Understanding Human Sexuality

In honor of Pride month, I wanted toshare some knowledge about human sexuality that can be quite confusing.Although some of these Frequently Asked Questions may seem obvious to some, Ithink most people would be surprised at how little they really understand aboutthe differences between these words and phrases.

Q:What is the difference between sex and gender?

A:Sex is defined by our biological position on the spectrum of femaleness andmaleness. Gender is defined by our psychological and sociocultural attributesthat are associated with being female or male.

Q:What does gender identity mean?

A:Gender identity is defined by one’s personal, subjectivesense of their gender, which is different from our biological sex.

Q:What is sexual orientation?

A:Sexual orientation is the unique pattern of sexual and romantic desire,behavior, and identity that each person experiences.

Q:Doesn’t sexual orientation consist of just three categories,heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual?

A:No it does not. After several studies, Alfred Kinseydiscovered that sexual orientation is more of a continuum so he developed theKinsey Scale. On the Kinsey Scale, 0 represents exclusive patterns ofheterosexual behavior and attraction, and 6 represent an exclusive pattern ofhomosexual behavior and attraction. The numbers in between the two representvarying levels of bisexuality.

            Manypeople use sex and gender interchangeably without realizing the difference.While sex refers to our biology, gender defines our expectations about whatmakes us feminine or masculine and is determined by psychological, social, andcultural characteristics. Knowing the difference is not only important in orderto fully understand what someone is talking about but also important in orderto inform someone who may be confused about this. Additionally, many peoplebelieve that our sex should determine our gender. This is where understandingsexual identity comes into play. Sexual identity refers to a person’s individualperception of being female or male. A person could have an outward appearanceof a male but have female sex organs and instead of identifying as female, identifyas male, which is a form of transgenderism. Sexual orientation is often lumpedinto three categories such as heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual. However,thanks to Alfred Kinsey, we now know that sexual orientation is much morecomplex than this and should be described as being a continuum as shown below.

            Newresearch has shown that sexual minorities such as bisexual, gay, transgender, andlesbian individuals are at a higher risk for depression than heterosexualindividuals. The reason being that they are (for varied reasons) less openabout their sexual orientation. Knowing this can help aid people in theirjourney to discover their sexual orientation and become more comfortable andsupported in being open about it. It can also help you to be more aware ofthings to be looking for like signs of depression, anxiety, suicide, and stressin a friend, family member, co-worker, etc. who may be exploring their sexualorientation.

Withmore support and acceptance of the LGBTQ community in this day and age, bringsabout those who have been hiding their true gender identity or sexualorientation. Now more than ever, it is important to understand important termsand meanings of these terms in order to better serve this community and alsofamily members and friends of the LGBTQ community who may not understand theresearch behind these terms and the importance of supporting them despite theirbeliefs. By sharing our knowledge of sexual orientation, we can work togetherto end hate and discrimination.

References

Crooks,R., & Baur, K. (2017). Our sexuality, thirteenth edition. Cengage Learning.Boston, MA.

Lehmiller,J. J. (2013). The psychology of human sexuality. Sussex, UK: John Wiley &Sons, Ltd.

vander Star, A., Pachankis, J. E., & Bränström, R. (2019). Sexual orientationopenness and depression symptoms: A population-based study. Psychologyof Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.https://doi-org.proxy1.ncu.edu/10.1037/sgd0000335