SEXUAL

ORIENTATION
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

01 02 03
SEXUAL SEXUAL SPECTRUM OF SEXUAL
ORIENTATION PREFERENCE ORIENTATION

04 05 06
LGBTQ+ CONVERSION QUEER
THERAPY REPRESENTATION IN
MEDIA
SEXUAL ORIENTATION
Sexual orientation refers to our enduring patterns of sexual
attraction. 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".
Scientists do not know the exact cause of sexual orientation,
but they theorize that it is caused by a complex interplay of
genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences.
GENDER vs SEXUAL ORIENTATION

While sexual orientation is about being emotionally or

romantically attracted to other people, “gender identity”
describes a person’s own internal feelings of being male or
female (masculine or feminine); or a blend of both or neither
(genderqueer)
In simpler terms, sexual orientation is about who we want to be
with romantically or sexually.
Gender identity is about who we feel we are, how we choose to
express those feelings, and how we wish to be perceived and
treated by other people.
02
SEXUAL PREFERENCE
SEXUAL PREFERENCE
The term sexual preference largely overlaps with sexual
orientation, but is generally distinguished in
psychological research. A person who identifies as
bisexual, for example, may sexually prefer one sex over
the other.
Generally, Across various cultures, most people are
heterosexual, with a minority of people having a
homosexual or bisexual orientation. A person's sexual
orientation can be anywhere on a continuum, from
exclusive attraction to the opposite sex to exclusive
attraction to the same sex.
03
THE SEXUALITY
SPECTRUM
Categories of Sexual Orientation:
The most commonly discussed categories of sexual
orientation spectrum are:

01 . Heterosexual: (attraction to persons of the opposite

sex).
Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction
or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex
or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an
enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual
attractions" to people of the opposite sex. Someone who
is heterosexual is commonly referred to as straight
02. Homosexual: (attraction to persons of the same sex)

Homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic,

and/or sexual attractions" to people of the same sex. The most
common adjectives for homosexual people are lesbian for
females and gay for males, but the term gay also commonly
refers to both homosexual females and males.

03. Bisexual: (attraction to both men and women)

Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior towards

both males and females, or to more than one gender. In other
words, someone does not have to be exclusively homosexual or
heterosexual, but can feel varying degrees of both.
04. Asexual : (not sexually attracted to either men or
women)

Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or

absent interest in or desire for sexual activity. It may be
considered a sexual orientation or the lack thereof. Asexual
people may seek relationships without romantic or sexual activity,
known as "queer-platonic relationships".
04
LGBTQIA+
 Les­bian
A woman who feels physical, romantic, and/or
emotional attraction to other women. Some lesbians
may prefer to identify as gay or as gay women.
 GAY
The adjective describes people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or
emotional attractions are to people of the same sex. Sometimes lesbian is the
preferred term for women. The term is mostly used for men who experience
same sex attraction.
 Bisexual
A person who can form enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions to those of the same
gender or more than one gender. People may experience this attraction in differing ways and degrees
over their lifetime. Bisexual people need not have had specific sexual experiences to be bisexual; they
need not have had any sexual experience at all to identify as bisexual.
TRANSGENDER
An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from what is typically associated with the sex they
were assigned at birth. People under the transgender umbrella may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms—
including transgender or nonbinary. Some transgender people are prescribed hormones by their doctors to bring their bodies into
alignment with their gender identity. Some undergo surgery as well. But not all transgender people can or will take those steps, and a
transgender identity is not dependent upon physical appearance or medical procedures.

QUEER
An adjective used by some people whose sexual orientation is not exclusively heterosexual or straight. This umbrella term includes
people who have nonbinary, gender-fluid, or gender nonconforming identities. Once considered a pejorative term, queer has been
reclaimed by some LGBTQIA+ people to describe themselves; however, it is not a universally accepted term even within the LGBTQIA+
community.

QUESTIONING
Sometimes, when the Q is seen at the end of LGBT, it can also mean questioning. This term describes someone who is questioning their
sexual orientation or gender identity.
INTERSEX
An adjective used to describe a person with one or more innate sex characteristics, including genitals, internal
reproductive organs, and chromosomes, that fall outside of traditional conceptions of male or female bodies. Do not
confuse having an intersex trait with being transgender. Intersex people are assigned a sex at birth — either male or
female — and that decision by medical providers and parents may not match the gender identity of the child. Not all
intersex folks identify as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community.

ASEXUAL
The adjective describes a person who does not experience sexual attraction. Sometimes shortened to “ace,” it is an
umbrella term that can also include people who are demisexual, meaning they do experience some sexual attraction;
graysexual, meaning those who may not fit the strictest definition of the word asexual; and aromantic, meaning they
experience little to no romantic attraction and/or has little to no desire to form romantic relationships.

+ PLUS
The ‘plus’ is used to signify all of the gender identities and sexual orientations that letters and words cannot yet fully
describe.
Transgender:

A transgender person (often abbreviated to trans person) is someone

whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with
their sex assigned at birth.

Transfeminine is a term for any person, binary or non-binary, who was

assigned male at birth and has a predominantly feminine gender identity
or presentation; transmasculine is the equivalent term for someone who
was assigned female at birth and has a predominantly masculine gender
identity or presentation. Many trans people describe their sexual
orientation as queer.
Queer :
Queer originally meant "strange", "odd", "peculiar", or "eccentric".
Queer is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or
cisgender
(the antonym of transgender).

According to Schuster, “any [orientation or identity] that's not straight is

considered queer.”
05
CONVERSION
THERAPY
 Conversion Therapy
What is it? Methods used
Any treatment that aims to turn
Behavioral, Cognitive or
lesbian, gay and transgender
psychological training including
individuals into heterosexuals
electroshock therapy, hypnosis

Homosexuality was believed to be a birth defect

Earliest form of conversion therapy was to remove one testicle from a gay man and replace
it with another from a heterosexual donor.
Medical professionals and psychiatrists like Sigmund Freud began to classify
homosexuality as a mental disorder treatable by psychotherapy and medication.
Freud later concluded that homosexuality was not an illness and publicly discouraged
any treatment of it.
In 1973 the American Psychiatric removed homosexuality from it’s manual for mental
disorder and has since publicly discredited conversion therapy

Conversion therapy bans were introduced because evidence increasingly showed that
it causes serious medical and psychological harm.
Despite how inhumane and ineffective the practice is, it’s still legal in most of the
world.
06
QUEER
REPRESENTATION IN
MEDIA
 THANK YOU!
SAIMA MANINDER AMTUL
HUSAIN KAUR RAYEES

SYED ANANYA BUSHRA

QUDSIA DAYAMA FATIMA