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Line 1: − + + + − The '''causes of [[homosexuality]]''' are attributable to man's sinful nature, nurture and environment, and personal choice. How important each factor is, though, is an issue that is debated. Those from the most [[liberal]] school usually assume a philosophy of determinism, treating homosexuality as an identity or orientation which one has no choice over, and which cannot be changed. This belief is then used to justify acting it out.<ref>Sylvia Thorson-Smith, ''Reconciling the broken silence'', p. 30</ref> The contrasting and warranted position is that homosexuality is a choice, that of yielding to ultimately harmful desires, and which choice is partly affected by nurture and environment. '''''As with all choices, [[faith]] can overcome unwanted desire'''''.+ − + − The [[Bible]], being the most comprehensive transcendent moral authority, abundantly deals with human nature and behavior and consistently manifests that the nature of man has not changed since [[the Fall]]. So the Bible is certainly the preeminent authoritative source when it comes to providing a framework when determining the causes of homosexuality. Man is shown to have been created as a perfectly made being (Gn. 1:31) - yet not as a robot - but as a being designed to be able to make choices, which thereby allowed him to distort his perfection. God from the beginning also joined male and female in lifelong marriage, and placed a priority on the family, and provided laws, as needed, for its health and preservation and that of society, while aberrations result from failure to abide by them. ''For more information please see:'' [[Homosexuality and the Bible]] and [[Homosexuality and biblical interpretation]]'' + − + − In the beginning, man disobeyed his Creator, and as part of the punishment for so doing both mankind and that which he was given stewardship of was negatively affected. In addition to physical decay and the suffering and natural death of living creatures being introduced into the world, (Gn. 2:17; 3:17-19; Rm. 5:12,17; 6:23; ) the Fall resulted in the nature of man demonstrating a certain proclivity to sin. However, this does not determine that a man must practice a certain sin, nor does it justify man giving into this attraction to sin, as God also gave man ability to resist sin. (Gn. 4:7)<ref>http://www.sbts.edu/documents/tschreiner/Homosexuality.pdf</ref> − − Certain negative physical effects of sin are also seen as being progressive, as with time more diseases and other aberrations seemed to have occurred, and laws against incest later became necessary. In addition, as men continued to act contrary to the basic moral laws which they knew innately and through creation, conscience and oral tradition, a formal body of law was given through [[Moses]], which detailed and codified the immutable morality God enjoins upon man. (Ex. 20; Dt. 4:8,9; Lv. 18; Gal. 3:19) Addition laws include ceremonial laws which the [[New Testament]] reveals were typological. ''For more information please see:'' [[Leviticus 18]].'' − As regards homosexuality, from the beginning of the Bible and throughout, it consistently teaches that God only sexually joined opposite genders together, sanctifying them in marriage, having created men and women uniquely compatible and complementary.(Gn. 2:18-24; Mt. 19:4; 1Cor. 11:8-12)<ref>http://www.cbmw.org/Articles/</ref>+ + − In contrast to what God had ordained by design and decree, homosexuality is one of many sins which are a result of man yielding to his sinful nature, and is a form of fornication, although a most perverse kind. The prohibition of it is given along with sexual relations with animals, (Lv. 18:23) and is clearly condemned wherever it is manifestly dealt with. (Lv. 18:22; 20:13; Mk. 7:21; Rm. 1:20-27; 1Cor. 6:9; 1Tim. 1:10) + − The Bible, as well as history, also evidences that while there are three areas in which man sins, those of lust for pleasure, possessions and power, (1Jn. 2:16) individuals may differ as regards which type of sins present the greatest temptation for them, with genetics playing at least a part in that. That judgment upon a people who gave into a specific sin could result in a genetic predisposition to that same sin among their offspring may be speculated, but it is not proven.+ − + − The Bible provides a clear link between the adherence of a family or a nation to the laws of God and the moral choices of offspring. (Prov. 22:6) The Bible also positively examples close father-son and familial relationships, and may be seen to partially implicate detachment with rebellion. (Gn. 37-50; 2 Sam. 13-18) Studies today have shown that [[Religious Upbringing and Culture Affects Rates of Homosexuality|religious upbringing and culture can strongly affect rates of homosexuality]].+ + − The record of [[Sodom]], as well as accounts of nations elsewhere, testify that living within the environment of people where [[iniquity]] abounds is conducive to furthering the same iniquity among succeeding generations, resulting in the necessity of Divine judgment when nations became given over to such. (Lv. 18:24; 20:22; Dt. 18:12; 28; Jer. 14:9,10; Rm. 2:2) + − In Genesis 19, the city of Sodom is revealed as a place in which men sexually lusted after men, from which the term "sodomy" was derived (like as homosexuals use the term "gay", although this is contradictory in the end), and Jude 7 refers to Sodom and its region being given to fornication, including that of unnatural relations. + + − In Ezekiel 16:49 the general iniquity of Sodom and its "sisters" is given as "pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness" and general indifference to the needy. The next verse proceeds to inform that "the Sodomites were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good." The word for ''abomination'' here is ''tô‛êbah'', which is not the word often used for ritual uncleanness, but is often used for sexual sin, in particular sexual sins and including sodomy. (Lv.18:22; 26-27,29,30; 20:13; Dt. 23:18; 24:4 1Ki. 14:24; Ezek. 22:11; 33:26) Sodom is also associated more with sexual sins than with any other ''physical'' type of sin. + − What the Bible, as well as secular history, reveals is that prevalent homosexuality is concomitant with pride, affluence, increased free time, and selfish indulgence and carelessness.<ref>[http://peacebyjesus.witnesstoday.org/Homosex_versus_the_Bible.html Homosexual relations and the Bible: see Genesis 19 to Ezekiel 16:49]</ref> Therefore, rebellion against God's laws and order and the resultant environmental factors are seen to be a cause in promoting sensuality and homosexuality.+ − ===Idolatry and judgment===+ − [[Image:Martin destruction sodom640x422.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Destruction of [[Sodom]] by [[God]] - [[Painting]] by John Martin]] − In [[Romans 1]], God, through the [[apostle Paul]], condemns both male and female homoeroticism, which, as a cultural practice, is shown to be a manifestation and a result of idolatry, in which man progressively acted contrary to that which God has revealed by creation, by design and normality. This is morality which is confirmed by written decree (the Law), as the next chapter declares. As a result of this continued rebellion, which was partly manifest in God being reduced to an image like unto corruptible creatures (like as today with homosexuals construing Christ to be homosexual, or sanctioning it, as well as nature effectively being worshiped), "God gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves." (v. 24) + − It is also stated that a certain afflictive punishment(s) of the body were incurred by those men who engaged in relations with each other. (v. 27) Unless repentance takes place, worse consequences will follow. (Rv. 21:28) + − While some seek to render this chapter as only condemning homosexual relations when done as part of idolatry, the condemnation is not due to its association with paganism, rather as it inherently contrary to that which God ordained, then it is a manifestation of false religion, regardless of its form, though in ancient times in which religion was an inseparable part of culture, then formal idolatry was what was more manifested. Romans 1 proceeds to show that homosexuality is not alone as a fruit of idolatry, but that this particular pernicious physical sin is one of many inherently evil things. (Rm. 1:28-32) ''For more information please see:'' [[Romans 1]].+ + + + − In summary, God's eternal power is manifest in His [[creation]] (Romans 1:18-20). Nonetheless, certain people chose to worship the creature more than the Creator (Romans 1:21-25). Therefore, God gave them up to homosexuality and other sins and gave them over to a reprobate mind (Romans 1:26-32). As an example of the truth of this teaching, [[feminist]]s, wishing to deny the [[Women#New Testament statements on the role of women|God-given role of women]], often engage in [[goddess]] worship and other forms of [[idolatry]]<ref>[http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/goddess.html "Probe Ministries: Goddess Worship," by Russ Wise]</ref> and as a consequence are often given up to lesbianism.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56458 Hetero woman: Feminism turned me into a lesbian], from [[WorldNetDaily]]</ref>+ − === Conclusion of Biblical explanation ===+ − What is revealed in the Bible is that homosexuality is a practice due to man yielding to his sinful nature and disobeying the good laws of God, and misusing, among other things, his sexual abilities. This disobedience itself is idolatry (whatever holds your chief allegiance is your god, at least at that time), while continued idolatry results in homosexuality as a practice, as God delivers one over to perverse desires. In addition, individual and societal disobedience to the laws of God creates an environment which is conducive to perpetuating and further intensifying iniquity, which if continued, in time requires judgment. Studies today have shown that [[Religious Upbringing and Culture Affects Rates of Homosexuality|Religious upbringing and culture can strongly affect rates of homosexuality]].+ − + − Some studies indicate environmental factors can be involved in persons becoming homosexuals. Stanton L. Jones, Mark A. Yarhouse state in ''Homosexuality: the use of scientific research in the church's moral debate'' (and a main source for this section), + − + − The origins of homosexuality are not clearly understood by scientists, and the topic is a subject of hot debate. Theories and and empirical studies, which often contrast sharply, abound. The theories about the [[etiology]] of homosexuality fall into two very large categories: theories that point to nature (that is, biological variables) and theories that point to nurture (that is, the influence of experience, of psychological variables." (p. 52).+ − </blockquote>+ + + + + + + + + + − Those who emphasize nurture, sometimes known as the ''[[psychoanalysis|psychoanalytical theory]]'', see powerful psychological forces at work, shaping and molding children from their birth, while those who emphasize nature contend that early homosexual traits attest to a biological cause. (p. 53)+ + − Despite many psychological studies which indicate that the parent-child relationship, early childhood development, early homosexual experiences, and childhood abuse foster homosexuality, liberals tend to reject the environmental aspect, and favor a biological influence.<ref>David G. Myers, ''A level of explanations view'', Psychology of Christianity: four views. pp. 54-83</ref> This is then used to render homosexuals to be slaves to genes, and justified in acting it out.+ + − ==Environment and nurture==+ − − That homosexuality is affected by environment and nurture has been the historical secular position. + − In his 1980 work ''Overcoming Homosexuality'', Robert Kronemeyer writes: "With rare exceptions, homosexuality is neither inherited nor the result of some glandular disturbance or the scrambling of genes or chromosomes. Homosexuals are made, not born 'that way.' I firmly believe that homosexuality is a learned response to early painful experiences and that it can be unlearned. For those homosexuals who are unhappy with their life and find effective therapy, it is 'curable.'<ref>Robert Kronemeyer, ''Overcoming Homosexuality'', p. 7 (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1980)</ref>+ − Similarly, in a 1989 ''[[USA Today]]'' article, [[San Francisco]] State University professor of psychology John DeCecco, and the former editor of the 25-volume, ''Journal of Homosexuality'', stated, "The idea that people are born into one type of sexual behavior is entirely foolish". Homosexuality is "a behavior, not a condition," and something that some people can and do change, just like they sometimes change other tastes and personality traits."<ref>Kim Painter, ''A Biological Theory for Sexual Preference'', USA Today, 1 January 1989, p. 4D</ref>+ − + − + − One of the earliest studies supporting this position was that of Irving Bieber and associates.<ref>Bieber, ''Homsexuality: A psychoanalytical study of male homosexuality'' (1962)</ref> Comparison of 106 homosexuals with 100 male heterosexuals showed that mothers of the former had enmeshed seductive type relationships with their sons, while their fathers were detached, distant or rejecting. This study was contested by some who charged the researchers with bias, but a further study by Ray B. Evans, which also compared homosexuals with heterosexuals, reported similar results, this time among self-identified homosexuals who had never sought treatment.<ref>Ray b. Evans, "Childhood parental relationships of homosexual men", ''Journal of Consulting and clinical psychology'', 33. (1969), pp. 129-33.</ref> + − Based upon his work with 200 male homosexuals, Gerard van den Aardweg stated that 79 percent described their mother as "overanxious", or "overconcerned" about them; their safety, health, and being overly sentimental when they met with some hardship, as well as manifesting other aspects of over-mothering. In addition, in 71 percent of homosexual cases, "the most important factor was the father's detachedness or nonparticipation in the son's upbringing. The fathers of 38 percent of the men were so hypercritical that the sons were made to feel either rejected and/or inferior.<ref>Gerard van den Aardweg, ''on the origins and treatment of homosexuality'' (1985), pp.184-85.</ref>+ − Another study of about 1500 homosexuals showed much less influence by the mother, while far more reported an unaffectionate or detached father, and approximately half of homosexuals reported they had negative feelings toward their fathers, versus 29 percent of heterosexuals.<ref>Bell, Weinberg, Hammersmith, ''Sexual preference: Its development in men and women'' (1981).</ref>+ − While these factors are conducive to homosexuality, it should be stressed that these do not ensure that children raised this way will become homosexual, nor are these factors alone in influencing it.+ − + − Childhood sexual abuse is well attested to demonstrate a correlation to the incidence of homosexuality among those affected by it. A large national survey of almost 35,000 Americans showed that more than three times as many men and women who had been sexually abused as children became homosexuals, versus that of heterosexuals.<ref>7.4 percent or homosexual men and 3.1 percent of females, versus 2.0 percent of heterosexual men and 0.8 percent women.</ref><ref>Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, and Michaels, ''The social organization of homosexuality:...'', (1994) p. 344</ref> Another study reported that 58 percent of male adolescents who later became homosexuals suffered sexual abuse as children, while 90 percent who did not suffer sexual abuse identified themselves as heterosexuals.<ref>Sheir and Johnson, ''Sexual victimization of boys:... (1988) pp. 1189-93</ref> In addition, 43 percent of male homosexuals reported sexual activity with another male during the ages of 10-12, versus 9 percent of heterosexuals.<ref>Manosevitz, "Early sexual behavior in adult homosexual and heterosexual males", ''Journal of abnormal psychology'', 76 (1970), 396-402.</ref>+ − ===Educational indoctrination===+ − As part of the liberal ideology in modern [[education]], and as a result of psychological tactics used by homosexual [[activist]]s, schools have increasingly fostered the promotion of homosexuality, whether as part of official policy through homosexual activists working with or in schools. As a form of indoctrination which begins at the kindergarten level, homosexuality is treated as healthy and normal, with students at very impressionable ages sometimes being influenced to experiment with homosexual behavior. This is often done under the rubric of [[HIV]] instruction of preventing [[suicide]] by homosexuals, and preventing ''[[homophobia]]''.<ref>[http://www.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=12546&department=MEDIA&categoryid=family CWA: School Tells Kids to Hide Pro-‘Gay’ Propaganda From Parents], Concerned Women for America, 3/13/2007</ref><ref>[http://www.missionamerica.com/agenda.php Fighting the Gay Agenda in Schools Articles], Mission America</ref><ref>[http://www.chroniclewatch.com/2009/06/17/indoctrination-of-youth/ Roberto Santiago, The Indoctrination of our Youth],The Chronicle Watch, June 17, 2009</ref><ref>[http://www.missionamerica.com/oldagenda26.php GLSEN, Corruption and Crime], Mission America</ref><ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=127050 'Hate' laws could label 5-year-olds 'offenders'] WorldNetDaily, March 05, 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=126233 'Czar' sees transgender school goals in reach], WorldNetDaily, February 25, 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54683 District gags 14-year-olds after 'gay' indoctrination], WorldNetDaily, March 13, 2007</ref> − − Environmental chemicals, specifically sex steroids such as [[xenoestrogens]] and [[xenoandrogens]], change the brain's gender preference resulting in homosexuality in nature. According to Melissa Hines, "This article reviews the evidence regarding prenatal influences of gonadal steroids on human sexual orientation, as well as sex-typed childhood behaviors that predict subsequent sexual orientation. The evidence supports a role for prenatal testosterone exposure in the development of sex-typed interests in childhood, as well as in sexual orientation in later life, at least for some individuals... The empirical record generally supports this model for a wide range of brain regions and behaviors that differ on the average for male and female animals. For example, treating female rodents with testosterone early in life decreases their female-typical behavior in adulthood, and increases their male-typical behavior."<ref name=hines>{{cite journal |last=Hines |first=Melissa |last2= |first2= |date=2011-02-17 |title=Prenatal endocrine influences on sexual orientation and on sexually differentiated childhood behavior |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3296090/ |journal=Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=170–182 |doi=10.1016/j.yfrne.2011.02.006 |pmid=21333673}}</ref> + + − These chemicals are produced in quantities of billions of kg. per year, and are used prominently in cosmetics and pesticides such as [[diethylstilbestrol]] (DES) and [[DDT]] while appearing also in food and dust particles. When in the form of [[phthalate]]s they can be widely used in plastics including children's toys, food and drink containers, and medical devices.