Heterosexuality
Heterosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by romantic love or sexual desire exclusively for members of the opposite gender, contrasted with homosexuality and distinguished from bisexuality and asexuality.Heterosexualism is a term that is used synonymously with both "heterosexism" and "heterosexuality".
In addition to referring to a sexual orientation, the term heterosexuality is also used for sexual behavior (or sexual activities) between people of the opposite sex.
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2 Prevalence of Heterosexuality 3 Psychological Factors Relating to Sexuality 4 Homosexual Terminology 5 References 6 See also 7 Books 8 External links |
Hetero- comes from the Greek word heteros, meaning "different" (for other uses, see heterozygote, heterogeneous), and the Latin for sex (that is, gender). The term "heterosexual" was coined shortly after the word "homosexual." During the 1860s, Karl Maria Kertbeny developed the term heterosexual (as an opposite to homosexual). [2]
Heterosexuality is generally seen to be the standard sexual orientation. Heterosexuality is the social norm in nearly all societies, but less and less so in the modern urbanity of the post-industrial age. There are other times and places (such as ancient Greece) when other sexualities were more prevelant as well.
Heterosexuality usually implies an exclusive or predominant sexual orientation toward persons of the opposite gender. In some studies, however -- notably Dr. Alfred Kinsey's Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) (ISBN 0253334128) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953) (ISBN 025333411X) -- analysis of self-rated sexuality on a continuum from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual along with analysis of behavior and identity suggests that the majority of people are at least somewhat bisexual, although usually one sex is preferred. According to Kinsey, only a minority of people, approximately 5-10%, can be considered to be fully heterosexual. [6] Kinsey's views are wildly controvercial, and not accepted by the community at large generally, nor the scientific community specifically.
A broad array of opinion holds that much human behavior ultimately is explainable in terms of natural selection. From this point of view, the reason why humanity as a whole exhibits a strong statistical tendency towards heterosexuality is that heterosexual intercourse has the potential for producing offspring and homosexual intercourse does not.
In traditional societies individuals are often under heavy social pressure to marry and have children, irrespective of their sexual orientation. On the other hand many homosexuals wish for children, and some have found a way to procreate in spite of their sexual preference, generally through artificial or natural insemitation.
Sexual orientation and its causes have been the subject of much attention and research. However, research on sexual orientation has not usually focused on the causes of heterosexuality. This is largely because heterosexuality is generally viewed as normal and non-heterosexuality as deviant. There is a tendancy, particularly amongst the politically correct, and due in part to Kinsey's controvercial theories, towards seeing sexuality as fluid and as covering a range. Any attempt at understanding the causes of sexual attraction will be more successful if the mechanisms that underlie sexual attraction are understood.
Not all people who are attracted or have sexual relationships with members of the opposite sex identify themselves as heterosexual: people who do not identify primarily as heterosexual may sometimes engage in heterosexual behaviour. Similarly, some people frequently have sex with members of the same sex yet still see themselves as heterosexual.
According to American Psychiatric Association (APA), there are numerous theories about the origins of a person's sexual orientation, but some believe that "sexual orientation is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors," and that genetic factors, play a "significant role" in determining a person's sexuality.[5] The APA currently officially states that sexual orientation is not chosen and cannot be changed, a radical reversal from the recent past, when non-normative sexuality was considered a deviancy or mental ailment treatable through institutionalization or other radical means.
Heterosexuality is referred to as being straight, although straight can also, though less often, mean anyone whose sexuality could be described as orthodox. For example, people who practice BDSM (bondage and discipline, domination and submission, and sadism and machochism) sometimes use the term to refer to anyone who does not (though the terms vanilla or vanilla sex are more common). The word is sometimes shortened to "hetero" or "het," (almost exclusively in the homosexual community) and can refer to both men and women, to sexual behaviour, to sexual orientation, and to sexual identity.
Although the use of the term "straight" is used often to denote a heterosexual person, this term appears in early or mid 20th century gay slang as in, "to go straight", or stop being gay. One of the first coinage of this reference was in 1941 by the author, G. W. Henry. Henry's book concerned conversations with homosexual males and used this term in connection with the reference to ex-gays. Though not originally intended to refer to heterosexuals, it has evolved over time such that this is its primary usage. [3] Note also that a related meaning of drug addictions in which straight is "not intoxicated" (ie. sober).
An offensive slur for heterosexual is "breeder", which is used in the homosexual community. The term primarily originates from the fact that most heterosexual couples can "breed" or increase the population (while homosexual couples cannot). Although sometimes used playfully, it has a derogatory connotation. [4]
Definition
Prevalence of Heterosexuality
Psychological Factors Relating to Sexuality
Main article: Causes of sexual orientationHomosexual Terminology
References
See also
Books
External links