Sexual orientation: Difference between revisions

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Two researchers argued that, due to a lack of research on change over time (as of 1995), there is a limitation on current conceptualizations of sexual orientation. They did not abandon the concept of sexual orientation, but concluded that "given such significant measurement problems, one could conclude there is serious doubt whether sexual orientation is a valid concept at all".<ref name="Def-Measure-SO">Gonsoriek, John. C.; Weinrich, J. D., ''Definition and Measurement of Sexual Orientation'', in ''Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior'', vol. 25, 1995, pp. 40&ndash;51, http://doi.apa.org/getuid.cfm?uid=1996-16078-001 (abstract <http://psycnet.apa.org/?fa=main.doiLanding&fuseaction=showUIDAbstract&uid=1996-16078-001>, as accessed Mar. 17, 2010).</ref>
Two researchers argued that, due to a lack of research on change over time (as of 1995), there is a limitation on current conceptualizations of sexual orientation. They did not abandon the concept of sexual orientation, but concluded that "given such significant measurement problems, one could conclude there is serious doubt whether sexual orientation is a valid concept at all".<ref name="Def-Measure-SO">Gonsoriek, John. C.; Weinrich, J. D., ''Definition and Measurement of Sexual Orientation'', in ''Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior'', vol. 25, 1995, pp. 40&ndash;51, http://doi.apa.org/getuid.cfm?uid=1996-16078-001 (abstract <http://psycnet.apa.org/?fa=main.doiLanding&fuseaction=showUIDAbstract&uid=1996-16078-001>, as accessed Mar. 17, 2010).</ref>


Because sexual orientation is complex and multi-dimensional, some academics and researchers, especially in [[Queer studies]], have argued that it is a historical and social construction. In 1976, philosopher and historian [[Michel Foucault]] argued that [[homosexuality]] as an identity did not exist in the eighteenth century; that people instead spoke of "sodomy", which referred to sexual acts. Sodomy was a crime that was often ignored but sometimes punished severely (see [[sodomy law]]). He wrote, "'Sexuality' is an invention of the modern state, the industrial revolution, and capitalism."<ref>[http://books.google.co.in/books?id=dMAtGvry_IMC&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=china+heterosexuality+love+western&source=web&ots=PKv2BfyPpd&sig=s43w6PzlNOgefEsjpHViwrxkM6A&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result ''Chinese Femininities, Chinese Masculinities: A Reader''], by Susan Brownell & Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom (Univ. of Calif. Press, 2002 (ISBN 0520221168, 9780520221161)). Quote: "The problem with Sexuality
Because sexual orientation is complex and multi-dimensional, some academics and researchers, especially in [[Queer studies]], have argued that it is a historical and [[Social constructionism|social construction]]. In 1976, philosopher and historian [[Michel Foucault]] argued that [[homosexuality]] as an identity did not exist in the eighteenth century; that people instead spoke of "sodomy", which referred to sexual acts. Sodomy was a crime that was often ignored but sometimes punished severely (see [[sodomy law]]). He wrote, "'Sexuality' is an invention of the modern state, the industrial revolution, and capitalism."<ref>[http://books.google.co.in/books?id=dMAtGvry_IMC&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=china+heterosexuality+love+western&source=web&ots=PKv2BfyPpd&sig=s43w6PzlNOgefEsjpHViwrxkM6A&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result ''Chinese Femininities, Chinese Masculinities: A Reader''], by Susan Brownell & Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom (Univ. of Calif. Press, 2002 (ISBN 0520221168, 9780520221161)). Quote: "The problem with Sexuality


