Homosexual Experience,Desire and Identity Among Young Adults

ABSTRACT

Is young people's sexuality becoming more fluid and less tied to steady, stable identity patterns? Are we developing into a society where sexual relationships between individuals of the same sex are no longer reserved for the small minority of gay men and lesbian women? Adherents of so-called queer theory have promulgated such views. Using a population-based sample of young adults (aged 19 to 26, N 2753), we investigated homosexual experiences, desire and identity. We found that levels of prevalence of homosexuality were primarily a function of the criteria we used. Using the most restricted (“narrow”) definitions, we found that about one percent of both genders reported “exclusive” homosexual interest and identity. Using the most inclusive criteria, we found that one of ten young men and one of four young women reported having some homosexual experience, interest or identity. Still, the most striking finding involved the substantial gender-specific differences: homoerotic activity and interest are far more interwoven with heterosexual activity for women. There are strong indications that homosexuality is a lot more threatening and potentially in conflict with traditional male gender roles than we find to be the case for women. In other words, while there may be signs of more fluid sexual identity categories, this phenomenon primarily applies to women.     

Is Gaydar Affected by Attitudes Toward Homosexuality? Confidence,Labeling Bias,and Accuracy

Previous research has largely ignored the relationship between sexual orientation judgement accuracy, confidence, and attitudes toward homosexuality. In an online study, participants (N = 269) judged the sexual orientation of homosexual and heterosexual targets presented via a series of facial photographs. Participants also indicated their confidence in each judgment and completed the Modern Homonegativity Scale (Morrison & Morrison, 2002). We found that (1) homosexual men and heterosexual women were more accurate when judging photographs of women as opposed to photographs of men, and (2) in heterosexual men, negative attitudes toward homosexual men predicted confidence and bias when rating men’s photographs. Findings indicate that homosexual men and heterosexual women are similar in terms of accuracy in judging women’s sexuality. Further, especially in men, homophobia is associated with cognitive biases in labeling other men but does not have a relationship with increased accuracy.     

The bisexual identity: an idea without social recognition

Theories of sexuality reflect popular notions by treating sexual identity as a simple dichotomy. There is research evidence for the coexistence of homosexual and heterosexual interest and behavior in a significant portion of the population. This paper examines how various conceptualizations of human sexuality have failed to adequately deal with bisexuality. The lack of acknowledgement by both the larger heterosexual society and the emerging lesbian/gay community, and its impact on the individual bisexual is examined by using the sociological concept of marginality. Some of the differences in self-labeling by women and men are noted in the light of social sex-roles. Finally, the implications of society's acceptance of bisexuality for evolving forms of relationships are suggested.     

Fraternal birth order and ratio of heterosexual/homosexual feelings in women and men

Studies of the 2-3% of persons who identify as homosexual found men but not women had more older brothers than persons who identify as heterosexual. The present study investigated the birth order in the approximately 20% of men and women who anonymously report some homosexual feelings, few of whom identify as homosexual. The number of older brothers and sisters was investigated in seven cohorts: 319 male twins; and 49, 54, and 61 female and 66, 116, and 50 male medical students. Both women and men who anonymously reported homosexual feelings had a greater mean number of older brothers and sisters than did those who reported no homosexual feelings. The difference was stronger in relation to brothers than sisters. The birth order effect was not related to the strength of the subjects' degree of homosexual compared with heterosexual feelings. Its presence in women could not be accounted for by the widely accepted hypothesis that the birth order effect is due to a maternal immune reaction provoked only by male fetuses. The lack of relationship between the strength of the effect and degree of homosexual feelings in the men and women suggests the influence of birth order on homosexual feelings was not due to a biological, but a social process in the subjects studied. Investigating the neglected significant percentage of predominantly heterosexual men and women who anonymously report some homosexual feelings may aid in understanding the factors influencing sexual orientation, and identity.     