<ref name=intersect>{{cite journal |last=Weiss |first=Bernard |last2= |first2= |date=2013-12-01 |title=The Intersection of Neurotoxicology and Endocrine Disruption |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3458140/ |journal=Neurotoxicology |volume=33 |issue=6 |pages=1410–1419 |doi=10.1016/j.neuro.2012.05.014 |pmid=22659293}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=He |first=Zhen |last2=Ferguson |first2=Sherry Ann |last3=Cui |first3=Li |last4=Greenfield |first4=Lazar John |last5=Paul3 |first5=Merle Gale |date=2013-10-15 |title=Development of the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area and the influence of estrogen-like compounds |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4145994/ |journal=Neural Regen Res. |volume=8 |issue=29 |pages=2763–2774 |doi= |pmid=25206587}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Svechnikov |first=Konstantin |last2=Stukenborg |first2=Jan-Bernd |last3=Savchuck |first3=Iuliia |last4=Söder |first4=Olle |date=2014 |title=Similar causes of various reproductive disorders in early life |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3901882/ |journal=Asian Journal of Andrology |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=50–59 |doi=10.4103/1008-682X.122199 |pmid=24369133 }}</ref> Xenoestrogens and xenoandrogens alter the brain's [[sexual differentiation]] in a number of species, including rams, ferrets, zebra finches,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Roselli |first=C.E. |last2=Stormshak |first2=F. |date=2009 |title=Prenatal Programming of Sexual Partner Preference |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2668810/ |journal=J. Neuroendocrinol |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=359–364 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2826.2009.01828.x |pmid=19207819}}</ref> gulls, primates,<ref name=intersect/> and rodents,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Matsuda |first=Ken Ichi |last2= |first2= |date=2014-10-28 |title=Epigenetic changes in the estrogen receptor α gene promoter: implications in sociosexual behaviors |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4211403/ |journal=Front Neurosci |volume=8 |issue=344 |pages= |doi=10.3389/fnins.2014.00344 |pmid=25389384}}</ref> resulting in the masculinization of female brains/behavior (e.g. 'lesbian gulls') and feminization of male brains/behavior.<ref name=intersect/> + − According to Bernard Weiss, "disagreements arise partly from arguments about the roots of homosexuality, and about questions of gender identity and others that at one time would have seemed quite remote from neurotoxicology." Due to concern over environmental health risks including cancer, thinning of bald eagle eggshells, and reduced species reproduction, [[endocrine disruption]] was the primary theme of the 27th International Neurotoxicology Conference.<ref name=intersect/>+ − + − ''For more information please see:'' [[Genetics, Homosexuality, Evolutionary Paradigm, and Creation Science]] and [[Homosexuality and Genetics]].+ − The belief that homosexuality has a biological cause can be traced back to the preliminary findings of neuroscientist Dr. Simon LeVay. In 1991 LeVay's studied the brains of 41 cadavers which included 19 homosexual males, and claimed that "a tiny area believed to control sexual activity [the hypothalamus] was less than half the size in the gay men than in the heterosexuals."<ref>Charlene Crabb, ''Are Some Men Born to Be Homosexual?'', U. S. News & World Report, 9 September 1991, p. 58</ref><ref>S. LeVay, "A Difference in Hypothalamic Structure Between heterosexual and Homosexual Men," Science 253 (1991), pp. 1034-37</ref> This study was immediately seized upon by many as proof that homosexuality was biologically determined. + − + + + + + + + + + + + + − *1. The range of sizes of the hypothalamic region varied and was inconsistent. The region at subject was the same size in a few homosexual men as that of the heterosexuals, while in a few other heterosexuals this region was a small as that of a homosexual. + − *2. The fact that all 19 of the homosexual men had died of [[AIDS]] could easily have accounted for or contributed to the differences. − *3. It has not been determined if the smaller hypothalamuses were the cause rather than the effect of homosexual activity. "Researchers have found that when people who become blind begin to learn Braille, the area of the brain controlling the reading finger actual grows larger."<ref>Reported in D. Gelman "Born or Bred?" Newsweek, 24 February 1992, pp. 46-53</ref><ref name="leaderu.com">http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/homotheo.html</ref> − *4. Levay's study was based study was based upon a supposed sexual functional correlation between the SDN-POA brain center in male rats and a brain center called INAH3 in humans, but which assumption was shown to be false.<ref>http://www.biblebelievers.com/Cameron4.html</ref> − *5. The sexual history of the "heterosexual" men was not known, and Levay's samples included 16 brains from men whose sexual orientation was unknown.<ref>[http://www.equip.org/PDF/DH055-1.pdf Joseph P. Gudel, ''HOMOSEXUALITY: Fact and Fiction'']</ref> − *6. And as William Byne noted, LeVay’s work "has not been replicated, and human neuroanatomical studies of this kind have a very poor track record for reproducibility. Indeed, procedures similar to those LeVay used to identify nuclei have previously led researchers astray".<ref>Byne, William (1994), “The Biological Evidence Challenged,” Scientific American, May, 1994, 270: p. 53</ref> − *7. The conclusions were that which were sought by the researcher. Dr. LeVay, a homosexual himself, confessed that his study was not entirely a dispassionate scientific endeavor,<ref>Simon LeVay on The Phil Donahue Show, ''Genetically Gay: Born Gay or Become Gay?'', January 3, 1992</ref> He also later stated, "I did not prove that homosexuality is genetic, or find a genetic cause for being gay."<ref>Byrd, A. Dean, Shirley E. Cox, and Jeffrey W. Robinson (2001), ''Homosexuality: The Innate-Immutability Argument Finds No Basis in Science'', The Salt Lake Tribune</ref><ref>http://www.sltrib.com/2001/may/05272001/commenta/100523.htm</ref> − Two prominent geneticists, Paul Billings and Jonathan Beckwith, commenting on the quality of the LeVay research, stated that LeVay, "could not really be certain about his subject's sexual preferences, since they were dead", and that his "research design and subject sample did not allow others to determine whether it was sexual behavior, drug use, or disease history that was correlated with the observed differences among the subjects' brains." And in addition, it was very likely that LeVay's method of defining homosexuality would "create inaccurate or inconsistent study groups." <ref>P. Billings and J. Beckwith, "Born Gay?" Technology Review, July 1993, p. 60,61</ref>+ − Another study, published in ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America'', examined the ''anterior commissure'' (a structure that divides the left and right halves of the brain) of male heterosexuals and homosexual men, most of whom died of AIDS. The study shows that the anterior commissure was larger in women and in 27 of the 30 homosexual men than in heterosexual men.<ref>L. Allen, et al., ''Sexual Orientation and the Size of the Anterior Commissure in the Human Brain,'' Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America 89, no. 15 (1992), pp. 7199-7202</ref> + − Here again, how AIDS might have factored in this difference is an issue, and the findings of this study were overall in contradiction to another study published in 1988, which found, in part, that the anterior commissure was larger in men than in women.<ref>S. Demeter et al., "Morphometric analysis of the human corpus callosum and anterior commissure," Human Neurobiology 6 1988), pp. 219-26</ref> + − A 1991 study of twins by Michael Bailey and Richard Pillard was also promoted as establishing biological determination of homosexuality, but which conclusion was also soon found to be lacking in warrant, and contrary to other studies.<ref name="leaderu.com"/><ref>[http://www.biblebelievers.com/Cameron4.html Dr. Paul Cameron, ''Born WHAT Way?'']</ref> + + − That blood chemistry as well as brains can change over time in response to environment and lifestyle has been documented by studies.<ref name="ReferenceA">http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/narth/bioresearch.html</ref><ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, ''The Biology of Homosexuality: Science or Politics?''</ref>+ − [[File:Richard Dawkins Australian picture.jpg|alt=Richard Dawkins|thumbnail|260px|right|The [[New Atheism|new atheist]] [[Richard Dawkins]] speculates that a "gay gene" causes homosexuality, but science has not discovered such a gene.<ref>[http://anglicansamizdat.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/richard-dawkins-explains-how-the-gay-gene-was-preserved/ Richard Dawkins speculates that gene for homosexuality exists]</ref> ]]+ − + + − In 1993, Professor [[Miron Baron]], M.D., the renowned medical researcher and Professor at [[Columbia University]], wrote in [[BMJ]] (British Medical Journal) that there is a conflict relative to the theory of [[evolution]] and the notion of [[gene]]tic [[determinism]] concerning [[homosexuality]]. Dr. Baron wrote "...from an evolutionary perspective, [[homosexuality and genetics|genetically determined homosexuality]] would have become [[extinct]] long ago because of reduced reproduction."<ref>[http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1678219 BMJ. 1993 August 7; 307(6900): 337–338.]</ref> In the United States, [[Theory of evolution and liberalism|liberals are more likely to believe in the theory of evolution]].<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/22/opinion/polls/main965223.shtml</ref> Also, in the United States, twice as many liberals as conservatives (46% versus 22%) believe people are born homosexual and [[Views on Homosexuality|liberals generally have more favorable opinions about homosexuality]].<ref>http://people-press.org/report/?pageid=764</ref> Given Dr. [[Miron Baron]]'s commentary about homosexuality, many American liberals are inconsistent on the issues of evolution and homosexuality.+ + − + − Sociologist Steven Goldberg, Ph.D. states, + − <blockquote> − Virtually all of the evidence argues against there being a determinative physiological causal factor and I know of no researcher who believes that such a determinative factor exists...such factors play a predisposing, not a determinative role...I know of no one in the field who argues that homosexuality can be explained without reference to environmental factors. − </blockquote> − Goldberg also expressed, "Gay criticism has not addressed the classic family configuration"; it has merely "asserted away the considerable evidence" for the existence of family factors. Studies which attempt to disprove the existence of the classic family pattern in homosexuality are "convincing only to those with a need to believe." <ref>S. Goldberg, ''When Wish Replaces Thought: Why So Much of What You Believe is False'' (1994), Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books</ref> + + + − Psychiatrists Friedman and Downey: "Despite recent neurobiological findings suggesting homosexuality is genetically-biologically determined, credible evidence is lacking for a biological model of homosexuality." <ref>R. Friedman, M.D. and J. Downey, M.D., ''Journal of Neuropsychiatry'', vol. 5, No. 2, Spring l993</ref>+ − Psychiatrist and author Jeffrey Satinover, M.D. concludes, + − + − Like all complex behavioral and mental states, homosexuality is...neither exclusively biological nor exclusively psychological, but results from an as-yet-difficult-to-quantitate mixture of genetic factors, intrauterine influences...postnatal environment (such as parent, sibling and cultural behavior), and a complex series of repeatedly reinforced choices occurring at critical phases of development.<ref>J. Satinover, M.D., ''Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth'', (1996). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books</ref></blockquote> − Drs. William Byne and Bruce Parsons, researchers at the New York State Psychiatric Institute,having carefully analyzed all the major biological studies of homosexuality, found none that definitively supported a biological theory of causation. "Human Sexual Orientation: The Biologic Theories Reappraised." Archives of General Psychiatry 50, no.3. (1993) + − Other similarly express that nurture and choice factor as being mostly or wholly determinative.<ref>[http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/narth/homorig.html On the Origins of Homosexuality: Is a Person "Born that Way"?]</ref>+ − − − Childhood manifestations of gender non-conformity such as consistent preference by a boy for the clothing, company and play things (dolls, etc.) of girls over that of boys is generally seen as predisposing such to homosexuality.<ref>Stanton L. Jones, Mark A. Yarhouse, ''Homosexuality: the use of scientific research in the church's moral debate'', pp. 52-92</ref> However, this is not always the case, and many children who manifest gender non-conformity are simply trying to discover what gender is.+ − ==Homosexuality as a choice==+ − The Bible shows that while nurture and environment can make one more predisposed to certain types of behavior, man's sinful nature can also deceive one into believing that sinful behaviors are not sin, while yielding to sin reduces ones ability to resist it. Secular studies also indicate that most homosexuals have been attracted to the opposite gender. − A research project (2004) of Robert Goetze identified 84 articles or books that contain some relevance to the possibility of sexual orientation change. Of the data reported, 31 of the 84 studies showed a quantitative outcome of individuals able to change sexual orientation.<ref>http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2553</ref>+ − Ironically, the homosexuals themselves argued back in 1971 that homosexuality is "merely a preference, orientation, or propensity".<ref name="RainbowHistory">{{cite web |title=The Rainbow History Project|url=http://www.rainbowhistory.org/html/apazap.htm}}</ref> One homosexual received the question on this topic in the CBS documentary from 1967: "Most homosexuals if they had a chance [i.e. choice] to be a heterosexual, would they? Well, I have a friend who took a poll of 300 people on that very question, he asked them: If you were able to take a pill to change yourself from homosexual to heterosexual, would you do it? And something like 95% of men said: “No.”"<ref name="CBS">{{cite web |title=Time Capsule: Mike Wallace tells truth about homosexuality in 1967 documentary |publisher=CBS |page=02min:58sec |url=http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/time-capsule-mike-wallace-tells-truth-about-homosexuality-in-1967-documenta}}</ref> + − Romana Schlesinger, a prominent gay activist and organizer of [[Gay pride|Gay parades]] in Slovakia, referred to homosexuality as to 'way of living' (lifestyle) in an interview.<ref>{{cite web+ − |title=Schlesinger: Prestaňme sa točiť okolo hriechu − |author=Michal Piško − |publisher=sme.sk − |date=08-June-2012 − |url=http://www.sme.sk/c/6410997/schlesinger-prestanme-sa-tocit-okolo-hriechu.html − |quote= Takisto by som nesúhlasila s tým, aby homosexuálny učiteľ presviedčal, že homosexualita je jediný správny spôsob života. (In the same way I would not agree that the homosexual lifestyle is the only correct one.) − |accessdate=10-February-2013 − |language=Slovak}}</ref> − ===Former homosexuals===+ − [[Image:St Paul Preaching.jpg|left|thumb|200px|St. [[Paul]] defends his preaching (Giovanni Ricco)]]+ − + + + − One of the earliest historical records of the existence of [[Ex-Homosexuals|ex-homosexuals]] is found in the letter of the [[Paul|Apostle Paul]] to the [[Corinth]]ian [[Christianity|Christian]] church (approx. 59 AD).+ − {{cquote|Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the [[kingdom of God]]? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such '''were''' some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the [[Holy Spirit|Spirit]] of our [[God]]. - I Corinthians 6:9-11 (KJV)}} − − Today people still report leaving homosexuality and becoming heterosexual by being born again through repentance and faith in the Lord [[Jesus Christ]].<ref>http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56481</ref><ref>http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=19650</ref><ref>http://www.cwfa.org/articles/4216/CFI/cfreport/index.htm</ref><ref>http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.aspid=25145</ref><ref>http://www.witnessfortheworld.org/blkexgbks.html</ref><ref>http://www.frontlinemin.org/wasgay.asp</ref><ref>http://www.charismamag.com/display.php?id=9019</ref><ref>http://www.apocalipsis.org/testimony.htm</ref><ref>http://www.baylor.edu/lariat/news.php?action=story&story=13784</ref> − + − {{cquote|Another factor from my experience as a close observer of the “ex-gay” phenomenon is that many former homosexuals do not linger in “[[Reparative Therapy|reparative therapy]]” programs, or participate in them at all. They attribute their dramatic and (relatively) rapid transformation to the power of God, and likely would not show up in a study of this kind. In fact, these “unstudied” overcomers would appear to be the most successful ex-homosexuals because they’ve moved on with their lives — as “reborn” Christians can move on after overcoming any besetting sin.<ref>http://www.americansfortruth.com/news/landmark-study-change-for-homosexuals-is-possible.html</ref>}} − + − There has been much work done since the latter part of the 20th century. Below are some resources in regards to the various causes of homosexuality:+ + − *[[Religious Upbringing and Culture Affects Rates of Homosexuality]]+ − *[[Sexual Abuse Being a Contributing Factor for Homosexuality]] − *[[Homosexuality and Choice]] − *[[Homosexuality and Genetics]] − *[[Homosexuality in animals myth]] − *[[Genetics, Homosexuality, Evolutionary Paradigm, and Creation Science]] − *[http://www.mygenes.co.nz/download.htm My genes made me do it!] − + − *[[Resources on becoming a Christian]]+ − *[[ABC Theory of Emotion]]+ − *[[Defensive detachment]]+ − *[[Ex-Homosexuals]]+ − *[[Homosexuality and the Bible]]+ − *[[Homosexuality and biblical interpretation]] + − *[[Homosexuality and bestiality]]+ − *[[Homosexuality Research]]+ − *[[Homosexuality Statistics]]+ − *[[Teenager Homosexuality]]+ − *[[Homosexuality and genetic mutations]]+ + + + + + + − + − *[http://www.allaboutworldview.org/causes-of-homosexuality-faq.htm What are some of the causes of homosexuality?] − *[http://ankerberg.org/Articles/_PDFArchives/streams-of-life/SL2W0803.pdf What Causes Homosexuality] by Dr. John F. Ankerberg − * [http://www.godandscience.org/evolution/genetics_of_homosexuality.html Rich Deem, ''Genetics and Homosexuality: Are People Born Gay? The Biological Basis for Sexual Orientation] − + − {{reflist|2}} − − + − + − + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
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[[File:70810564 64d3a67932.jpg|alt=Causes of homosexuality|right|275px|thumb|Homosexuality is rare in [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jews]]. For more information please see: [[Religious Upbringing and Culture Affects Rates of Homosexuality]].]]
