sexual orientation
Summary
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction to people of the same gender, a different gender, more than one gender, or no gender. The most testable point is that it is separate from gender identity, which is a person's internal sense of being a man, woman, or another gender.
Detail
Meaning: Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction, defined by the gender or genders a person is attracted to. Common categories are heterosexual, homosexual (gay or lesbian), bisexual, and asexual (little or no sexual attraction). Many researchers treat it as a continuum rather than fixed boxes, as in the Kinsey scale, which runs from 0 (exclusively heterosexual) to 6 (exclusively homosexual). No single cause is established. Biological and environmental factors are both studied, and the evidence does not support it being a simple choice.
On the MCAT: Passages on identity, stigma, discrimination, and health disparities use sexual orientation as a variable. Questions ask you to separate it from gender identity, sex, and gender expression, or to read survey data on a Kinsey-type continuum. Sociology items link minority status to prejudice, discrimination, and social stigma.
Common confusion: Orientation is not gender identity. Gender identity is one's internal sense of being a man, woman, or another gender, and a transgender person can have any sexual orientation. Orientation also differs from behavior: attraction, identity label, and sexual behavior do not always match.
Sources
- Introduction to Sociology
- Psychology (Myers)
- Sociology: A Brief Introduction
Written for the MCAT and checked before it was published. For study reference only. Spotted an error? Let us know.