The Definition and Scope of Sexual Orientation

The Definition and Scope of Sexual Orientation

The question of precisely who is and who is not homosexual is itself controversial. Various behaviors and individual life-styles have been confused with sexual orientation. Shively and De Cecco (1977) developed a useful distinction in dividing sexual identity into four parts. The first is biological sex, the genetic material encoded in chromosomes. The next is gender identity, the psychological sense of being male or female. Social sex role is adherence to the culturally created behaviors and attitudes that are deemed appropriate for males or females. Finally sexual orientation is erotic and/or affectional disposition to the same and/or opposite sex.

It is important to note that the first three bear no necessary relationship to sexual orientation in any given individual. Each, however, has been confused with sexual orientation. Variations on these parameters (e.g., cross-dressing, sadomasochism, and fetishism) are not discussed here because they occur among both heterosexuals and homosexuals and are not specific to sexual orientation. Gay and lesbian are popular terms for people who define themselves as homosexual in contrast to the term straight used by gay people to describe heterosexuals, but also widely used by heterosexuals in other contexts. It is also important to note that a person's sexual behavior can be homosexual yet that person may not self-identify as gay.

The process of “coming out” and defining oneself as gay, together with the additional act of coming out publicly as gay, can create profound events in the lives of homosexual men and women living in a disparaging society, as described by Gonsiorek and Rudolph in this volume. Perhaps because of this, the term sexual preference is sometimes used. It might appear to outsiders that individuals going through this process have “chosen” their homosexuality. We suggest that the term [Page 2]sexual preference is misleading as it assumes conscious or deliberate choice and may trivialize the depth of the psychological processes involved. We recommend the term sexual orientation because most research findings indicate that homosexual feelings are a basic part of an individual's psyche and are established much earlier than conscious choice would indicate. Most experts in the area have concluded that sexual orientation is set by early childhood (Bell, Weinberg, & Hammersmith, 1981; Green, 1988; Money, 1988). The term life-style is also confusing because it suggests a unanimity in patterns of living that does not reflect the diversity within gay and lesbian populations. It also obscures many similarities between the lives of homosexuals and heterosexuals (see Peplau in this volume).

There is little unanimity about the use of the words lesbian and gay as opposed to homosexual. It can be argued that the word homosexual is problematic because it echoes with implications of diagnosis and pathology, it is archaic, and its root meanings are not entirely accurate. On the positive side, it has the benefit of having few implications for sense of identity and so can function in a more descriptive sense. It can be argued that the words gay and lesbian really describe a particular identity that goes beyond mere description, is not accurate for many homosexually behaving and desiring individuals and is primarily rooted in the sociopolitical context of the mid- and late-20th century Western world (although the use of both words to describe homosexuality has a venerable history). Gay may also connote frivolousness or triviality. Lesbian, however, lacks this connotation problem and may well be more precise and robust across time, at least in the Western world.

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