{{redirect|Sexual preference|the book|Sexual Preference (book)}}
{{sexual orientation}}
'''Sexual orientation''' is an enduring pattern of [[Romance (love)|romantic]] or [[Sexual attraction|sexual]] attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite [[sex]] or [[gender]], the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender.<!-- NOTE: "Sex" and "gender" are not always the same thing; for example, "sex" may refer to "biological sex" (being male or female), while "gender" may refer to a person's gender identity of being a man or a woman; therefore, like the Heterosexuality, Homosexuality and Bisexuality articles, we have included both in the lead. --> These attractions are generally subsumed under [[heterosexuality]], [[homosexuality]], and [[bisexuality]],<ref name="AmPsycholAssn-whatis">{{cite web|title=Sexual orientation, homosexuality and bisexuality|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]|accessdate=August 10, 2013|url=http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx|archivedate=August 8, 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808032050/http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx}}</ref><ref name="AmPsychiAssn-Sexual orientation">{{Cite web|title=Sexual Orientation|publisher=[[American Psychiatric Association]]|accessdate=January 1, 2013|url=http://healthyminds.org/More-Info-For/GayLesbianBisexuals.aspx|archivedate=July 22, 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722080052/http://www.healthyminds.org/More-Info-For/GayLesbianBisexuals.aspx}}</ref> while [[asexuality]] (the lack of sexual attraction to others) is sometimes identified as the fourth category.<ref name="Sexual orientation">{{cite journal|last=Melby |first=Todd|title=Asexuality gets more attention, but is it a sexual orientation?|journal=Contemporary Sexuality|date=November 2005|volume=39|issue=11|pages=1, 4–5}}</ref><ref name="Sex and society">{{cite book|title=Sex and Society|volume=2|pages=82–83|isbn=978-0-7614-7905-5|publisher=[[Marshall Cavendish]]|year=2009|editor=Marshall Cavendish Corporation|contribution=Asexuality|accessdate=February 2, 2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aVDZchwkIMEC&pg=PA82}}</ref>
These categories are aspects of the more nuanced nature of [[sexual identity]] and terminology.<ref name="AmPsycholAssn-whatis"/> For example, people may use other labels, such as ''[[Pansexuality|pansexual]]'' or ''[[Polysexuality|polysexual]]'',<ref name="Firestein">{{cite book | first = Beth A.| last = Firestein| title = Becoming Visible: Counseling Bisexuals Across the Lifespan | publisher = [[Columbia University Press]]|page = 9| year = 2007| accessdate = October 3, 2012| isbn =0231137249| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1pCKkZmBU1EC&pg=PA9}}</ref> or none at all.<ref name="AmPsycholAssn-whatis"/> 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".<ref name="AmPsycholAssn-whatis"/><ref name="Calif-amici">{{cite web|url=http://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/Amer_Psychological_Assn_Amicus_Curiae_Brief.pdf| page= 30|title=Case No. S147999 in the Supreme Court of the State of California, In re Marriage Cases Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding No. 4365(...) - APA California Amicus Brief — As Filed|others=Page 33 n. 60 (p. 55 per Adobe Acrobat Reader);citation per ''id.'', Brief, p. 6 n. 4 (p. 28 per Adobe Acrobat Reader).|format=PDF |accessdate=March 13, 2013}}</ref> [[Androphilia and gynephilia|''Androphilia'' and ''gynephilia'']] are terms used in [[behavioral science]] to describe sexual orientation as an alternative to a [[gender binary]] conceptualization. ''Androphilia'' describes sexual attraction to [[masculinity]]; ''gynephilia'' describes the sexual attraction to [[femininity]].<ref name="schmidt2010">Schmidt J (2010). Migrating Genders: Westernisation, Migration, and Samoan Fa'afafine, p. 45 Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., {{ISBN|978-1-4094-0273-2}}</ref> The term ''sexual preference'' largely overlaps with sexual orientation, but is generally distinguished in psychological research.<ref name="Preference">{{cite news|title= Avoiding Heterosexual Bias in Language|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]|accessdate=July 19, 2011|url=http://www.colby.edu/psychology/APA/Gender.pdf}}</ref> A person who identifies as bisexual, for example, may sexually prefer one sex over the other.<ref name="Rosario">{{cite journal | last1 = Rosario | first1 = M. | last2 = Schrimshaw | first2 = E. | last3 = Hunter | first3 = J. | last4 = Braun | first4 = L. | year = 2006 | title = Sexual identity development among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths: Consistency and change over time | url = | journal = Journal of Sex Research | volume = 43 | issue = 1| pages = 46–58 | doi=10.1080/00224490609552298| pmc = 3215279 | pmid=16817067}}</ref> ''Sexual preference'' may also suggest a degree of voluntary choice,<ref name="Preference"/><ref>{{cite book |title=The republic of choice: law, authority, and culture |last=Friedman |first=Lawrence Meir |year=1990 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location= |isbn=978-0-674-76260-2 |page=92 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z6iYwTFY5mIC&lpg=PA92|accessdate=8 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Sexual revolutions: psychoanalysis, history and the father |last=Heuer |first=Gottfried |year=2011 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |location= |isbn=978-0-415-57043-5 |page=49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d3s_vH5YV-gC&lpg=PA49|accessdate=8 January 2011}}</ref> whereas the [[scientific consensus]] is that sexual orientation is not a choice.<ref name="pediatrics2004">{{cite journal |doi=10.1542/peds.113.6.1827 |author=Frankowski BL|author2=American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Adolescence|title=Sexual orientation and adolescents |journal=[[Pediatrics (journal)|Pediatrics]]|volume=113 |issue=6 |pages=1827–32 |date=June 2004|pmid=15173519|url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/113/6/1827.long}}</ref><ref name="Kersey-Matusiak">{{cite book|author=Gloria Kersey-Matusiak|title=Delivering Culturally Competent Nursing Care|publisher=[[Springer Publishing Company]]|isbn=0826193811|year=2012|page=169|accessdate=February 10, 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8O_wGedAYoC&pg=PA169|quote=Most health and mental health organizations do not view sexual orientation as a 'choice.'}}</ref><ref name="Lamanna">{{cite book|authors=Mary Ann Lamanna, Agnes Riedmann, Susan D Stewart|title=Marriages, Families, and Relationships: Making Choices in a Diverse Society|publisher=[[Cengage Learning]]|isbn=1305176898|year=2014|page=82|accessdate=February 11, 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fofaAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA82|quote=The reason some individuals develop a gay sexual identity has not been definitively established – nor do we yet understand the development of heterosexuality. The American Psychological Association (APA) takes the position that a variety of factors impact a person's sexuality. The most recent literature from the APA says that sexual orientation is not a choice that can be changed at will, and that sexual orientation is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors...is shaped at an early age...[and evidence suggests] biological, including genetic or inborn hormonal factors, play a significant role in a person's sexuality (American Psychological Association 2010).}}</ref>
==Causes of homosexuality - Biblical explanation ==
Scientists do not know the exact causes of sexual orientation, but they believe that it is caused by a complex interplay of [[Genetics|genetic]], [[hormonal]], and [[Environment and sexual orientation|environmental influences]].<ref name="pediatrics2004"/><ref name="Lamanna"/><ref name="Stuart">{{cite book|author=Gail Wiscarz Stuart|title=Principles and Practice of Psychiatric Nursing|publisher=[[Elsevier Health Sciences]]|isbn=032329412X|year=2014|page=502|accessdate=February 11, 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ivALBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA502|quote=No conclusive evidence supports any one specific cause of homosexuality; however, most researchers agree that biological and social factors influence the development of sexual orientation.}}</ref> They favor [[Biology and sexual orientation|biologically-based theories]],<ref name="pediatrics2004"/> which point to genetic factors, the early uterine environment, both, or the inclusion of genetic and social factors.<ref name="rcp2007">{{cite web |url=http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/workinpsychiatry/specialinterestgroups/gaylesbian/submissiontothecofe/psychiatryandlgbpeople.aspx#history|title=Submission to the Church of England’s Listening Exercise on Human Sexuality |publisher=The Royal College of Psychiatrists|accessdate=13 June 2013}}</ref><ref name="Långström2010">{{Cite journal | last1 = Långström | first1 = N. | last2 = Rahman | first2 = Q. | last3 = Carlström | first3 = E. | last4 = Lichtenstein | first4 = P. | title = Genetic and Environmental Effects on Same-sex Sexual Behavior: A Population Study of Twins in Sweden | doi = 10.1007/s10508-008-9386-1 | journal = Archives of Sexual Behavior | volume = 39 | issue = 1 | pages = 75–80 | year = 2008 | pmid = 18536986| pmc = }}</ref> There is no substantive evidence which suggests parenting or early childhood experiences play a role when it comes to sexual orientation.<ref name="rcp2007"/> Research over several decades has demonstrated that sexual orientation ranges along [[heterosexual-homosexual continuum|a continuum]], from exclusive attraction to the opposite sex to exclusive attraction to the same sex.<ref name="AmPsycholAssn-whatis"/>
Sexual orientation is reported primarily within [[biology]] and [[psychology]] (including [[sexology]]), but it is also a subject area in [[anthropology]], [[history]] (including [[social constructionism]]), and [[law]],<ref name=Cruz>{{cite journal|last1=Cruz|first1=David B.|title=Controlling Desires: Sexual Orientation Conversion and the Limits of Knowledge and Law|journal=Southern California Law Review|date=1999|volume=72|page=1297|url=http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~usclrev/pdf/072502.pdf}}</ref> and there are [[#Social constructionism and Western societies|other explanations]] that relate to [[#Culture|sexual orientation and culture]].
===Nature of man and causes of homosexuality ===
== Definitions and distinguishing from sexual identity and behavior ==
===General===
{{See also|Sexual identity|Human sexual activity|Situational sexual behavior}}
Sexual orientation is traditionally defined as including [[heterosexuality]], [[bisexuality]], and [[homosexual orientation|homosexuality]], while [[asexuality]] is considered the fourth category of sexual orientation by some researchers and has been defined as the absence of a traditional sexual orientation. An asexual has little to no sexual attraction to people.<ref name="Sex and society"/><ref name="Bogaert2006">{{cite journal | last1 = Bogaert | first1 = Anthony F| year = 2006 | title = Toward a conceptual understanding of asexuality | url = http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18172400| journal = Review of General Psychology | volume = 10 | issue = 3| pages = 241–250 | doi=10.1037/1089-2680.10.3.241}}</ref> It may be considered a lack of a sexual orientation,<ref name=Bogaert2004>{{cite journal|last1=Bogaert |first1=Anthony F |year=2004 |title=Asexuality: prevalence and associated factors in a national probability sample |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2372/is_3_41/ai_n6274004 |journal=Journal of Sex Research |volume=41 |issue=3 |page=281 |doi=10.1080/00224490409552235 |pmid=15497056 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513004558/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2372/is_3_41/ai_n6274004/ |archivedate=2012-05-13 |df= }}</ref> and there is significant debate over whether or not it is a sexual orientation.<ref name="Sexual orientation"/><ref name="Sex and society"/>
Most definitions of sexual orientation include a psychological component, such as the direction of an individual's erotic desires, 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 (social science)|identity]]. Scientific and professional understanding is that "the core attractions that form the basis for adult sexual orientation typically emerge between middle childhood and early adolescence".<ref name="AmPsycholAssn-whatis"/> Sexual orientation differs from sexual identity in that it encompasses relationships with others, while sexual identity is a concept of self.
