Understanding Sexuality And Sexual Orientation

What is the purpose of human sexuality?

Sexuality can serve a wide range of functions in human life. One potentially important purpose is reproduction. In an evolutionary biology framework, sexual desire can be seen as a drive that motivates humans to engage in sexual behavior and guides their choices of potential mates. This can help to ensure that an individual’s genes are passed on to future generations and that the species as a whole continues to survive and thrive.

However, sexuality can also play many other roles in human life besides reproduction. It may help to form, strengthen, or express a strong emotional bond between individuals, even those who aren’t able to have children with each other (or aren’t interested in doing so). And it can be a major source of pleasure for many individuals. In scientific surveys, the most commonly reported reasons for having sex tend to relate to pleasure, attraction, and emotion rather than reproduction.

Human sexuality can also help people to define and express their identities. For many people, understanding how they relate sexually to others may be a vital part of how they understand themselves. Research suggests that when someone faces obstacles in identifying, accepting, and expressing their sexual identity, it may place a strain on their mental health. This can be the case for difficulties with gender identity as well. 

Some theories suggest that sexuality may also be linked to creativity. Carl Jung, one of the early pioneers of psychotherapy, believed that sexual desire was merely one manifestation of a deep-seated creative drive. And some recent studies support the idea that creative behavior in humans may serve a sexual function, both in attracting mates and in expressing sexual impulses.

What influences sexuality?

Many different types of influences can affect the development of sexuality, including genetic, biological, social, and cultural factors. 

There’s some evidence that exposure to sex-specific hormones in the womb can affect a person’s relative sexual preference for male or female partners. This hormonal influence may also play a role in gender identity formation.

Factors that influence sexuality

However, there appear to be many other factors at play. As people develop from infancy to adulthood, their views of themselves and others as sexual beings may be shaped by diverse influences, including:

• Attitudes of parents and other family members toward sexuality
• Cultural and religious values and expectations
• Media exposure
• Attitudes from peers about sexual behavior
• Personal experiences  

Sexuality may also be subject to many other influences that science has not yet identified. The psychological study of sexual identity formation remains ongoing, and most researchers believe that our understanding of this process is still far from complete.

What is normal sexuality?

The current scientific consensus doesn’t view just one type of sexuality as “normal”. As the American Psychological Association notes, the best available research indicates that sexual orientation exists on a broad spectrum. In addition to heterosexual people, gay men, lesbians, and bisexual individuals, many others may not fall so neatly into these categories.

For example, a person could mostly prefer the opposite gender but occasionally feel desire for someone of the same gender. Someone else might feel sexual interest in people of any gender, but romantic interest only in men. Another person could experience attraction primarily to individuals with an androgynous appearance that blends masculine and feminine characteristics. And some people report having no interest in sexuality at all. Psychologists generally don’t regard any of these kinds of sexuality as unhealthy or abnormal. 

 Sexuality and mental health

People with some sexualities may have a harder time fitting into culturally approved roles, and they may deal with stigma or hostility directed at their sexuality. They might also struggle with difficulties due to disapproval or rejection from their parents or community members. These experiences can cause significant mental distress, but that doesn’t mean that the identities in question are psychologically unhealthy.

That said, some sexual behaviors or impulses may incline a person toward behavior that is harmful or involves non-consenting partners. Potential examples include pedophilia, sexual sadism, and exhibitionism. These types of drives are often classified as paraphilias, and they may constitute mental disorders if they cause distress or harm to the individual or others.

What are the types of sexuality or sexual orientation?

The range of different types of human sexuality may be too large to fully describe here. However, many people find one or more of the following categories useful for describing their sexual identities:

• Heterosexual. Attracted to people of the opposite gender. Also commonly referred to as “straight”.
• Homosexual: Attracted to people of the same gender.
• Gay: Can be used as a general synonym for “homosexual”, but often refers specifically to men attracted to other men.
• Lesbian: Used to describe a woman attracted to other women.
• Bisexual: Attracted to both men and women.
• Pansexual: Attracted to people of any gender expression or identity.
• Asexual: Not sexually attracted to anyone.
• Demisexual: Only sexually attracted to people with whom they feel a strong emotional bond.
• Queer: A broad term intended to encompass all forms of sexual orientation and expression that are not heterosexual or that have been stigmatized by society. Some people may find this term offensive, but others have embraced it as an inclusive identity.

What is an example of sexuality?

