Sexual fluidity

Sexual fluidity is one or more changes in sexuality or sexual identity (sometimes known as sexual orientation identity). Scientific consensus is that sexual orientation is not a choice. Sexual orientation is stable and unlikely to change for the vast majority of people, but some research indicates that some people may experience change in their sexual orientation, and this is more likely for women than for men. There is no scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed through psychotherapy. Sexual identity can change throughout an individual's life, and may or may not align with biological sex, sexual behavior or actual sexual orientation. There is no consensus on the exact cause of developing a sexual orientation, but genetic, hormonal, social and cultural influences have been examined. Scientists believe that it is caused by a complex interplay of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences.Category:LGBT culture Sexual fluidity is one or more changes in sexuality or sexual identity (sometimes known as sexual orientation identity). Scientific consensus is that sexual orientation is not a choice. Sexual orientation is stable and unlikely to change for the vast majority of people, but some research indicates that some people may experience change in their sexual orientation, and this is more likely for women than for men. There is no scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed through psychotherapy. Sexual identity can change throughout an individual's life, and may or may not align with biological sex, sexual behavior or actual sexual orientation. There is no consensus on the exact cause of developing a sexual orientation, but genetic, hormonal, social and cultural influences have been examined. Scientists believe that it is caused by a complex interplay of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences. The results of a large-scale, longitudinal study by Savin-Williams, Joyner, and Rieger (2012) indicated that stability of sexual orientation identity over a six-year period was more common than change, and that stability was greatest among men and those identifying as heterosexual. While stability may be more common than change, change in sexual orientation identity does occur and the vast majority of research indicates that female sexuality is more fluid than male sexuality. This could be attributed to females' higher erotic plasticity or to sociocultural factors that socialize women to be more open to change. Due to the gender differences in the stability of sexual orientation identity, male and female sexuality are not treated as functioning via the same mechanisms. Researchers continue to analyze sexual fluidity to better determine its relationship to sexual orientation subgroups (i.e., bisexual, lesbian, gay, etc.). Use of the term sexual fluidity has been attributed to Lisa M. Diamond, especially with regard to female sexuality. Often, sexual orientation and sexual identity are not distinguished, which can impact accurately assessing sexual identity and whether or not sexual orientation is able to change; sexual orientation identity can change throughout an individual's life, and may or may not align with biological sex, sexual behavior or actual sexual orientation. While the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and American Psychiatric Association state that sexual orientation is innate, continuous or fixed throughout their lives for some people, but is fluid or changes over time for others, the American Psychological Association distinguishes between sexual orientation (an innate attraction) and sexual orientation identity (which may change at any point in a person's life). Scientists and mental health professionals generally do not believe that sexual orientation is a choice. The American Psychological Association states that 'sexual orientation is not a choice that can be changed at will, and that sexual orientation is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors...is shaped at an early age... biological, including genetic or inborn hormonal factors, play a significant role in a person's sexuality.' They say that 'sexual orientation identity—not sexual orientation—appears to change via psychotherapy, support groups, and life events.' The American Psychiatric Association says 'individuals maybe become aware at different points in their lives that they are heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual' and 'opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as 'reparative' or 'conversion' therapy, which is based upon the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder, or based upon a prior assumption that the patient should change his/her homosexual orientation'. They do, however, encourage gay affirmative psychotherapy. In Sexual Fluidity, which was awarded with the 2009 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues Distinguished Book Award by Division 44 of the American Psychological Association, Diamond speaks of female sexuality and trying to go beyond the language of 'phases' and 'denial', arguing that traditional labels for sexual desire are inadequate. For some of 100 non-heterosexual women she followed in her study over a period of 10 years, the word bisexual did not truly express the versatile nature of their sexuality. Diamond calls 'for an expanded understanding of same-sex sexuality.' Diamond, when reviewing research on lesbian and bisexual women's sexual identities, stated that studies find 'change and fluidity in same-sex sexuality that contradict conventional models of sexual orientation as a fixed and uniformly early-developing trait.' She suggested that sexual orientation is a phenomenon more connected with female non-heterosexual sexuality, stating, 'whereas sexual orientation in men appears to operate as a stable erotic 'compass' reliably channeling sexual arousal and motivation toward one gender or the other, sexual orientation in women does not appear to function in this fashion... As a result of these phenomena, women’s same-sex sexuality expresses itself differently from men’s same-sex sexuality at every stage of the life course.' The essentialist view holds that sexual orientation and sexual desire are fundamentally biological, and therefore do not change throughout life. In support of the essentialist view is the finding that conversion therapy (attempts to change sexual orientation) is rarely successful. In Maccio's (2011) review of sexual reorientation therapy attempts, she lists two studies that claim to have successfully converted gay men and lesbians to heterosexuals and four that demonstrate the contrary. She sought to settle the debate using a sample that was not recruited from religious organizations. The study consisted of 37 former conversion therapy participants (62.2% were male) from various cultural and religious backgrounds who currently or previously identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. The results indicated that there were no statistically significant shifts in sexual orientation from pre- to post-treatment. In follow-up sessions, the few changes in sexual orientation that did occur following therapy did not last. This study stands as support for the essentialist view of sexual orientation, but the largely male sample population confounds the findings. Further support for the essentialist view of sexual orientation is that gender atypical behavior in childhood (i.e., a young boy playing with dolls) appears to predict homosexuality in adulthood (see childhood gender nonconformity). A longitudinal study by Drummond et al. (2008) looked at young girls with gender dysphoria (a significant example of gender atypical behavior) and found that the majority of these girls grew up to identify as bisexual or lesbian. Many retrospective studies looking at childhood behavior are criticized for potential memory errors; so a study by Rieger, Linsenmeier, Gygax, & Bailey (2008) used home videos to investigate the relationship between childhood behaviors and adult sexual orientation. The results of this study support essentialism, but an understanding of how cultural assumptions about sexuality can affect sexual identity formation is also considered.