Types of Orientation

areas than they are in rural areas. In contrast, the prevalence of asexuality is about one percent. Bisexuality is difficult to assess because people vary in how they define bisexuality.

TYPES OF ORIENTATION

A heterosexual is someone who is attracted sexually or romantically to the opposite sex. This is by far the largest proportion of people in the world. Like any type of sexual orientation, heterosexuality is not considered a choice but is somehow determined at birth or at least early in life. The term “straight” is often referred to as the same thing as being heterosexual.

Heterosexuality is supported by most religions and those who sanction marriage, although this is changing as the laws and society change regarding sexual orientation. About 89 to 98 percent of people say they have only had heterosexual contacts in their lifetime. When it comes to identification, about 90 to 93 percent of people self-identify as being heterosexual.

The heterosexual couple is what forms the basis of the nuclear family, with marriage thought to be a necessary part of this in many societies. Other jurisdictions recognize common-law marriage, in which an unmarried woman and man live together for a period of time, suggesting they are in a long-term and established relationship.

The term “heteronormativity” is involved in the world view that promotes being heterosexual as being normal. This relates also to heterosexism, which is a bias in favor of opposite sex sexuality and heterosexual relationships. Some who subscribe to heterosexism assume that everyone is heterosexual, harboring some type of personal or systemic discrimination against those who are not strictly heterosexual. Conservative and some religious groups have derived the slogan “straight pride” as an alternative to the “gay pride” slogan used by different LGBT groups.

Homosexuality is one of the three main sexual orientation groups, along with heterosexuality and bisexuality. Not all people believe that the term “asexual” should be used to describe sexual orientation. Homosexuality can also refer to a person’s sexual identity, which is what orientation a person feels the closest membership to.

The terms “homosexual” and “heterosexual” were not widely used in medicine or society until about 1886, when books began to be written on the subject. In today’s time, the term “homosexual” is not generally referred to in noun form, so that the terms “lesbian” and “gay” are used instead to refer to the person who engages in homosexual behaviors. The term “LGBT” refers to “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender” individuals. The term “homophilia” refers to same-sex love rather than strictly a sexual relationship. MSM means “men who have sex with men”, which refers strictly to sexual behavior.

Society has changed over time and place in the course of history. In some cultures, men were expected to have same-sex relationships, while in others, it is seen as a minor sin or even something punishable by death. A study of preindustrial cultures in history indicates that about 41 percent of cultures strongly disapproved of homosexuality, while 21 percent accepted or ignored it and 12 percent did not have a concept of it. In some cultures, homosexuality was considered absent or rare, while in others, it was considered not an uncommon phenomenon.

Older cultures did not speak of homosexuality itself but talked instead about sodomy, which was believed to be a criminal behavior. Anal sex, on the other hand, was frequent among couples in Ancient Greece. Essentialists believe that sexual preferences are biologically based, while constructionists believe sexual preference is largely a learned behavior.

In the US, sodomy was still considered criminal in 1986 but this was overturned in 2003 so that homosexuality was legalized. The first same-sex marriage state was Massachusetts in 2004. By 2105, same-sex marriage was legalized in every state. In East Asia, on the other hand, homosexuality has been written about and somewhat tolerated since 600 BCE. More recently, however, there has been opposition to homosexuality, particularly when China became westernized.

Less is known about lesbianism or female homosexuality. The Greek poet, Sappho was born on the island of Lesbos near Greece; she wrote about her attraction and relationships to young women on the island in about 400 BCE. Lesbian literature of old often spoke of love and infatuation between women but not of the sexual acts between women.

In the Middle East, Israel is by far the most tolerant country in the area toward homosexuality. Tel Aviv is considered to be the “gay capital of the Middle East” and hosts an annual gay pride parade. Other countries and cultures deny or ignore homosexuality. In Muslim countries, same sex contact is illegal, with same-sex intercourse punishable by death in many Middle Eastern countries. This was not always the case in pre-Islamic times.

About half of all gay men and up to 80 percent of lesbians are involved in a same-sex romantic relationship. Between 18 and 28 percent of gay men have been involved in their relationship for longer than 10 years. The same is true of between 8 and 21 percent of lesbian couples. These individuals have about the same satisfaction with their relationship as opposite-sex couples. The same ideals and expectations are seen in same-sex romantic relationships as is seen in opposite-sex romantic relationships.

The process of coming out involves disclosing one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It starts with knowing oneself and what each person feels about same-sex relationships. The second phase involves coming out to close friends and loved ones. The third phase involves living one’s life openly as an LGBT person. Most people come out in the US during high school or college. Not everyone decides to fully come out to family or colleagues. This is complicated by the fact that most gay people are not raised in an environment that supports homosexuality. Some people are “outed” by others against their personal preference.

Homosexuality was considered a disorder by the American Psychiatric Association in 1952. This was relatively immediately criticized by other health professionals. This resulted in homosexuality being removed by the APA in 1973. It was listed as a mental illness by the World Health Organization in 1977 but was removed by 1990. What still existed, however, was the idea that there could be ego-dystonic sexual orientation, which defined anyone who was distressed or wanted to change their sexual orientation.

Gay and lesbian parents have been shown to be just as psychologically fit to be parents as heterosexual parents. Children raised by same-sex couples are raised in more sexual and gender tolerant circumstances but have equal chances of being heterosexual or homosexual later in life, regardless of the orientation of their parents.