Sexual orientation is the situation where an individual is sexually or romantically attracted to one another and may lead to an intimate relationship (Svensson 77).When such attraction occurs to individuals of the same gender then it is called homosexual and may be gay or lesbian orientation (Murphy 67). On the other hand, certain individuals are attracted to individual of either gender, when this occurs then the orientation is termed as bisexual while heterosexual is an orientation where an individual is attracted to members of other gender (Murphy 70). Sociologists have confirmed that there is no known cause of an individual’s sexual orientations but research has supported that it has to do with biological composition and modification that takes place before birth (Svensson 95).
Media has constantly pointed out that most people do not always want to identify as being LGBT part of population for fear of discrimination and harassment (Pierceson et al 102). Despite this, most individuals would openly show their attraction towards others for instance, a woman may be attracted to men but occasionally fell attracted to women. For others, sexual orientations may shift at different periods of lives; media has been on the forefront in portraying such individuals negatively with the assertion that they are criminals in movies. On the same note, some sections of the media have portrayed them positively by constantly advocating and creating awareness that they too have rights protected by law.
Research conducted by Alfred Kinsey in United States has affirmed that 10% of population are attracted to individuals of same gender, this means that this percentage identifies openly as lesbians, gays or bisexual. Consequently, 3.5% of population in United States has been identified as LGBT with 8.2% of them admitting that they have engaged in same-sex sexual behavior and 11% acknowledging that they have experienced same-sex attraction (Gill 44).
Works cited
Gill, Emily R. An Argument for Same-Sex Marriage: Religious Freedom, Sexual Freedom, and
Public Expressions of Civic Equality. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2012. Internet resource.
Murphy, Timothy F. Gay Science: The Ethics of Sexual Orientation Research. New York:
Columbia University Press, 2005. Internet resource.
Pierceson, Jason, Adriana Piatti-Crocker, and Shawn Schulenberg. Same-sex Marriage in the
Americas: Policy Innovation for Same-Sex Relationships. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books, 2010. Print.
Svensson, Travis K. A Bioethical Analysis of Sexual Reorientation Interventions. , 2003. Print.