Implicit Association Task and Perception of Homosexuality: Differences between African American and Non-Hispanic Caucasian Homosexual Males

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the relationship between sexual orientation and minority group membership in a sample of African American and non-Hispanic Caucasian (NHC) homosexual men. Participants competed measures of pathology, sexual orientation, and ethnic identity. They completed two IATs, one using homosexual symbols and the other ethnically diverse homosexual images. Results indicated that African American participants reported more ethnic and sexual orientation discriminatory experiences than NHC. It was also found that both groups exhibited a positive association toward gay symbols. Both groups also demonstrated a bias toward NHC homosexual images, although the bias was stronger for NHC participants. Moderation analyses indicated that as internalized homophobia increased, preference for gay NHC images decreased, and that high ethnically discriminatory experiences resulted in stronger associations between NHC images and “good” attributes. Overall, the results partially support the minority stress theory and highlight some important differences between African American and NHC homosexual men.     

Male sexuality and Alfred Kinsey's 0-6 scale: toward "a sound understanding of the realities of sex"

Using a 0-6 scale, Alfred Kinsey demonstrated that the complexity of human sexuality could best be represented on a continuum rather than as a binary. Kinsey developed the scale from models created by his predecessors in human sex research. A primary intention of the scale was to eradicate sexual identity categories altogether in order to eliminate sexual identity-based persecutions and to promote equal rights. As proponents and opponents of homosexual rights both depended on constructions of sexual identity to advance their agendas, Kinsey's ideal was never realized. The scale nonetheless continues to challenge postmodern associations of identity and sexuality.     

Examining Sexual Orientation Disparities in Unmet Medical Needs Among Men and Women

Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 13,810), this study examines disparities in unmet medical needs by sexual orientation identity during young adulthood. We use binary logistic regression and expand Andersen’s health care utilization framework to identify factors that shape disparities in unmet medical needs by sexual orientation. We also investigate whether the well-established gender disparity in health-seeking behaviors among heterosexual persons holds for sexual minorities. The results show that sexual minority women are more likely to report unmet medical needs than heterosexual women, but no differences are found between sexual minority and heterosexual men. Moreover, we find a reversal in the gender disparity between heterosexual and sexual minority populations: heterosexual women are less likely to report unmet medical needs than heterosexual men, whereas sexual minority women are more likely to report unmet medical needs compared to sexual minority men. Finally, this work advances Andersen’s model by articulating the importance of including social psychological factors for reducing disparities in unmet medical needs by sexual orientation for women.     

Bisexual women in marriages

A clinical sample of women who were currently or previously married were surveyed regarding demographics, homosexual experiences before marriage, problems in marriage, and sexual orientation. The average age of the 45 participants was 35.9. Before marriage, 21 (47%) were somewhat aware of their homosexual feelings but were much less likely to have thought of or identified themselves as homosexuals. Sexual difficulties were very common in these marriages (89%), the most cited sexual difficulty being a lack of sexual desire for their spouse (62%). Based upon Kinsey-type ratings, the sample could be described as almost exclusively heterosexual in behavior and fantasies before marriage. Some changes could be seen during marriage toward more of a homosexual orientation. The dramatic change, however, occurred following marriage, when the women reported even more of a homosexual orientation, tending toward the homosexual end of the Kinsey continuum. At the time of the study, a majority of the sample was, in fact, relating almost exclusively to other women. This study found that, compared to homosexual men who have been married, these women are more likely to marry at an earlier age, unlikely to be aware of their homosexual feelings prior to marriage, and more likely to terminate their marriage earlier because of conflicts arising as a result of their bisexual orientation and sexual dissatisfaction.     

Same-Sex Sexuality and Educational Attainment: The Pathway to College

Research finds lower levels of academic performance among sexual minority high school students, but some studies suggest sexual minorities have higher levels of educational attainment in adulthood. To further our understanding of how and why sexual orientation is associated with educational success, this study turns attention to the pathways to college completion, examining points along educational trajectories in which sexual minorities fall behind or surpass their heterosexual peers. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we find that sexual minority women are less likely than women with no same-sex sexuality to complete college, in part due to their high school performance and transition into college. Men who experience same-sex sexuality only in adolescence struggle in high school, but men who experience same-sex sexuality for the first time in adulthood are more likely to earn a college degree than men who do not experience same-sex sexuality.     

Male Sexuality and Alfred Kinsey's 0–6 Scale: Toward “A Sound Understanding of the Realities of Sex”

Using a 0–6 scale, Alfred Kinsey demonstrated that the complexity of human sexuality could best be represented on a continuum rather than as a binary. Kinsey developed the scale from models created by his predecessors in human sex research. A primary intention of the scale was to eradicate sexual identity categories altogether in order to eliminate sexual identity-based persecutions and to promote equal rights. As proponents and opponents of homosexual rights both depended on constructions of sexual identity to advance their agendas, Kinsey's ideal was never realized. The scale nonetheless continues to challenge postmodern associations of identity and sexuality.     