Some scholars have argued that maleness and femaleness were not closely linked to sexuality in China. [[<nowiki>[</nowiki>Michel<nowiki>]</nowiki> Foucault]]'s "The History of Sexuality" (which dealt primarily with Western civilization and western Europe) began to influence some China scholars in the 1980s. Foucault's insight was to demonstrate that sexuality has a history; it is not fixed psychobiological drive that is the same for all humans according to their sex, but rather it is a cultural construct inseparable from gender constructs. After unmooring sexuality from biology, he anchored it in history, arguing that this thing we now call sexuality came into existencee in the eighteenth-century West and did not exist previously in this form. "Sexuality" is an invention of the modern state, the industrial revolution, and capitalism. Taking this insight as a starting point, scholars have slowly been compiling the history of sexuality in china. The works by Tani Barlow, discussed above, were also foundational in this trend. Barlow observes that, in the West, heterosexuality is the primary site for the production of gender: a woman truly becomes a woman only in relation to a man's heterosexual desire. By contrast, in China before the 1920s the "jia" (linage unit, family) was the priamary site for the production of gender: marriage and sexuality were to serve the lineage by producing the next generation of lineage members; personal love and pleasure were secondary to this goal. Barlow argues that this has two theoretical implications: (1) it is not possible to write a chinese history of heterosexuality, sexuality as an institution, and sexual identities in the European metaphysical sense, and (2) it is not appropriate to ground discussions of Chinese gender processes in the sexed body so central in "Western" gender processes. Here she echoes Furth's argument that, before the earlyu twentiethh century, sex-identity grounded on anatomical difference did not hold a central place in Chinese constructions of gender. And she ehoes the point illustrated in detail in Sommer's chapter on male homosexuality in the Qing legal code: a man could engage in homosexual behaviour without calling into question his manhood so long as his behaviour did not threaten the patriarchal Confucian family structure."</ref>
Some scholars have argued that maleness and femaleness were not closely linked to sexuality in China. [[<nowiki>[</nowiki>Michel<nowiki>]</nowiki> Foucault]]'s "The History of Sexuality" (which dealt primarily with Western civilization and western Europe) began to influence some China scholars in the 1980s. Foucault's insight was to demonstrate that sexuality has a history; it is not fixed psychobiological drive that is the same for all humans according to their sex, but rather it is a cultural construct inseparable from gender constructs. After unmooring sexuality from biology, he anchored it in history, arguing that this thing we now call sexuality came into existencee in the eighteenth-century West and did not exist previously in this form. "Sexuality" is an invention of the modern state, the industrial revolution, and capitalism. Taking this insight as a starting point, scholars have slowly been compiling the history of sexuality in china. The works by Tani Barlow, discussed above, were also foundational in this trend. Barlow observes that, in the West, heterosexuality is the primary site for the production of gender: a woman truly becomes a woman only in relation to a man's heterosexual desire. By contrast, in China before the 1920s the "jia" (linage unit, family) was the priamary site for the production of gender: marriage and sexuality were to serve the lineage by producing the next generation of lineage members; personal love and pleasure were secondary to this goal. Barlow argues that this has two theoretical implications: (1) it is not possible to write a chinese history of heterosexuality, sexuality as an institution, and sexual identities in the European metaphysical sense, and (2) it is not appropriate to ground discussions of Chinese gender processes in the sexed body so central in "Western" gender processes. Here she echoes Furth's argument that, before the earlyu twentiethh century, sex-identity grounded on anatomical difference did not hold a central place in Chinese constructions of gender. And she ehoes the point illustrated in detail in Sommer's chapter on male homosexuality in the Qing legal code: a man could engage in homosexual behaviour without calling into question his manhood so long as his behaviour did not threaten the patriarchal Confucian family structure."</ref>
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Sexual orientation is a concept that evolved in the industrialized West and there is a controversy as to the universality of its application in other societies or cultures.<ref>[http://books.google.co.in/books?id=sFHX6uu19ZEC&pg=PA81&lpg=PA81&dq=sexual+orientation+is+a+western+concept&source=bl&ots=Lj2ODgARED&sig=6AUpbyJbsvbyqUxbjKmnXfdZX3c&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result ''The Psychology of Sexual Orientation, Behaviour, and identity''], by Louis Diamant & Richard D. McAnulty (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995 (ISBN 0313285012, 9780313285011) (522 pages). Quote from page 81: Although sexual orientation is a loaded Western concept, the term is still a useful one, if we avoid imposing Western thoughts and meanings associated with our language on non-Western, noncontemporary cultures.</ref><ref>[http://books.google.co.in/books?id=zikdWhuosAgC&pg=PA478&lpg=PA478&dq=sexual+orientation+western+concept&source=web&ots=afh1aodckX&sig=P6TcEFjCK4Lc-OSh251ZTvt1o1o&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result ''The Handbook of Social Work Direct Practice''], by Paula Allen-Meares & Charles D. Garvin & Contributors Paula Allen-Meares & Charles D. Garvin (SAGE, 2001 (ISBN 0761914994, 9780761914990) (733 pages). Quote from page 478: The concept of sexual orientation is a product of contemporary Western thought.</ref><ref>[http://www.radstats.org.uk/no083/Ross83.pdf ''Sexual behavior and the non-construction of sexual identity: Implications for the analysis of men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women.''], <nowiki>[</nowiki>by?<nowiki>]</nowiki> Michael W. Ross & Ann K. Brooks. Quote from Page 9: Chou (2000) notes in his analysis of the lack of applicability of western concepts of sexual identity in China, just because a person has a particular taste for a specific food doesn't mean that we label them in terms of the food that they prefer. A similar approach to sexual appetite as not conferring identity may be operating in this sample. McIntosh (1968) has previously noted that people who do not identify with the classic western, white gay/lesbian role may not necessarily identify their behavior as homosexual;</ref> [[Non-westernized concepts of male sexuality]] differ essentially from the way sexuality is seen and classified under the Western system of sexual orientation.<ref>[http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/1/3/4/8/p113482_index.html ''Transnational Transgender: Reading Sexual Diversity in Cross-Cultural Contexts Through Film and Video''] <nowiki>[</nowiki>by?<nowiki>]</nowiki> Ryan, Joelle Ruby (American Studies Association). Quote: Many of the projects which have historically investigated sex/gender variance in non-Western contexts have been ethnographies and anthropological studies. Due to strong and lingering problems with ethnocentrism, many of these research studies have attempted to transpose a Western understanding of sex, gender and sexuality onto cultures in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Terms such as "homosexual," "transvestite," and "transsexual" all arose out of Western concepts of identity based on science, sexology and medicine and often bear little resemblance to sex/gender/sexuality paradigms in the varied cultures of the developing world.</ref> The validity of the notion of sexual orientation as defined in the West, as a biological phenomenon rather than a social construction specific to a region and period, has also been questioned within the industrialized Western society.<ref>[http://www.psa.ac.uk/2007/pps/Waites.pdf ''Sexual Orientation, Human Rights and Global Politics''], <nowiki>[</nowiki>by?<nowiki>]</nowiki> Matthew Waits (Matthew Waits of Dept. Sociology, Anthropology & Applied Social Sciences, Univ. of Glasgow, United Kingdom, <http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/sociology/staff/waites.html>). Quote from the Abstract: The paper problematises utilisation of the concept of 'sexual orientation' in moves to revise human rights conventions and discourses in the light of social constructionist and queer theory addressing sexuality, which has convincingly suggested that 'sexual orientation' is a culturally specific concept, misrepresenting many diverse forms of sexuality apparent in comparative sociological and anthropological research conducted worldwide. I will argue in particular that 'orientation' is a concept incompatible with bisexuality when interpreted within the context of dominant dualistic assumptions about sex, gender and desire in western culture (suggested by Judith Butler's concept of the 'heterosexual matrix'). I will discuss the implications of the this for interpreting contemporary struggles among competing social movements, NGO and governmental actors involved in contesting the relationship of sexuality to human rights as defined by the United Nations.</ref><ref>[http://sexualorientation.info/thesis/Resisting%20Orientation%20-%20C1.pdf] McIntosh argues that the labelling process should be the focus of inquiry and that homosexuality should be seen as a social role rather than a condition. Role is more useful than condition, she argues, because roles (of heterosexual and homosexual) can be dichotomised in a way that behaviour cannot. She draws upon cross-cultural data to demonstrate that in many societies 'there may be much homosexual behaviour, but there are no "homosexuals"' (p71).</ref>
Sexual orientation is a concept that evolved in the industrialized West and there is a controversy as to the universality of its application in other societies or cultures.<ref>[http://books.google.co.in/books?id=sFHX6uu19ZEC&pg=PA81&lpg=PA81&dq=sexual+orientation+is+a+western+concept&source=bl&ots=Lj2ODgARED&sig=6AUpbyJbsvbyqUxbjKmnXfdZX3c&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result ''The Psychology of Sexual Orientation, Behaviour, and identity''], by Louis Diamant & Richard D. McAnulty (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995 (ISBN 0313285012, 9780313285011) (522 pages). Quote from page 81: Although sexual orientation is a loaded Western concept, the term is still a useful one, if we avoid imposing Western thoughts and meanings associated with our language on non-Western, noncontemporary cultures.</ref><ref>[http://books.google.co.in/books?id=zikdWhuosAgC&pg=PA478&lpg=PA478&dq=sexual+orientation+western+concept&source=web&ots=afh1aodckX&sig=P6TcEFjCK4Lc-OSh251ZTvt1o1o&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result ''The Handbook of Social Work Direct Practice''], by Paula Allen-Meares & Charles D. Garvin & Contributors Paula Allen-Meares & Charles D. Garvin (SAGE, 2001 (ISBN 0761914994, 9780761914990) (733 pages). Quote from page 478: The concept of sexual orientation is a product of contemporary Western thought.</ref><ref>[http://www.radstats.org.uk/no083/Ross83.pdf ''Sexual behavior and the non-construction of sexual identity: Implications for the analysis of men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women.''], <nowiki>[</nowiki>by?<nowiki>]</nowiki> Michael W. Ross & Ann K. Brooks. Quote from Page 9: Chou (2000) notes in his analysis of the lack of applicability of western concepts of sexual identity in China, just because a person has a particular taste for a specific food doesn't mean that we label them in terms of the food that they prefer. A similar approach to sexual appetite as not conferring identity may be operating in this sample. McIntosh (1968) has previously noted that people who do not identify with the classic western, white gay/lesbian role may not necessarily identify their behavior as homosexual;</ref> [[Non-westernized concepts of male sexuality]] differ essentially from the way sexuality is seen and classified under the Western system of sexual orientation.<ref>[http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/1/3/4/8/p113482_index.html ''Transnational Transgender: Reading Sexual Diversity in Cross-Cultural Contexts Through Film and Video''] <nowiki>[</nowiki>by?<nowiki>]</nowiki> Ryan, Joelle Ruby (American Studies Association). Quote: Many of the projects which have historically investigated sex/gender variance in non-Western contexts have been ethnographies and anthropological studies. Due to strong and lingering problems with ethnocentrism, many of these research studies have attempted to transpose a Western understanding of sex, gender and sexuality onto cultures in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Terms such as "homosexual," "transvestite," and "transsexual" all arose out of Western concepts of identity based on science, sexology and medicine and often bear little resemblance to sex/gender/sexuality paradigms in the varied cultures of the developing world.</ref> The validity of the notion of sexual orientation as defined in the West, as a biological phenomenon rather than a social construction specific to a region and period, has also been questioned within the industrialized Western society.<ref>[http://www.psa.ac.uk/2007/pps/Waites.pdf ''Sexual Orientation, Human Rights and Global Politics''], <nowiki>[</nowiki>by?<nowiki>]</nowiki> Matthew Waits (Matthew Waits of Dept. Sociology, Anthropology & Applied Social Sciences, Univ. of Glasgow, United Kingdom, <http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/sociology/staff/waites.html>). Quote from the Abstract: The paper problematises utilisation of the concept of 'sexual orientation' in moves to revise human rights conventions and discourses in the light of social constructionist and queer theory addressing sexuality, which has convincingly suggested that 'sexual orientation' is a culturally specific concept, misrepresenting many diverse forms of sexuality apparent in comparative sociological and anthropological research conducted worldwide. I will argue in particular that 'orientation' is a concept incompatible with bisexuality when interpreted within the context of dominant dualistic assumptions about sex, gender and desire in western culture (suggested by Judith Butler's concept of the 'heterosexual matrix'). I will discuss the implications of the this for interpreting contemporary struggles among competing social movements, NGO and governmental actors involved in contesting the relationship of sexuality to human rights as defined by the United Nations.</ref><ref>[http://sexualorientation.info/thesis/Resisting%20Orientation%20-%20C1.pdf] McIntosh argues that the labelling process should be the focus of inquiry and that homosexuality should be seen as a social role rather than a condition. Role is more useful than condition, she argues, because roles (of heterosexual and homosexual) can be dichotomised in a way that behaviour cannot. She draws upon cross-cultural data to demonstrate that in many societies 'there may be much homosexual behaviour, but there are no "homosexuals"' (p71).</ref>


