Understanding Sexual Orientation: Key Concepts and Terminology
School
University of Texas**We aren't endorsed by this school
Course
PSY 306
Subject
Psychology
Date
Dec 12, 2024
Pages
7
Uploaded by BailiffCrowPerson492
9/3019/30Sexual Orientationwhat might be going up is that the brain was masculinized or not masculinized to be congruent with the brain assignedcant see in this humansgender identity is a personal thing → transgender thingis who you are sexually attracted to sexual orientation is different from gender identity and doesnt necessary change if someone transitionsterminologysexual orientation:sexual attraction toward persons of the other sex ( heterosexual), same sex (homosexual), both sexes (bisexual) or neither sex (asexual)heterosexual: sexually oriented toward primarily opposite sex ( “straight”)homosexual:sexually oriented toward primarily same-sexlesbian -female attracted femalesgay - male attracted to malesbisexual: sexually oriented toward both sexes approx equallypansexual:sexually oriented toward people regardless of sex, gender identity, or expressionqueer: often a non specific term referring to not primarily heterosexualdemisexual:sexual attracted only experienced after strong emotional connection with someone
9/302asexual: a sexual orientation involving a lack of sexual attraction to others (“Aces”)other sexual orientations or terms regarding sexual orientatio → rapidly changing as we gain knowledge as people identifycommonly used terminologyasexualityapprox ~1% of the popa sexual orientation involving a lack of sexual attract to others (Aces)many still want intimacy and relationships some enjoy sexual stimulation (e.g., masturbation), some have sexual fantasiesnot experiencing distress related to this, except perhaps stigma related distresstied to being a non-heterosexual sexual orientation not a paraphilia, sexual desire disorder or psychiatric conditionscientific community thought this was attributed to a very low sex drive → is not the case → it is a choicemeasuring sexual orientationKinsey (1940s & 1950s) → homosexuality as a normal variant of human sexualityfirst researcher to do this“Males do not represent two discrete populations, heterosexual and homosexual.The world is not to be divided into sheep and goats. It is a fundamental of taxonomy that nature rarely deals with discrete categories...The living world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects.”(Kinsey, et al. 1948 Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948), p. 639).notion that sexual is not black and whitethere are gradationsKinsey Sexual Orientation Rating Scale
9/303recognizing also the importance of sexual fantasies or desire as many people do not feel comfortable expressing these behaviors or desires in a non heterosexual fashion Sexual Orientation Prevalence representative sample around ~3% were non-heterosexual (Kinsey)3% in 2012 identified as LGBT
9/3045% identified in 2020 2015, gay marriage was legalized notable rise staring at this time age groups percentage in LGBT rises in newer generation begs the question of the increase because there are more individuals who have shifted or is the case as gay marriages are no longer illegal or expression of sexuality is more expressed, individuals are more comfortable to express non heteroseuxal sexuality → back when sexuality was very closed and strictly heterosexualin addition to generational different, sig differences based on gender and political ideology
9/305women > men to identify as LGBT (6.4% v. 4.9%, respectively)women > men more likely to identify as bisexual (4.3% v 1.8%)13.0% of political liberals, 4.4% of moderates and 2.3% of conservatives say they are lesbian, gay bisexual or transgender differences less pronounced by party identification, with 8.8% of democrats, 6.5% of independents and 1.7% of republicans identifying as LGBTthere are no meaningful educational differences — 5.6% of college graduates and 5.7% of college non-graduates are LGBTHistory of Homosexuality as a DisorderHistory of Homosexuality in the DSMDMS 1 ( 1952):homosexualityconsidered a mental disorder “sociopathic personality disturbance”DMS II (1968) :sexual orientation disturbanceconsidered sexual deviationonly diagnosed if “in conflict with” sexual orientationDMS III (1980): Ego-dystonic Homosexualityif you are homosexual and unhappy about itDMS III- R (1987):Ego-dystonic Homosexuality removed The Declassification of Homosexuality as a Mental IllnessEvelyn Hooker (1957) :homosexuality is not a mental disorderground breaking study compared projective tests on 30 homosexual men with 30 heterosexual menexperienced psychologists could not distinguish between the two groupsblank slate an dget to project their ideas onto that
9/306see how people respond to projective testsbonus!!Studies of Causes of Homosexuality: Genetics, Hormones & Birth Ordergenetic studies of homosexualitymost are twin studiesmonozygotic identical twins, one fertilized egg, same genes dizygotic twins, fraternal, two fertilized eggs, share 50% of genetic geneshomosexual males: 52% of identical twins, 22% fraternal twins, 11% adoptive brothers also gay homosexual females: 48% identical twins, 16% fraternal twins, 6% adoptive siblings also lesbian notion of underlying genetic contribution greater likelihood to having both twins be gay if they're identical does not necessarily mean that both have to be gay slight differences in how the genes are expressed → epigeneticsenvironment influences genetic makeupxq28 genotype tied to homosexuality → “gay gene”may be something on the X chromosomeconclusion:some heritability but if homosexuality were soley genetic, it should have disappeared long ago ( less likely to reproduce)Birth Order Effects on Homosexuality
9/307gay men have more older brothers ( but not older sisters) than heterosexual menlater born brothers from same mother more likely to be homosexualeach older brother increases likelihood of being gay by ~33%Maternal Immune Hypothesis: Progressive immunization to male-specific antigens after the birth of successive sons in some mothers - possibly effects male differentiation of brain in fetustestes begin to produce T, pregnant woman has more T → body is trying to protect itself from unidentifiable surge of hormones → become immunized from males in womb, every time has a male, body improves antibody concentrations higher in woman who have gay sonsLGN4Y Hormone studies of homesexualtystudies focused on deficiencies in certain hormones or excess hormonal exposure during parental developmentsupported by animal research Finger length Studies of Homosexuality 2D: 4D ratio (McFadden et al., 2005)typical male type pattern is a longer ring than index fingertypical female pattern is similar ring and index fingerslesbian women often have a typical male-type finger patternlikely exposure to androgen prenatally evidence for gay men less clear not very accurate way to measure as there is a more likelihood for a person to be straight despite this(look back lecture for all of this )