Share your feelings. Is sexuality a spectrum? Are we born with a set sexuality? Can our environment change it?
Do you believe that sexuality is a spectrum?
04/07/2012
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To be honest I've never really been that into the spectrum model. To me an attraction is either present or it isn't. Either you're attracted to men, attracted to women, or attracted to both. I know that some people want to quantify their bisexuality with statements like "I'm 60% into men and 40% into women" and so forth, but such detail doesn't interest me.
Famously the Kinsey Scale had degrees of attraction, and I know that people are fond of it because you can account for a higher number of people falling outside a classification of being completely heterosexual, which is why we hear so much about the spectrum still today. I have problems with this sort of questionnaire-based research though, especially given how people can interpret questions differently, and can unintentionally give false answers due to a gap between perception and reality. I'd require some modern empirical evidence before I gave the notion of a spectrum any real credence, and even then I'm not sure my opinion would alter on its significance, or lack thereof.
Famously the Kinsey Scale had degrees of attraction, and I know that people are fond of it because you can account for a higher number of people falling outside a classification of being completely heterosexual, which is why we hear so much about the spectrum still today. I have problems with this sort of questionnaire-based research though, especially given how people can interpret questions differently, and can unintentionally give false answers due to a gap between perception and reality. I'd require some modern empirical evidence before I gave the notion of a spectrum any real credence, and even then I'm not sure my opinion would alter on its significance, or lack thereof.
04/07/2012
I'd never heard of the spectrum until now.
04/07/2012
To me, spectrum seems to go from point A to point B and cover places in-between. I think it is a little more three dimensional than that. I think we are born with inclinations, and environment can have an affect. Like a bisexual may not realize it if that person is raised in a very conservative environment. I think sexuality only changes because people meet new people they find attractive.
04/07/2012
Nature vs. Nurture. At least, that's how I see it. If we didn't know about homosexuality, or bisexuality, people wouldn't BE homo or bi. They'd just love people. Sexuality is a social construct, there's no point stressing over it.
04/08/2012
I like the idea of a spectrum because it kind of provides a visual element to the explanation.
04/08/2012
I like the idea of a spectrum because it gives something concrete to help explain, but I wish it didn't even matter.
04/08/2012
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I disagree that it is a social construct. I do however think it tends to be more gray than men or women. For example, if you really love boobs, you should probably look at women. You will have a harder time finding men with nice tits.
Originally posted by
apreslapetitmort
Nature vs. Nurture. At least, that's how I see it. If we didn't know about homosexuality, or bisexuality, people wouldn't BE homo or bi. They'd just love people. Sexuality is a social construct, there's no point stressing over it.
04/08/2012
I don't think anyone is born with a sexuality. It's all about experiences and the environment you live in. Honestly, I blame Girl Scout camp for turning me gay. =P
04/09/2012
I'm all for the broad idea suggested by a spectrum but I think it falls short of reality. It does, however, introduce the concept that sexuality isn't necessarily one thing or the other, which is important.
That being said, the Kinsey scale ignores people outside the gender binary, so it's an inherently flawed model. The idea of a spectrum is a good talking point and introduction to a more open interpretation of what sexuality can mean but there isn't really an existing scale/spectrum that can encompass sexuality's many variations.
Gender isn't always neatly and easily defined and thus neither is sexuality.
Even in saying this, though, I'm not even touching on the different things attraction can mean.
People in the LGBTQ community need to stop hanging onto antiquated ideas of sexuality, in my opinion.
That being said, the Kinsey scale ignores people outside the gender binary, so it's an inherently flawed model. The idea of a spectrum is a good talking point and introduction to a more open interpretation of what sexuality can mean but there isn't really an existing scale/spectrum that can encompass sexuality's many variations.
Gender isn't always neatly and easily defined and thus neither is sexuality.
Even in saying this, though, I'm not even touching on the different things attraction can mean.
People in the LGBTQ community need to stop hanging onto antiquated ideas of sexuality, in my opinion.
04/18/2012
I think it is for the most part. There are varying levels of everything and exceptions to most rules.
04/18/2012
I think it's generally a spectrum, yes.
04/23/2012
I believe that we are born with a sexuality but it is definitely a grey area, same with gender. I have yet to find a label that I like to identify myself, and I don't really want to. I like people, that's it, be they male, female, or somewhere in between, some days I feel more gay than others, some days I feel more feminine, I like what I like and I feel no need to define it. My sexuality is fluid and ever changing and developing and I feel that everyone else's is as well.
04/23/2012
I do believe that it is a spectrum. and I think that people move along it throughout their lives.
05/09/2012
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YES sexuality is absolutely a spectrum. very few people fit into a neat little box; we just make up handy little labels that are close enough for the sake of convenient communication
Originally posted by
LavenderSkies
Share your feelings. Is sexuality a spectrum? Are we born with a set sexuality? Can our environment change it?
sexuality is immutable; trying to change it has been proven to cause severe psychological damage
05/10/2012
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i don't think there's much of a point in trying to quantify attraction with numbers or percentages, but strict labels like gay/bi/straight don't account for types of attraction: sexual/physical attraction, emotional attraction, aesthetic attraction, spiritual attraction (meaning not religion but self-identity and so on), etc. those labels also don't account for the ways in which the various types of attraction interact with each other in different ways for different people, and they are also further complicated when you consider that there are more genders/sexes than the two recognized in mainstream culture. sexual orientation is immensely complex and labels are inevitably an oversimplification; even calling sexuality a spectrum is oversimplified because of the different types of attraction, but the 'spectrum' discussion is closer to the truth than the 'labels' discussion
Originally posted by
Incendiaire
To be honest I've never really been that into the spectrum model. To me an attraction is either present or it isn't. Either you're attracted to men, attracted to women, or attracted to both. I know that some people want to quantify their
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To be honest I've never really been that into the spectrum model. To me an attraction is either present or it isn't. Either you're attracted to men, attracted to women, or attracted to both. I know that some people want to quantify their bisexuality with statements like "I'm 60% into men and 40% into women" and so forth, but such detail doesn't interest me.
