Defining Sexual Orientation
A person's sexual orientation is their emotional and sexual attraction to a particular sex or gender. It is a personal quality that inclines people to feel romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of a given sex or gender. 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."
Sexual orientation can be defined in many ways. Heterosexuality (colloquially referred to as being "straight") is attraction to individuals of the opposite sex/gender, while homosexuality (being "gay" or "lesbian") is attraction to individuals of one's own sex/gender. "Bisexuality" was a term traditionally used to refer to attraction to individuals of either male or female sex, but it has recently been used in a less binary model of sex and gender (i.e., a model that does not assume there are only two sexes or two genders) to refer to attraction to any sex or gender. Alternative terms such as "pansexuality" and "polysexuality" have also been developed, referring to attraction to all sexes/genders and attraction to multiple sexes/genders, respectively. "Asexuality" refers to having no sexual attraction to any sex/gender. Numerous other labels are increasingly being developed and used, and some people may choose to not use labels at all. In recent decades the term "queer" has been embraced as a non-binary view of gender and sexuality, embracing a spectrum and/or a fluidity of concepts that have previously been defined as having only two (binary) options (e.g., male/female, straight/gay, woman/man).
Development of Sexual Orientation
According to current scientific understanding, individuals are usually aware of their sexual orientation between middle childhood and early adolescence. However, this is not always the case, and some do not become aware of their sexual orientation until much later in life. It is not necessary to participate in sexual activity to be aware of these emotional, romantic, and physical attractions; people can be celibate and still recognize their sexual orientation. Some researchers argue that sexual orientation is not static and inborn, but is instead fluid and changeable throughout the lifespan.
There is no scientific consensus regarding the exact reasons why an individual holds a particular sexual orientation. Research has examined possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, but there has been no evidence that links sexual orientation to one factor (APA, 2008).
The United States is a heteronormative society, meaning it supports heterosexuality as the norm. Consider, for example, that homosexuals are often asked, "When did you know you were gay?" but heterosexuals are rarely asked, "When did you know you were straight?" ( Ryle, 2011). Living in a culture that privileges heterosexuality has a significant impact on the ways in which non-heterosexual people are able to develop and express their sexuality.
People who do not identify as heterosexual may have very different experiences of discovering and accepting their sexual orientation, simply because it is not the norm and is often considered unacceptable by society. At the point of puberty, some may be able to claim their sexual orientations, while others may be unready or unwilling to make their alternative sexuality known, since it goes against American society's norms.
Kinsey's and Sedgwick's Research
Sexuality researcher Alfred Kinsey was among the first to conceptualize sexuality as a continuum rather than a strict dichotomy of gay or straight. To classify this continuum of heterosexuality and homosexuality, Kinsey created a six-point rating scale that ranges from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual. Research done over several decades supports this idea that sexual orientation ranges along a continuum, from exclusive attraction to the opposite sex/gender to exclusive attraction to the same sex/gender.
The Kinsey scale
The Kinsey scale indicates that sexuality can be measured by more than just heterosexuality and homosexuality.
Later scholarship by Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick expanded on Kinsey's notions. She coined the term "homosocial" to oppose "homosexual," describing non-sexual same-sex relations. Sedgwick recognized that in American culture, males are subject to a clear divide between the two sides of this continuum, whereas females enjoy more fluidity. This can be illustrated by the way women in America can express homosocial feelings (non-sexual regard for people of the same sex) through hugging, handholding, and physical closeness. In contrast, American male behavior is subject to strong social sanction if it veers into homosocial territory because of societal homophobia.
The Impact of Homophobia
Open identification of one's sexual orientation may be hindered by homophobia and heterosexism. Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). It can be expressed as antipathy, contempt, prejudice, aversion, or hatred; it may be based on irrational fear and is sometimes related to religious beliefs. Homophobia is observable in critical and hostile behavior such as discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientations that are non-heterosexual. Recognized types of homophobia include institutionalized homophobia (such as religious and state-sponsored homophobia) and internalized homophobia (in which people with same-sex attractions internalize, or believe, society's negative views and/or hatred of themselves).
Gays, lesbians, and bisexual people regularly experience stigma, harassment, discrimination, and violence based on their sexual orientation. Research has shown that gay, lesbian, and bisexual teenagers are at a higher risk of depression and suicide due to exclusion from social groups, rejection from peers and family, and negative media portrayals of homosexuals. Discrimination can occur in the workplace, in housing, at schools, and in numerous public settings. Much of this discrimination is based on stereotypes and misinformation. Major policies to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation have only come into effect in the United States in the last few years.
The majority of empirical and clinical research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations are done with largely white, middle-class, well-educated samples. This demographic limits our understanding of more marginalized sub-populations that are also affected by racism, classism, and other forms of oppression. In the United States, non-Caucasian LGBT individuals may find themselves in a double minority, in which they are not fully accepted or understood by Caucasian LGBT communities, and are also not accepted by their own ethnic group. Many people experience racism in the dominant LGBT community where racial stereotypes merge with gender stereotypes.
Queer Theory
Queer theory is a perspective that problematizes (or critiques) the manner in which people have been taught to think about sexual orientation. By calling their discipline "queer," these scholars are rejecting the effects of labeling. Queer theorists reject the dichotomization (division) of sexual orientations into two mutually exclusive outcomes—homosexual or heterosexual. Rather, the perspective highlights the need for a more flexible and fluid conceptualization of sexuality—one that allows for change, negotiation, and freedom. The current system used to classify individuals as either heterosexual or homosexual pits one orientation against the other. This mirrors other oppressive systems in modern culture, especially those surrounding gender and race (black versus white, male versus female, etc).