Heterosexuality isromantic attraction,sexual attraction, orsexual behavior between people of the oppositesex orgender. As asexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to people of the opposite sex. It "also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions."[1][2] Someone who is heterosexual is commonly referred to asstraight.
Along withbisexuality andhomosexuality, heterosexuality is one of the three main categories of sexual orientation within theheterosexual–homosexual continuum.[1] Across cultures, most people are heterosexual, and heterosexual activity is by far the most common type of sexual activity.[3][4] Heterosexuality has mostly been viewed as thenormative and most socially dominant form of sexual orientation.[5][6]
Scientists do not know the exact cause of sexual orientation, but they theorize that it is caused by a complex interplay ofgenetic,hormonal, andenvironmental influences,[7][8][9] and do not view it as a choice.[7][8][10] Although no single theory on the cause of sexual orientation has yet gained widespread support, scientists favorbiologically based theories.[7] There is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial, biological causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males.[3][11][12]
The termheterosexual orheterosexuality is usually applied tohumans, but heterosexual behavior is observed in all othermammals and in other animals, as it is necessary forsexual reproduction.
Hetero- comes from the Greek wordἕτερος [héteros], meaning "other party" or "another",[13] used in science as aprefix meaning "different";[14] and the Latin word for sex (that is, characteristic sex orsexual differentiation).
The current use of the termheterosexual has its roots in the broader 19th century tradition of personality taxonomy. The termheterosexual was coined alongside the wordhomosexual byKarl Maria Kertbeny in 1869.[15] The terms were not in current use during the late nineteenth century, but were reintroduced byRichard von Krafft-Ebing andAlbert Moll around 1890.[15] The noun came into wider use from the early 1920s, but did not enter common use until the 1960s. The colloquial shortening "hetero" is attested from 1933. The abstract noun "heterosexuality" is first recorded in 1900.[16] The word"heterosexual" was listed in Merriam-Webster'sNew International Dictionary in 1923 as amedical term for "morbid sexual passion for one of the opposite sex"; however, in 1934 in theirSecond Edition Unabridged it is defined as a "manifestation of sexual passion for one of the opposite sex; normal sexuality".[17]
Hyponyms of heterosexual includeheteroflexible.[18][19]
The word can be informally[20] shortened to "hetero".[21] The termstraight originated as a mid-20th centurygay slang term for heterosexuals, ultimately coming from the phrase "to go straight" (as in "straight and narrow"), or stop engaging in homosexual sex. One of the first uses of the word in this way was in 1941 by author G. W. Henry.[22] Henry's book concerned conversations with homosexual males and used this term in connection with people who are identified asex-gays. It is now simply a colloquial term for "heterosexual", having changed in primary meaning over time. Some object to usage of the termstraight because it implies that non-heterosexual people are crooked.[23]
In their 2016 literature review, Baileyet al. stated that they "expect that in all cultures the vast majority of individuals are sexually predisposed exclusively to the other sex (i.e., heterosexual)" and that there is no persuasive evidence that the demographics of sexual orientation have varied much across time or place.[3] Heterosexual activity between only one male and one female is by far the most common type of sociosexual activity.[4]
According to several major studies, 89% to 98% of people have had only heterosexual contact within their lifetime;[24][25][26][27] but this percentage falls to 79–84% when either or both same-sex attraction and behavior are reported.[27]
A 1992 study reported that 93.9% of males in Britain have only had heterosexual experience, while in France the number was reported at 95.9%.[28] According to a 2008 poll, 85% ofBritons have only opposite-sex sexual contact while 94% of Britons identify themselves as heterosexual.[29] Similarly, a survey by the UKOffice for National Statistics (ONS) in 2010 found that 95% of Britons identified as heterosexual, 1.5% of Britons identified themselves as homosexual or bisexual, and the last 3.5% gave more vague answers such as "don't know", "other", or did not respond to the question.[30][31] In the United States, according to aWilliams Institute report in April 2011, 96% or approximately 250 million of the adult population are heterosexual.[32]
An October 2012Gallup poll provided unprecedented demographic information about those who identify as heterosexual, arriving at the conclusion that 96.6%, with a margin of error of ±1%, of all U.S. adults identify as heterosexual.[33] The Gallup results show:
Age/Gender
Heterosexual
Non-heterosexual
Don'tknow/Refused
18–29
90.1%
6.4%
3.5%
30–49
93.6%
3.2%
3.2%
50–64
93.1%
2.6%
4.3%
65+
91.5%
1.9%
6.5%
18–29, Women
88.0%
8.3%
3.8%
18–29, Men
92.1%
4.6%
3.3%
In a 2015 YouGov survey of 1,000 adults of the United States, 89% of the sample identified as heterosexual, 4% as homosexual (2% as homosexual male and 2% as homosexual female) and 4% as bisexual (of either sex).[34]
Baileyet al., in their 2016 review, stated that in recent Western surveys, about 93% of men and 87% of women identify as completely heterosexual, and about 4% of men and 10% of women as mostly heterosexual.[3]
No simple and singular determinant forsexual orientation has been conclusively demonstrated, but scientists believe that a combination of genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors determine sexual orientation.[7][8][9] They favor biological theories for explaining the causes of sexual orientation,[3][7] as there is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial, biological causes than social ones, especially for males.[3][11][12]
Factors related to the development of a heterosexual orientation includegenes,prenatal hormones, andbrain structure, and their interaction with the environment.