Famously the Kinsey Scale had degrees of attraction, and I know that people are fond of it because you can account for a higher number of people falling outside a classification of being completely heterosexual, which is why we hear so much about the spectrum still today. I have problems with this sort of questionnaire-based research though, especially given how people can interpret questions differently, and can unintentionally give false answers due to a gap between perception and reality. I'd require some modern empirical evidence before I gave the notion of a spectrum any real credence, and even then I'm not sure my opinion would alter on its significance, or lack thereof. less
Famously the Kinsey Scale had degrees of attraction, and I know that people are fond of it because you can account for a higher number of people falling outside a classification of being completely heterosexual, which is why we hear so much about the spectrum still today. I have problems with this sort of questionnaire-based research though, especially given how people can interpret questions differently, and can unintentionally give false answers due to a gap between perception and reality. I'd require some modern empirical evidence before I gave the notion of a spectrum any real credence, and even then I'm not sure my opinion would alter on its significance, or lack thereof. less
05/10/2012
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I would have to agree I am a little lost
Originally posted by
unfulfilled
I'd never heard of the spectrum until now.
05/21/2012
I definately believe that some people are born this way. Neurological studies have actually shown that homosexual people or peoplewith homosexual tendencies utilize a different compartment of our brain, that heterosexuals do not.
There are also many experiances that can cause someone to open that compartment. During the phallic stage of human development (ages 4-6), if someone is sexually abused or goes through a major traumatic event, it can cause that compartment to open as well.
As for the spectrum, I definately believe in different levels of homosexuality. But I believe it is alot more fluid than a ranking system.
There are also many experiances that can cause someone to open that compartment. During the phallic stage of human development (ages 4-6), if someone is sexually abused or goes through a major traumatic event, it can cause that compartment to open as well.
As for the spectrum, I definately believe in different levels of homosexuality. But I believe it is alot more fluid than a ranking system.
05/22/2012
I think the model for this is waaaaaay over simplified, but I do believe in it as a concept.
Personally, I'm pan, but I move about on the scale from liking one gender / gender presentation most to the next.
Personally, I'm pan, but I move about on the scale from liking one gender / gender presentation most to the next.
05/22/2012
Part of the reason I think it is a spectrum is because some people are more sexual than others. Like some people want sex multiple times a day and some people are more than satisfied once a month or less.
05/22/2012
Yes! Very, very much a spectrum.
05/29/2012
Yes, both gender and sexuality are a spectrum and are both fluid. You can find yourself on any portion of that over time. For some it never changes, others go through many changes in their lifetime.
05/29/2012
I think there are multidimensional spectra (plural of spectrum) of human sexuality, including gender, attraction, actual sexual experience and openness (and probably others). The Kinsey Scale was a good version 1.0 of attempting to broaden the definitions and the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid is another step in the right direction.
But it would take such a complicated tool to properly categorize human sexuality that I doubt a truly satisfactory tool will ever be devised. But hopefully the exercise of trying will open people's minds enough for them to accept their sexuality and the sexuality of others. Cause it's all great.
But it would take such a complicated tool to properly categorize human sexuality that I doubt a truly satisfactory tool will ever be devised. But hopefully the exercise of trying will open people's minds enough for them to accept their sexuality and the sexuality of others. Cause it's all great.
12/24/2012
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i dont think anyone is taught their sexuality. i had never heard of gays or lesbians growing up but i remember having an attraction to a girl in middle school. i just thought something was wrong with me and ignored it.
Originally posted by
LavenderSkies
Share your feelings. Is sexuality a spectrum? Are we born with a set sexuality? Can our environment change it?
12/24/2012
I definitely believe in the spectrum. I see myself as very much part of it, because I am incidentally able to be with men even though I am primarily a lesbian. I generally just call myself queer to avoid people bugging me about it.
12/27/2012
Sure
12/27/2012
I definately believe we have a spectrum. Sexuality is fluid
12/30/2012
Absolutely not, re:spectrum
I mean, then you have to come up with a way of registering colors you can't even ~naturally~ see. It needs a logical scale that, from what I've ever seen, is static. No
I think some aspects of my sexuality I can't change/ wish I could change, like I've spent such a long time ashamed and being like, "I'd change it if I could."
Then I feel like there's other aspects of my sexuality that I've developed in part, probably because I was told, "These are attractive forms" directly/ indirectly. I have generally been worrying about that lately, whether all of my "tastes" (i.e. of clothes) had model origins in something "society taught me to like."
I think my environment could change my sexuality, like if I went through quite a few important life events with someone, I could develop a sexual attraction to them
I mean, then you have to come up with a way of registering colors you can't even ~naturally~ see. It needs a logical scale that, from what I've ever seen, is static. No
I think some aspects of my sexuality I can't change/ wish I could change, like I've spent such a long time ashamed and being like, "I'd change it if I could."
Then I feel like there's other aspects of my sexuality that I've developed in part, probably because I was told, "These are attractive forms" directly/ indirectly. I have generally been worrying about that lately, whether all of my "tastes" (i.e. of clothes) had model origins in something "society taught me to like."
I think my environment could change my sexuality, like if I went through quite a few important life events with someone, I could develop a sexual attraction to them
01/03/2013
Total posts: 28
Unique posters: 24