Sexual Orientation Confusion
Making Sense of Sexual Orientation Confusion
By Cory Silverberg, About.com Guide
Updated February 11, 2009
In public, most people present themselves as having one single sexual orientation. Society, families, and even our closest friends put a lot of pressure on us to choose one sexual orientation and stick with it. But privately, many of us have questions and some confusion about our own sexual orientation -- and not just when we’re younger.
How Is Sexual Orientation Determined?There are many theories about how sexual orientation is determined, and often the theory you get will say as much about the person giving it as it does about the research or thought that went into developing the theory.
Those who subscribe to the theory of genetic determinism believe we’ll find a single “gay gene” or marker that controls our sexual orientation. Another theory is that no single factor will be found that accounts for our sexual orientation, because no single factor exists. Yet another theory is that the problem is in thinking about sexual orientation as something fixed in the first place. Some theorize that sexual orientation is a more or less fluid depending on the individual, and that it changes based on a combination of nature, nurture, and personal interactions.
Different groups also debate the question of whether or not sexual orientation is a choice. This is related to the debate about whether or how much sexual orientation is genetic, and like that discussion, this one has no single answer and will likely never end.
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