SEXUAL

ORIENTATIO
N By: Simran Bandwar and Rohit Mane.
 Definition.
• Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or 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.
• sometimes sexual orientation has been measured by how people define themselves,
sometimes by their sexual experiences, and sometimes by their attractions
• These attractions are generally subsumed under 4 categories:
1. Heterosexuality
2. Homosexuality
3. Bisexuality
4. Asexuality
 LGBTQ.
◦ In simple terms, stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer.
◦ A lesbian is a homosexual woman who is romantically or sexually
attracted to other women.
◦ A gay is a homosexual man who is romantically or sexually attracted to other
men.
◦ Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behaviour
toward both males and females, or romantic or sexual attraction to people
of any sex or gender identity; this latter aspect is sometimes alternatively
termed pansexuality.
◦ Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that
differs from their assigned sex.
◦ Queer are people questioning their sexual identity.
 Is Homosexuality a disorder?

• The social, medical and legal approach to homosexuality ultimately led for its
inclusion in the first and second publications of the American Psychiatric
Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). This served to
conceptualize homosexuality as a mental disorder and further stigmatize
homosexuality in society.
• Tests such as the Rorschach, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) and the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) indicated that
homosexual men and women were not distinguishable from heterosexual
men
and women in functioning.
• These studies failed to support the previous assumptions that family dynamics, trauma
and gender identity were factors in the development of sexual orientation. Due to lack of
supporting data, as well as exponentially increasing pressure from the advocates of
homosexuality, the Board of Directors for the American Psychiatric Association voted to
remove homosexuality as a mental disorder from the DSM in 1973
 What causes Homosexuality?
◦ In 1993, a study published in the journal Science showed that families with two
homosexual brothers were very likely to have certain genetic markers on a region of the
X chromosome known as Xq28. This led to media headlines about the possibility of the
existence of a “gay gene” and discussions about the ethics of aborting a “gay” fetus.
◦ Some studies have shown that the corpus callosum – the main connection between the
two halves of the brain- has a different structure in gay men than in straight men.
 Can it be changed?
◦ The most effective route to real, lasting change for those caught in same-
gender attraction is a redemptive approach. This means discipleship, being
taught and encouraged and held accountable to develop intimacy with
Christ. Interestingly, it doesn’t seem to matter what the particular
stronghold is in a person’s life—whether it be homosexuality, gluttony,
drug dependency, compulsive gambling or shopping, alcoholism, sexual
addiction, or any other stronghold—the most effective solution is the same:
intimacy with Christ.
Do Homosexuals have a
choice?
No. Sexual preference is biologically
determined. Government should protect
gay people from discrimination because
homosexuality is an unalterable aspect
of their identity.
Coming Out.
◦ Coming out of the closet, or
simply coming out, is
a metaphor for LGBT people's
self-disclosure of their sexual
orientation or of their gender
identity.
◦ 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.
Relationship Outside
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. While some
LGBT people hide their
respective orientations from their spouses,
others develop positive gay and lesbian
identities while maintaining successful
heterosexual marriages
 Gender Nonconformity,
Sexual Fluidity, Erotic
Plasticity.
◦ gender nonconformity is a phenomenon in which prepubescent children do not
conform to expected gender-related sociological or psychological patterns, or identify
with the opposite sex/gender. Typical behaviour among those who exhibit the
phenomenon includes but is not limited to a propensity to cross-dress, refusal to take part
in activities conventionally thought suitable for the gender and the exclusive choice of
play-mates of the opposite sex.
◦ Sexual fluidity is one or more changes in sexuality or sexual identity.
◦ Erotic plasticity is the degree to which one's sex drive can be changed by cultural
or social factors. Someone has "high erotic plasticity" when their sex drives can be
affected by situational, social and cultural influences, whereas someone with “low
erotic plasticity” has a sex drive that is relatively rigid and unsusceptible to change.
 Sexual Arousal Studies.
◦ 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 or vaginal photoplethysmography, where genital engorgement with blood is measured
in response to exposure to different erotic material.
◦ A study of sexual arousal patterns
found that women, when viewing
erotic films which show female-
female, male- male and male-
female sexual activity, have
patterns of arousal which do not
match their declared sexual
orientations as well as men's.
◦ Women also showed arousal
when viewing non human
primates having sexual
intercourse.
 Early Classification.
◦ One of the earliest sexual orientation classification schemes was proposed in the 1860s
by Karl Heinrich Ulrichs.
◦ The classification scheme, which was meant only to describe males, separated them
into three basic categories: dionings, urnings and uranodionings.
◦ Dioning - Comparable to the modern term "heterosexual“
◦ Urning - Comparable to the modern term "homosexual“
 Mannling - A manly urning
 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"
Kinsey scale.
 Honorary mention: Drag
Queens.
◦ A drag queen is a person, usually male,
who dresses in clothing of the opposite sex
and often acts with exaggerated femininity
and in feminine gender roles which is for
the purpose of entertainment or fashion.
◦ Often, they will exaggerate certain
characteristics such as make-up and
eyelashes for comic, dramatic, or satirical
effect. While drag is very much associated
with gay men and gay culture, there are
drag artists of all sexualities.
 Conclusion.
◦ There is nothing wrong in being a homosexual, heterosexual, trans, bisexual, queer.
◦ Do not change your orientation based on what society thinks.
◦ If two people are happy, why are you bothered?

◦ It is not a choice, you’re doing

nothing wrong and it is your right
to identify yourself as what you
desire.
◦ God will not punish you or send
you to hell for choosing your
sexual orientation.
◦ Sexual fluidity is normal.
◦ Why don’t you change your mind
today and stop judging someone’s
sexual orientation?
Thankyou!