Monday, August 10, 2020

What Does It Mean to Be Heteroflexible

What Does It Mean to Be Heteroflexible Relationships LGBTQ Print Heteroflexibility and Sexual Orientations A Brief History of Sexual Orientations By Anabelle Bernard Fournier facebook Anabelle Bernard Fournier is a freelance writer who specializes in home decor and interior design. Shes been writing about interiors since 2012. Learn about our editorial policy Anabelle Bernard Fournier Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on February 19, 2019 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on February 24, 2020 Photo by  Diego Duarte Cereceda  on  Unsplash More in Relationships LGBTQ Spouses & Partners Violence and Abuse From the late 19th century to recently, there were only two possible sexual orientations: straight and gay/lesbian. Bisexuals, pansexuals, and other queer orientations have recently expanded the range of sexual orientation identities. However, our society still expects people to be heterosexualâ€"a phenomenon called heteronormativity. In short, society treats heterosexuals as normal and unworthy of notice, while people who are not heterosexual face extra scrutiny, sexualization, and stigma. Thus, its predictable that people with same-sex desires and behaviors might still want to be seen as heterosexual if only to avoid all the negative consequences of coming out as non-hetero. What is this new category of heteroflexibility and what does it mean? The History Sexual orientation categories appeared in the late 19th century, with the invention of the words homosexuality and heterosexuality. Before the invention of these words, homosexual acts were outlawedâ€"there was no word for identifying as a person who had sex with people of the same gender. In his famous book Gay New York, historian George Chauncey described how New York men in the early 20th century could have sexual relationships with other men without losing their identity as men (which at the time, was synonymous with heterosexual). As long as a man dressed and acted in masculine ways and was the penetrating partner, it was acceptable to have intercourse with other men. Men who acted in feminine ways and were the receiving partner were called fairies, rather than gay. It was all about gender performance, rather than attraction. As the 20th century moved on, however, ideas of heterosexuality and homosexuality took hold as identities. In other words, having sex with people of the same gender became more than an act: it was something someone was, rather than something someone just didâ€"an identity over an activity. These categories have been more or less flexible throughout the last hundred years. The 1960s and 70s were looser in terms of sexual experimentation and identity, while the 80s and 90s saw a return of clear, rigid boundaries around the actions that were acceptable from heterosexuals and homosexuals. Heteroflexibility Today In the past few years, social scientists have seen a return to flexible notions of what it means to be heterosexual. Recent research by social scientists Carillo and Hoffman suggests that men who have occasional sex with other men are able to expand the category of heterosexuality to include their behavior.?? Mostly, they do this in terms of denying their attraction to men and talking about sex with men as only for pleasure, when women are unavailable, or as a perversion. This research concludes that instead of switching to a bisexual identity, these men change the definition of heterosexual to include occasional sexual acts with men?? â€"something that sounds a lot like the early 20th century New Yorkers that Chauncey studied. As long as these men maintain that they are not inherently attracted to men and behave in typically masculine ways, they retain their heterosexualityâ€"and privilege. Heteroflexibility as an Orientation Heteroflexibility as an orientation is akin to categories 1 and 2 on the Kinsey scaleâ€"0 being exclusively heterosexual and 6 being exclusively homosexual.?? However, because it involves attraction and/or acts with people of the same sex, some critics have argued that heteroflexible is just another word for bisexuality. The benefit of calling yourself heteroflexible instead of bisexual, of course, is the lack of stigma. Though research by Carillo and Hoffman highlights the main difference between bisexual and heteroflexibility: heteroflexible people claim that they are not attracted to people of the same gender.?? This raises interesting questions. Having Sex Without Attraction Many people have sex with people they are not attracted to, and have even enjoyed that sex. It could be for many reasons: they hired a sex worker, or they had sex with an available partner exclusively for their own pleasure, for example. This means that heteroflexible men dont have to be attracted to men to be willing to have sex with them. However, in some cases, they could also be denying their attraction to avoid the label of homosexual. It is difficult for scientists to separate the two. What Makes Someone Homosexual? Some people think that one act of homosexuality makes someone a homosexual automaticallyâ€"this is obviously not the case. Bisexuals have sex with people of the same gender without being homosexual. Heterosexuality, bisexuality, and homosexuality are identities that a person chooses, not something that is inherent to a person, like having blue eyes or ten toes. Therefore, one can choose a heterosexual identity and still have sex with people of the same gender. This is why social scientists have created three different categories: sexual orientation identity (what you call yourself), sexual behavior (what you do), and sexual attraction (who you are attracted to).?? These three things can (and often do) show different patterns among individuals and throughout each individuals life course. Ethical Questions The research on heteroflexibility raises a third questionâ€"this one ethical. Is it okay for people who have sex with others of the same gender to still claim to be heterosexual? The struggle for non-heterosexual people to be recognized and embraced as full human beings is still ongoing. Many are still unable to marry, are imprisoned, or even killed for their sexual orientation. Being able to engage sexually with people of the same gender while avoiding all of these negative consequences feels like a betrayal to those who have fought discrimination and stigma their whole lives. While its easy to see why someone would want to stay safe and avoid violence by keeping his/her non-heterosexuality a secret, its more difficult to accept someone who wants the freedom to have sex with people of the same gender without having to deal with all the stigma. Of course, if we lived in a society that accepted non-heterosexual orientations as fully as they do heterosexuals, we wouldnt have this problem. People would be free to pursue sex and relationships with anybody they want without stigma or violence. However, we are far short of this ideal. Heteroflexibility, in a way, makes it more difficult for non-heterosexuals to protect their human rights and remain safe. What Does Non-Binary Mean?

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