Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation – in one model of sexuality, one of its five components, alongside biological sex, gender identity, gender role, and sexual identity. It is defined as a relatively enduring emotional, romantic, sexual, or erotic attraction toward people of a particular sex and/or gender.
Traditional sexological classifications commonly distinguished three principal sexual orientations: heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality.
Earlier literature often described heterosexuality, the orientation of the sexual majority, as “traditional,” while homosexuality and bisexuality were described as “non-traditional.” Contemporary academic and human-rights discourse generally avoids this terminology because it presents heterosexuality as the norm and other sexual orientations as deviations from it. It is more accurate to use the terms heterosexual, non-heterosexual, or the name of the specific sexual orientation concerned.
Sexual orientation should not be confused with sexual identity. Sexual orientation refers primarily to patterns of attraction, whereas sexual identity refers to how a person understands and defines their own sexuality.
See also: Sexual Identity, Heterosexuality, Homosexuality, Bisexuality.
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