This means that being transgender (feeling like your assigned sex is very different from the gender you identify with) isn\u2019t the same thing as being gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Sexual orientation is about who you want to be with. Gender identity is about who you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pringlebayvillage.co.za\/transform\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/genderbreadperson-01-275x300.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThere are a bunch of identities associated with sexual orientation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- People who\u2019re attracted to a different gender (for example, women who are attracted to men or men who are attracted to women) often call themselves straight or heterosexual.<\/li>
- People who\u2019re attracted to people of the same gender often call themselves gay or homosexual. Gay women may prefer the term lesbian.<\/li>
- People who\u2019re attracted to both men and women often call themselves bisexual.<\/li>
- People whose attractions span across many different gender identities (male, female, transgender, genderqueer, intersex, etc.) may call themselves pansexual or queer.<\/li>
- People who\u2019re unsure about their sexual orientation may call themselves questioning or curious.<\/li>
- People who don’t experience any sexual attraction for anyone often call themselves asexual.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s also important to note that some people don’t think any of these labels describe them accurately. Some people don’t like the idea of labels at all. Other people feel comfortable with certain labels and not others. It’s up to you to decide how you want to label yourself, if at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What does queer mean?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The term queer can include a variety of sexual identities and gender identities that are anything other than straight and cisgender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the past, \u201cqueer\u201d was a word used to hurt and insult people. Some people still find it offensive, particularly those who remember when that word was used in a painful way. Others now use the word with pride to identify themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You may not want to refer to someone as \u201cqueer\u201d unless you know that\u2019s how they identify themselves. When talking to someone about their sexual orientation, use the terms that they use. It\u2019s okay (and often encouraged!) to ask what labels folks prefer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s asexuality?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
People who identify as asexual don\u2019t really feel sexual attraction towards anyone. They may think other people are physically attractive, or they may want to be in romantic relationships with people \u2014 but they\u2019re not interested in having sex or doing sexual things with other people. Asexual people sometimes use the word \u201cace\u201d for short. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asexuality has nothing to do with romantic attraction. Many asexual people feel romantically attracted to people \u2014 so they may identify as asexual, and also as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or straight. They just don\u2019t feel any desire to act on these feelings in a sexual way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asexual people have emotional needs just like everyone else. Some asexual people have romantic relationships, and others aren\u2019t interested in that. They get close to people or experience intimacy through ways other than sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are also people who don\u2019t feel romantic attraction or want to be in romantic relationships \u2014 they may identify as aromantic. Being aromantic and being asexual are two separate things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some asexual people do get aroused (turned on), but they don\u2019t feel the desire to be sexual with other people. And some asexual people masturbate. But others may not feel arousal at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s totally normal to go through times when you don\u2019t want to have sex, but that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re asexual. And asexuality is not the same thing as being celibate. Celibacy is a choice you make, and asexuality is a sexual identity \u2014 who you naturally are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like other sexual orientations, asexuality isn\u2019t always black and white. There\u2019s a spectrum between being sexual (having sexual attraction) and being asexual. Different people fall into different places on that spectrum. Some people who have very little sexual attraction to other people identify as gray-a. Some people who are only sexually attracted to people they\u2019re in relationships with identify as demisexual. Want to know how someone identifies? Ask them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is nothing \u201cwrong\u201d with people who are asexual, and there\u2019s no evidence to support that people are asexual because of any kind of mental health or trauma. It\u2019s actually kind of common \u2014 some research says that 1 out of 100 adults is asexual. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if I don\u2019t want to be labeled?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s okay if you don\u2019t want to be labeled. Only you can decide what sexual identity best describes you. But some people may feel that none of the common labels feel right to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your sexual orientation and identity can remain the same throughout your life. Or it can vary depending on who you\u2019re attracted to, or romantically partnered or sexually active with. This is completely normal. Once you claim a label, there\u2019s no reason why it can\u2019t change as you change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Changing how you identify doesn\u2019t mean that you\u2019re \u201cconfused.\u201d Many folks, old and young, experience changes in who they\u2019re attracted to and how they identify. This is called \u201cfluidity.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sexual orientation is about who you\u2019re attracted to and want to have relationships with. Sexual orientations include gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual, and asexual.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":447,"parent":0,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pringlebayvillage.co.za\/transform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/326"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pringlebayvillage.co.za\/transform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pringlebayvillage.co.za\/transform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pringlebayvillage.co.za\/transform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pringlebayvillage.co.za\/transform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/pringlebayvillage.co.za\/transform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":442,"href":"https:\/\/pringlebayvillage.co.za\/transform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/326\/revisions\/442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pringlebayvillage.co.za\/transform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pringlebayvillage.co.za\/transform\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}