Attraction and Mate Selection AttractionMate SelectionSexual Arousal and Rhythms Sexual ResponseSexual Orientation

Sexual Orientation  Sexual orientation - a person’s erotic and emotional orientation, toward members of his or her own gender or members of the other gender.  Homosexual - a person whose sexual orientation is toward members of the same gender.  Bisexual - a person whose sexual orientation is toward both men and women.

Sexual Orientation  Lesbian - a woman whose sexual orientation is toward other women.  Gay - refers to homosexual; especially male homosexuals.  Straight - heterosexual  LGB - abbreviation that stands for lesbians, gays and bisexuals.

Sexual Orientation  Slang terms for gays and lesbians include:  Queer  Fairy  Dyke  Faggot (Fag)  These terms are derogatory when used by straight persons to belittle homosexuals.  Queer theory is prominent in LGB studies.

Sexual Orientation  Homophobia - a strong, irrational fear of homosexuals; negative attitudes and reactions to homosexuals.  Antigay prejudice - negative attitudes and behaviors toward gays and lesbians.  Heterosexism - the belief that everyone is heterosexual and that heterosexuality is the norm. Many Americans express opinion that sexual relations between two adults of the same sex are always wrong (58 percent in one study).  One survey of LGB adults found that 19 percent of women and 28 percent of men had been the victim of a crime because someone thought they were lesbian, gay, or bisexual.

Sexual Orientation  Job and wage discrimination  Gay men are more educated than straight men but earn less.  Receive dishonorable discharges from the armed services.  Homosexuality has been grounds for firing a person from federal employment and for denial of a security clearance.

Sexual Orientation  Covert - a homosexual who is “in the closet,” who keeps his or her sexual orientation a secret.  Overt - a homosexual who is “out of the closet,” who is open about his or her sexual orientation.  There are varying degrees of covert and overt homosexuality. Coming Out:  The process of acknowledging to oneself, and then to others, that one is gay or lesbian.  Six stages of identity development:  Identity confusion  Identity comparison  Identity tolerance  Identity acceptance  Identity pride  Identity synthesis

Sexual Orientation  Gay liberation movement - has encouraged homosexuals to be more overt and to feel less guilty about their behavior.  Many LGB communities exist in neighborhoods in large cities, with bookstores, restaurants, theaters, and social organizations.  International links have been cemented in the last decade.

Sexual Orientation  Gay bars are single bars that cater exclusively to LGBs.  Gay baths - majority were closed in the 1980s, but have been resurrected in the 1990s.

Sexual Orientation  Contrary to stereotypes, a substantial number of lesbians and gay men report currently being in a steady romantic relationship.  Like heterosexuals, they must find a balance among three aspects of the relationship:  Attachment  Autonomy  Equality

Sexual Orientation Families:  These families are diverse along dimensions of race, social class, and gender.  Most children growing up in gay and lesbian families have a heterosexual orientation.  Heterosexuality of parents is not essential for healthy child development.

Sexual Orientation Percentages:  Exclusively heterosexual - probably about 90 percent of men, 90 percent of women  Exclusively homosexual - about 2 percent of men, 1 percent of women  At least one same-gender sexual experience in adulthood – 10 percent of men, 10 percent of women

Sexual Orientation

 Sin View  Homosexuality used to be viewed as a sin or heresy.  Medical Model  The sin view has been replaced by the medical model; now viewed as a sickness or illness.  Being called “sick” could be considered as another form of persecution of gays and lesbians.

Sexual Orientation  Three kinds of research designs have been used to study homosexuality:  Clinical studies  Studies with control groups  Nonpatient research  Population studies find higher rates of depression among gays and lesbians than among heterosexuals.

Sexual Orientation Can Sexuality be Changed:  Conversion therapy (reparative therapy) - treatments designed to turn LGBs into heterosexuals have been around for more than 100 years.  By 2000, scandals associated with conversion therapies had become so great that the American Psychiatric Association issued an official position statement opposing them.

Sexual Orientation  Biological theories include:  Genetic factors  Prenatal factors  Brain factors  Hormonal imbalance  Learning Theory

Sexual Orientation Genetic factors In one study of gay men, 52 percent of identical twins also were gay. 11 percent of adoptive brothers also were gay. Statistics for women were similar. Prenatal factors  According to one theory, homosexuality is caused by a variation in prenatal development.

Sexual Orientation Brain factors  Scientists do not agree on whether there are significant differences between gay and straight men in the anterior region of the hypothalamus. Hormonal imbalance  Attempts to cure male homosexuality by administering testosterone have failed and seem to result in even more homosexual behavior than usual.

Sexual Orientation Learning Theory  Evidence is mixed on this explanation of sexual orientation. Sociological Theory  Emphasizes that the effects of labeling in explaining homosexuality.  Being labeled homosexual may become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Sexual Orientation  Women are more likely to be bisexual than men.  Separate theories are needed to explain the development of sexual orientation in women and men.

Sexual Orientation Bisexuality:  Sexual identity - one’s self-identity as homosexual, heterosexual, or bisexual. Men and women begin to think of themselves as bisexual in their early to mid-20s.  Sexual behavior may or may not reflect identity:  Deprivation homosexuality - homosexual activity that occurs in certain situations, such as prisons, when people are deprived of their regular heterosexual activity.  Lesbians Until Graduation (LUGs) - women who live a lesbian lifestyle in college, then shift to heterosexuality afterward.