Heterosexuality and homosexuality are terms often used in European and American cultures to encompass a person's entire social identity, which includes self and personality. In Western cultures, some people speak meaningfully of gay, lesbian, and bisexual identities and communities. In other cultures, homosexuality and heterosexual labels don't emphasize an entire social identity or indicate community affiliation based on sexual orientation.<ref>Zachary Green & Michael J. Stiers, ''Multiculturalism and Group Therapy in the United States: A Social Constructionist Perspective'' (Springer Netherlands, 2002), pp. 233&ndash;246.</ref>
Heterosexuality and homosexuality are terms often used in European and American cultures to encompass a person's entire social identity, which includes self and personality. In Western cultures, some people speak meaningfully of gay, lesbian, and bisexual identities and communities. In other cultures, homosexuality and heterosexual labels do not emphasize an entire social identity or indicate community affiliation based on sexual orientation.<ref>Zachary Green & Michael J. Stiers, ''Multiculturalism and Group Therapy in the United States: A Social Constructionist Perspective'' (Springer Netherlands, 2002), pp. 233&ndash;246.</ref>


Some historians and researchers argue that the emotional and affectional activities associated with sexual-orientation terms such as gay and heterosexual change significantly over time and across cultural boundaries. For example, in many English-speaking nations it is assumed that same-sex kissing, particularly between men, is a sign of homosexuality, whereas various types of same-sex kissing are common expressions of [[friendship]] in other nations. Also, many modern and historic cultures have formal ceremonies expressing long-term commitment between same-sex friends, even though homosexuality itself is taboo within the culture.<ref>Robert Brain, ''Friends and Lovers'' (Granada Publishing Ltd. 1976), chs. 3, 4.</ref>
Some historians and researchers argue that the emotional and affectional activities associated with sexual-orientation terms such as gay and heterosexual change significantly over time and across cultural boundaries. For example, in many English-speaking nations it is assumed that same-sex kissing, particularly between men, is a sign of homosexuality, whereas various types of same-sex kissing are common expressions of [[friendship]] in other nations. Also, many modern and historic cultures have formal ceremonies expressing long-term commitment between same-sex friends, even though homosexuality itself is taboo within the culture.<ref>Robert Brain, ''Friends and Lovers'' (Granada Publishing Ltd. 1976), chs. 3, 4.</ref>
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=== Anthropology, history, and sexology ===
=== Anthropology, history, and sexology ===


Some scholars of [[sexology]], [[anthropology]] and [[history]] have argued that social categories such as heterosexual and homosexual are not universal.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} Different societies may consider other criteria to be more significant than sex, including the [[Age disparity in sexual relationships|respective ages of the partners]], whether partners assume active or passive sexual roles, and their social status.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}
Some scholars of [[anthropology]], [[history]], and [[sexology]] have argued that social categories such as heterosexual and homosexual are not universal.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} Different societies may consider other criteria to be more significant than sex, including the [[Age disparity in sexual relationships|respective ages of the partners]], whether partners assume active or passive sexual roles, and their social status.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}


== Perception of sexual orientation and other people's reactions ==
== Perception of sexual orientation and other people's reactions ==

Revision as of 19:06, 12 June 2010

Look up sexual orientation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, both genders, neither gender, or another gender. According to the American Psychological Association, sexual orientation is enduring[1] and also refers to a person's sense of "personal and social identity based on those attractions, behaviors expressing them, and membership in a community of others who share them."[2]

Sexual orientation is classified relative to the gender identity of the people who are found sexually attractive, and whether it is the same as one's own or opposite. Though people may use other labels, or none at all,[1] sexual orientation is usually discussed in terms of three categories, heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality. They exist along a continuum that ranges from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual, including various forms of bisexuality in between. This continuum does not suit everyone, however, as some people identify as asexual.[3] This linear scale is a simplification of the much more nuanced nature of sexual orientation and sexual identity; many sexologists believe it to be oversimplified.[4]

Classifying sexual desires or people on the basis of sexual orientation is a modern Western concept. Doubts have been raised about the validity of this concept in non-Western and indigenous societies, as well as in the pre-modern West.

