Which aspects does sexual orientation entail? - Chapter 13

Sexual orientation depends on the person someone is sexually attracted to with a potential for loving. A homosexual is sexually attracted to people from the same gender. A heterosexual has a sexual orientation towards the other gender and bisexual is sexually oriented towards both genders. The term homosexual comes from the word homo, which means same. The term lesbian also comes from the ancient Greeks and is used to refer to female homosexuals. Gay activists prefer gay over homosexual because there are many bad connotations to homosexuality. A heterosexual is called straight. The definition of queer is a term that embraces gay, lesbian and transgender people. The abbreviation LGB can also be used to describe lesbian, gay -and transgender, another term is sexual minority.

What are attitudes towards gays and lesbians?

People’s attitudes on one another are influenced by sexual orientation. Especially heteronormativity, which is the belief that heterosexuality is the norm, influences stereotyping about sexual minority groups. Negative stereotypes and attitudes lead to discrimination and crime against gays and lesbians. In America, many people disapprove homosexuality and some experts even believe their attitudes can be described as homophobia. This is the irrational fear in combination with fixed negative attitudes towards homosexuals. When these feelings are not strong enough to be named phobia, these negative attitudes are called anti-gay prejudice. These people also express heterosexism, the belief that everyone is heterosexual. The most severe expression of heterosexism are hate crimes against LGBs. These incidents have a high psychological toll on the people belonging to sexual minorities that are being harassed. The media plays a role in the anti-gay attitudes. Currently there are more representations of sexual minorities and they are more visible in the media, however they are often still stereotyped, whether this is a positive or a negative one.

Gays and lesbians belong to a minority group and suffer from discrimination. In America, an experiment was conducted to research job discrimination for gay men. They found that job interviews for gays were shorter and rated more negatively. Homosexuals have the advantage of being able to hide that they are part of a minority and get along with heterosexuals. This is also a disadvantage because lying about a sexual orientation is not only dishonest, but also psychologically stressful. Changes must occur on individual level, in corporations, educational institutions, he law and society to accept these sexual minorities and eliminate the negative stereotypes.

What are life experiences of LGBs?

It is important to understand the lifestyles and experiences of LGBs. A covert homosexual is someone who may be married to a heterosexual, has children and is respected in the community. They spend a few hours each month in secretive homosexual behaviour. An overt homosexual is someone who lives in he LGB community. There is more discrimination against gay men than women due to gender roles, however more lesbians do not express that they are homosexual. Coming out is the acknowledgement of being gay or lesbian to oneself and others. Peer harassment of homosexuals can be intense and even result in dropout of school and suicidal thoughts. Therefore, the climate for sexual minorities in schools must be enhanced. Some people do not have a set sexual orientation and it can change over time, this is called sexual fluidity.

What are lesbian, gay, and bisexual communities?

There are LGB communities all over the world. They use symbols and rituals to define their community. The pink triangle is their symbol of pride. Gay bars are a big part of the community to meet other people. Recently the internet also became a place to meet a potential partner. The LGB community encouraged them to be less covert, more open and liberate their sexual orientation.

What do gay and lesbian relationships -and families look like?

According to several surveys, between eight and twenty-one percent of lesbian couples was together for ten or more years, this was about eighteen and twenty-eight percent of gay couples. Like heterosexual couples, homosexual couples struggle with the difficulty of finding a balance between money, sex and housework. There is no difference between the couple’s interaction compared to heterosexual couples in positive and negative behaviours by each partner. Creating children is a controversial subject for homosexuals. It is suggested they are unfit partners. However, according to research the adjustment of mental health of children growing up in homosexual families is no different, children often have a heterosexual orientation and their social skills do not deviate from children from heterosexual families.

What is the prevalence of gay, straight or bi?

The prevalence depends on the used definition of homosexual. To do this, sexual identity should be explained. Sexual identity is someone’s self-identification or self-label as homosexual, heterosexual, queer, bisexual or something else. Also, there might be a contradiction between one’s sexual identity and their actual partner. The definition of homosexual is difficult, because what are the restrictions. Should someone mainly -or only have same-gender sexual experiences? About five percent of men and fourteen percent of women have had at least one homosexual experience. It is believed that about ninety percent of women and ninety percent of women are exclusively heterosexual.

What is the association between sexual orientation and mental health?

Some people still believe that homosexuality is a mental illness. In the twentieth century the sin model was replaced with the medical model. The sin model viewed mental illness as a sin which deserved punishment. The medical model treats mental illness as a result of biological factors and are viewed as sickness.