===Environment===
The [[American Psychological Association]] states that "[s]exual orientation refers to an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes" and that "[t]his range of behaviors and attractions has been described in various cultures and nations throughout the world. Many cultures use identity labels to describe people who express these attractions. In the United States, the most frequent labels are [[lesbian]]s (women attracted to women), [[gay]] men (men attracted to men), and bisexual people (men or women attracted to both sexes). However, some people may use different labels or none at all". They additionally state that sexual orientation "is distinct from other components of sex and gender, including biological sex (the anatomical, physiological, and genetic characteristics associated with being male or female), gender identity (the psychological sense of being male or female), and social gender role (the cultural norms that define feminine and masculine behavior)".<ref name="AmPsycholAssn-whatis"/> According to psychologists, sexual orientation also refers to a person’s choice of sexual partners, who may be homosexual, heterosexual, or bisexual.<ref>Greene, B., & Herek, G. M. (eds.). (1994). ''Lesbian and Gay Psychology: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications''. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. p. 162. Quotation: "A second aspect of sexual identity, sexual orientation, refers to a person's choice of sexual partners: heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual".</ref><ref>American Psychological Association (2005). [http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/parenting-full.pdf "Lesbian & Gay Parenting"].</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Tasker | first1 = F. | last2 = Patterson | first2 = C. J. | year = 2007 | title = Research on Lesbian and Gay Parenting: Retrospect and Prospect | url = http://people.virginia.edu/~cjp/articles/tp07.pdf | format = PDF | journal = Journal of GLBT Family Studies | volume = 3 | issue = 2–3| pages = 9–34 | doi = 10.1300/J461v03n02_02 }}</ref>
Sexual identity and [[Human sexual activity|sexual behavior]] are closely related to sexual orientation, but they are distinguished, with sexual 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."<ref>{{cite journal |author=Reiter L. |title=Sexual orientation, sexual identity, and the question of choice |journal=Clinical Social Work Journal |volume=17 |pages=138–50 |year=1989 |url=http://www.springerlink.com/content/g248324552457105/ |doi=10.1007/bf00756141}}</ref> Individuals may or may not express their sexual orientation in their behaviors.<ref name="AmPsycholAssn-whatis"/> People who have a [[non-heterosexual]] sexual orientation that does not align with their sexual identity are sometimes referred to as '[[closeted]]'. 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 attraction]]s, behaviors and identity match, scientists usually use the terms ''concordance'' or ''discordance.'' 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).<ref name="Concordance/discordance in SO">{{cite journal|first=Michael W.
|last=Ross|author2=Essien, E. James |author3=Williams, Mark L. |author4= Fernandez-Esquer, Maria Eugenia. |title=Concordance Between Sexual Behavior and Sexual Identity in Street Outreach Samples of Four Racial/Ethnic Groups|publisher=American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association|year=2003|pmid=12567166|journal=Sexually Transmitted Diseases|volume=30|issue=2|pages=110–3|doi=10.1097/00007435-200302000-00003}}</ref>
''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'', and the two terms are often used interchangeably, but ''sexual preference'' suggests a degree of voluntary choice.<ref name="Preference"/> The term has been a listed by the American Psychological Association's Committee on Gay and Lesbian Concerns as a wording that advances a "heterosexual bias".<ref name="Preference"/>
===Androphilia, gynephilia and other terms===
{{Main article|Androphilia and gynephilia}}
''Androphilia'' and ''gynephilia'' (or ''gynecophilia'') are terms used in behavioral science to describe sexual attraction, as an alternative to a homosexual and heterosexual conceptualization. They are used for identifying a subject's object of attraction without attributing a [[sex assignment]] or [[gender identity]] to the subject. Related terms such as ''[[Pansexuality|pansexual]]'' and ''[[Polysexuality|polysexual]]'' do not make any such assignations to the subject.<ref name="Firestein"/><ref name="Sex and society2">{{cite book|title=Sex and Society|volume=2|page=593|last=Rice|first=Kim|isbn=978-0-7614-7905-5|publisher=[[Marshall Cavendish]]|year=2009|editor=Marshall Cavendish Corporation|contribution=Pansexuality|accessdate=October 3, 2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YtsxeWE7VD0C&pg=PA593&lpg=PA593&dq=Pansexuality&source=bl&ots=YYqrMAWKKC&sig=ND_-SUQUyuN7Bw6e7w-v9pBYmRk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ct9rUPCoKOTO2AWN7oHIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Pansexuality&f=false}}</ref> People may also use terms such as ''[[queer]]'', ''pansensual,'' ''polyfidelitous,'' ''ambisexual,'' or personalized identities such as ''byke'' or ''biphilic''.<ref name="Firestein"/>
''[[Same gender loving]]'' (SGL) is considered to be more than a different term for gay; it introduces the concept of love into the discussion. SGL also acknowledges relationships between people of like identities; for example, [[third gender]] individuals who may be oriented toward each other, and expands the discussion of sexuality beyond the original man/woman gender duality. The complexity of [[transgender]] orientation is also more completely understood within this perspective.<ref>Sinclair, Karen, About Whoever: The Social Imprint on Identity and Orientation, NY, 2013</ref>
Using ''androphilia'' and ''gynephilia'' can avoid confusion and offense when describing people in non-western cultures, as well as when describing intersex and transgender people. Psychiatrist [[Anil Aggrawal]] explains that androphilia, along with gynephilia, "is needed to overcome immense difficulties in characterizing the sexual orientation of trans men and trans women. For instance, it is difficult to decide whether a trans man erotically attracted to males is a heterosexual female or a homosexual male; or a trans woman erotically attracted to females is a heterosexual male or a lesbian female. Any attempt to classify them may not only cause confusion but arouse offense among the affected subjects. In such cases, while defining sexual attraction, it is best to focus on the object of their attraction rather than on the sex or gender of the subject."<ref name="Aggrawal2008">Aggrawal, Anil (2008). ''Forensic and medico-legal aspects of sexual crimes and unusual sexual practices.'' CRC Press, {{ISBN|978-1-4200-4308-2}}</ref> Sexologist [[Milton Diamond]] writes, "The terms heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual are better used as adjectives, not nouns, and are better applied to behaviors, not people. This usage is particularly advantageous when discussing the partners of transsexual or intersexed individuals. These newer terms also do not carry the social weight of the former ones."<ref name="diamond2010">Diamond M (2010). Sexual orientation and gender identity. In Weiner IB, Craighead EW eds. ''The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology'', Volume 4. p. 1578. John Wiley and Sons, {{ISBN|978-0-470-17023-6}}</ref>
Some researchers advocate use of the terminology to avoid [[bias]] inherent in [[Western culture|Western]] conceptualizations of human sexuality. Writing about the [[Samoa]]n [[fa'afafine]] demographic, sociologist Johanna Schmidt writes that in cultures where a [[third gender]] is recognized, a term like "homosexual transsexual" does not align with cultural categories.<ref name="schmidt2001">Schmidt J (2001). [http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections/issue6/schmidt.html Redefining fa’afafine: Western discourses and the construction of transgenderism in Samoa.] ''Intersections: Gender, history and culture in the Asian context''</ref>
Some researchers, such as [[Bruce Bagemihl]], have criticized the labels "heterosexual" and "homosexual" as confusing and degrading. Bagemihl writes, "...the point of reference for 'heterosexual' or 'homosexual' orientation in this nomenclature is solely the individual's genetic sex prior to reassignment (see for example, Blanchard et al. 1987, Coleman and Bockting, 1988, Blanchard, 1989). These labels thereby ignore the individual's personal sense of gender identity taking precedence over biological sex, rather than the other way around." Bagemihl goes on to take issue with the way this terminology makes it easy to claim transsexuals are really homosexual males seeking to escape from stigma.<ref name="bagemihl">Bagemihl B. Surrogate phonology and transsexual faggotry: A linguistic analogy for uncoupling sexual orientation from gender identity. In ''Queerly Phrased: Language, Gender, and Sexuality''. Anna Livia, Kira Hall (eds.) pp. 380 ff. Oxford University Press {{ISBN|0-19-510471-4}}</ref>
=== Gender, transgender, cisgender, and conformance ===
<!-- [[File:Bono Chaz 2010 crop.jpg|right|thumb|[[Chaz Bono]] is a famous female to male transgender person]] -->
[[File:Kathoy1649.jpg|thumb|240px|[[Kathoey|Ladyboys]] in Thailand]]
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.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Minton HL |title=Femininity in men and masculinity in women: American psychiatry and psychology portray homosexuality in the 1930s |journal=[[Journal of Homosexuality]] |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=1–21 |year=1986 |pmid=3534080 |doi=10.1300/J082v13n01_01}}<br>Terry, J. (1999). ''An American obsession: Science, medicine, and homosexuality in modern society.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press</ref> 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. An individual homosexual, heterosexual or bisexual person may be masculine, feminine, or [[Androgyny|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 [[stereotype]]s. Nevertheless, studies by [[J. Michael Bailey]] and [[Kenneth Zucker]] found a majority of the gay men and lesbians [[Sample (statistics)|sampled]] reporting various degrees of gender-nonconformity during their childhood years.<ref>{{cite journal |author=[[J. Michael Bailey|Bailey JM]], Zucker KJ |title=Childhood sex-typed behavior and sexual orientation: a conceptual analysis and quantitative review |journal=Developmental Psychology |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=43–55 |year=1995 |doi=10.1037/0012-1649.31.1.43}}</ref>
Transgender people today identify with the sexual orientation that corresponds with their gender; meaning that a [[trans woman]] who is solely attracted to women would often identify as a lesbian. A [[trans man]] solely attracted to women would be a straight man.
Sexual orientation sees greater intricacy when non-binary understandings of both sex (male, female, or [[intersex]]) and gender (man, woman, transgender, [[third gender]], etc. are considered. Sociologist [[Paula Rodriguez Rust]] (2000) argues for a more multifaceted definition of sexual orientation:
{{quotation|...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.|Paula C. Rodriguez Rust<ref>Rodriguez Rust, Paula C. ''Bisexuality: A contemporary paradox for women'', Journal of Social Issues, vol. 56(2), Summer 2000, pp. 205–221. Special Issue: Women's sexualities: New perspectives on sexual orientation and gender. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0341/is_2_56/ai_66419862/pg_2 Article online.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310220454/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0341/is_2_56/ai_66419862/pg_2 |date=2007-03-10 }}<br>Also published in: Rodriguez Rust, Paula C. ''Bisexuality in the United States: A Social Science Reader''. Columbia University Press, 2000. {{ISBN|0-231-10227-5}}.</ref>}}
== Modern studies concerning the causes of homosexuality ==
=== 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 a perceived traditional family and concerns of discrimination and religious [[ostracism]].<ref name="Brokeback">{{cite news
<blockquote>
|title=Many Couples Must Negotiate Terms of 'Brokeback' Marriages|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/07/health/07broke.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin|last=Butler|first=Katy|date=March 7, 2006|publisher=New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|title=How to tell if your husband is gay
|first=Rochelle
|last=Hentges
|publisher=[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]]
|date=October 4, 2006
|url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/tribpm/s_473458.html
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022161748/http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/tribpm/s_473458.html
|dead-url=yes
|archive-date=October 22, 2006
|df=
}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.is/20120630093705/http://www.haworthpress.com/store/ArticleAbstract.asp?sid=3Q4EE45JK40W8L1DN0HJVF3U8WFT5DSC&ID=11230 Gay Men from Heterosexual Marriages: Attitudes, Behaviors, Childhood Experiences, and Reasons for Marriage]</ref><ref>{{citation |url= http://www.sltrib.com/faith/ci_4138478 |title= Gay, Mormon, married |first= Peggy Fletcher |last= Stack |authorlink= Peggy Fletcher Stack |date= August 5, 2006 |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-19990301-000030.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060318065827/http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-19990301-000030.html|dead-url=yes|archive-date=2006-03-18|title=Gay No More|work=psychologytoday.com}}</ref> While some [[LGBT]] people hide their respective orientations from their spouses, others develop positive gay and lesbian identities while maintaining successful heterosexual marriages.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Hays D |author2=Samuels A |title=Heterosexual women's perceptions of their marriages to bisexual or homosexual men |journal=J Homosex |volume=18 |issue=1–2 |pages=81–100 |year=1989 |pmid=2794500 |doi=10.1300/J082v18n01_04 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Coleman E |title=Bisexual and gay men in heterosexual marriage: conflicts and resolutions in therapy |journal=J Homosex |volume=7 |issue=2–3 |pages=93–103 |year=1981 |pmid=7346553 |doi=10.1300/J082v07n02_11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Matteson DR |title=Bisexual men in marriage: is a positive homosexual identity and stable marriage possible? |journal=J Homosex |volume=11 |issue=1–2 |pages=149–71 |year=1985 |pmid=4056386 |doi=10.1300/J082v11n01_12}}</ref> [[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 ===
{{Main article|Sexual fluidity}}
====General aspects====
Often, sexual orientation and [[sexual orientation identity]] are not distinguished, which can impact accurately assessing sexual identity and whether or not sexual orientation is able to change; sexual orientation identity can change throughout an individual's life, and may or may not align with biological sex, sexual behavior or actual sexual orientation.<ref name="Rosario" /><ref name="Concordance/discordance in SO"/><ref name="Sinclair">Sinclair, Karen, About Whoever: The Social Imprint on Identity and Orientation, NY, 2013 {{ISBN|9780981450513}}</ref> While the [[Centre for Addiction and Mental Health]] and [[American Psychiatric Association]] state that sexual orientation is innate, continuous or fixed throughout their lives for some people, but is fluid or changes over time for others,<ref>{{cite web|title=Question A2: Sexual orientation|url=http://knowledgex.camh.net/amhspecialists/Screening_Assessment/assessment/ARQ2/Pages/arq2_question_a2.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907005035/http://knowledgex.camh.net/amhspecialists/Screening_Assessment/assessment/ARQ2/Pages/arq2_question_a2.aspx|dead-url=yes|archive-date=7 September 2014|publisher=Centre for Addiction and Mental Health|accessdate=3 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="What is">[http://www.psychiatry.org/lgbt-sexual-orientation "LGBT-Sexual Orientation: What is Sexual Orientation?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628094701/http://www.psychiatry.org/lgbt-sexual-orientation |date=2014-06-28 }}, the official web pages of APA. Accessed April 9, 2015</ref> the [[American Psychological Association]] distinguishes between sexual orientation (an innate attraction) and sexual orientation identity (which may change at any point in a person's life).<ref name=apa2009>{{cite journal|title=Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]|pages=63, 86|date=2009|accessdate=February 3, 2015|url=http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/therapeutic-response.pdf}}</ref>
Some research suggests that "[f]or some <nowiki>[</nowiki>people<nowiki>]</nowiki> the focus of sexual interest will shift at various points through the life span..."<ref>Susan Moore and Doreen Rosenthal, ''Sexuality in Adolescence: Current Trends'' (E. Sussex/London: Routledge (Adolescence and Society ser.), 2d ed., pbk., 2006), p. 48 (authors respectively developmental social psychologist, Swinburne Univ. Melbourne, & developmental psychologist, Univ. of Melbourne, ''id.'', cover IV).</ref> "There... <nowiki>[</nowiki>was, as of 1995,<nowiki>]</nowiki> essentially no research on the longitudinal stability of sexual orientation over the adult life span... It <nowiki>[</nowiki>was<nowiki>]</nowiki>... still an unanswered question whether... <nowiki>[</nowiki>the<nowiki>]</nowiki> measure <nowiki>[</nowiki>of 'the complex components of sexual orientation as differentiated from other aspects of sexual identity at one point in time'<nowiki>]</nowiki> will predict future behavior or orientation. Certainly, it is... 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)."<ref name="search.proquest.com">http://search.proquest.com/docview/224888124</ref><ref name="search.proquest.com"/><ref name="Gonsiorek-Weinrich">http://psycnet.apa.org/?fa=main.doiLanding&fuseaction=showUIDAbstract&uid=1996-16078-001</ref><ref name="Def-Measure-SO"/> Some studies report that "[a number of] lesbian women, and some heterosexual women as well, perceive choice as an important element in their sexual orientations."<ref>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).</ref>
[[Image:325979 dna150.jpg|thumbnail|150px|left|[[Columbia University]] [[psychiatry]] professors Drs. William Byrne and Bruce Parsons stated: "There is no evidence that at present to substantiate a [[biology|biological]] theory. [T]he appeal of current biological explanations for sexual orientation may derive more from dissatisfaction with the present status of [[psychosocial]] explanations than from a substantiating body of [[Experimental science|experimental]] data".<ref>http://www.cwfa.org/images/content/bornorbred.pdf</ref>]]
==== Born bisexual, then monosexualizing ====
{{Main article|Innate bisexuality}}
[[Innate bisexuality]] is an idea introduced by [[Sigmund Freud]]. According to this theory, all humans are born bisexual in a very broad sense of the term, that of incorporating general aspects of both sexes. In Freud's view, this was true anatomically and therefore also psychologically, with sexual attraction to both sexes being one part of this psychological bisexuality. Freud believed that in the course of sexual development the masculine side would normally become dominant in men and the feminine side in women, but that as adults everyone still has desires derived from both the masculine and the feminine sides of their natures. Freud did not claim that everyone is bisexual in the sense of feeling the same level of sexual attraction to both genders.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Ruse, Michael |authorlink=Michael Ruse |title=Homosexuality: A Philosophical Inquiry |publisher=Basil Blackwell |location=Oxford |year=1988 |isbn=0 631 15275 X |pages=22, 25, 45}}</ref>
===Parental relationships with offspring===
== Causes ==
The psychoanalytical theory is the historical position, which implicates a detached, rejecting or absent father, often along with a close bond to the mother, as working, on the conscious and unconscious level, against a secure sexual identity. Also contributing to this can be a so called [[Emotional Incest Syndrome]], for example when a mother who has animosity toward the father, or men in general, and who works to present him negatively, and to make the child side with her.