While sexual orientation is reported in this article primarily within biology and psychology, including sexology, for reports within sociology and history, including social constructionism, see the section on studies not near psychology and biology.

Sexual orientation distinguished from sexual identity and behavior

See also: Sexual identity and Sexual behaviour
See also: Situational sexual behavior

Most definitions of sexual orientation include a psychological component, such as the direction of an individual's erotic desire, and/or a behavioral component, which focuses on the sex of the individual's sexual partner/s. Some people prefer simply to follow an individual's self-definition or identity.

The American Psychological Association states that sexual orientation "Sexual orientation is an enduring emotional, romantic, sexual, or affectional attraction toward others. It is easily distinguished from other components of sexuality including biological sex, gender identity (the psychological sense of being male or female), and the social gender role (adherence to cultural norms for feminine and masculine behavior). Sexual orientation exists along a continuum that ranges from exclusive heterosexuality to exclusive homosexuality and includes various forms of bisexuality. Bisexual persons can experience sexual, emotional, and affectional attraction to both their own sex and the opposite sex. Persons with a homosexual orientation are sometimes referred to as gay (both men and women) or as lesbian (women only). Sexual orientation is different from sexual behavior because it refers to feelings and self-concept. Individuals may or may not express their sexual orientation in their behaviors."[5]

Sexual identity and sexual behavior are closely related to sexual orientation, but they are distinguished, with identity referring to an individual's conception of themselves, behavior referring to actual sexual acts performed by the individual, and orientation referring to "fantasies, attachments and longings."[6] Individuals may or may not express their sexual orientation in their behaviors.[7] People who have a homosexual sexual orientation that does not align with their sexual identity are sometimes referred to as 'closeted'[8]. The term may, however, reflect a certain cultural context and particular stage of transition in societies which are gradually dealing with integrating sexual minorities. In studies related to sexual orientation, when dealing with the degree to which a person's sexual attractions, behaviors and identity match, scientists usually use the terms concordance or discordance.[9] Thus, a woman who is attracted to other women, but calls herself heterosexual and only has sexual relations with men, can be said to experience discordance between her sexual orientation (homosexual or lesbian) and her sexual identity and behaviors (heterosexual).

Sexual identity may also be used to describe a person's perception of his or her own sex, rather than sexual orientation.

The term sexual preference has a similar meaning to sexual orientation, but it may be interpreted as endorsing the notion that sexual orientation is, in whole or part, a matter of choice.

Gender, transgender, cisgender, and conformance

The earliest writers on sexual orientation usually understood it to be intrinsically linked to the subject's own sex. For example, it was thought that a typical female-bodied person who is attracted to female-bodied persons would have masculine attributes, and vice versa.[10] This understanding was shared by most of the significant theorists of sexual orientation from the mid nineteenth to early twentieth century, such as Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Magnus Hirschfeld, Havelock Ellis, Carl Jung, and Sigmund Freud, as well as many gender-variant homosexual people themselves. However, this understanding of homosexuality as sexual inversion was disputed at the time, and, through the second half of the twentieth century, gender identity came to be increasingly seen as a phenomenon distinct from sexual orientation. Transgender and cisgender people may be attracted to men, women, or both, although the prevalence of different sexual orientations is quite different in these two populations (see sexual orientation of transwomen). An individual homosexual, heterosexual or bisexual person may be masculine, feminine, or androgynous, and in addition, many members and supporters of lesbian and gay communities now see the "gender-conforming heterosexual" and the "gender-nonconforming homosexual" as negative stereotypes. However, studies by J. Michael Bailey and KJ Zucker have found that a majority of gay men and lesbians report being gender-nonconforming during their childhood years.[11]

The majority of transgender people today identify with the sexual orientation that corresponds with their gender; meaning that a transwoman who is solely attracted to women would often identify as a lesbian. Female-attracted transmen often consider themselves straight men, yet some participate in the lesbian community.

For these reasons, the terms gynephilia and androphilia are occasionally (but increasingly) used when referring to the sexual orientation of transgender and intersex people (and, occasionally, cisgender people), because rather than focusing on the sex of the subject, they only describe that of the object of their attraction. The third common term that describes sexual orientation, bisexuality, makes no claim about the subject's sex or gender identity. (See also pansexuality.)

Sexual orientation sees greater intricacy when non-binary understandings of both sex (male, female, or intersex) and gender (man, woman, transgender, third gender, or gender variant) are considered. Sociologist Paula Rodriguez Rust (2000) argues for a more multifaceted definition of sexual orientation:

...Most alternative models of sexuality... define sexual orientation in terms of dichotomous biological sex or gender... Most theorists would not eliminate the reference to sex or gender, but instead advocate incorporating more complex nonbinary concepts of sex or gender, more complex relationships between sex, gender, and sexuality, and/or additional nongendered dimensions into models of sexuality.

— [12]

Relationships outside of orientation

Gay and lesbian people can have sexual relationships with someone of the opposite sex for a variety of reasons including the desire for family with children and concerns of discrimination and religious ostracism.[13][14][15][16][17]

While some GLBT people hide their respective orientations from their spouses, others develop positive gay and lesbian identities while maintaining successful marriages.[18][19][20] Coming out of the closet to oneself, a spouse of the opposite sex, and children can present challenges that are not faced by gay and lesbian people who are not married to people of the opposite sex or do not have children.

