All this over a male or female identity........
1. Heterosexual definition
This sexual preference means that an individual feels attraction on an emotional, romantic or sexual level to people of the opposite sex. For example, a man to a woman or a woman to a man.
2. Homosexual
Homosexuality refers to
those with a sexual preference for people of the same sex. This means a man that's attracted to another man, or a woman that's attracted to another woman.
3. Bisexual definition
Bisexuality, on the other hand, is when one feels emotional, romantic, sexual, or affective attraction towards both sexes. In other words, when men have feelings for both men and women; or when a woman feels attracted to both Together, homosexual and bisexual individuals have started a fight for the recognition of sexual diversity, having launched the LGBTI+ movement (lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-intersexual and more).
4. Asexual definition
Asexuality is
the lack of sexual, social, physical, or affective attraction towards others. Meaning that an asexual person doesn't feel attracted to any subject, no matter what their sex. That's why many consider this a 'lack' of sexual orientation. However, many stand up for asexuals, saying that asexuality is indeed a sexual orientation.
5. Pansexual meaning
Someone who is pansexual is attracted to any sex or gender. This means that a pansexual person might feel equally attracted on an emotional, romantic, sexual, or affective level to people of any sexual orientation or gender identity.
Pansexuality is different from bisexuality since the latter stems from the gender binary, meaning, the idea that there are only two possible genders: male and female.
On the other hand, pansexuality works to bring sexual diversity beyond the binary to light, in a context where there can be more than two genders and sexes, as well as a wide range of possibilities for expressing them.
6. Demisexual definition
Demisexuality is a sexual preference where the individual needs to establish an emotional bond with someone first before they feel attraction. This means
a demisexual person might not feel sexual or affective desire for someone until they get to know them well and they can trust this person.
For the same reason, demisexuality was once considered a variety of asexuality. But today, it's recognized as a separatesexual orientation since the possibility of feeling physical and emotional attraction towards someone still exists, but only after getting really close to this individual.
7. Anthrosexual
Anthrosexuality is a non-defined sexual orientation, which means that individuals that identify as anthrosexual make connections with all different types of people. So, some might consider this type of sexual preference a sort of mix between bisexuality and pansexuality, although they don't identify exclusively with either of these.
8. Autosexuality
Autosexuality is
when an individual feels sexually attracted to himself or herself, which means that they have autoerotic tendencies.
9. Graysexuality
Graysexuality is the sexual preference that represents the most substantial part of the sexual desire continuum. This is a sexual orientation located between the two poles of desire: asexuality and sexuality. A graysexual person isn't exclusively sexual or asexual. Instead, they move from having sexual feelings to being asexual during different phases of their life.
10. Hyposexuality
Hyposexuality is practically the same as asexuality (a lack of sexual, emotional, or affective attraction to anyone). The difference is that, while asexuality defines someones sexual preferences as a norm,
hyposexuality is a consequence of external factors like too much stress at
work, or even the result of a medical condition. On the same note, in some contexts, it isn't defined as a sexual orientation, but instead, a transitional phase caused by external factors.
11. Lithsexuality
The main characteristic of lithsexuality is that the person feels physical and emotional attraction towards a person, regardless of whether this feeling is corresponded. Reciprocity in desire and sexual interest isn't a determining factor for someone lithsexual to feel attraction.
12. Sapiosexuality
The word
'sapio' comes from Latin and means 'wise.' So, the definition of sapiosexuality is a fixed attraction towards people that they consider intelligent. Sapiosexual people feel attracted to others due to their cognitive and emotional abilities, through which they are able to make fundamental intellectual connections.
13. Skoliosexuality
Skoliosexual individuals feel attracted to transgender and intersexual people, or other people with more open gender identities. This means that a skoliosexual person doesn't feel attracted to cisgender individuals (people who identify with the gender assigned to them at birth), instead, they are drawn exclusively to people with open sexual identities.
Queer meaning
The word 'queer' originally meant "strange" or "peculiar," and throughout history, it has been used as a derogatory term to refer to people who aren't straight or heterosexual. This is a concept traditionally used to talk about sexual minorities; in other words, those who break heteronormative ideas (that don't fit the traditional gender binary).
However, towards the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st,
the LGBTI+ community began the reappropriation of the word 'queer' to reclaim sexual diversity and the right to experience their sexual orientation freely.
And thus, the word queer refers to those with fluid sexual orientations and gender identities. In this sense, the concept is similar to skoliosexuality, although it also encompasses almost all of the sexual orientations we mentioned before (since they all question heteronormativity).
transgender
transgender is an umbrella term that describes people whose
gender identity or expression does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. For example, a transgender person may identify as a woman despite having been born with male genitalia.