The neurobiology of the masculinization of the brain is fairly well understood.Estradiol andtestosterone, which is catalyzed by the enzyme5α-reductase intodihydrotestosterone, act uponandrogen receptors in the brain to masculinize it. If there are few androgen receptors (people withandrogen insensitivity syndrome) or too much androgen (females withcongenital adrenal hyperplasia), there can be physical and psychological effects.[36] It has been suggested that both male and female heterosexuality are the results of this process.[37] In these studies heterosexuality in females is linked to a lower amount of masculinization than is found in lesbian females, though when dealing with male heterosexuality there are results supporting both higher and lower degrees of masculinization than homosexual males.
Reproductive sex does not require a heterosexual orientation, since sexual orientation typically refers to a long-term enduring pattern of sexual and emotional attraction leading often to long-term social bonding, while reproduction requires as little as a single act ofcopulation tofertilize theovum bysperm.[39][40][41]
Often, sexual orientation andsexual orientation identity are not distinguished, which can impact accurately assessing sexual identity and whether or not sexual orientation is able to change; sexual orientation identity can change throughout an individual's life, and may or may not align with biological sex, sexual behavior or actual sexual orientation.[42][43][44] Sexual orientation is stable and unlikely to change for the vast majority of people, but some research indicates that some people may experience change in their sexual orientation, and this is more likely for women than for men.[45] The American Psychological Association distinguishes between sexual orientation (an innate attraction) and sexual orientation identity (which may change at any point in a person's life).[46]
A 2012 study found that 2% of a sample of 2,560 adult participants reported a change of sexual orientation identity after a 10-year period. For men, a change occurred in 0.78% of those who had identified as heterosexual, 9.52% of homosexuals, and 47% of bisexuals. For women, a change occurred in 1.36% of heterosexuals, 63.6% of lesbians, and 64.7% of bisexuals.[47]
A 2-year study byLisa M. Diamond on a sample of 80 non-heterosexual female adolescents (age 16–23) reported that half of the participants had changed sexual-minority identities more than once, one third of them during the 2-year follow-up. Diamond concluded that "although sexual attractions appear fairly stable, sexual identities and behaviors are more fluid."[48]
Heteroflexibility is a form of sexual orientation orsituational sexual behavior characterized by minimal homosexual activity in an otherwise primarily heterosexual orientation that is considered to distinguish it from bisexuality. It has been characterized as "mostly straight".[49]
Sexual orientation change efforts are methods that aim to change sexual orientation, used to try to convert homosexual and bisexual people to heterosexuality. Scientists and mental health professionals generally do not believe that sexual orientation is a choice.[7][10] There are no studies of adequate scientific rigor that conclude that sexual orientation change efforts are effective.[50]
A heterosexual couple, a man and woman in anintimate relationship, form the core of anuclear family.[51]Many societies throughout history have insisted that amarriage take place before the couple settle down, but enforcement of this rule or compliance with it has varied considerably.
Symbolism
A heterosexuality symbol
Heterosexual symbolism dates back to the earliest artifacts of humanity, withgender symbols, ritual fertility carvings, and primitive art. This was later expressed in the symbolism offertility rites andpolytheistic worship, which often included images of humanreproductive organs, such aslingam inHinduism. Modern symbols of heterosexuality in societies derived from European traditions still reference symbols used in these ancient beliefs. One such image is a combination of the symbol forMars, the Roman god of war, as the definitivemale symbol of masculinity, andVenus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, as the definitivefemale symbol of femininity. Theunicode character for this combined symbol is ⚤ (U+26A4).
