What are the types of sexual orientation?

Most human beings are attracted to the opposite sex, however, there are other types of sexual orientation. Sexual tastes are an integral part of identity and each person has the right to recognize themselves in the way that is consistent with what they feel.

Interpersonal attraction is conditioned by biopsychosocial factors. This becomes evident when an emotion is so powerful that it makes us choose one person or another, even when that choice is poorly understood or normative.

Sexual orientation does not only involve aspects related to behavior., but others such as age, situation, fantasies and affection influence. Attraction of this type is very complex and diverse. In this article we will delve into it.

Types of sexual orientation

Sexual orientation refers to a pattern of sexual, emotional, or romantic attraction. to a certain group of people defined by their sex, this is how the American Psychological Association. Let’s look at the main types.

1. Heterosexuality

It is characterized by attraction to people of the opposite sex. Historically, it has been the predominant orientation and has often been taken as the social norm. However, nowadays sexual diversity has begun to be recognized.

2. Homosexuality

It refers to the attraction felt towards people of the same sex.. For a long time, homosexual people were repudiated and even pathologized by the DSM. However, social acceptance has increased and laws have been passed protecting their rights.

3. Bisexuality

Refers to sexual inclination towards people of both sexes. It is important to note that attraction can vary over time and have different degrees of intensity. Thus, there are those who feel more attracted to one sex than the other.

4. Asexuality

It refers to those who feel little or no sexual attraction towards other people. This orientation is considered a spectrum that encompasses other typologies such as lithsexuality, demisexuality and graysexuality, among others.

5. Demisexuality

Demisexuality is described as the appearance of sexual attraction only in some cases in which a strong emotional or intimate bond has previously been established.

6. Lithsexuality

People with this type of sexual orientation They experience attraction to others, but they don’t feel the need to be reciprocated. It is an unusual orientation, since, in general, people seek to be reciprocated in love. Lithosexuals do not want to have a relationship and do not seek to feel the object of attraction of others, which is why, once they perceive that they are desired, they lose interest.

7. Grisexuality

They are those who can feel sexual desire occasionally. “Those people who identify with greysexuality tend to feel sexual attraction on few occasions, with a low level of intensity or only in very specific situations,” explains Sarah Melancon, sociologist and sexologist, in the magazine Health. It is a very occasional and exceptional type of sexual attraction.

8. Pansexuality

Also known as omnisexuality, polysexuality or trisexuality. It is a sexual orientation characterized by sexual attraction to other people, regardless of their sex or race gender. Therefore, pansexuals can be attracted to both men and women. As well as for those people who do not feel identified with their gender, including, for example, intersexuals, transsexuals and intergenders.

9. Reciprosexuality

It is a type of sexual orientation in which an individual He does not feel attracted to another person until he is clear that they are attracted to him. Once the reciprosexual knows that the attraction is safe, he or she begins to experience romantic or sexual feelings toward the other.

10. Fraisexuality

It refers to the experience in which a person who is attracted loses interest when the relationship becomes reciprocal and intimate. As the relationship goes through its early stages and intimacy increases, desire and attraction decrease.

11. Sapiosexuality

Another type of sexual orientation is the sapiosexualdiad, where one is attracted to intellect rather than appearance. What is erotic is knowledge and wisdom, and not so much physical attractiveness. Thus, it is intelligence that awakens sexual attraction.

12. Allosexuality

It is a broader category of sexual orientation within which There are all those orientations in which attraction is experienced towards another person.

Within these types of sexual orientation we have not included transsexual people, because their sexual orientation It is independent of your gender orientation. For example, a man can feel like a woman and be lesbian or heterosexual.

Historical stages of sexual diversity

Sexuality is a social construct, Therefore, interpretations of its expressions in the different contexts and stages of the history of humanity cannot be based on contemporary references and conceptions.

Thus, for example, the role that religious and moral values ​​have played has had a great influence in the construction of public opinion about different sexual orientations throughout history, giving rise in many cases to stigmatization and even to the negation.

The fight for respect for sexual diversity today constitutes a challenge for communities, in which the recognition of sexual and cultural variability is central. The very concept of sexual diversity has represented an intense debate regarding the visibility of established identities and categories.

The detractors of homosexual emotional unions are based on the questionable hypothesis that homosexuality is unnatural. In recent years, more and more biologists are objectively examining homosexuality in animals. Diversity in sexual orientation has been found in more than 450 animal species, homophobia only in one, the human one. So which is more unnatural?

There are multiple types of sexual orientation

Although heterosexuality and homosexuality are the most recognized, there are other types of sexual orientation. The diversity of this form of expression of human sexuality is increasing.

The diversity of sexual attraction highlights the need to work for the visibility of differences and for acceptance and respect for the free development of personality.

The variety of sexual orientation is a fact that we must all recognize and include in our understanding of sexuality, regardless of the beliefs, ideologies and values ​​we have.

You might be interested…