Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction 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. Patterns are generally categorized under heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality,[1][2][3] while asexuality (experiencing no sexual attraction to others) is sometimes identified as the fourth category.[4][5]
These categories are aspects of the more nuanced nature of sexual identity and terminology.[3] For example, people may use other labels, such as pansexual or polysexual,[3][6] or none at all.[1] 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".[1][7]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.[8] The term sexual preference largely overlaps with sexual orientation, but is generally distinguished in psychological research.[9] A person who identifies as bisexual, for example, may sexually prefer one sex over the other.[10]Sexual preference may also suggest a degree of voluntary choice,[9][11][12] whereas sexual orientation is not a choice.[13][14][15]
Although no single theory on the cause of sexual orientation has yet gained widespread support, scientists favor biological theories.[16][17][18] There is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial, biological causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males.[16][19][20] A major hypothesis implicates the prenatal environment, specifically the organizational effects of hormones on the fetal brain.[16][18] There is no substantive evidence which suggests parenting or early childhood experiences play a role in developing a sexual orientation.[16][21] Across cultures, most people are heterosexual, with a minority of people having a homosexual or bisexual orientation.[16][22]: 8 [23]: 9–10 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.[1]
^ abc"Definitions Related to Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity in APA Documents"(PDF). American Psychological Association. 2015. p. 6. Archived from the original(PDF) on January 22, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2020. Sexual orientation refers to the sex of those to whom one is sexually and romantically attracted. [...] [It is] one's enduring sexual attraction to male partners, female partners, or both. Sexual orientation may be heterosexual, same-sex (gay or lesbian), or bisexual. [...] A person may be attracted to men, women, both, neither, or to people who are genderqueer, androgynous, or have other gender identities. Individuals may identify as lesbian, gay, heterosexual, bisexual, queer, pansexual, or asexual, among others. [...] Categories of sexual orientation typically have included attraction to members of one's own sex (gay men or lesbians), attraction to members of the other sex (heterosexuals), and attraction to members of both sexes (bisexuals). While these categories continue to be widely used, research has suggested that sexual orientation does not always appear in such definable categories and instead occurs on a continuum [...]. Some people identify as pansexual or queer in terms of their sexual orientation, which means they define their sexual orientation outside of the gender binary of 'male' and 'female' only.
^Lamanna, Mary Ann; Riedmann, Agnes; Stewart, Susan D (2014). Marriages, Families, and Relationships: Making Choices in a Diverse Society. Cengage Learning. p. 82. ISBN978-1-305-17689-8. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016. 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).
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