The exact causes for the development of a particular sexual orientation have yet to be established. To date, a lot of research has been conducted to determine the influence of genetics, hormonal action, development dynamics, social and cultural influences—which has led many to think that biology and environment factors play a complex role in forming it. It was once thought that homosexuality was the result of faulty psychological development, resulting from childhood experiences and troubled relationships, including childhood sexual abuse. It has been found that this was based on prejudice and misinformation.<ref name=AmPsycholAssn-whatis /><ref name="AmPsychiAssn-Sexual orientation" />
=== Biology ===
{{Main article|Biology and sexual orientation}}
Research has identified several biological factors which may be related to the development of sexual orientation, including [[gene]]s, [[Prenatal hormones and sexual orientation|prenatal hormones]], and [[Human brain|brain]] structure. No single controlling cause has been identified, and research is continuing in this area.<ref name="twin-adol">{{cite journal|last2=Bruckner|first2=H.|date=|year=2001|title=Opposite-sex twins and adolescent same-sex attraction|url=http://iserp.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/working_papers/2001_04.pdf|format=PDF|journal=American Journal of Sociology|volume=107|issue=|pages=1179–1205|doi=10.1086/341906|via=|last1=Bearman|first1=P. S.|archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/691iacXH5?url=http://iserp.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/working_papers/2001_04.pdf|archivedate=2012-07-09}}</ref>
Though researchers generally believe that sexual orientation is not determined by any one factor but by a combination of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences,<ref name="pediatrics2004"/><ref name="Lamanna"/><ref name="Stuart"/> with biological factors involving a complex interplay of genetic factors and the early uterine environment,<ref name="Lamanna"/><ref name="rcp2007"/> they favor biological models for the cause.<ref name="pediatrics2004"/> They believe that sexual orientation is not a choice,<ref name="pediatrics2004"/><ref name="Kersey-Matusiak"/><ref name="Lamanna"/> and some of them believe that it is established at conception.<ref name="Vare">Vare, Jonatha W., and Terry L. Norton. "Understanding Gay and Lesbian Youth: Sticks, Stones and Silence." Cleaning House 71.6 (1998): 327-331: Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 19 April 2012.</ref> That is, individuals do not choose to be homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, or asexual. Current scientific investigation usually seeks to find biological explanations for the adoption of a particular sexual orientation.<ref name="pediatrics2004"/> Scientific studies have found a number of statistical [[Biology and sexual orientation#Biological differences in gay men and lesbian women|biological differences between gay people and heterosexuals]], which may result from the same underlying cause as sexual orientation itself.
===Sexual abuse===
==== Genetic factors ====
[[Gene]]s may be related to the development of sexual orientation. A twin study from 2001 appears to exclude genes as a major factor,<ref name="twin-adol" /> while a twin study from 2010 found that homosexuality was explained by both genes and environmental factors.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Långström|first=Niklas|last2=Rahman|first2=Qazi|last3=Carlström|first3=Eva|last4=Lichtenstein|first4=Paul|date=2010-02-01|title=Genetic and Environmental Effects on Same-sex Sexual Behavior: A Population Study of Twins in Sweden|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-008-9386-1|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|language=en|volume=39|issue=1|pages=75–80|doi=10.1007/s10508-008-9386-1|issn=0004-0002|pmid=18536986}}</ref> However, [[experimental design]] of the available twin studies have made their interpretation difficult.
In 2012, a large, comprehensive [[Genome-wide association study|genome-wide linkage study]] of male sexual orientation was conducted by several independent groups of researchers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sanders|first=A. R.|last2=Martin|first2=E. R.|last3=Beecham|first3=G. W.|last4=Guo|first4=S.|last5=Dawood|first5=K.|last6=Rieger|first6=G.|last7=Badner|first7=J. A.|last8=Gershon|first8=E. S.|last9=Krishnappa|first9=R. S.|date=May 2015|title=Genome-wide scan demonstrates significant linkage for male sexual orientation|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/genomewide-scan-demonstrates-significant-linkage-for-male-sexual-orientation/864518601436C95563EA670C5F380343|journal=Psychological Medicine|volume=45|issue=7|pages=1379–1388|doi=10.1017/S0033291714002451|issn=0033-2917|pmid=25399360}}</ref> Significant linkage to homosexuality was found with genes on chromosome [[Xq28]] and chromosome 8 in the pericentromeric region. The authors concluded that "our findings, taken in context with previous work, suggest that genetic variation in each of these regions contributes to development of the important psychological trait of male sexual orientation." It was the largest study of the genetic basis of homosexuality to date and was published online in November 2014.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sanders|first1=A. R.|last2=Martin|first2=E. R.|last3=Beecham|first3=G. W.|last4=Guo|first4=S.|last5=Dawood|first5=K.|last6=Rieger|first6=G.|last7=Badner|first7=J. A.|last8=Gershon|first8=E. S.|last9=Krishnappa|first9=R. S.|last10=Kolundzija|first10=A. B.|last11=Duan|first11=J.|last12=Gejman|first12=P. V.|last13=Bailey|first13=J. M.|title=Genome-wide scan demonstrates significant linkage for male sexual orientation|journal=Psychological Medicine|date=17 November 2014|volume=45|issue=07|pages=1379–1388|doi=10.1017/S0033291714002451|pmid=25399360}}</ref>
=== Xenoestrogens and Xenoandrogens ===
==== 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]], hormonal 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 or environmental and social conditions.<ref name="BornGay-passim">Wilson, G., & Q. Rahman, ''Born Gay: The Psychobiology of Human Sex Orientation'', ''op. cit.''</ref>
As female fetuses have two X chromosomes and male ones a XY pair, the chromosome Y is the responsible for producing male differentiation on the defect female development. The differentiation process is driven by [[androgen]] hormones, mainly [[testosterone]] and [[dihydrotestosterone]] (DHT). The newly formed testicles in the fetus are responsible for the secretion of androgens, that will cooperate in driving the sexual differentiation of the developing fetus, including its brain. This results in sexual differences between males and females.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Siiteri|first=PK|author2=Wilson, JD |title=Testosterone formation and metabolism during male sexual differentiation in the human embryo.|journal=The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism|date=Jan 1974|volume=38|issue=1|pages=113–25|pmid=4809636|doi=10.1210/jcem-38-1-113}}</ref> This fact has led some scientists to test in various ways the result of modifying androgen exposure levels in mammals during fetus and early life.<ref name=Levy>{{cite book|last1=LeVay|first1=Simon|title=Gay, Straight, and the reason why. The science of sexual orientation.|date=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-993158-3|pages=45–71; 129–156}}</ref>
==Biological research on the causes of homosexuality ==
==== 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.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2005.09.002 | last1 = Blanchard | first1 = R. | last2 = Cantor | first2 = J. M. | last3 = Bogaert | first3 = A. F. | last4 = Breedlove | first4 = S. M. | last5 = Ellis | first5 = L. | year = 2006 | title = Interaction of fraternal birth order and handedness in the development of male homosexuality | url = http://msu.edu/~breedsm/pdf/Blanchard2006IntFratHandHBFinal.pdf | journal = Hormones and Behavior | volume = 49 | issue = 3| pages = 405–414 | pmid = 16246335 }}</ref>
However, further scrutiny showed this hasty conclusion as lacking in warrant.
Known as the ''fraternal birth order'' (FBO) effect, this theory has been backed up by strong evidence of its prenatal origin, although no evidence thus far has linked it to an exact prenatal mechanism. However, research suggests that this may be of immunological origin, caused by a maternal immune reaction against a substance crucial to male fetal development during pregnancy, which becomes increasingly likely after every male gestation. As a result of this immune effect, alterations in later-born males' prenatal development have been thought to occur. This process, known as the maternal immunization hypothesis (MIH), would begin when cells from a male fetus enter the mother's circulation during pregnancy or while giving birth. These Y-linked proteins would not be recognized in the mother's immune system because she is female, causing her to develop antibodies which would travel through the placental barrier into the fetal compartment. From here, the anti-male bodies would then cross the [[blood–brain barrier]] of the developing fetal brain, altering sex-dimorphic brain structures relative to sexual orientation, causing the exposed son to be more attracted to men over women.<ref>{{Cite journal
| author1 = [[Anthony F. Bogaert]]
| author2 = [[Malvina Skorska]]
| title = Sexual orientation, fraternal birth order, and the maternal immune hypothesis: a review
| journal = [[Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology]]
| volume = 32
| issue = 2
| pages = 247–254
|date=April 2011
| doi = 10.1016/j.yfrne.2011.02.004
| pmid = 21315103
}}</ref>
=== Environmental factors ===
{{Main article|Environment and sexual orientation}}
There is no substantive evidence to support the suggestion that early childhood experiences, parenting, sexual abuse, or other adverse life events influence sexual orientation. However, studies do find that aspects of sexuality expression have an experiential basis and that parental attitudes towards a particular sexual orientation may affect how children of the parents experiment with behaviors related to a certain sexual orientation.<ref name="AmPsycholAssn-whatis"/><ref name="pediatrics2004"/><ref name="rcp2007"/><ref>"Different aspects of sexual orientation may be influenced to a greater or lesser degree <nowiki>[</nowiki>p. 303:<nowiki>]</nowiki> 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).</ref><ref>"Whereas there is no evidence from the present investigation to suggest that parents have a determining influence on the sexual orientation of their children, the findings do indicate that by creating a climate of acceptance or rejection of homosexuality within the family, parents may have some impact on their children's sexual experimentation as heterosexual, lesbian, or gay." ''Do Parents Influence the Sexual Orientation of Their Children?'', ''ibid.'', in ''Speaking of Sexuality'', ''id.'', p. 303 (adapted per ''id.'', p. 303).</ref>
=== Influences: professional organizations' statements ===
The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] in 2004 stated:<ref name="pediatrics2004" />
{{quote|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.}}
The [[American Psychological Association]], the [[American Psychiatric Association]], and the [[National Association of Social Workers]] in 2006 stated:<ref name="Calif-amici" />
{{quote|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.}}
=== Causes of homosexuality and origins paradigms ===
The [[Royal College of Psychiatrists]] in 2007 stated:<ref name="rcp2007" />
{{quote|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, though sexual behaviour clearly is.}}
The American Psychiatric Association stated:<ref name="AmPsychiAssn-Sexual orientation"/>
{{quote|No one knows what causes heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality. 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.}}
==Conclusions==
A legal brief dated September 26, 2007, and presented on behalf of the American Psychological Association, California Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, National Association of Social Workers, and National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter, stated:<ref name="Calif-amici"/>
{{quote|Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation – heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality – is determined by any particular factor or factors. The evaluation of ''amici'' is that, although some of this research may be promising in facilitating greater understanding of the development of sexual orientation, it does not permit a conclusion based in sound science at the present time as to the cause or causes of sexual orientation, whether homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual.}}
== Efforts to change sexual orientation ==
{{Main article|Sexual orientation change efforts|Conversion therapy}}
Sexual orientation change efforts are methods that aim to change a same-sex sexual orientation. They may include behavioral techniques, [[cognitive behavioral therapy]], [[reparative therapy]], psychoanalytic techniques, medical approaches, and religious and spiritual approaches.<ref name="apa2009" />
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,<ref name="Calif-amici" /><ref>[https://www.webcitation.org/5sEshQkXj?url=http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/2009-11-17-doma-aff-herek.pdf Expert affidavit of Gregory M. Herek, Ph.D.]</ref> the Royal College of Psychiatrists,<ref name="royal2009">[http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/RCPsychposstatementsexorientation.pdf Statement from the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Gay and Lesbian Mental Health Special Interest Group].</ref> and the Australian Psychological Society.<ref name="aps">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070830140633/http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/tip_sheets/orientation/ Australian Psychological Society: Sexual orientation and homosexuality].</ref>
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:
<blockquote>
<blockquote>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.<ref name="apa2009" /></blockquote>
In 2012, the [[Pan American Health Organization]] (the North and South American branch of the [[World Health Organization]]) released a statement cautioning against services that purport to "cure" people with non-heterosexual sexual orientations as they lack medical justification and represent a serious threat to the health and well-being of affected people, and noted that the global scientific and professional consensus is that homosexuality is a normal and natural variation of [[human sexuality]] and cannot be regarded as a pathological condition. The Pan American Health Organization further called on governments, academic institutions, professional associations and the media to expose these practices and to promote respect for diversity. The World Health Organization affiliate further noted that gay minors have sometimes been forced to attend these "therapies" involuntarily, being deprived of their liberty and sometimes kept in isolation for several months, and that these findings were reported by several [[United Nations]] bodies. Additionally, the Pan American Health Organization recommended that such malpractices be denounced and subject to sanctions and penalties under national legislation, as they constitute a violation of the ethical principles of health care and violate [[human rights]] that are protected by international and regional agreements.<ref name=PAHO>{{cite web|title="Therapies" to change sexual orientation lack medical justification and threaten health |url=http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6803&Itemid=1926 |publisher=Pan American Health Organization |accessdate=May 26, 2012 |deadurl=no |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/67xKQyixE?url=http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6803&Itemid=1926 |archivedate=May 26, 2012 |df= }}</ref>
The [[National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality]] (NARTH), which describes itself as a "professional, scientific organization that offers hope to those who struggle with unwanted homosexuality," disagrees with the mainstream mental health community's position on conversion therapy, both on its effectiveness and by describing sexual orientation not as a binary immutable quality, or as a disease, but as a continuum of intensities of sexual attractions and emotional affect.<ref>[http://narth.com/menus/mission.html NARTH Mission Statement<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author = Spitzer R. L. | year = 1981 | title = The diagnostic status of homosexuality in DSM-III: a reformulation of the issues | url = http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/138/2/210 | journal = American Journal of Psychiatry | volume = 138 | issue = 2| pages = 210–15 | pmid = 7457641 | doi=10.1176/ajp.138.2.210}}</ref><ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,904053,00.html "An Instant Cure"], ''Time''; April 1, 1974.</ref><ref>[http://www.narth.com/docs/normalization.html The A.P.A. Normalization of Homosexuality, and the Research Study of Irving Bieber<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> 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.<ref name="royal2009"/><ref name="apaexgay">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110514111323/http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/policy/ex-gay.pdf Statement of the American Psychological Association].</ref>
===Indications of onset homosexuality===
==Assessment and measurement==
Varying definitions and strong [[sexual norm|social norms about sexuality]] can make sexual orientation difficult to quantify.