In practice, a person’s sexuality may not fall neatly into any of the categories described above. This may be easier to understand by looking at a hypothetical example:

Dave grows up thinking of himself as heterosexual. He dates and has sex with women, and has three different long-term girlfriends through high school and college. 

In his mid-twenties, while single, he meets George, a bisexual man. He’s surprised to realize that he feels an attraction toward George, and the two of them begin a sexual relationship. They realize they’re not compatible and break up after a few months.

Seeking to explore his sexual identity, Dave tries dating a few other men, but he feels little or no sexual interest in them, and the relationships don’t go anywhere. Two years after breaking up with George, he meets a woman named Laura and they begin dating. They fall in love and get married.

Dave and Laura have a satisfying sexual relationship. Sometimes Dave fantasizes about George while having sex or masturbating, but only occasionally. He remains attracted to Laura and is not tempted to have sex outside of their relationship.

Dave is unsure whether his sexuality is best described as heterosexual, bisexual, pansexual, or something else entirely. In time, he comes to identify as bisexual, but when discussing his identity with Laura or with his close friends, he clarifies that the label doesn’t describe him perfectly. 

While Dave is fictional, this type of complexity in understanding sexual identity may be more common than many people realize. Some people may report that their view of their own sexuality changes over time, and others may be unsure of their precise orientation or use qualifiers when describing it.

How do women express their sexuality?

Women can express sexuality in a huge variety of ways. This can include explicitly sexual and romantic behaviors such as flirting, dating, foreplay, and sexual activity. But sexuality can also be expressed through many other modes, including artistic or literary creation, song and dance, fashion choices, conversations with friends or partners, and decoration of personal spaces, among many others.

How do men express their sexuality?

Like women, men can display highly diverse forms of sexual expression. A man might engage with his sexuality by creating or displaying works of art or media, talking about sex with other people, choosing particular clothes and fitments, creating or performing music, and numerous other activities. Men can also engage in more direct forms of sexual expression such as sexual touch, flirtation, foreplay, and sexual activity.

What causes loss of sexuality or desire for sex?

Sexual desire, also known as libido, may not remain constant throughout a person’s life. Some people experience an unexpected and unwanted loss of sexual interest and functioning, which can arise from many different causes. Possible reasons for disruption of sexual desire can include:

• Stress
• Traumatic experiences
• Relationship problems
• Emotional difficulties
• Mental health conditions like depression or anxiety
• Side effects of medications, such as antidepressants or cancer chemotherapy
• Physical illness
• Fatigue and low energy
• Decrease in hormone levels due to natural aging
• Hormonal disorders such as Cushing syndrome

Is it normal to not have a sexuality?

Not everyone reaches a firm understanding of their own sexuality at the same age, and some people may understand their identities differently at different points in their lives. If you’re unsure how to describe your sexuality, this isn’t necessarily a problem. It could simply be a part of the process of self-discovery and maturation.

Some people may also feel no sense of sexual attraction to anyone, regardless of sex or gender identity, even though they’ve gone through the typical sexual development of puberty. This is commonly known as asexuality. 

Though some asexual people may feel distress when they realize they don’t experience the same desires as others, current research suggests that asexuality is not a symptom of a mental disorder, paraphilia, or sexual dysfunction. 

What is the word for lack of sexuality?

The usual term for a lack of sexual attraction is asexuality. Some consider this an absence of sexuality, but others — including many asexual people — regard it as a type of sexual orientation or sexual identity. Asexual people may experience prejudice, ignorance, and dismissal of their experiences. Many people view advocacy for acceptance of asexuality as an important part of the broader social justice movement.

Some asexual people may experience sexual arousal, and they may even be able to engage in satisfying sexual activity. But because they don’t feel attraction to other people, these individuals may still identify as asexual.

Note that the term “asexual” is usually reserved for people for whom the absence of sexuality is a stable, long-term trait. If someone formerly experienced sexual attraction and desire but no longer does, what they’re experiencing would usually be called loss of libido or loss of sexual functioning.

How can a person's choice of sexuality affect their mental health?

A person’s sexual orientation is not the cause of mental illness. It is the person’s experiences because of their sexuality that can trigger mental health problems like anxiety and depression. LGBTQIA+ individuals have higher risks of developing mental health disorders due to fear of rejection or stigma from society. 

Is it normal to not feel sexually attracted to anyone?

There may be several reasons why a person is not sexually attracted to anyone. Asexuality can be one of the reasons. However, it can be due to other factors like depression or side effects of medication. If not being sexually attracted to anyone bothers you, online therapy may be able to help.