• Clinical studies in early ages (1920; 1974) found that homosexuals were poorly adjusted and neurotic. Therefore, they were labelled mentally ill. However, current evidence does not support this view.
• Studies with control groups improved research about homosexuality, however they used faulty measures. By comparing homosexuals in therapy to a random group of normal individuals they obviously found differences between groups.
• Nonpatient research used people recruited by LGB organisations and researchers found that these people are as adjusted as heterosexuals. In 1973, homosexuality as removed from the listing of psychiatric disorders.
• Population studies found some higher rates of depression and anxiety among gays. Also suicide and PTSD are more common. This does not indicate mental illness, but rather the result of dealing with stress about concealing their identity.
• Resilience in sexual minority individuals states that people should focus on the resilience LGB people show to stigmatization. Support for sexual orientation should help LGBs maintain their psychological health.

Is it possible to change sexual orientation by therapy?

There are forms of therapy designed to change LGBs into heterosexuals. There is conversion therapy or reparative therapy that are mostly created by religious groups. These treatments were quite inhumane and still believe that homosexuality is an illness. The consequences can be bad, it can make people feel guilty about their behaviour. These therapies make no sense, as homosexuality is not a mental illness and therefore their sexual orientation should not be changed against their will.

How do people become gay or heterosexual?

Older theories use the heteronormative approach to describe homosexuality, more recent theories not that heterosexuality should be equally explained and are likely to explain sexual orientation.

Biological theories

• Genetic factors can account for sexual orientation, there are three possible influences found on chromosomes: 7, 8 and 10. There are probably multiple genes that contribute to one’s sexual orientation.
• Prenatal factors or variation in prenatal development could account for homosexuality. The epigenetic phase of pregnancy could shape sexual orientation by the receptivity of androgen receptors. However, none of the research can be completely accepted yet.
• Brain factors to determine sexuality have not been identified. However, the response of the brain to stimuli is different for gays and lesbians. Both heterosexual men and lesbians are turned on by women’s pheromones.
• Hormonal imbalance was researched by looking at testosterone. There were no differences found between gay men and heterosexual men. Androgens are related to sexual desire but won’t make a homosexual heterosexual.

Learning theory

Learning is important in the development of sexual orientation. Punishment and rewards could influence the development of predominant hetero -or homosexual behaviour. Behaviourists argue that people are born sexual, not gay or straight. Another possibility proposed by learning theory is that early sexual experiences with same-gender persons are pleasant; this behaviour becomes more likely. The evidence is mixed, rape in young women does not seem to turn them into lesbians. Early life experiences are important though in the development of sexuality.

Sociological theory

According to sociologists, there are effects of the label “homosexual” and the impact of society on the development of homosexual behaviour. When a young boy that is behaving in a feminine way is repeatedly called “fag” he might turn gay because of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The theory of Reiss (1986) describes the negative pathway to homosexuality. He describes that in societies with a rigid gender role for males, the males that reject these roles become homosexual. He also describes a positive pathway where in a free society people experience with homosexuality and find is satisfying.

What are the differences between gays and lesbians?

Women are more likely to be bisexual instead of solely homosexual. Also, women show more flexibility over time in their sexual orientation. Women show sexual arousal for both male and female stimuli. Men are more specific in their sexual arousal; heterosexual men are aroused by female and not male stimuli whereas homosexual man show the reverse pattern.

What are multicultural perspectives on sexual orientation?

In every society homosexuality is treated differently. Therefore, the process of sexual identity is different. However, the percentage of occurrence of homosexuality is the same across cultures. Black and Latino men are more likely to engage in same-gender sexual behaviour while calling themselves a heterosexual. In Mexico, there is a way of dichotomizing same-gender sexual behaviour. The man that is the receptive partner in same-gender anal intercourse is seen as homosexual, unmanly and feminine while the inserting role is seen as masculine and not homosexual. For the Asian Americans, there is a very small percentage that is “out” because sexuality must be kept private.

What is bisexuality?

Someone who is bisexual has a sexual orientation towards both men and women. It is more common than exclusive homosexuality. The gay community might view bisexuals with suspicion and refer to bisexual women as “fence-sitters”. Heterosexuals are also quite biased against bisexuals and label them as non-monogamous. In research, a pattern for bisexuals was found in rating attractiveness that was distinct from heterosexuals. Some people argue that bisexuality is just a phase to discover one’s true sexuality. However, it seems that no-one’s sexuality is fixed and can, unlike gender identity, change over time. The group mostly heterosexuals are people that are not quite bisexual, but not exclusively heterosexual. They have a small amount of occasionally same-gender sexual behaviour but are mostly heterosexual. It supports the idea that sexual orientation spreads along a continuum.