Most researchers view sexual orientation as having several components-including sexual behavior, sexual identity, sexual attraction, and physiological sexual arousal-and yet, the majority of scientific studies focus solely on self-reported sexual attraction. The report authors and Savin-Williams agree on most issues, including that a major limitation of existing research relates to how sexual orientation is measured. According to Savin-Williams, the degree to which this is true could be a consequence of how study participants are typically recruited and may not be accurate among more representative samples of nonheterosexual individuals. As a result, his estimate of the prevalence of the nonheterosexual population is double that of Bailey and colleagues.įrom their review, the authors also conclude that gender nonconformity in childhood-behaving in ways that do not align with gender stereotypes-predicts non-heterosexuality in adulthood. He notes that the label ‘bisexual’ serves as a catchall for diverse sexual orientations that fall in between heterosexual and homosexual. While Bailey and colleagues describe sexual orientation as primarily falling into categories-lesbian, gay, or bisexual-Savin-Williams argues that considerable evidence supports a sexual continuum. And there is little evidence to suggest that non-heterosexual orientations become more common with increased social tolerance.ĭespite these points of consensus, some aspects of sexual orientation are not as clear-cut. Scientific findings do not support the notion that sexual orientation can be taught or learned through social means.Scientific evidence suggests that biological and non-social environmental factors jointly influence sexual orientation. Various biological factors-including prenatal hormones and specific genetic profiles-are likely to contribute to sexual orientation, though they are not the sole cause.Men’s and women’s sexual orientations manifest in different ways: Men’s sexual orientation is more closely linked to their patterns of sexual arousal than women’s sexual orientation is.The specific expression of sexual orientation varies widely according to cultural norms and traditions, but research suggests that individuals’ sexual feelings are likely to develop in similar ways around the world. Across cultures, a “small but nontrivial” percentage of people have non-heterosexual feelings.The report is published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, and is accompanied by a commentary by psychological scientist Ritch Savin-Williams of Cornell University.īased on their review of the latest science, Bailey and colleagues draw several conclusions about the nature of sexual orientation: Michael Bailey of Northwestern University. “We wanted to write a comprehensive review that was ‘state of the art’-in doing so, we also wanted to correct important misconceptions about the link between scientific findings and political agendas,” explains psychology researcher and lead author J. In a comprehensive report, a team of researchers bring the latest science to bear on these issues, providing a review of the scientific research on sexual orientation. In many parts of the world, political and popular support for LGB rights hinges on questions about the prevalence, causes, and consequences of non-heterosexual orientations.
Over the last 50 years, political rights for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals have significantly broadened in some countries, while they have narrowed in others.