===Early classification schemes===
One of the earliest sexual orientation classification schemes was proposed in the 1860s by [[Karl Heinrich Ulrichs]] in a series of pamphlets he published privately.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ulrichs|first=Karl Heinrich|title=The Riddle of Man-Manly Love|year=1994|publisher=Prometheus Books|isbn=0-87975-866-X}}</ref> The classification scheme, which was meant only to describe males, separated them into three basic categories: ''dionings, urnings'' and ''uranodionings''. An ''urning'' can be further categorized by degree of [[effeminacy]]. These categories directly correspond with the categories of sexual orientation used today: ''heterosexual'', ''homosexual'', and ''bisexual''. In the series of pamphlets, Ulrichs outlined a set of questions to determine if a man was an ''urning''. The definitions of each category of Ulrichs' classification scheme are as follows:
:* Dioning - Comparable to the modern term "heterosexual"
:*Urning - Comparable to the modern term "homosexual"
:::Mannling - A manly ''urning''
''For more information please see'': [[Ex-Homosexuals]] and [[Overcoming Homosexuality]]
:::Weibling - An effeminate ''urning''
:::Zwischen - A somewhat manly and somewhat effeminate ''urning''
:::Virilised - An ''urning'' that sexually behaves like a ''dioning''
:*Urano-Dioning - Comparable to the modern term "bisexual"
[[Peter LaBarbera]] is the President of [[Americans for Truth]] which is an organization which counters the [[Homosexual Agenda|homosexual agenda]]. Peter LaBarbera stated the following regarding Christian ex-homosexuals who reported being transformed by the power of God:
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).<ref>[[Magnus Hirschfeld|Hirschfeld, Magnus]], 1896. ''Sappho und Socrates, Wie erklärt sich die Liebe der Männer & und Frauen zu Personen des eigenen Geschlechts?'' (Sappho and Socrates, How Can One Explain the Love of Men and Women for Individuals of Their Own Sex?).</ref> 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.
==Additional sources concerning the causes of homosexuality ==
===Kinsey scale===
The [[Kinsey scale]], also called the Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale, was first published in ''[[Kinsey Reports|Sexual Behavior in the Human Male]]'' (1948) by [[Alfred Kinsey]], [[Wardell Pomeroy]], and [[Clyde Martin]] and also featured in ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Female'' (1953).<ref>{{cite book|last=Kinsey|title=Sexual Behavior in the Human Female|year=1953|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=4-87187-704-3|page=499|display-authors=etal}}</ref> The scale was developed to combat the assumption at the time that people are either heterosexual or homosexual and that these two types represent antitheses in the sexual world.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kinsey|title=Sexual Behavior in the Human Male|year=1948|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=0-253-33412-8|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Recognizing that a large portion of population is not completely heterosexual or homosexual and people can experience both heterosexual and homosexual behavior and psychic responses, Kinsey et al., stated:
{{quote|text=Males do not represent two discrete populations, heterosexual and homosexual. The world is not to be divided into sheep and goats. Not all things are black nor all things white... The living world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects. The sooner we learn this concerning human sexual behavior, the sooner we shall reach a sound understanding of the realities of sex. |sign=Kinsey et al. (1948) pp. 639.}}
The Kinsey scale provides a classification of sexual orientation based on the relative amounts of heterosexual and homosexual experience or psychic response in one's history at a given time.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kinsey|title=Sexual Behavior in the Human Male|year=1948|page=639|display-authors=etal}}</ref> The classification scheme works such that individuals in the same category show the same balance between the heterosexual and homosexual elements in their histories. The position on the scale is based on the relation of heterosexuality to homosexuality in one's history, rather than the actual amount of overt experience or psychic response. An individual can be assigned a position on the scale in accordance with the following definitions of the points of the scale:<ref>{{cite book|last=Kinsey|title=Sexual Behavior in the Human Male|year=1948|pages=639–641|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
==See also==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Rating !! Description
|-
| 0 || ''Exclusively heterosexual''. Individuals make no physical contact which results in erotic arousal or orgasm and make no psychic responses to individuals of their own sex.
|-
| 1 || ''Predominantly heterosexual/incidentally homosexual''. Individuals have only incidental homosexual contacts which have involved physical or psychic response or incidental psychic response without physical contact.
|-
| 2 || ''Predominantly heterosexual but more than incidentally homosexual''. Individuals have more than incidental homosexual experience or respond rather definitely to homosexual stimuli.
|-
| 3 || ''Equally heterosexual and homosexual''. Individuals are about equally homosexual and heterosexual in their experiences or psychic reactions.
|-
| 4 || ''Predominantly homosexual but more than incidentally heterosexual.'' Individuals have more overt activity or psychic reactions in the homosexual while still maintaining a fair amount of heterosexual activity or responding rather definitively to heterosexual contact.
|-
| 5 || ''Predominantly homosexual/only incidentally heterosexual.'' Individuals are almost entirely homosexual in their activities or reactions.
|-
| 6 || ''Exclusively homosexual.'' Individuals who are exclusively homosexual, both in regard to their overt experience and in regard to their psychic reactions.
|}
==External links==
The Kinsey scale has been praised for dismissing the dichotomous classification of sexual orientation and allowing for a new perspective on human sexuality. However, the scale has been criticized because it is still not a true continuum. Despite seven categories being able to provide a more accurate description of sexual orientation than a dichotomous scale, it is still difficult to determine which category individuals should be assigned to. In a major study comparing sexual response in homosexual males and females, [[Masters and Johnson]] discuss the difficulty of assigning the Kinsey ratings to participants.<ref>{{cite book|last=Masters and Johnson|title=Homosexuality in Perspective|year=1979|isbn=0-316-54984-3}}</ref> Particularly, they found it difficult to determine the relative amount heterosexual and homosexual experience and response in a person's history when using the scale. They report finding it difficult to assign ratings 2-4 for individuals with a large number of heterosexual and homosexual experiences. When there are a substantial number of heterosexual and homosexual experiences in one's history, it becomes difficult for that individual to be fully objective in assessing the relative amount of each.
==References==
Weinrich et al. (1993) and Weinberg et al. (1994) criticized the scale for lumping individuals who are different based on different dimensions of sexuality into the same categories.<ref name="Weinrich 1993 157–168">{{cite journal|last=Weinrich|first=J.|title=A factor analysis of the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid in two disparate samples.|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|year=1993|volume=22|pages=157–168|doi=10.1007/bf01542364|display-authors=etal}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Weinberg|title=Dual Attraction|year=1994|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-508482-9|display-authors=etal}}</ref> When applying the scale, Kinsey considered two dimensions of sexual orientation: overt sexual experience and psychosexual reactions. Valuable information was lost by collapsing the two values into one final score. A person who has only predominantly same sex reactions is different from someone with relatively little reaction but lots of same sex experience. It would have been quite simple for Kinsey to have measured the two dimensions separately and report scores independently to avoid loss of information. Furthermore, there are more than two dimensions of sexuality to be considered. Beyond behavior and reactions, one could also assess attraction, identification, lifestyle etc. This is addressed by the [[Sexual orientation#Klein Sexual Orientation Grid|Klein Sexual Orientation Grid]].
{{homosexualityb}}
[[Category:Homosexuality]]
A third concern with the Kinsey scale is that it inappropriately measures heterosexuality and homosexuality on the same scale, making one a tradeoff of the other.<ref name="Sell 1997 43–58">{{cite journal|last=Sell|first=R.L.|title=Defining and measuring sexual orientation: A review|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|year=1997|volume=26|pages=643–58|pmid=9415799|doi=10.1023/A:1024528427013}}</ref> Research in the 1970s on masculinity and femininity found that concepts of masculinity and femininity are more appropriately measured as independent concepts on a separate scale rather than as a single continuum, with each end representing opposite extremes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bem|first=S.L.|title=Bem sex-rol inventory professional manual|year=1981|publisher=Consulting Psychologists Press|location=Palo Alto, CA}}</ref> When compared on the same scale, they act as tradeoffs such, whereby to be more feminine one had to be less masculine and vice versa. However, if they are considered as separate dimensions one can be simultaneously very masculine and very feminine. Similarly, considering heterosexuality and homosexuality on separate scales would allow one to be both very heterosexual and very homosexual or not very much of either. When they are measured independently, the degree of heterosexual and homosexual can be independently determined, rather than the balance between heterosexual and homosexual as determined using the Kinsey Scale.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Shively|first=M.G.|author2=DeCecco, J.P. |title=Components of sexual identity|journal=Journal of Homosexuality|year=1977|volume=3|pages=41–48|doi=10.1300/j082v03n01_04}}</ref>
[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Sociology]]
===Klein Sexual Orientation Grid===
{{main article|Klein Sexual Orientation Grid}}
In response to the criticism of the Kinsey scale only measuring two dimensions of sexual orientation, [[Fritz Klein (sex researcher)|Fritz Klein]] developed the Klein sexual orientation grid (KSOG), a multidimensional scale for describing sexual orientation. Introduced in Klein's book ''[[The Bisexual Option]]'' (1978), the KSOG uses a 7-point scale to assess seven different dimensions of sexuality at three different points in an individual's life: past (from early adolescence up to one year ago), present (within the last 12 months), and ideal (what would you choose if it were completely your choice).
===The Sell Assessment of Sexual Orientation===
The Sell Assessment of Sexual Orientation (SASO) was developed to address the major concerns with the Kinsey Scale and Klein Sexual Orientation Grid and as such, measures sexual orientation on a continuum, considers various dimensions of sexual orientation, and considers homosexuality and heterosexuality separately. Rather than providing a final solution to the question of how to best measure sexual orientation, the SASO is meant to provoke discussion and debate about measurements of sexual orientation.<ref name="Sell 1997 43–58"/>
The SASO consists of 12 questions. Six of these questions assess sexual attraction, four assess sexual behavior, and two assess sexual orientation identity. For each question on the scale that measures homosexuality there is a corresponding question that measures heterosexuality giving six matching pairs of questions. Taken all together, the six pairs of questions and responses provide a profile of an individual's sexual orientation. However, results can be further simplified into four summaries that look specifically at responses that correspond to either homosexuality, heterosexuality, bisexuality or asexuality.<ref name="Sell 1996 295–310">{{cite journal|last=Sell|first=R.L.|title=The Sell assessment of sexual orientation: Background and scoring|journal=Journal of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity|year=1996|volume=1|pages=295–310}}</ref>
Of all the questions on the scale, Sell considered those assessing sexual attraction to be the most important as sexual attraction is a better reflection of the concept of sexual orientation which he defined as "extent of sexual attractions toward members of the other, same, both sexes or neither" than either sexual identity or sexual behavior. Identity and behavior are measured as supplemental information because they are both closely tied to sexual attraction and sexual orientation. Major criticisms of the SASO have not been established, but a concern is that the reliability and validity remains largely unexamined.<ref name="Sell 1996 295–310"/>
===Difficulties with assessment===
Research focusing on sexual orientation uses scales of assessment to identify who belongs in which sexual population group. It is assumed that these scales will be able to reliably identify and categorize people by their sexual orientation. However, it is difficult to determine an individual's sexual orientation through scales of assessment, due to ambiguity regarding the definition of sexual orientation. Generally, there are three components of sexual orientation used in assessment. Their definitions and examples of how they may be assessed are as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Component !! Definition !! Questions
|-
| Sexual attraction || Attraction toward one sex or the desire to have sexual relations or to be in a primary loving, sexual relationship with one or both sexes || "Have you ever had a romantic attraction to a male? Have you ever had a romantic attraction to a female?"<ref>{{cite journal|last=Udry|first=J.|author2=Chantala, K. |title=Risk factors differ according to same sex and opposite-sex interest.|journal=Journal of Biological Sciences|year=2005|volume=37|pages=481–497|doi=10.1017/s0021932004006765}}</ref>
|-
| Sexual behavior || "Any mutually voluntary activity with another person that involves genital contact and sexual excitement or arousal, that is, feeling really turned on, even if intercourse or orgasm did not occur"<ref>{{cite book|last=Laumann|title=The Social Organization of Sexuality|year=1994|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-46957-3|page=67|display-authors=etal}}</ref> || "Have you ever had a relationship with someone of your own sex which resulted in sexual orgasm?"<ref>{{cite journal|last=Eskin|first=M.|title=Same-sex sexual orientation, childhood sexual abuse, and suicidal behaviour in university students in Turkey|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|year=2005|volume=34|pages=185–195|doi=10.1007/s10508-005-1796-8|issue=2|display-authors=etal|pmid=15803252}}</ref>
|-
| Sexual identity || Personally selected, socially and historically bound labels attached to the perceptions and meaning individuals have about their sexual identity. || "Pick from these six option: gay or lesbian; bisexual, but mostly gay or lesbian; bisexual equally gay/lesbian and heterosexual; bisexual but mostly heterosexual; heterosexual; and uncertain, don't know for sure."<ref>{{cite journal|last=D'Augelli|title=Suicidality patterns and sexual orientation-related factors among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths|journal=Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior|year=2001|volume=31|pages=250–264|doi=10.1521/suli.31.3.250.24246|pmid=11577911|last2=Hershberger|first2=SL|last3=Pilkington|first3=NW|issue=3|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
|}
Though sexual attraction, behavior, and identity are all components of sexual orientation, if a person defined by one of these dimensions were congruent with those defined by another dimension it would not matter which was used in assessing orientation, but this is not the case. There is "little coherent relationship between the amount and mix of homosexual and heterosexual behavior in a person's biography and that person's choice to label himself or herself as bisexual, homosexual, or heterosexual".<ref>{{cite book|last=Rust|first=Paula|title=Bisexuality in the United States: A Social Science Reader|year=2000|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=0-231-10226-7|page=167}}</ref> Individuals typically experience diverse attractions and behaviors that may reflect curiosity, experimentation, social pressure and is not necessarily indicative of an underlying sexual orientation. For example, a woman may have fantasies or thoughts about sex with other women but never act on these thoughts and only have sex with opposite gender partners. If sexual orientation was being assessed based on one's sexual attraction then this individual would be considered homosexual, but her behavior indicates heterosexuality.
As there is no research indicating which of the three components is essential in defining sexual orientation, all three are used independently and provide different conclusions regarding sexual orientation. Savin Williams (2006) discusses this issue and notes that by basing findings regarding sexual orientation on a single component, researchers may not actually capture the intended population. For example, if homosexual is defined by same sex behavior, gay virgins are omitted, heterosexuals engaging in same sex behavior for other reasons than preferred sexual arousal are miscounted, and those with same sex attraction who only have opposite-sex relations are excluded.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Savin-Williams|first=R.|title=Who's Gay? Does it Matter?|journal=Current Directions in Psychological Sciences|year=2006|volume=15|pages=40–44|doi=10.1111/j.0963-7214.2006.00403.x}}</ref> Because of the limited populations that each component captures, consumers of research should be cautious in generalizing these findings.
