Is Sexual Orientation a Choice?
Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homos...No, human beings can not choose to be either gay or straight. Sexual orientation emerges for most people in early adolescence without any prior sexual experience. Although we can choose whether to act on our feelings, psychologists do not consider sexual orientation to be a conscious choice that can be voluntarily changed.
Related QuestionsWhat is sexual orientation?
TransProud - Frequently Asked QuestionsSexual orienation refers to the gender which a person finds themselves emotionally and sexually attracted. The common terms for the variety of sexual orientations are gay, lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual. Some individuals may identify themselves as asexual, and others as other.
Related QuestionsFrequently asked questions about sexual orientationSexual Orientation is an enduring emotional, romantic and sexual attraction to another person. It is easily distinguished from other components of sexuality, including biological sex, gender identity (the psychological sense of being male or female) and the social gender role (adherence to cultural norms for feminine and masculine behaviour). Bisexual persons can experience sexual and emotional attraction to both their own sex and the opposite sex.Related Questions
How are sexual orientation and gender identity determined?
PFLAG: Frequently Asked QuestionsNo one knows exactly how sexual orientation and gender identity determined. However, experts agree that it is a complicated matter of genetics, biology, psychological and social factors. For most people, sexual orientation and gender identity are shaped at any early age. While research has not determined a cause, homosexuality and gender variance are not the result of any one factor like parenting or past experiences.
Related QuestionsHow can I reconcile my or my loved one's sexual orientation with my faith?
PFLAG: Frequently Asked QuestionsThis is a difficult question for many people. Learning that a loved one is GLBT can be a challenge if you feel it is at odds with your faith tradition. However, being GLBT does not impact a person's ability to be moral and spiritual any more than being heterosexual does. Many GLBT people are religious and active in their own faith communities. It is up to you to explore, question and make choices in order to reconcile religion with homosexuality and gender variance.
Related QuestionsQ13. What is sexual orientation discrimination and when will this protection become effective?
IDHR is the agency responsible for enforcing state anti-discrimination laws. The statute enforced by the Department is the Illinois Human Rights Act(“Act”).
Related QuestionsCan gay people change their sexual orientation or gender identity?
PFLAG: Frequently Asked QuestionsReligious and secular organizations do sponsor campaigns and studies claiming that GLBT people can change their sexual orientation or gender identity because there is something wrong. PFLAG believes that it is our anti-GLBT attitudes, laws and policies that need to change, not our GLBT loved ones. These studies and campaigns suggesting that GLBT people can change are based on ideological biases and not peer-reviewed solid science.
Related QuestionsLesbian Gay Bisexual Trans Services OfficeA person's sexual orientation is defined by their enduring emotional, romantic, sexual or affectional attraction to other people. Heterosexual (or straight) refers to people whose sexual and romantic feelings are primarily for people of the opposite sex. Homosexual (or gay and lesbian) refers to people whose sexual and romantic feelings are primarily for those of the same sex. The term lesbian refers to women who are homosexual.Related Questions
Can Therapy Change Sexual Orientation?
Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homos...No. Even though most homosexuals live successful, happy lives, some homosexual or bisexual people may seek to change their sexual orientation through therapy, sometimes pressured by the influence of family members or religious groups to try and do so. The reality is that homosexuality is not an illness. It does not require treatment and is not changeable.
Related QuestionsWhat is sexual identity and sexual orientation?
SAFE Singapore: October 2006Sexual identity is the degree to which one identifies with the social and biological aspects of being a man or a woman. Most people identify primarily with their biological sex but transgendered people identify more with the biological and social characteristics of the other gender. Sexual orientation is defined by a person's emotional, romantic and sexual attraction to another. Heterosexuals are people whose sexual and romantic feelings are for people of the opposite sex.
Related QuestionsCan “conversion therapy” change sexual orientation?
Frequently Asked QuestionsNo. The reality is that homosexuality is not an illness. It does not require treatment and is not changeable. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the official manual that lists mental and emotional disorders. Two years later, the American Psychological Association resolved to support the removal. Ever since, both associations have urged all mental health professionals to help dispel the stigma of mental illness associated with homosexual orientation.
Related QuestionsWhat Causes a Person To Have a Particular Sexual Orientation?
Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homos...There are numerous theories about the origins of a person's sexual orientation; most scientists today agree that sexual orientation is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors. In most people, sexual orientation is shaped at an early age. There is also considerable recent evidence to suggest that biology, including genetic or inborn hormonal factors, play a significant role in a person's sexuality.
Related QuestionsWhat new regulations apply to sexual orientation?
Frequently asked questions about sexual orientationRegulations came into force on April 30th 2007 which makes discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation unlawful in relation to the provision of goods, services, premises, education and public functions. The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 were passed by Parliament as a result of the EU Employment Directive outlawing discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, religion or belief and age in employment and vocational training.
Related QuestionsCan I refuse to rent to people whose sexual orientation offends me?
FAQ'SA housing provider may ask an applicant or tenant to verify that they have a disability and need accommodation. The type of verification needed will depend on the specifics of the situation and may be provided by a doctor or other medical professional, a peer support group, or a service agency. However, the applicant or tenant is not required to tell the housing provider the specifics of their disability or to give the housing provider a full copy of their medical history.
Related QuestionsIs sexual Orientation important?
Modeling FAQ - Pride Studios, IncYour sexuality is your business. However, we do ask that you remain open minded and have a genuine desire to pose for the camera.
Related QuestionsWhy do some gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals tell people about their sexual orientation?
Frequently Asked QuestionsThey tell about it because sharing that aspect of themselves with others is important to their mental health. In fact, the process of identity development for lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals, called coming out, has been found to be strongly related to psychological adjustment—the more positive the gay, lesbian, or bisexual identity, the better one’s mental health and the higher one’s self-esteem.
Related QuestionsAnswers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homos...Because sharing that aspect of themselves with others is important to their mental health. In fact, the process of identity development for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals called "coming out", has been found to be strongly related to psychological adjustment—the more positive the gay, lesbian, or bisexual identity, the better one's mental health and the higher one's self-esteem.Related Questions
Can sexual orientation be changed?
PrismThere are programs such as Exodus International that claim to free a person from their homosexuality (personally I need freedom from the hetero-normative society I live in not my orientation). People tell two stories on ex-gay ministries, one being that they live joy filled lives after their transformation, the other of much self hatred and often eventual suicide. When I came out to myself, I hated myself more than anything for being homosexual from being raised in a homophobic home.
Related QuestionsIs sexual orientation a factor considered by the Department in its hiring decisions?
U.S. Department of State Careers - FAQsThe Department of State is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against individuals on the basis of sexual orientation. There are, however, only limited provisions for benefits for domestic partners.
Related QuestionsWhat is sexual orientation? What is gender identity?
Frequently Asked Questions About LGBT IssuesSexual orientation refers to who people are attracted to; a homosexual orientation would be towards people of the same sex, a heterosexual orientation would be towards people of the opposite sex. A bisexual orientation would be towards either sex. Gender identity refers to how people define themselves as male, female, or something else entirely.
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