Orientations

Sexual Orientations – A Continuum Clear-cut distinctions are not justified by the evidence Best viewed through life span patterns Kinsey’s 7 Point Scale Men cluster at the far ends Women also, but more in the middle Placements vary over time

How common? Incidence rates vary Kinsey – 2% women, 4% men are exclusive NHSLS – 1.4% women, 2.8% men, exclusive While 5% men & 4.7% women reported behavior and slightly more, attraction

Bisexuality Hard to define Women occasionally switch from lesbian to hetero (25%) Kinsey – compromise between extremes Storms - an orientation which has high degrees of both homosexuality and heterosexuality

More Bisexuality Research supports the latter view as bisexuals demonstrate a high degree of erotic interest in both sexes Or do they? Recent studies indicate that self reports, again, are not accurate

Types of Orientation Real orientation Transitory – a temporary involvement Transitional – changing from one to another Denial – maintaining the hetero façade for society

Why? Many attempts to explain, from many perspectives Does it arise from psychodynamic, psychosocial, or biological forces? Or is it simply a matter of choice?

Psychosocial Is it life history, parenting or psychological attributes? Bell (1981) – big #s, excellent methodology Consequently, quite influential

Psychosocial II Unhappy hetero experiences? A poor second choice? Women mistrusting men? Bell says no!

More Psychosocial Seduction? Corrupted by their elders? Nope, most know before school begins and interact with their peers.

Sigmund Says …. It’s the parents fault Boys - not close to Dad too close to Mom But many gays get along great with their parents Also, many heteros don’t Bell – no family pattern exists

Is it a choice? Some, particularly women, seem to have made a choice depending on who they are involved with Men are more exclusively gay or straight

Biological Theories Prenatal Influences – many studies show that prenatal hormones influence the process of sexual orientation Handedness – set before birth gays 39% more likely to be lefties Finger length – lesbian finger length patterns resemble males

Prenatal Influences II Puberty onset – gay and bisexual males begin puberty when females typically do Cognitive skills – gay males resemble women Birth order/Siblings – the more older brothers, the greater chance of being gay Why? – Mom builds up immunities

Adult Brain Differences Various studies suggest that gay and straight men’s brains differ Dr. Simon Levay’s postmortem studies Unreplicated and correlative But we find no differences in adult hormone levels

Genetic Influences Homosexuality is familial Twin studies showed a 20% concordance rate for identical twins, 24.5% for women Is there a gay gene? – Studies disagree

If it is caused by biology … It should no longer considered unnatural or immoral. People should be more tolerant. Buy only 33% think it is.

Other Consequences of a Biological Cause Will parents pre-screen and then avoid gay children? Will medical advances seek to “cure” this “defect”? Or, will the status be forgiven but the behavior still stigmatized?

Society’s View World-wide, attitudes vary: Sambia demands Cuba tolerates, for now Many persecute despite a trend towards legal protection

Judeo-Christian Attitudes Prohibited in the Bible Nothing has changed for Orthodox Jews Reform Jews recognize unions Christian denominations also differ Currently a slow, hard-fought drift towards acceptance Only a couple authorize unions Episcopalians even have a gay Bishop

“curing” homosexuals Many techniques have been tried, such as: hypnosis psychotherapy drugs aversion or shock therapy castration lobotomies

But homosexuals are not sick and as of 1973 the APAs even said so Gay Affirmative Therapy helps them cope in an often hostile world

Gay Conversion Programs Can orientation be changed? 56% of heteros think so But only 11% of gays agree

Nicolosi’s Study (2000) Looked at 882 highly religious participants Selected from groups which supported conversion 45% reported “gains” from therapy 40% reported continued turmoil Biased sample, self-report based Therapy provides some hope(?)

Shildo (2001) 202 participants 96% failed Worse yet, treatment intensified self- hatred Another study emphasized the anguish of “be with God or be gay” Suicide a common outcome

Lifestyles There is considerable variation but stereotypes persist even though neither gays nor heteros could identify each other.

Coming Out Becoming aware of and disclosing one’s homosexual identity. Often a choice between personal liberation and safety. Today, lesbians: become self aware & sexually involved, disclose their status & label themselves, much earlier than before.

Self-Acknowledgment People become aware of their feelings at different times, the great majority before or during high school.

Self-Acceptance A real challenge due to: hostility & harassment assault insults, even from teachers loss of friends, and rejecting families. Males have a high suicide rate.

Disclosure Should you be secretive or open? Passing – presenting a false image of being hetero A big decision that has to be made over and over again.

Worries If you are deeply within “the system”, it’s even harder. Threat to jobs, social status, friendships. Easier to “come out” in a city.

More to Worry About Special problems for parents Most married gays have children Disclosure could jeopardize custody, even visitation rights.

Telling the Family The hardest step? Parents might feel anger or guilt Bell (1978) – 50% did not tell their parents The Advocate Survey (1998) 26% did not Telling a spouse and/or children can be even tougher

Minorities Even tougher Double stigma – African American gays had even higher problems with depression Asians – shaming the family Hispanics - machismo

The Worst Way Outing – being involuntarily disclosed through publicity

Homosexual Relationships Often more flexible than hetero relationships Less likely to follow traditional gender-role models More like best friends with romance and erotic attraction Could we learn from them?

Similarities Attach great importance to intimacy Attempt to balance togetherness with independence Couples have more similarities than differences But lesbians and hetero men enjoy more emotional support and shared leisure time

Sexual Behavior Gay men typically have more casual sexual encounters, despite Aids risks Lesbians are more cautious, searching for emotional closeness Exceptions to these norms exist

Family Behavior 33% of lesbians & 22% of gay pairs are raising children Some states allow adoptions Utah, Florida, and Mississippi ban them Children of these unions fare just as well as those raised by hetero couples Most become hetero They often face prejudice