Fluidity of sexuality

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has stated, "some people believe that sexual orientation is innate and fixed; however, sexual orientation develops across a person's lifetime".[21] The APA also says that "most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation".[22] "[F]or some ["people"] the focus of sexual interest will shift at various points through the life span..."[23] A community may change over time.[24] In a joint statement with other major American medical, psychology, educator, and religious organizations, the APA says that "different people realize at different points in their lives that they are heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual".[25] A report from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health states, "For some people, sexual orientation is continuous and fixed throughout their lives. For others, sexual orientation may be fluid and change over time".[26] "There . . . [was, as of 1995,] essentially no research on the longitudinal stability of sexual orientation over the adult life span. . . . [I]t [was] . . . still an unanswered question whether . . . [the] measure [of "the complex components of sexual orientation as differentiated from other aspects of sexual identity at one point in time"] will predict future behavior or orientation. Certainly, it [was] . . . not a good predictor of past behavior and self-identity, given the developmental process common to most gay men and lesbians (i.e., denial of homosexual interests and heterosexual experimentation prior to the coming-out process)."[27]

"[A number of] lesbian women, and some heterosexual women as well, perceive choice as an important element in their sexual orientations."[28]

Born bisexual, then monosexualizing

Main article: Innate bisexuality

Innate bisexuality, or predisposition to bisexuality, is an idea introduced by Sigmund Freud, based on work by his associate Wilhelm Fliess. According to this theory, all humans are born bisexual but through psychological development, which includes both external and internal factors, become monosexual while the bisexuality remains in a latent state.

Efforts to change sexuality

Main article: Sexual orientation change efforts

No major mental health professional organization has sanctioned efforts to change sexual orientation and virtually all of them have adopted policy statements cautioning the profession and the public about treatments that purport to change sexual orientation. These include the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, American Counseling Association, National Association of Social Workers in the USA,[2][29] the Royal College of Psychiatrists,[30] and the Australian Psychological Society.[31] There is no sound scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed.[30][32]

In 2009 the American Psychological Association Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation conducted a systematic review of the peer-reviewed journal literature on sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) and concluded:

Efforts to change sexual orientation are unlikely to be successful and involve some risk of harm, contrary to the claims of SOCE practitioners and advocates. Even though the research and clinical literature demonstrate that same-sex sexual and romantic attractions, feelings, and behaviors are normal and positive variations of human sexuality, regardless of sexual orientation identity, the task force concluded that the population that undergoes SOCE tends to have strongly conservative religious views that lead them to seek to change their sexual orientation. Thus, the appropriate application of affirmative therapeutic interventions for those who seek SOCE involves therapist acceptance, support, and understanding of clients and the facilitation of clients' active coping, social support, and identity exploration and development, without imposing a specific sexual orientation identity outcome.[33]

The American Psychological Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists expressed concerns that the positions espoused by NARTH are not supported by the science and create an environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish.[30][32]

Measuring sexual orientation

Varying definitions and strong social norms about sexuality can make sexual orientation difficult to quantify.

Scales for assessments

From at least the late nineteenth century in Europe, there was speculation that the range of human sexual response looked more like a continuum than two or three discrete categories. Berlin sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld published a scheme in 1896 that measured the strength of an individual's sexual desire on two independent 10-point scales, A (homosexual) and B (heterosexual).[34] A heterosexual individual may be A0, B5; a homosexual individual may be A5, B0; an asexual would be A0, B0; and someone with an intense attraction to both sexes would be A9, B9.

Fifty years later, American sexologist Alfred Kinsey wrote in Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948):

Males do not represent two discrete populations, heterosexual and homosexual. The world is not to be divided into sheep and goats. It is a fundamental of taxonomy that nature rarely deals with discrete categories... The living world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects. While emphasizing the continuity of the gradations between exclusively heterosexual and exclusively homosexual histories, it has seemed desirable to develop some sort of classification which could be based on the relative amounts of heterosexual and homosexual experience or response in each history... An individual may be assigned a position on this scale, for each period in his life.... A seven-point scale comes nearer to showing the many gradations that actually exist.

— [35]

The Kinsey scale measures sexual orientation from 0 (exclusively heterosexual) to 6 (exclusively homosexual), with an additional category, X, for those with no sexual attraction to either women or men. Unlike Hirschfeld's scale, the Kinsey scale is one-dimensional. Simon LeVay wrote, "it suggests (although Kinsey did not actually believe this) that every person has the same fixed endowment of sexual energy, which he or she then divides up between same-sex and opposite-sex attraction in a ratio indicative of his or her own sexual orientation."[36]

Means of assessment

Means typically used include surveys, interviews, cross-cultural studies, physical arousal measurements[37] sexual behavior, sexual fantasy, or a pattern of erotic arousal.[38] The most common is verbal self-reporting[37] or self-labeling,[38] which depend on respondents being accurate about themselves.[37]

Biology

Main article: Biology and sexual orientation

Research has identified several biological factors which may be related to the development of sexual orientation, including genes, prenatal hormones, and brain structure. No single controlling cause has been identified, and research is continuing in this area.[39]

The prevailing view is that sexual orientation is biological in nature, determined by a complex interplay of genetic factors and the early uterine environment. Sexual orientation is therefore not a choice. That is, individuals do not choose to be homosexual or heterosexual. There is no substantive evidence to support the suggestion that early childhood experiences, parenting, sexual abuse, or other adverse life events influence sexual orientation.[22][40][41][42][43]

Homosexuality was once thought to be the result of troubled family dynamics or faulty psychological development. Those assumptions are now understood to have been based on misinformation and prejudice.[44]

Scientific studies have found a number of statistical biological differences between gay people and heterosexuals, which may result from the same underlying cause as sexual orientation itself.

Genetic factors

Genes may be related to the development of sexual orientation. At one time, studies of twins appeared to point to a major genetic component, but problems in experimental design of the available studies have made their interpretation difficult, and one recent study appears to exclude genes as a major factor.[39]

Hormones

Main article: Prenatal hormones and sexual orientation

The hormonal theory of sexuality holds that, just as exposure to certain hormones plays a role in fetal sex differentiation, such exposure also influences the sexual orientation that emerges later in the adult.

Fetal hormones may be seen as either the primary influence upon adult sexual orientation or as a co-factor interacting with genes and/or environmental and social conditions.[45]

Intrauterine exposure to testosterone is determinative, according to Garcia-Falgueras and Swaab in the abstract of their 2010 study, saying, "The fetal brain develops during the intrauterine period in the male direction through a direct action of testosterone on the developing nerve cells, or in the female direction through the absence of this hormone surge. In this way, our gender identity (the conviction of belonging to the male or female gender) and sexual orientation are programmed or organized into our brain structures when we are still in the womb."[46] The authors conclude in their abstract, "There is no indication that social environment after birth has an effect on gender identity or sexual orientation."