Historical views
There was no need to coin a term such asheterosexual until terms emerged with which it could be compared and contrasted. Jonathan Ned Katz dates the definition of heterosexuality, as it is used today, to the late 19th century.[52] According to Katz, in theVictorian era, sex was seen as a means to achieve reproduction, and relations between the sexes were not believed to be overtly sexual. The body was thought of as a tool for procreation – "Human energy, thought of as a closed and severely limited system, was to be used in producing children and in work, not wasted in libidinous pleasures."[52]
Katz argues that modern ideas ofsexuality anderoticism began to develop in America and Germany in the later 19th century. The changing economy and the "transformation of the family from producer to consumer"[52] resulted in shifting values. The Victorian work ethic had changed, pleasure became more highly valued and this allowed ideas of human sexuality to change.Consumer culture had created a market for the erotic, pleasure becamecommoditized. At the same time medical doctors began to acquire more power and influence. They developed the medical model of "normal love", in which healthy men and women enjoyed sex as part of a "new ideal of male-female relationships that included.. an essential, necessary, normal eroticism."[52] This model also had a counterpart, "the Victorian Sex Pervert", anyone who failed to meet thenorm. The basic oppositeness of the sexes was the basis for normal, healthy sexual attraction. "The attention paid the sexual abnormal created a need to name the sexual normal, the better to distinguish the average him and her from the deviant it."[52] The creation of the termheterosexual consolidated the social existence of the pre-existing heterosexual experience and created a sense of ensured and validated normalcy within it.
TheJudeo-Christian tradition has several scriptures related to heterosexuality. TheBook of Genesis states that God created women because "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him,",[53] and that "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh"[54]
Almost all religions believe that sex between a man and a woman within marriage is allowed, but there are a few that believe that it is a sin, such as TheShakers, TheHarmony Society, and TheEphrata Cloister. These religions tend to view all sexual relations assinful, and promotecelibacy. Some religions requirecelibacy for certain roles, such asCatholic priests; however, theCatholic Church also views heterosexual marriage as sacred and necessary.[57]
This image is often used on Straight Pride T-shirts
Heteronormativity denotes or relates to a world view that promotes heterosexuality as the normal or preferred sexual orientation for people to have. It can assign strict gender roles to males and females. The term was popularized byMichael Warner in 1991.[58] FeministAdrienne Rich argues thatcompulsory heterosexuality, a continual and repeating reassertion of heterosexual norms, is a facet of heterosexism.[59] Compulsory heterosexuality is the idea that female heterosexuality is both assumed and enforced by a patriarchal society. Heterosexuality is then viewed as the natural inclination or obligation by both sexes. Consequently, anyone who differs from the normalcy of heterosexuality is deemed deviant or abhorrent.[60]
Heterosexism is a form ofbias ordiscrimination in favor of opposite-sex sexuality and relationships. It may include an assumption that everyone is heterosexual and may involve various kinds of discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, asexuals,heteroflexible people, or transgender ornon-binary individuals.
Straight pride is a slogan that arose in the late 1980s and early 1990s and has been used primarily bysocial conservative groups as a political stance and strategy.[61] The term is described as a response togay pride[62][63][64] adopted by variousLGBT groups in the early 1970s or to the accommodations provided to gay pride initiatives.
^abcLamanna, Mary Ann; Riedmann, Agnes; Stewart, Susan D (2014).Marriages, Families, and Relationships: Making Choices in a Diverse Society.Cengage Learning. p. 82.ISBN978-1-305-17689-8. RetrievedFebruary 11, 2016.The reason some individuals develop a gay sexual identity has not been definitively established – nor do we yet understand the development of heterosexuality. The American Psychological Association (APA) takes the position that a variety of factors impact a person's sexuality. The most recent literature from the APA says that sexual orientation is not a choice that can be changed at will, and that sexual orientation is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors...is shaped at an early age...[and evidence suggests] biological, including genetic or inborn hormonal factors, play a significant role in a person's sexuality (American Psychological Association 2010).