One of the uses for scales that assess sexual orientation is determining what the prevalence of different sexual orientations are within a population. Depending on subject's age, culture and sex, the prevalence rates of homosexuality vary depending on which component of sexual orientation is being assessed: sexual attraction, sexual behavior, or sexual identity. Assessing sexual attraction will yield the greatest prevalence of homosexuality in a population whereby the proportion of individuals indicating they are same sex attracted is two to three times greater than the proportion reporting same sex behavior or identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Furthermore, reports of same sex behavior usually exceed those of gay, lesbian, or bisexual identification.<ref>{{cite book|last=Laumann|title=The Social Organization of Sexuality|year=1994|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-46957-3|page=301|display-authors=etal}}</ref> The following chart demonstrates how widely the prevalence of homosexuality can vary depending on what age, location and component of sexual orientation is being assessed:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Prevalence of homosexuality
|-
! !! colspan="2" | Attraction !! colspan="2" | Behaviour !! colspan="2" | Identity
|-
| Country: Age group || Female
|Male|| Female
|Male|| Female
|Male
|-
|
:USA: Youth<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mosher|first=W |author2=Chandra, A. |author3=Jones, J.|title=Sexual behaviour and selected health measures: Men and women 15-44 years of age, United States, 2002|journal=Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics|volume=362|publisher=National Center for Health Statistics}}</ref>
|| 6%
|3%|| 11%
|5%|| 8%
|3%
|-
|
:USA: Young adults<ref>{{cite journal|last=Savin-Williams|first=R.|author2=Ream, G.L. |title=Suicide attempts among sexual-minority male youth|journal=Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology|year=2003|volume=32|pages=509–522|pmid=14710459|issue=4|doi=10.1207/S15374424JCCP3204_3}}</ref>
|| 13%
|5%|| 4%
|3%|| 4%
|3%
|-
|
:USA: Adults<ref>{{cite book|last=Laumann|title=The Social Organization of Sexuality|year=1994|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-46957-3|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
|| 8%
|8%|| 4%
|9%|| 1%
|2%
|-
| Australia: Adults<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dunne|first=M.|author2=Bailey, J. |author3=Kirk, K. |author4=Martin, N. |title=The subtlety of sex -atypicality|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|year=2000|volume=29|pages=549–565|doi=10.1023/A:1002002420159|issue=6|pmid=11100262}}</ref> || 17%
|15%|| 8%
|16%|| 4%
|7%
|-
| Turkey: Young adults<ref>{{cite journal|last=Eskin, M., Kaynak-Demir, H., & Demis, S.|title=Same-sex sexuall orientation, childhood sexual abuse, and suicidal behaviour in university students in Turkey|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|year=2005|volume=34|pages=185–195|doi=10.1007/s10508-005-1796-8|first1=Mehmet|last2=Kaynak-Demir|first2=Hadiye|last3=Demir|first3=Sinem|issue=2|pmid=15803252}}</ref> || 7%
|6%|| 4%
|5%|| 2%
|2%
|-
| Norway: Adolescents<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wichstrom, L., & Hegna, K.|title=Sexual orientation and suicide attempt: A longitudinal study of the general Norwegian adolescent population|journal=Journal of Abnormal Psychology|year=2003|volume=112|pages=144–151|doi=10.1037/0021-843X.112.1.144|pmid=12653422|first1=L|last2=Hegna|first2=K|issue=1}}</ref> || 21%
|9%|| 7%
|6%|| 5%
|5%
|}
The variance in prevalence rates is reflected in people's inconsistent responses to the different components of sexual orientation within a study and the instability of their responses over time. Laumann et al., (1994) found that among U.S. adults 20% of those who would be considered homosexual on one component of orientation were homosexual on the other two dimensions and 70% responded in a way that was consistent with homosexuality on only one of the three dimensions.<ref name="Laumann 1994 303">{{cite book|last=Laumann|title=The Social Organization of Sexuality|year=1994|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-46957-3|page=303|display-authors=etal}}</ref> Furthermore, sexuality may be fluid; for example, a person's sexual orientation identity is not necessarily stable or consistent over time but is subject to change throughout life. Diamond (2003) found that over 7 years 2/3 of the women changed their sexual identity at least once, with many reporting that the label was not adequate in capturing the diversity of their sexual or romantic feelings. Furthermore, women who relinquished bisexual and lesbian identification did not relinquish same sex sexuality and acknowledged the possibility for future same sex attractions or behaviour. One woman stated "I'm mainly straight but I'm one of those people who, if the right circumstance came along, would change my viewpoint".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Diamond|first=L.M.|title=Was it a phase? Young women's relinquishment of lesbian/bisexual identities over a 5-year period|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|year=2003|volume=84|pages=352–364|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.352|pmid=12585809|issue=2}}</ref> Therefore, individuals classified as homosexual in one study might not be identified the same way in another depending on which components are assessed and when the assessment is made making it difficult to pin point who is homosexual and who is not and what the overall prevalence within a population may be.<ref name="AmPsycholAssn-whatis"/>
====Implications====
Depending on which component of sexual orientation is being assessed and referenced, different conclusions can be drawn about the prevalence rate of homosexuality which has real world consequences. Knowing how much of the population is made up of homosexual individuals influences how this population may be seen or treated by the public and government bodies. For example, if homosexual individuals constitute only 1% of the general population they are politically easier to ignore or than if they are known to be a constituency that surpasses most ethnic and ad minority groups. If the number is relatively minor then it is difficult to argue for community based same sex programs and services, mass media inclusion of gay role models, or Gay/Straight Alliances in schools. For this reason, in the 1970s [[Bruce Voeller]], the chair of the [[National Gay and Lesbian Task Force]] perpetuated a common myth that the prevalence of homosexuality is 10% for the whole population by averaging a 13% number for men and a 7% number for women. Voeller generalized this finding and used it as part of the modern gay rights movement to convince politicians and the public that "we [gays and lesbians] are everywhere".<ref>{{cite book|last=Laumann|title=The Social Organization of Sexuality|year=1994|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|isbn=0-226-46957-3|page=289|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
====Proposed solutions====
In the paper "Who's Gay? Does It Matter?", [[Ritch Savin-Williams]] proposes two different approaches to assessing sexual orientation until well positioned and psychometrically sound and tested definitions are developed that would allow research to reliably identify the prevalence, causes, and consequences of homosexuality.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Savin-Williams|first=R.|title=Who's Gay? Does it Matter?|journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science|year=2006|volume=15|pages=40–44|doi=10.1111/j.0963-7214.2006.00403.x}}</ref>
He first suggests that greater priority should be given to sexual arousal and attraction over behaviour and identity because it is less prone to self- and other-deception, social conditions and variable meanings. To measure attraction and arousal he proposed that biological measures should be developed and used. There are numerous biological/physiological measures that exist that can measure sexual orientation such as [[Sexual orientation#Sexual arousal|sexual arousal]], brain scans, eye tracking, body odour preference, and anatomical variations such as [[Digit ratio|digit-length ratio]] and right or left handedness.
Secondly, Savin-Williams suggests that researchers should forsake the general notion of sexual orientation altogether and assess only those components that are relevant for the research question being investigated. For example:
* To assess STDs or HIV transmission, measure sexual behaviour
* To assess interpersonal attachments, measure sexual/romantic attraction
* To assess political ideology, measure sexual identity
=== Means of assessment ===
Means typically used include surveys, interviews, cross-cultural studies, physical arousal measurements<ref name="Gonsiorek-Weinrich"/> sexual behavior, sexual fantasy, or a pattern of erotic arousal.<ref name="BornGay-p21">Wilson, G., & Q. Rahman, ''Born Gay: The Psychobiology of Human Sex Orientation'' (London: Peter Owen Publishers, 2005), p. 21.</ref> The most common is verbal self-reporting<ref name="Gonsiorek-Weinrich" /> or self-labeling,<ref name="BornGay-p21" /> which depend on respondents being accurate about themselves.<ref name="Gonsiorek-Weinrich" />
==== 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 plethysmograph|penile]] or [[vaginal photoplethysmograph]]y, where genital engorgement with blood is measured in response to exposure to different erotic material.<ref name="BornGay-p21" />
Some researchers who study sexual orientation argue that the concept may ''not'' apply similarly to men and women. A study of sexual arousal patterns<ref name="Arousal and orientation">{{cite journal
|first=Meredith L.
|last=Chivers |author2=Gerulf Rieger |author3=Elizabeth Latty |author4=J. Michael Bailey
|title=A Sex Difference in the Specificity of Sexual Arousal
|publisher=Blackwell Publishing
|year=2004
|doi=10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00750.x
|pmid=15482445
|journal=Psychological Science
|volume=15
|issue=11
|pages=736–44
|url=https://www.gaylawnet.com/ezine/gender/sex_difference.pdf}}
</ref> 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 and bisexual 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<ref name="Arousal and orientation #2">{{cite journal
|first=Meredith L.
|last=Chivers
|author2=J. Michael Bailey.
|title=A sex difference in features that elicit genital response
|publisher=Elsevier B.V.
|year=2005
|doi=10.1016/j.biopsycho.2004.12.002
|pmid=16168255
|journal=Biological Psychology
|volume=70
|issue=2
|pages=115–20}}
</ref> 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. Sexual orientation has many dimensions (attractions, [[Human sexual activity|behavior]], [[sexual identity|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 [[Neuroimaging|brain-scanning techniques]]. A study on how heterosexual and homosexual men's brains react to seeing pictures of naked men and women has found<ref name="Arousal and orientation #3">{{cite journal
|first1=Adam |last1=Safron
|last2=Bennett |first2=Barch
|last3=Bailey |first3=J. Michael
|last4=Gitelman |first4=Darren R.
|last5=Parrish |first5=Todd B.
|last6=Reber |first6=Paul J.
|title=Neural Correlates of Sexual Arousal in Homosexual and Heterosexual Men
|publisher=American Psychological Association
|year=2007
|doi=10.1037/0735-7044.121.2.237
|pmid=17469913
|journal=Behavioral Neuroscience
|volume=121
|issue=2
|pages=237–48
}}</ref> 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]].<ref>LeDoux JE, ''The Emotional Brain'' (N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, 1996).</ref>
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 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.
==Culture==
{{See also|LGBT history|Societal attitudes toward homosexuality|LGBT community and multiculturalism}}
[[File:Gay Pride Paris 2009.jpg|thumb|left|Gay Pride, [[Paris]] 2009]]
Research suggests that sexual orientation is independent of cultural and other social influences, but that open identification of one's sexual orientation may be hindered by [[homophobia|homophobic]]/[[heterosexism|heterosexist]] settings. Social systems such as religion, language and ethnic traditions can have a powerful impact on realization of sexual orientation. Influences of culture may complicate the process of [[#Measuring sexual orientation|measuring sexual orientation]]. The majority of empirical and clinical research on LGBT populations are done with largely white, middle-class, well-educated samples, however there are pockets of research that document various other cultural groups, although these are frequently limited in diversity of gender and sexual orientation of the subjects.<ref name="Garnets, L. 2003">Garnets, L. & Kimmel, D. C. (Eds.). (2003). Psychological perspectives on lesbian, gay and bisexual experiences. New York: Columbia University Press</ref> Integration of sexual orientation with sociocultural identity may be a challenge for LGBT individuals. Individuals may or may not consider their sexual orientation to define their [[sexual identity]], as they may experience various degrees of [[#Fluidity of sexuality|fluidity of sexuality]],<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Mock | first1 = S. E. | last2 = Eibach | first2 = R. P. | year = 2011 | title = Stability and change in sexual orientation identity over a 10-year period in adulthood | url = | journal = Archives of Sexual Behavior | volume = 41| issue = | pages = 641–648| doi = 10.1007/s10508-011-9761-1 | pmid=21584828}}</ref> or may simply identify more strongly with another aspect of their identity such as family role. American culture puts a great emphasis on individual attributes, and views the self as unchangeable and constant. In contrast, East Asian cultures put a great emphasis on a person's social role within social hierarchies, and view the self as fluid and malleable.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Markus H. R. |author2=Kitayama S. | year = 1991 | title = Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation | url = | journal = Psychological Review | volume = 98 | issue = | pages = 224–253 | doi=10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224}}</ref> These differing cultural perspectives have many implications on cognitions of the self, including perception of sexual orientation.