Sexual arousal

Studying human sexual arousal has proved a fruitful way of understanding how men and women differ as genders and in terms of sexual orientation. A clinical measurement may use penile or vaginal photoplethysmography, where genital engorgement with blood is measured in response to exposure to different erotic material.[38]

Some researchers who study sexual orientation argue that the concept may not apply similarly to men and women. A study of sexual arousal patterns[47] found that women, when viewing erotic films which show female-female, male-male and male-female sexual activity (oral sex or penetration), have patterns of arousal which do not match their declared sexual orientations as well as men's. That is, heterosexual and lesbian women's sexual arousal to erotic films do not differ significantly by the genders of the participants (male or female) or by the type of sexual activity (heterosexual or homosexual). On the contrary, men's sexual arousal patterns tend to be more in line with their stated orientations, with heterosexual men showing more penis arousal to female-female sexual activity and less arousal to female-male and male-male sexual stimuli, and homosexual men being more aroused by films depicting male-male intercourse and less aroused by other stimuli.

Another study on men and women's patterns of sexual arousal confirmed[48] that men and women have different patterns of arousal, independent of their sexual orientations. The study found that women's genitals become aroused to both human and nonhuman stimuli from movies showing humans of both genders having sex (heterosexual and homosexual) and from videos showing non-human primates (bonobos) having sex. Men did not show any sexual arousal to non-human visual stimuli, their arousal patterns being in line with their specific sexual interest (women for heterosexual men and men for homosexual men).

These studies suggest that men and women are different in terms of sexual arousal patterns and that this is also reflected in how their genitals react to sexual stimuli of both genders or even to non-human stimuli. It must be stated that sexual orientation has many dimensions (attractions, behavior, identity), of which sexual arousal is the only product of sexual attractions which can be measured at present with some degree of physical precision. Thus, the fact that women are aroused by seeing non-human primates having sex does not mean that women's sexual orientation includes this type of sexual interest. Some researchers argue that women's sexual orientation depends less on their patterns of sexual arousal than men's and that other components of sexual orientation (like emotional attachment) must be taken into account when describing women's sexual orientations. In contrast, men's sexual orientations tend to be primarily focused on the physical component of attractions and, thus, their sexual feelings are more exclusively oriented according to sex.

More recently, scientists have started to focus on measuring changes in brain activity related to sexual arousal, by using brain-scanning techniques. Given that sexual feelings are the product of perceptions and/or fantasies which are processed in the brain, measuring brain regions' activity should further show how people of different sexual orientations differ in this respect.[citation needed]

A study on how heterosexual and homosexual men's brains react to seeing pictures of naked men and women has found[49] that both hetero- and homosexual men react positively to seeing their preferred sex, using the same brain regions. The only significant group difference between these orientations was found in the amygdala, a brain region known to be involved in regulating fear.[50]

Although these findings have contributed to understanding how sexual arousal can differentiate between genders and sexual orientations, it is still a matter of debate whether these results reflect differences which are the result of social learning or genetic and/or biological factors. Further studies are needed to clarify how much of people's reactions to sexual stimuli of their preferred gender are due to learned or innate factors.

Social detection

Further information: [[:Gaydar]]

The attempt to detect sexual orientation in social situations is known as gaydar; some studies have found that guesses based on face photos perform better than chance.[citation needed]

Environmental factors

Main article: Environment and sexual orientation

Birth order

Main article: Fraternal birth order and sexual orientation

Recent studies found an increased chance of homosexuality in men whose mothers previously carried to term many male children. This effect is nullified if the man is left-handed.[51]

Influences on sexual orientation: professional organizations' statements

Further information: [[:Theories on homosexuality]]

The American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the National Association of Social Workers in 2006 stated:

Currently, there is no scientific consensus about the specific factors that cause an individual to become heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual - including possible biological, psychological, or social effects of the parents' sexual orientation. However, the available evidence indicates that the vast majority of lesbian and gay adults were raised by heterosexual parents and the vast majority of children raised by lesbian and gay parents eventually grow up to be heterosexual.[2]

The American Academy of Pediatrics in 2004 stated:

The mechanisms for the development of a particular sexual orientation remain unclear, but the current literature and most scholars in the field state that one's sexual orientation is not a choice; that is, individuals do not choose to be homosexual or heterosexual. A variety of theories about the influences on sexual orientation have been proposed. Sexual orientation probably is not determined by any one factor but by a combination of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences. In recent decades, biologically based theories have been favored by experts. Although there continues to be controversy and uncertainty as to the genesis of the variety of human sexual orientations, there is no scientific evidence that abnormal parenting, sexual abuse, or other adverse life events influence sexual orientation. Current knowledge suggests that sexual orientation is usually established during early childhood.[40]

The Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2007 stated:

Despite almost a century of psychoanalytic and psychological speculation, there is no substantive evidence to support the suggestion that the nature of parenting or early childhood experiences play any role in the formation of a person's fundamental heterosexual or homosexual orientation. It would appear that sexual orientation is biological in nature, determined by a complex interplay of genetic factors and the early uterine environment. Sexual orientation is therefore not a choice.[41]

The American Psychiatric Association stated:

Homosexuality was once thought to be the result of troubled family dynamics or faulty psychological development. Those assumptions are now understood to have been based on misinformation and prejudice. Currently there is a renewed interest in searching for biological etiologies for homosexuality.[44]

Policies related to sexual orientation

Australia

United States

Demographics of sexual orientation

Main article: Demographics of sexual orientation

The multiple aspects of sexual orientation and the boundary-drawing problems already described create methodological challenges for the study of the demographics of sexual orientation. Determining the frequency of various sexual orientations in real-world populations is difficult and controversial.

Most modern scientific surveys find that the majority of people report a mostly heterosexual orientation. However, the relative percentage of the population that reports a homosexual orientation varies with differing methodologies and selection criteria. Most of these statistical findings are in the range of 2.8 to 9% of males, and 1 to 5% of females for the United States[52] - this figure can be as high as 12% for some large cities and as low as 1% percent for rural areas.

Estimates for the percentage of the population that are bisexual vary widely, at least in part due to differing definitions of bisexuality. Some studies only consider a person bisexual if they are nearly equally attracted to both sexes, and others consider a person bisexual if they are at all attracted to the same sex (for otherwise mostly heterosexual persons) or to the opposite sex (for otherwise mostly homosexual persons). A small percentage of people are not sexually attracted to anyone (asexuality).

