Ashlyn Merrell
PSY 2010
Dr. Rittman
4 May 18
Sexual Orientation Today
Sexual orientation has come a long way in today’s world. There are many definitions of sexual orientation but the most common is a person’s sexual identity to the gender they are attracted to. Based on a survey of 2,000 adults in 2015 from the Public Religion Research Institute 7 percent of the adults identify themselves as either homosexual, bisexual, or transgender. Now with the world today being more accepting to LGBT community and continue to be, the percent of homosexuals, bisexuals, and transgender will continue to rise and make these individuals more comfortable with who they are.
There are three main sexualities: heterosexuality, which is the sexual attraction to individuals of the opposite gender, homosexuality, which is the sexual attraction to the same gender, and bisexuality which the sexual attraction to both genders. There is also asexuality, which is the lack of sexual interest all together. Some individuals also identify themselves as pansexual, which means they express their sexuality in many ways. These are all ways individuals express their sexuality, but there is one word that is has been thrown around to be also apart of sexual orientation, which is transgender. Transgender includes transvestites and transsexuals. Transvestites wear clothing that the opposite gender would normally wear and also act like the opposite gender. They can be heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual since they just simply like to dress and act like the opposite gender they are. Being a transvestite does not necessarily have anything to do with their sexual orientation. Transsexuals are individuals who feel that their sexual identity is different from what gender they were at birth. Meaning they were born one gender but are the other and undergo all of the hormones and life experiences the opposite gender would.
Today in our society sexual orientation has been looked at a lot differently than it did a long time ago. Now, individuals are beginning to express their identities at a younger age like middle school and high school. In the 1970’s, many individuals were not comfortable to express their identities, but if they did it was not until their mid-to-late twenties. The reason these individuals are coming out at a younger age is because in today’s society the support from our schools, churches, and families has increased dramatically.
June 26th, 2015 same-sex marriage was legalized. This was a huge step for the LGBT community not only because individuals of the same sex could get married but this also made these individuals feel more accepted. In September 2011, Obama signed repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. This made it possible for homosexuals and bisexuals to serve openly in the United States Armed Forces. In 2010 the Mathew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act expanded federal hate crime protection. It was expanded to cover assault based on sexual orientati...