===Language===
Translation is a major obstacle when comparing different cultures. Many English terms lack equivalents in other languages, while concepts and words from other languages fail to be reflected in the English language.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Minwalla O. |author2=Rosser B. R. S. |author3=Feldman J. |author4=Varga C. | year = 2005 | title = Identity experience among progressive gay Muslims in North America: A qualitative study within Al-Fatiha | url = http://nozizwe.co.za/pdf/CultureHealthSexuality.pdf| journal = Culture, Health & Sexuality | volume = 7 | issue = 2| pages = 113–128 | doi = 10.1080/13691050412331321294 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Sechrest | first1 = L. | last2 = Fay | first2 = T. L. | last3 = Zaidi | first3 = M. H. | year = 1972 | title = Problems of Translation in Cross-Cultural Research | url = | journal = Journal of Cross-Cultural Research | volume = 3 | issue = 1| pages = 41–56 | doi = 10.1177/002202217200300103 }}</ref> Translation and vocabulary obstacles are not limited to the English language.<ref name="Santaemilia, J. 2008 pp.181-198">Santaemilia, J. (2008). 'War of words' on New (Legal) Sexual Identities: Spain's Recent Gender-Related Legislation and Discursive Conflict. In J. Santaemilia & P. Bou (Eds.). ''Gender and sexual identities in transition: international perspectives'', pp.181-198. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.</ref> Language can force individuals to identify with a label that may or may not accurately reflect their true sexual orientation. Language can also be used to signal sexual orientation to others.<ref>Leap, W. L. (1996). Word's Out: Gay Men's English. Minneapolis:University of Minnesota Press.</ref> The meaning of words referencing categories of sexual orientation are negotiated in the mass media in relation to social organization.<ref name="Santaemilia, J. 2008 pp.181-198"/> New words may be brought into use to describe new terms or better describe complex interpretations of sexual orientation. Other words may pick up new layers or meaning. For example, the heterosexual Spanish terms ''marido'' and ''mujer'' for "husband" and "wife", respectively, have recently been replaced in Spain by the gender-neutral terms ''cónyuges'' or ''consortes'' meaning "spouses".<ref name="Santaemilia, J. 2008 pp.181-198"/>
===Perceptions===
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. 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.<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=22128555 |year=2011 |last1=Rule |first1=NO |title=The influence of target and perceiver race in the categorisation of male sexual orientation |volume=40 |issue=7 |pages=830–9 |journal=Perception |doi=10.1068/p7001}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |pmid=21483863 |year=2011 |last1=Johnson |first1=KL |last2=Ghavami |first2=N |title=At the crossroads of conspicuous and concealable: What race categories communicate about sexual orientation |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=e18025 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0018025 |pmc=3069043 |journal=PLoS ONE |editor1-last=Gilbert |editor1-first=Sam}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |pmid=21807952 |year=2011 |last1=Rule |first1=NO |last2=Ishii |first2=K |last3=Ambady |first3=N |last4=Rosen |first4=KS |last5=Hallett |first5=KC |title=Found in translation: Cross-cultural consensus in the accurate categorization of male sexual orientation |volume=37 |issue=11 |pages=1499–507 |doi=10.1177/0146167211415630 |journal=Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin}}</ref> 2015 research suggests that "gaydar" is an alternate label for using [[LGBT stereotypes]] to infer orientation, and that face-shape is not an accurate indication of orientation.<ref name="Cox et al. (2015)">{{cite journal |last1= Cox |first1= William T. L. |last2= Devine |first2= Patricia G. |last3= Bischmann |first3= Alyssa A. |last4= Hyde |first4= Janet S. |year= 2015 |title= Inferences About Sexual Orientation: The Roles of Stereotypes, Faces, and The Gaydar Myth |journal= [[The Journal of Sex Research]] |volume= 52 |issue= 8 |pages= 1–15 |publisher= |doi= 10.1080/00224499.2015.1015714|url= https://zenodo.org/record/1043253 |accessdate=|pmc= 4731319 |pmid=26219212}}</ref>
Perceived sexual orientation may affect how a person is treated. For instance, in the United States, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] reported that 15.6% of [[hate crime]]s reported to police in 2004 were "because of a sexual-orientation bias".<ref name="FBI crime">{{Cite news|title=Crime in the United States 2004: Hate Crime |url=https://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_04/offenses_reported/hate_crime/index.html |periodical=[[FBI]] |accessdate=2007-05-04 |postscript=<!--None--> |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070411090510/http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_04/offenses_reported/hate_crime/index.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate=April 11, 2007 }}</ref> Under the [[United Kingdom|UK]] [[Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003]], as explained by Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service,<ref>[http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1342 ACAS (About Us)], as accessed April 19, 2010.</ref> "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".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081219232635/http://www.acas.org.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=105&p=0 Sexual orientation and the workplace: Putting the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 into practice]</ref>
In Euro-American cultures, sexual orientation is defined by the gender(s) of the people a person is romantically or sexually attracted to. Euro-American culture generally assumes heterosexuality, unless otherwise specified. Cultural norms, values, traditions and laws facilitate heterosexuality,<ref>Rust, P. C. (2003). Finding a Sexual Identity and Community: Therapeutic Implications and Cultural Assumptions in Scientific Models of Coming Out. In L. Garnets & D. C. Kimmel (Eds.). Psychological perspectives on lesbian, gay and bisexual experiences (pp. 227-269). New York: Columbia University Press</ref> including constructs of marriage and family.<ref name="Garnets, L. 2003"/> Efforts are being made to change these attitudes, and legislation is being passed to promote equality.<ref name="Santaemilia, J. 2008 pp.181-198"/>
Some other cultures do not recognize a homosexual/heterosexual/bisexual distinction. It is common to distinguish a person's sexuality according to their sexual role (active/passive; insertive/penetrated). In this distinction, the passive role is typically associated with femininity or inferiority, while the active role is typically associated with masculinity or superiority.<ref name="Santaemilia, J. 2008 pp.181-198"/><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Carballo-Diéguez A. |author2=Dolezal C. |author3=Nieves L. |author4=Díaz F. |author5=Decena C. |author6=Balan I. | year = 2004 | title = Looking for a tall, dark, macho man… sexual-role behaviour variations in Latino gay and bisexual men | url = | journal = Culture, Health & Sexuality | volume = 6 | issue = 2| pages = 159–171 | doi = 10.1080/13691050310001619662 }}</ref><ref name="Cardoso, F. L. 2005">{{cite journal | author = Cardoso F. L. | year = 2005 | title = Cultural Universals and Differences in Male Homosexuality: The Case of a Brazilian Fishing Village | url = | journal = Archives of Sexual Behavior | volume = 34 | issue = 1| pages = 103–109 | doi = 10.1007/s105080051004x }}</ref> For example, an investigation of a small Brazilian fishing village revealed three sexual categories for men: men who have sex only with men (consistently in a passive role), men who have sex only with women, and men who have sex with women and men (consistently in an active role). While men who consistently occupied the passive role were recognized as a distinct group by locals, men who have sex with only women, and men who have sex with women and men, were not differentiated.<ref name="Cardoso, F. L. 2005"/> Little is known about same-sex attracted females, or sexual behavior between females in these cultures.
===Racism and ethnically relevant support===
{{see also|African-American culture and sexual orientation}}
In the United States, non-Caucasian LGBT individuals may find themselves in a double minority, where they are neither fully accepted or understood by mainly Caucasian LGBT communities, nor are they accepted by their own ethnic group.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cheng | first1 = P | year = 2011 | title = Gay Asian Masculinities and Christian Theologies | url = | journal = Cross currents | volume = 61 | issue = 4| pages = 540–548 | doi=10.1111/j.1939-3881.2011.00202.x}}</ref><ref name="Masequesmay, G. 2003">{{cite journal | last1 = Masequesmay | first1 = G | year = 2003 | title = Emergence of queer Vietnamese America | url = | journal = Amerasia Journal | volume = 29 | issue = 1| pages = 117–134 | doi=10.17953/amer.29.1.l15512728mj65738}}</ref> Many people experience racism in the dominant LGBT community where racial stereotypes merge with gender stereotypes, such that Asian-American LGBTs are viewed as more passive and feminine, while African-American LGBTs are viewed as more masculine and aggressive.<ref name="Garnets, L. 2003"/> There are a number of culturally specific support networks for LGBT individuals active in the United States. For example, "Ô-Môi" for Vietnamese American queer females.<ref name="Masequesmay, G. 2003"/>
===Religion===
{{see also|LGBT matters and religion|Religion and homosexuality}}
Sexuality in the context of religion is often a controversial subject, especially that of sexual orientation. In the past, various sects have viewed homosexuality from a negative point of view and had punishments for same-sex relationships. In modern times, an increasing number of religions and religious denominations accept homosexuality. It is possible to integrate sexual identity and religious identity, depending on the interpretation of religious texts.
Some religious organizations object to the concept of sexual orientation entirely. In the 2014 revision of the code of ethics of the American Association of Christian Counselors, members are forbidden to "describe or reduce human identity and nature to sexual orientation or reference," even while counselors must acknowledge the client’s fundamental right to self-determination.<ref name=AACC_coe>{{cite web|title=Code of Ethics of the American Association of Christian Counselors|url=http://aacc.net/files/AACC%20Code%20of%20Ethics%20-%20Master%20Document.pdf|website=www.aacc.net|publisher=American Association of Christian Counselors|accessdate=May 21, 2015}}</ref>
===Internet and media===
{{see also|LGBT stereotypes}}
The internet has influenced sexual orientation in two ways: it is a common mode of discourse on the subject of sexual orientation and sexual identity, and therefore shapes popular conceptions;<ref name="Santaemilia, J. 2008 pp.181-198"/> and it allows anonymous attainment of sexual partners, as well as facilitates communication and connection between greater numbers of people.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Davis | first1 = M. | last2 = Hart | first2 = G. | last3 = Bolding | first3 = G. | last4 = Sherr | first4 = L. | last5 = Elford | first5 = J. | year = 2006 | title = Sex and the Internet: Gay men, risk reduction and serostatus | url = | journal = Culture, Health & Sexuality | volume = 8 | issue = 2| pages = 161–174 | doi = 10.1080/13691050500526126 }}</ref>
== Demographics ==
{{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<ref>James Alm, M. V. Lee Badgett, Leslie A. Whittington, ''Wedding Bell Blues: The Income Tax Consequences of Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage'', p. 24 (1998) [https://www.webcitation.org/5oFAdbtDp?url=http://www.colorado.edu/Economics/CEA/papers98/wp98-33.pdf PDF link].</ref> – this figure can be as high as 12% for some large cities and as low as 1% 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]]). A study in 2004 placed the prevalence of asexuality at 1%.<ref name=Bogaert2004/><ref name="cnn">{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/10/14/asexual.study/index.html |title=Study: One in 100 adults asexual |publisher=CNN |accessdate=11 November 2007 | date=15 October 2004| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20071027081628/http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/10/14/asexual.study/index.html| archivedate= 27 October 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| deadurl= no}}</ref>
=== Kinsey data ===
In the oft-cited and oft-criticized ''[[Kinsey Reports|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 [[Kinsey scale|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.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} 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 prison inmates, male prostitutes and those who willingly participated in discussion of previously taboo sexual topics. Nevertheless, [[Paul Gebhard]], subsequent director of the [[Kinsey Institute for Sex Research]], reexamined the data in the [[Kinsey Reports]] and concluded that removing the prison inmates and prostitutes barely affected the results.<ref name="MDOG">{{cite web|url=http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/publications/duberman.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020529022730/http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/publications/duberman.html |dead-url=yes |archive-date=2002-05-29 |title=The Kinsey Institute - [Publications] |work=kinseyinstitute.org |df= }}</ref>
==Social constructionism and Western societies==
{{See also|Queer theory|Human male 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 in ''[[The History of Sexuality]]'' 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>[https://books.google.com/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}}, {{ISBN|978-0-520-22116-1}})). 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 deals 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 psycho-biological 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 existence 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 primary 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 early twentieth century, sex-identity grounded on anatomical difference did not hold a central place in Chinese constructions of gender. And she echoes the point illustrated in detail in Sommer's chapter on male homosexuality in the Qing legal code: a man could engage in homosexual behavior without calling into question his manhood so long as his behavior did not threaten the patriarchal Confucian family structure."</ref>
Sexual orientation is argued as 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>[https://books.google.com/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, Behavior, and identity''], by Louis Diamant & Richard D. McAnulty (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995 ({{ISBN|0313285012}}, {{ISBN|978-0-313-28501-1}}) (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, non contemporary cultures.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/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}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7619-1499-0}}) (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>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080314071044/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> {{unreliable source?|date=October 2011}} 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>{{cite web |url=http://www.psa.ac.uk/2007/pps/Waites.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927050049/http://www.psa.ac.uk/2007/pps/Waites.pdf |archivedate=2011-09-27 |format=PDF |title=Sexual Orientation, Human Rights and Global Politics}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Matthew |last=Waits |title=Matthew Waits of Dept. Sociology, Anthropology & Applied Social Sciences, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom |url=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>{{cite web |url=http://sexualorientation.info/thesis/Resisting%20Orientation%20-%20C1.pdf |format=PDF |title=Resisting Orientation}} McIntosh argues that the labeling 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 behavior cannot. She draws upon cross-cultural data to demonstrate that in many societies 'there may be much homosexual behavior, 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 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. 233–246.</ref>
Some historians and researchers argue that the emotional and affectionate 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 cultures.<ref>Robert Brain, ''Friends and Lovers'' (Granada Publishing Ltd. 1976), chs. 3, 4.</ref>
== Law, 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.<ref name="Gonsiorek-Weinrich"/><ref name="Def-Measure-SO">[http://doi.apa.org/getuid.cfm?uid=1996-16078-001]{{dead link|date=December 2016}}</ref>
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."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090115102447/http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=60752 Church Times: How much is known about the origins of homosexuality?]</ref>
Legally as well, a person's sexual orientation is hard to establish as either an intrinsic or a [[binary number|binary]] quality. In 1999, law professor David Cruz wrote that "sexual orientation (and the related concept homosexuality) might plausibly refer to a variety of different attributes, singly or in combination. What is not immediately clear is whether one conception is most suited to all social, legal, and constitutional purposes."<ref name =Cruz />
== See also ==
{{Portal|Sexuality|LGBT}}
* [[Romantic orientation]]
* [[Ascribed characteristics]]
* [[Bisexuality in the United States]]
* [[Genetic diagnosis of intersex]]
* [[Hate crime]] and [[Homophobia]]
* [[History of gay men in the United States]]
* [[History of lesbianism in the United States]]
* [[LGBT]] (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender)
* [[List of anti-discrimination acts]]
* [[LGBT rights by country or territory]]
* [[Fundamental Rights Agency]]
* [[Human male sexuality]], including non-western perspectives on sexual orientation
* [[Marriage]] and [[Same-sex marriage]]
* [[Sexual orientation and military service]]
* [[Sexual orientation hypothesis]]
* [[Terminology of homosexuality]]
* [[Sociosexual orientation]]
* [[Sexual orientation and gender identity at the United Nations]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* Anders Agmo, ''Functional and Dysfunctional Sexual Behavior'' (Elsevier, 2007).
* Brum, Gil, Larry McKane, & Gerry Karp, ''Biology{{spaced ndash}}Exploring Life'' (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2d ed. 1994), p. 663. (About INAH-3.)
* [[Miguel A. De La Torre|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. ([https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/assault/context/defining.html ''excerpt'']).
* Wunsch, Serge, [http://psychobiologie.ouvaton.org/telechargement/these_comportement_reproduction.pdf PhD thesis about sexual behavior] (Paris: Sorbonne, 2007).
* Isidro A. T. Savillo's [http://www.scientistsolutions.com/t27233-new+statements_++breakthrough+in+human+sexual+behavioral+phenotypes.html "New Statements: Breakthrough in Human Sexual Behavioral Phenotypes"], June 2013.
== External links ==
{{External links|date=May 2013}}
{{Wiktionary|sexual orientation}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111127154101/http://www.theteencentre.com/forums/misc.php?page=sexual_orientation_faq Sexual Orientation FAQ]
* [http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/article.php?story=conlawi41 A law lecture (mp3) on sexual orientation and U.S. constitutional law]
* [http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/answers.html American Psychological Association: Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality]
* [https://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn5026 Aspirin changes sexual behaviour of rats]
* [http://msu.edu/~breedsm/pdf/AmateauCommentaryFinalNatNeuro2004.pdf Brain gender: prostaglandins have their say]
* {{cite journal |author1=Loraine JA |author2=Ismail AA |author3=Adamopoulos DA |author4=Dove GA |title=Endocrine Function in Male and Female Homosexuals |journal=Br Med J |volume=4 |issue=5732 |pages=406–9 |date=November 1970 |pmid=5481520 |pmc=1819981 |doi=10.1136/bmj.4.5732.406 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040428042119/http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/etiology.html Etiology] on [[glbtq.com]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20021201113606/http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/INDEX.HTM Magnus Hirschfeld Archive of Sexology at the Humboldt University in Berlin]
* [http://www.borngayprocon.org/ Is sexual orientation determined at birth?]
* {{cite journal |author=Sanders BK |title=Sex, drugs and sports: prostaglandins, epitestosterone and sexual development |journal=Med. Hypotheses |volume=69 |issue=4 |pages=829–35 |year=2007 |pmid=17382481 |doi=10.1016/j.mehy.2006.12.058 }}
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/rcip//sbh.html Survivor bashing – bias motivated hate crimes]
* [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/09/60minutes/main1385230.shtml The Science Of Sexual Orientation]
* [http://www.sexedlibrary.org/ The SexEdLibrary]
* [http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/BornFreeAndEqualLowRes.pdf BORN FREE AND EQUAL - Sexual orientation and gender identity in international human rights law]
=== Policies ===
;Australia
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030426065038/http://www.ama.com.au/web.nsf/doc/WEEN-5GA2YX Australian Medical Association]
;United States
* [http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;113/6/1827 American Academy of Pediatrics]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051031010648/http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/14754.html American Medical Association]
* [http://www.amsa.org/lgbt/ American Medical Student Association]
* American Psychological Association: for [http://www.apa.org/topics/orientation.html public] or [http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/justthefacts.html educators]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061104053550/http://www.cathmed.org/publications/homosexuality.htm Catholic Medical Association]
* [http://www.cmdahome.org/index.cgi?BISKIT=2302340612&CONTEXT=art&art=2553 Christian Medical and Dental Association]
{{Human sexuality}}
{{Sexual identities}}
{{LGBT|state=collapsed|orientation=expanded}}
{{Sexual ethics}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sexual Orientation}}
[[Category:Interpersonal relationships]]
[[Category:Sexual orientation]]
[[Category:LGBT]]