Do these myths sound familiar to you?
Myth: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual people can be identified by certain gestures or physical characteristics.
Reality: The truth is that lesbians, homosexuals or bisexuals have so many different shapes, colors and sizes than heterosexual people.
Myth: Early sexual experiences are indicative of sexual orientation as an adult.
Reality: Many homosexuals, lesbians, etc., have early heterosexual experiences, but are still lesbians, homosexuals, bisexuals …
Myth: We know what causes sexual orientation.
Fact: Many people of a non-heterosexual orientation are attracted to members of their own sex at an early age, sometimes as young as 6 or 7 years old. It happens to others later, in their 30s, 40s or 50s. Some research indicates that sexual orientation is determined between birth and age 3, but no one is sure what causes a particular orientation, according to Case Western Reserve University in the United States.
Fact: There is no gay “lifestyle” by definition; just like there is no standard heterosexual lifestyle. The most accurate generalization might be this: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are different from each other in the same way that heterosexual people are different from each other.
Fan of colors
Sexuality has to do with how we identify ourselves sexually, how we experience sexual and romantic attraction, and the interest and preferences around relationships and sexual and romantic behavior. Sexuality can be fluid, changing in different situations for some and for years for others.
Familiarizing yourself with a language that describes different types of sexual and romantic feelings and orientations will help all of us, ourselves, our partners, our friends … to navigate and understand the many ways that people experience and identify their sexuality.
Like all human phenomena, sexual activity has its origin and we have arrived at current sexual practices, attitudes and ethics through a long and winding journey from the animals that preceded us, a journey that goes back to the earliest life of the universe.