Kinsey data

In the oft-cited and oft-criticized Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953), by Alfred C. Kinsey et al., people were asked to rate themselves on a scale from completely heterosexual to completely homosexual. Kinsey reported that when the individuals' behavior as well as their identity are analyzed, most people appeared to be at least somewhat bisexual — i.e., most people have some attraction to either sex, although usually one sex is preferred. According to Kinsey, only a minority (5-10%) can be considered fully heterosexual or homosexual. Conversely, only an even smaller minority can be considered fully bisexual (with an equal attraction to both sexes). Kinsey's methods have been criticized as flawed, particularly with regard to the randomness of his sample population, which included a large number of prison inmates. Nevertheless, Paul Gebhard, subsequent director of the Kinsey Institute for Sex Research, reexamined the data in the Kinsey Reports and concluded that accounting for major statistical objections barely affected the results.

Other explanations

Social constructionism and Western societies

See also: Queer theory and Human male sexuality

Two researchers argued that, due to a lack of research on change over time (as of 1995), there is a limitation on current conceptualizations of sexual orientation. They did not abandon the concept of sexual orientation, but concluded that "given such significant measurement problems, one could conclude there is serious doubt whether sexual orientation is a valid concept at all".[53]

Because sexual orientation is complex and multi-dimensional, some academics and researchers, especially in Queer studies, have argued that it is a historical and social construction. In 1976, philosopher and historian Michel Foucault argued that homosexuality as an identity did not exist in the eighteenth century; that people instead spoke of "sodomy", which referred to sexual acts. Sodomy was a crime that was often ignored but sometimes punished severely (see sodomy law). He wrote, "'Sexuality' is an invention of the modern state, the industrial revolution, and capitalism."[54]

Sexual orientation is a concept that evolved in the industrialized West and there is a controversy as to the universality of its application in other societies or cultures.[55][56][57] Non-westernized concepts of male sexuality differ essentially from the way sexuality is seen and classified under the Western system of sexual orientation.[58] The validity of the notion of sexual orientation as defined in the West, as a biological phenomenon rather than a social construction specific to a region and period, has also been questioned within the industrialized Western society.[59][60]

Heterosexuality and homosexuality are terms often used in European and American cultures to encompass a person's entire social identity, which includes self and personality. In Western cultures, some people speak meaningfully of gay, lesbian, and bisexual identities and communities. In other cultures, homosexuality and heterosexual labels do not emphasize an entire social identity or indicate community affiliation based on sexual orientation.[61]

Some historians and researchers argue that the emotional and affectional activities associated with sexual-orientation terms such as gay and heterosexual change significantly over time and across cultural boundaries. For example, in many English-speaking nations it is assumed that same-sex kissing, particularly between men, is a sign of homosexuality, whereas various types of same-sex kissing are common expressions of friendship in other nations. Also, many modern and historic cultures have formal ceremonies expressing long-term commitment between same-sex friends, even though homosexuality itself is taboo within the culture.[62]

Anthropology, history, and sexology

Some scholars of anthropology, history, and sexology have argued that social categories such as heterosexual and homosexual are not universal.[citation needed] Different societies may consider other criteria to be more significant than sex, including the respective ages of the partners, whether partners assume active or passive sexual roles, and their social status.[citation needed]

Perception of sexual orientation and other people's reactions

One person may presume knowledge of another person's sexual orientation based upon perceived characteristics such as appearance, clothing, tone of voice, and accompaniment by and behavior with other people. Perceived sexual orientation may affect how a person is treated. For instance, in the United States, the FBI reported that 15.6% of hate crimes reported to police in 2004 were "because of a sexual-orientation bias."[63] Under the UK Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, as explained by Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service,[64] "workers or job applicants must not be treated less favourably because of their sexual orientation, their perceived sexual orientation or because they associate with someone of a particular sexual orientation."[65]

Politics and theology

Two researchers, raising (1995) 'serious doubt whether sexual orientation is a valid concept at all,' warned against increasing politicization of this area.[53]

Professor Michael King stated, "The conclusion reached by scientists who have investigated the origins and stability of sexual orientation is that it is a human characteristic that is formed early in life, and is resistant to change. Scientific evidence on the origins of homosexuality is considered relevant to theological and social debate because it undermines suggestions that sexual orientation is a choice."[66]

