Orientations

1
Orientations
2
Sexual Orientations A Continuum

• Clear-cut distinctions are not justified by the
  evidence
• Best viewed through life span patterns
• Kinseys 7 Point Scale
• Men cluster at the far ends
• Women also, but more in the middle
• Placements vary over time

3
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

4
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

5
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

6
Types of Orientation

• Real orientation
• Transitory a temporary involvement
• Transitional changing from one to another
• Denial maintaining the hetero façade for
  society

7
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?

8
Psychosocial

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

9
Psychosocial II

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

10
More Psychosocial

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

11
Sigmund Says .

• Its the parents fault
• Boys - not close to Dad
• too close to Mom
• But many gays get along great with their parents
• Also, many heteros dont
• Bell no family pattern exists

12
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

13
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

14
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

15
Adult Brain Differences

• Various studies suggest that gay and straight
  mens brains differ
• Dr. Simon Levays postmortem studies
• Unreplicated and correlative
• But we find no differences in adult hormone levels

16
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

17
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.

18
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?

19
Societys View

• World-wide, attitudes vary
• Sambia demands
• Cuba tolerates, for now
• Many persecute despite a trend towards
  legal protection

20
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

21
curing homosexuals

• Many techniques have been tried, such as
• hypnosis
• psychotherapy
• drugs
• aversion or shock therapy
• castration
• lobotomies

22

• 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

23
Gay Conversion Programs

• Can orientation be changed?
• 56 of heteros think so
• But only 11 of gays agree

24
Nicolosis 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(?)

25
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

26
Lifestyles

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

27
Coming Out

• Becoming aware of and disclosing ones 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.

28
Self-Acknowledgment

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

29
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.

30
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.

31
Worries

• If you are deeply within the system, its even
  harder.
• Threat to jobs, social status, friendships.
• Easier to come out in a city.

32
More to Worry About

• Special problems for parents
• Most married gays have children
• Disclosure could jeopardize custody, even
  visitation rights.

33
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

34
Minorities

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

35
The Worst Way

• Outing being involuntarily disclosed through
  publicity

36
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?

37
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

38
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

39
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