Some myths and anomalies in the study of Roman sexuality

This paper seeks to dispel several myths prevalent in the scholarship on Roman sexuality: that a freed slave was still obligated to serve his former master's sexual demands (I.A.), that the cinaedus cannot be the same as the modern male homosexual because the cinaedus was thought capable of performing cunnilinctus (I.B.), that exoleti were male prostitutes (I.C.), that the Romans were implacably hostile to lesbianism and that they constructed the lesbian as a phallic monstrosity (II.). It also draws attention to some neglected, unfamiliar, or misinterpreted evidence-anomalous on the current understanding of Roman sexuality, where women, boys, and lower-class men are supposed to have equal standing as potential passive sexual partners for adult men-for adult men whose sexual partners are exclusively male, and either active or passive: exoleti as active partners (I.C.), a puer delicatus who is prized for a masculine appearance rather than a feminine one (I.D.), and the Warren Cup, which glorifies a world of exclusively male-male sexuality (I.E.).     

Masculinity and desire in the works of J. R. Ackerley

Although homosexuality was still identified as a sign of effeminacy in the West at the beginning of the twentieth century, the work of George Chauncey suggests that working-class men in the West were able to maintain a masculine identity by playing the active, or insertive, role in sexual encounters. The experiences of one middle-class English homosexual, J. R. Ackerley (1896-1967), reveals that maintaining one's masculinity was more difficult for men of the middle class who desired same-sex contact. After a period in which his identity vacillated between the poles of male and female, he conceived a masculine homosexual identity by consciously rejecting effeminacy in himself and others, by dressing as a "normal" middle-class male, and, most importantly, by seeking relationships with younger, working-class men.     

A multidimensional approach to homosexual identity

The existing developmental stage models of homosexual identity do not consider the diversity of human sexual experience. The stage models stem from an essentialist perspective, in which the process of homosexual identity formation is largely a matter of becoming aware of one's underlying, or real, sexual orientation. Once homosexual orientation is identified, the only legitimate outcome is to develop homosexual identity and eventually incorporate that identity as one aspect of the total self. In this paper, we are concerned with those people for whom the stage models are inadequate in describing their experience of sexual identity development. The social constructionist perspective holds that the process of identity formation is a continual, two-way interactive process between the individual and the social environment, and that the meanings the individual gives to these factors influence the development of self-constructs and identity. Sexual identity develops within this contextual framework and, because it is influenced by continual interaction, is fluid over time and experience, throughout one's life. Our model does not rely on the existing developmental models of homosexual identity; rather, our model looks at desire, behavior, and identity as three separate constructs related to sexual identity. We posit that from the social constructionist viewpoint, there is in fact no true endpoint to sexual identity development.     

Constructions and Negotiations of Sexuality in Canadian Federal Men’s Prisons

ABSTRACT

Nuances lacing the organization of sexuality across cultures and contexts shape sexual behavior and identity. In this article, the culture and understandings of sexual identity and behavior in Canadian men’s federal prisons are examined to reveal how prisoners construct and interpret their own sexuality, as well as that of others, within the heteronormative prison space. Drawing from interviews with formerly incarcerated men, we explore how sexuality constitutes a product of dominant cultural discourses that differentiates between sexual behavior and identity. We frame how sexuality is constructed and regulated in prison within the theoretical context of shame and stigmatization, finding definitions of heterosexuality that do not preclude same-sex sexual activity.     

Effects of sexual preferences on earnings in the Netherlands

A small literature suggests that bisexual and homosexual workers earn less than their heterosexual fellow workers and that a discriminating labormarket is partly to blame. In this paper we examine whether sexual preferences affect earnings at the beginning of working careers in the Netherlands. Using an alternative, and quite possibly a better, measure of sexual identity, we find (i) that young and highly educated gay male workers earn about 3% less than heterosexual men; (ii) that similarly qualified lesbian workers earn about 3% more than their heterosexual female co-workers; and (iii) that among homosexual workers the gender gap is not observed. From this we conclude that the Dutch labor market does not discriminate on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender in entry-level jobs.All correspondence to Erik Plug. Both authors would like to thank Jim Albrecht, Mikael Lindahl, Hessel Oosterbeek, Susan Vroman and an anonymous referee for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Responsible editor: Daniel S. Hamermesh.     