See also

References

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  28. ^ Gonsiorek, John C., Randall L Sell, & James D. Weinrich, Definition and Measurement of Sexual Orientation, op. cit., citing Golden, C., Our Politics and Choices: The Feminist Movement and Sexual Orientation, in B. Greene & G. Herek, eds., Lesbian. and Gay Psychology: Theory, Research and Clinical Applications (Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage 1994), vol. 1, pp. 54–70 (sic: period so in title).
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  39. ^ a b This work was published in the American Journal of Sociology (Bearman, P. S. & Bruckner, H. (2002) Opposite-sex twins and adolescent same-sex attraction. American Journal of Sociology 107, 1179-1205.) and is available only to subscribers. However, a final draft of the paper is available here - there are no significant differences on the points cited between the final draft and the published version.
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  42. ^ "Different aspects of sexual orientation may be influenced to a greater or lesser degree [p. 303:] by experiential factors such that sexual experimentation with same-gender partners may be more dependent on a conducive family environment than the development of a gay or lesbian identity." Susan E. Golombok & Fiona L. Tasker, Do Parents Influence the Sexual Orientation of Their Children?, in J. Kenneth Davidson, Sr., & Nelwyn B. Moore, Speaking of Sexuality: Interdisciplinary Readings (Los Angeles, Calif.: Roxbury Publishing, 2001) (ISBN 1-891487-33-7), pp. 302–303 (adapted from same authors, Do Parents Influence the Sexual Orientation of Their Children? Findings From a Longitudinal Study of Lesbian Families, in Developmental Psychology (American Psychological Association), vol. 32, 1996, 3–11) (author Susan Golombok prof. psychology, City Univ., London, id., p. xx, & author Fiona Tasker sr. lecturer, Birkbeck Coll., Univ. of London, id., p. xxiii).
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  51. ^ Blanchard, R., Cantor, J. M., Bogaert, A. F., Breedlove, S. M., & Ellis, L. (2006). "Interaction of fraternal birth order and handedness in the development of male homosexuality." Hormones and Behavior, 49, 405-414.
  52. ^ James Alm, M. V. Lee Badgett, Leslie A. Whittington, Wedding Bell Blues: The Income Tax Consequences of Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage, p. 24 (1998) PDF link.
  53. ^ a b Gonsoriek, John. C.; Weinrich, J. D., Definition and Measurement of Sexual Orientation, in Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, vol. 25, 1995, pp. 40–51, http://doi.apa.org/getuid.cfm?uid=1996-16078-001 (abstract <http://psycnet.apa.org/?fa=main.doiLanding&fuseaction=showUIDAbstract&uid=1996-16078-001>, as accessed Mar. 17, 2010).
  54. ^ Chinese Femininities, Chinese Masculinities: A Reader, by Susan Brownell & Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom (Univ. of Calif. Press, 2002 (ISBN 0520221168, 9780520221161)). Quote: "The problem with Sexuality Some scholars have argued that maleness and femaleness were not closely linked to sexuality in China. [[[Michel] Foucault]]'s "The History of Sexuality" (which dealt primarily with Western civilization and western Europe) began to influence some China scholars in the 1980s. Foucault's insight was to demonstrate that sexuality has a history; it is not fixed psychobiological drive that is the same for all humans according to their sex, but rather it is a cultural construct inseparable from gender constructs. After unmooring sexuality from biology, he anchored it in history, arguing that this thing we now call sexuality came into existencee in the eighteenth-century West and did not exist previously in this form. "Sexuality" is an invention of the modern state, the industrial revolution, and capitalism. Taking this insight as a starting point, scholars have slowly been compiling the history of sexuality in china. The works by Tani Barlow, discussed above, were also foundational in this trend. Barlow observes that, in the West, heterosexuality is the primary site for the production of gender: a woman truly becomes a woman only in relation to a man's heterosexual desire. By contrast, in China before the 1920s the "jia" (linage unit, family) was the priamary site for the production of gender: marriage and sexuality were to serve the lineage by producing the next generation of lineage members; personal love and pleasure were secondary to this goal. Barlow argues that this has two theoretical implications: (1) it is not possible to write a chinese history of heterosexuality, sexuality as an institution, and sexual identities in the European metaphysical sense, and (2) it is not appropriate to ground discussions of Chinese gender processes in the sexed body so central in "Western" gender processes. Here she echoes Furth's argument that, before the earlyu twentiethh century, sex-identity grounded on anatomical difference did not hold a central place in Chinese constructions of gender. And she ehoes the point illustrated in detail in Sommer's chapter on male homosexuality in the Qing legal code: a man could engage in homosexual behaviour without calling into question his manhood so long as his behaviour did not threaten the patriarchal Confucian family structure."
  55. ^ The Psychology of Sexual Orientation, Behaviour, and identity, by Louis Diamant & Richard D. McAnulty (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995 (ISBN 0313285012, 9780313285011) (522 pages). Quote from page 81: Although sexual orientation is a loaded Western concept, the term is still a useful one, if we avoid imposing Western thoughts and meanings associated with our language on non-Western, noncontemporary cultures.
  56. ^ The Handbook of Social Work Direct Practice, by Paula Allen-Meares & Charles D. Garvin & Contributors Paula Allen-Meares & Charles D. Garvin (SAGE, 2001 (ISBN 0761914994, 9780761914990) (733 pages). Quote from page 478: The concept of sexual orientation is a product of contemporary Western thought.
  57. ^ Sexual behavior and the non-construction of sexual identity: Implications for the analysis of men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women., [by?] Michael W. Ross & Ann K. Brooks. Quote from Page 9: Chou (2000) notes in his analysis of the lack of applicability of western concepts of sexual identity in China, just because a person has a particular taste for a specific food doesn't mean that we label them in terms of the food that they prefer. A similar approach to sexual appetite as not conferring identity may be operating in this sample. McIntosh (1968) has previously noted that people who do not identify with the classic western, white gay/lesbian role may not necessarily identify their behavior as homosexual;
  58. ^ Transnational Transgender: Reading Sexual Diversity in Cross-Cultural Contexts Through Film and Video [by?] Ryan, Joelle Ruby (American Studies Association). Quote: Many of the projects which have historically investigated sex/gender variance in non-Western contexts have been ethnographies and anthropological studies. Due to strong and lingering problems with ethnocentrism, many of these research studies have attempted to transpose a Western understanding of sex, gender and sexuality onto cultures in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Terms such as "homosexual," "transvestite," and "transsexual" all arose out of Western concepts of identity based on science, sexology and medicine and often bear little resemblance to sex/gender/sexuality paradigms in the varied cultures of the developing world.
  59. ^ Sexual Orientation, Human Rights and Global Politics, [by?] Matthew Waits (Matthew Waits of Dept. Sociology, Anthropology & Applied Social Sciences, Univ. of Glasgow, United Kingdom, <http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/sociology/staff/waites.html>). Quote from the Abstract: The paper problematises utilisation of the concept of 'sexual orientation' in moves to revise human rights conventions and discourses in the light of social constructionist and queer theory addressing sexuality, which has convincingly suggested that 'sexual orientation' is a culturally specific concept, misrepresenting many diverse forms of sexuality apparent in comparative sociological and anthropological research conducted worldwide. I will argue in particular that 'orientation' is a concept incompatible with bisexuality when interpreted within the context of dominant dualistic assumptions about sex, gender and desire in western culture (suggested by Judith Butler's concept of the 'heterosexual matrix'). I will discuss the implications of the this for interpreting contemporary struggles among competing social movements, NGO and governmental actors involved in contesting the relationship of sexuality to human rights as defined by the United Nations.
  60. ^ [4] McIntosh argues that the labelling process should be the focus of inquiry and that homosexuality should be seen as a social role rather than a condition. Role is more useful than condition, she argues, because roles (of heterosexual and homosexual) can be dichotomised in a way that behaviour cannot. She draws upon cross-cultural data to demonstrate that in many societies 'there may be much homosexual behaviour, but there are no "homosexuals"' (p71).
  61. ^ Zachary Green & Michael J. Stiers, Multiculturalism and Group Therapy in the United States: A Social Constructionist Perspective (Springer Netherlands, 2002), pp. 233–246.
  62. ^ Robert Brain, Friends and Lovers (Granada Publishing Ltd. 1976), chs. 3, 4.
  63. ^ "Crime in the United States 2004: Hate Crime", FBI, retrieved 2007-05-04
  64. ^ ACAS (About Us), as accessed Apr. 19, 2010.
  65. ^ Sexual orientation and the workplace: Putting the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 into practice
  66. ^ Church Times: How much is known about the origins of homosexuality?

Further reading

  • Anders Agmo, Functional and Dysfunctional Sexual Behavior (Elsevier, 2007).
  • Brum, Gil, Larry McKane, & Gerry Karp, Biology– Exploring Life (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2d ed. 1994), p. 663. (About INAH-3.)
  • De La Torre, Miguel A., Out of the Shadows, Into the Light: Christianity and Homosexuality (Chalice Press, 2009).
  • Dynes, Wayne, ed., Encyclopedia of Homosexuality. (New York & London: Garland Publishing, 1990).
  • Sell, Randall L., Defining and measuring sexual orientation: a review, in Archives of Sexual Behavior, 26 (6) (December 1997), 643–658. (excerpt).
  • Wunsch, Serge, PhD thesis about sexual behavior (Paris: Sorbonne, 2007).

External links

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