^Klein, Ernest,A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language: dealing with the origin of words and their sense development thus illustrating the history of civilization and culture, p. 345. Oxford: Elsevier, 2000
^Henry, G. W. (1941).Sex Variants: A Study of Homosexual Patterns. New York: Paul B. Hoeber
^Encyclopedia Of School Psychology - Page 298, T. Steuart Watson, Christopher H. Skinner - 2004
^Laumann EO, Gagnon JH, Michael RT, Michaels S (1994).The social organization of sexuality: Sexual practices in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.ISBN0226469573.[page needed]
^Wellings, K., Field, J., Johnson, A., & Wadsworth, J. (1994).Sexual behavior in Britain: The national survey of sexual attitudes and lifestyles. London, UK: Penguin Books.[page needed]
^Bogaert AF (September 2004). "The prevalence of male homosexuality: the effect of fraternal birth order and variations in family size".Journal of Theoretical Biology.230 (1):33–7.Bibcode:2004JThBi.230...33B.doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2004.04.035.PMID15275997. Bogaert argues that: "The prevalence of male homosexuality is debated. One widely reported early estimate was 10% (e.g., Marmor, 1980; Voeller, 1990). Some recent data provided support for this estimate (Bagley and Tremblay, 1998), but most recent large national samples suggest that the prevalence of male homosexuality in modern western societies, including the United States, is lower than this early estimate (e.g., 1–2% in Billy et al., 1993; 2–3% in Laumann et al., 1994; 6% in Sell et al., 1995; 1–3% in Wellings et al., 1994). It is of note, however, that homosexuality is defined in different ways in these studies. For example, some use same-sex behavior and not same-sex attraction as the operational definition of homosexuality (e.g., Billy et al., 1993); many sex researchers (e.g., Bailey et al., 2000; Bogaert, 2003; Money, 1988; Zucker and Bradley, 1995) now emphasize attraction over overt behavior in conceptualizing sexual orientation." (p. 33) Also: "...the prevalence of male homosexuality (in particular, same-sex attraction) varies over time and across societies (and hence is a "moving target") in part because of two effects: (1) variations in fertility rate or family size; and (2) the fraternal birth order effect. Thus, even if accurately measured in one country at one time, the rate of male homosexuality is subject to change and is not generalizable over time or across societies." (p. 33)
^Lawyers Guide to Forensic Medicine SBN 978-1-85941-159-9 By Bernard Knight - Page 188 "Pregnancy is well known to occur from such external ejaculation ..."
^Sinclair, Karen, About Whoever: The Social Imprint on Identity and Orientation, NY, 2013ISBN9780981450513
Bailey, J. Michael; Vasey, Paul; Diamond, Lisa; Breedlove, S. Marc; Vilain, Eric; Epprecht, Marc (2016)."Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science".Psychological Science in the Public Interest.17 (2):45–101.doi:10.1177/1529100616637616.PMID27113562.Sexual fluidity is situation-dependent flexibility in a person's sexual responsiveness, which makes it possible for some individuals to experience desires for either men or women under certain circumstances regardless of their overall sexual orientation....We expect that in all cultures the vast majority of individuals are sexually predisposed exclusively to the other sex (i.e., heterosexual) and that only a minority of individuals are sexually predisposed (whether exclusively or non-exclusively) to the same sex.
Coon, Dennis; Mitterer, John O. (2012).Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior with Concept Maps and Reviews.Cengage Learning. p. 372.ISBN978-1111833633. RetrievedFebruary 18, 2016.Sexual orientation is a deep part of personal identity and is usually quite stable. Starting with their earliest erotic feelings, most people remember being attracted to either the opposite sex or the same sex. [...] The fact that sexual orientation is usually quite stable doesn't rule out the possibility that for some people sexual behavior may change during the course of a lifetime.
Anderson, Eric; McCormack, Mark (2016)."Measuring and Surveying Bisexuality".The Changing Dynamics of Bisexual Men's Lives.Springer Science & Business Media. p. 47.ISBN978-3-319-29412-4. RetrievedJune 22, 2019.[R]esearch suggests that women's sexual orientation is slightly more likely to change than men's (Baumeister 2000; Kinnish et al. 2005). The notion that sexual orientation can change over time is known assexual fluidity. Even if sexual fluidity exists for some women, it does not mean that the majority of women will change sexual orientations as they age – rather, sexuality is stable over time for the majority of people.
^Thompson, E.M.; Morgan, E.M. (2008). ""Mostly straight" young women: Variations in sexual behavior and identity development".Developmental Psychology.44 (1):15–21.doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.1.15.PMID18194001.
^"... the core of a family is a heterosexual couple who have children who they raise to adulthood - the so-called nuclear family."Encyclopedia of family health
^Eliason, Michele J.; Schope, Robert (2007). "Shifting Sands or Solid Foundation? Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Identity Formation". In Meyer, Ilan H.; Northridge, Mary E. (eds.).The Health of Sexual Minorities. pp. 3–26.doi:10.1007/978-0-387-31334-4_1.ISBN978-0-387-28871-0. "Not surprisingly, individuals in the pride stage are most criticized not only by heterosexual persons but also many LGBT individuals, who are uncomfortable forcing the majority to share the discomfort. Heterosexual individuals may express bewilderment at the term "gay pride", arguing that they do not talk about "straight pride"".
Keel, Robert O.,Heterosexual Deviance. (Goode, 1994, chapter 8, and Chapter 9, 6th edition, 2001.) Sociology of Deviant Behavior: FS 2003, University of Missouri–St. Louis.
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