Same-Sex Attracted,Not LGBQ: The Associations of Sexual Identity Labeling on Religiousness,Sexuality, and Health Among Mormons

ABSTRACT

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS church), beliefs about same-sex sexual attraction are carefully differentiated from beliefs about same-sex sexual behavior and identity, leading some to reject a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ) identity label in favor of declining a sexual identity or describing themselves as experiencing same-sex attraction (SSA). Using data from 1,128 sexual minority Mormons recruited from both politically conservative and liberal circles, we examined the relationship between rejecting an LGBQ identity and religiousness, attitudes toward sexuality, and health outcomes. We found that Mormons who reject an LGBQ identity were significantly more religious and less content with their sexuality but had similar health outcomes relative to LGBQ Mormons. We posit that these differences are best understood by differences in group affiliation and support, intersectional experiences with minority stressors, and the lack of generalizability of LGBQ constructs to those who reject an LGBQ identity.     

Bisexuality: reassessing our paradigms of sexuality

Sexuality research currently needs to re-examine critically its constructs of sexual orientation and identity for theoretical inconsistencies and simplistic assumptions about the nature of sexual desire continue to plague it. This becomes evident when one reviews how the confluence of heterosexual and homosexual desire in individuals is "explained" by theories that assume a basic dichotomy in sexual orientation. This article examines how categories such as homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual have developed, and differentiates between their utility as social labels and as scientific constructs. The intrusion of social and political considerations into the scientific investigation of sexuality is noted, and it is suggested that the use of these labels impedes rather than advances such study.     

Crooked men and straightened women: images of homosexuality across race in two women's magazines, 1986-1995

Images of traditional sexuality, across race, prevail in mass media, especially in women's magazines. While omitting less traditional sexual practices for the most part, New Woman and Essence magazines construct the image of a bisexual male who threatens the heterosexual woman and the legitimate heterosexual couple. These women's magazines also redefine homosexual activity, suggesting women who experience homosexual inclinations are really engaging in normal heterosexual behavior.     

Detection of sexual orientation by heterosexuals and homosexuals

The purpose of this study was to determine if sexual orientation can be correctly identified under controlled conditions. A series of 24 brief videotaped interviews with homosexual and heterosexual men and women were presented to a sample of 143 subject raters divided into four sexual preference and gender groups. None of the groups were able to exceed levels of correct detection. Approximately 20% of the total subject pool did exceed chance levels. There were significantly more women than men in this sub-sample and homosexual women were represented disproportionately. Although there were some differences in the types of behavioral cues used by the different sexual preference groups to make their judgments, with the possible exception of homosexual women, these cues were unrelated to accurate identification of sexual orientation. The relatively better performance of female raters is discussed in terms of differences in the socialization process of men and women.     

Factors associated with 'feeling suicidal': the role of sexual identity

This paper examines factors associated with feeling suicidal in a large sample of urban men in Sydney and Melbourne, aged 18-50, including heterosexual, gay and bisexual men, HIV antibody positive and HIV antibody negative. As in previous research, sexuality (being homosexual or bisexual) was found to be a major predictor of suicidality. The research went some way towards explaining the close relationship between feeling suicidal and sexual orientation. Sexuality interacts with feeling bad in that, once men feel moderately bad/depressed, they are more likely to feel suicidal if they are homosexual or bisexual than if they are heterosexual. In addition, the research found that experience of verbal abuse and physical assault (harassment) increased feeling suicidal for both heterosexual and gay/bisexual men, not just for homosexual men as suggested by previous research, and that social isolation in the form of living alone is a further risk factor. Seeking counseling help and taking sexual risks were also independently associated with feeling suicidal. These actions may result from feeling suicidal rather than the reverse, and their association with feeling suicidal warrants further research. Many of the 46 independent variables examined in the research, including HIV antibody status and closeness to the HIV/ AIDS epidemic, were related to feeling suicidal only through their association with being gay/bisexual. Celibacy and general risk taking were not related to feeling suicidal in this study.