent of men and 95 percent of women claimed to be heterosexual, 4 percent of men and 2 percent of women claimed to be homosexual, and 5 percent of men and 3 percent of women claimed to be bisexual (Page 70, Table 3.16). Heterosexuality is by far the most common identification in studies where respondents are asked to identify their sexual orientation.

Yet, heterosexuals may have had a variety of sexual experiences in a variety of context and still consider themselves to be heterosexual in spite of dimensional discontinuity or continuity. Generally speaking Janus and Laumann found that the US is a very sexual nation. They reported that very few men and women reported never having had vaginal sexual intercourse (less than 5 percent). They reported that men typically have sex sooner than women and that most had sex by age 20. Janus specifically reported that only 9 percent of men and 17 percent of women had NO sexual experience before marriage (page 87, Table 3.29).