"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."
Refers to a person's sexual orientation and preferences.
Gender Identity: Understanding the concept of gender and how it relates to an individual's sense of self.
Sexual Orientation: Exploring different sexual orientations and how they manifest in society.
Feminism: Examining the history and principles of feminism, and how it relates to gender and sexuality.
Queer Theory: Understanding how the term "queer" has been reclaimed and redefined, and exploring the intersections of gender, sexuality, and other marginalized identities.
Sex Education: Learning about the importance of comprehensive sex education and how lack thereof can harm individuals and communities.
Intersectionality: Examining how gender and sexuality intersect with other social identities such as race, ethnicity, class, religion, disability, and nationality.
LGBTQ+ History: Educating oneself about the history of LGBTQ+ communities and the ongoing struggle for legal and social equality.
Body Image and Beauty Standards: Exploring the societal pressures placed on individuals to conform to certain beauty standards and how this can affect one's sense of self and relationship with sexuality.
Consent: Understanding the importance of enthusiastic and ongoing consent in sexual relationships, and how to properly communicate desires and boundaries.
Media and Pop Culture: Analyzing the representation of gender and sexuality in media and pop culture, and how it can reinforce or challenge societal norms and stereotypes.
Heterosexual: Attraction to people of a different gender.
Homosexual: Attraction to people of the same gender.
Bisexual: Attraction to people of two or more genders.
Pansexual: Attraction to people regardless of their gender, including those who don't identify as male or female or fall outside the gender binary.
Asexual: Lack of sexual attraction to any gender.
Demisexual: Sexual attraction only after developing an emotional connection.
Graysexual: Experience sexual attraction rarely, infrequently, or at a low intensity.
Queer: A fluid and inclusive term used by people who don't follow heterosexual or homosexual norms, but it is not an identity that everyone is comfortable with.
Skoliosexual: Attraction to non-cisgender people, including transgender and non-binary individuals.
Polysexual: Attraction to people of multiple but not all genders.
"Asexuality (the lack of sexual attraction to others) is sometimes identified as the fourth category."
"People may use other labels, such as pansexual or polysexual, or none at all."
"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.'"
"Androphilia describes sexual attraction to masculinity; gynephilia describes the sexual attraction to femininity."
"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."
"Scientists theorize that it is caused by a complex interplay of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences."
"Scientists favor biologically based theories as there is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial, biological causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males."
"There is no substantive evidence which suggests parenting or early childhood experiences play a role with regard to sexual orientation."
"Across 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."
"Sexual orientation is studied primarily within biology, anthropology, and psychology (including sexology)."
"It is also a subject area in sociology, history (including social constructionist perspectives), and law."
"These attractions are generally subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality."
"Sexual preference may suggest a degree of voluntary choice, whereas sexual orientation is not a choice."
"Scientists theorize that it is caused by a complex interplay of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences."
"There is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial, biological causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males."
"There is no substantive evidence which suggests parenting or early childhood experiences play a role with regard to sexual orientation."
"Asexuality (the lack of sexual attraction to others) is sometimes identified as the fourth category."
"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."