What Science Knows About Why People Are Gay

Contents:

• AM I GAY? HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY?
• HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM GAY? SIGNS YOU ARE GAY
• AT WHAT AGE DO KIDS INTIFY AS GAY?
• HOW TO TELL IF SOMEONE IS GAY: 10 SUBTLE CLU THAT MAKE IT LIKELY
• HOW TO DISCREETLY FD OUT IF SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS GAY
• HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY
• WHAT SCIENCE KNOWS ABOUT WHY PEOPLE ARE GAY
• HOW TO SUPPORT, EMPATHIZE WH, AND AFFIRM LGBTQ+ PEOPLE
• WHY ARE PEOPLE GAY? GAY BY CHOICE OR IS BEG GAY GEIC?

AM I GAY? HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY?

Sexual orientatn refers to the endurg physil, romantic and/or emotnal attractn to members of the same and/or other genrs, cludg lbian, gay, bisexual and straight orientatns.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM GAY? SIGNS YOU ARE GAY

In the 1950s and 1960s, was believed, some circl, that was possible to tt for homosexualy and such a tt was veloped Canada.

AT WHAT AGE DO KIDS INTIFY AS GAY?

However, this tt was based on many flty assumptns and has long sce been shown that no tt n tell you whether you are gay or not. The ratg sl aim to classify people not as "gay" or "straight" but rather dite that most people do not experience exclively gay or straight experienc.

HOW TO TELL IF SOMEONE IS GAY: 10 SUBTLE CLU THAT MAKE IT LIKELY

Most people, regardls as to their sexual inty, do experience both homosexual and heterosexual feelgs and/or behavrs at different tim their liv. It n be hard for some people to know whether or not they are gay, but 's important to remember that cidg you are gay is a personal cisn and not a clil one. Some people that have homosexual experienc ntue not to intify as gay while others that have never had a homosexual experience and rather, jt have homosexual feelgs, may ll themselv gay.

"Wh time, someone who is gay will realize that not only are they sexually attracted to members of the same sex, but that this attractn is not transnal, or as often scribed 'jt a phase'.

Many people bee aware of gay feelgs durg their teenage years, as this is when they beg to learn more about their sexualy and inty. However, the difficulti associated wh acceptg the feelgs and g out gay mean that many gay people don't intify themselv as gay until later on life. When down to , there is no reliable "Am I Gay tt", so the only way to know that you are gay (fn of gay) is to look wh yourself to terme your own thoughts and feelgs towards others of the same sex.

HOW TO DISCREETLY FD OUT IF SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS GAY

And if do turn out that you are gay, remember that there is nothg wrong wh beg gay – is jt part of who you are.

One of the ma issu wh trackg when kids start to intify as gay is that most people assume that all kids start out straight. That beg said, some rearchers om the Sexualy Informatn and Edutn Council of the Uned Stat talked wh llege stunts who intify as gay and bisexual to learn when they were aware of their sexual preferenc. This data prov the vast majory of LGBTQ+ kids intify as gay before they leave for llege – or intify their sexual preferenc shortly after.

“As long as I was the closet, all of my cisns — both nsc and subnsc — were guid by not wantg people to know I was gay, ” Felts told the Washgton Post. Keep md that even if you have a sexual experience wh someone of the same genr or another genr, that don’t necsarily mean that you’re gay.

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY

That means, for example, that you n be transgenr but also straight (for stance, you might intify as a woman and feel attracted to men) or gay (e. Article SummaryXIf you’re not sure how to know if you are gay, thk about any past romantic experienc you have had. If you have had romantic experienc or fantasi volvg people who are the same genr as you, then there is a good chance you are gay or bisexual, but 's okay if you're a ltle nfed.

Sce 1975, APA has lled on psychologists to take the lead removg the stigma of mental illns that has long been associated wh lbian, gay, and bisexual orientatns. The prejudice and discrimatn that people who intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual regularly experience have been shown to have negative psychologil effects. This page provis accurate rmatn for those who want to better unrstand sexual orientatn and the impact of prejudice and discrimatn on those who intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual.

In the Uned Stat the most equent labels are lbians (women attracted to women), gay men (men attracted to men), and bisexual people (men or women attracted to both sex). Some people know that they are lbian, gay, or bisexual for a long time before they actually pursue relatnships wh other people. Prejudice and discrimatn make difficult for many people to e to terms wh their sexual orientatn inti, so claimg a lbian, gay, or bisexual inty may be a slow procs.

WHAT SCIENCE KNOWS ABOUT WHY PEOPLE ARE GAY

There is no nsens among scientists about the exact reasons that an dividual velops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lbian orientatn. Lbian, gay, and bisexual people the Uned Stat enunter extensive prejudice, discrimatn, and vlence bee of their sexual orientatn. Public opn studi over the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s routely showed that, among large segments of the public, lbian, gay, and bisexual people were the target of strongly held negative attus.

More recently, public opn has creasgly opposed sexual orientatn discrimatn, but exprsns of hostily toward lbians and gay men rema mon ntemporary Amerin society.

Severe antigay prejudice is reflected the high rate of harassment and vlence directed toward lbian, gay, and bisexual dividuals Amerin society. Numero surveys dite that verbal harassment and abe are nearly universal experienc among lbian, gay, and bisexual people. The HIV/AIDS panmic is another area which prejudice and discrimatn agast lbian, gay, and bisexual people have had negative effects.

HOW TO SUPPORT, EMPATHIZE WH, AND AFFIRM LGBTQ+ PEOPLE

Early the panmic, the assumptn that HIV/AIDS was a “gay disease” ntributed to the lay addrsg the massive social upheaval that AIDS would generate. The associatn of HIV/AIDS wh gay and bisexual men and the accurate belief that some people held that all gay and bisexual men were fected served to further stigmatize lbian, gay, and bisexual people.

On the social level, prejudice and discrimatn agast lbian, gay, and bisexual people are reflected the everyday stereotyp of members of the groups. The stereotyp persist even though they are not supported by evince, and they are often ed to exce unequal treatment of lbian, gay, and bisexual people. For example, limatns on job opportuni, parentg, and relatnship regnn are often jtified by stereotypic assumptns about lbian, gay, and bisexual people.

WHY ARE PEOPLE GAY? GAY BY CHOICE OR IS BEG GAY GEIC?

On an dividual level, such prejudice and discrimatn may also have negative nsequenc, pecially if lbian, gay, and bisexual people attempt to nceal or ny their sexual orientatn. Although many lbians and gay men learn to pe wh the social stigma agast homosexualy, this pattern of prejudice n have ser negative effects on health and well-beg. The wispread prejudice, discrimatn, and vlence to which lbians and gay men are often subjected are signifint mental health ncerns.

Sexual prejudice, sexual orientatn discrimatn, and antigay vlence are major sourc of strs for lbian, gay, and bisexual people.

Although social support is ccial pg wh strs, antigay attus and discrimatn may make difficult for lbian, gay, and bisexual people to fd such support. Dpe the persistence of stereotyp that portray lbian, gay, and bisexual people as disturbed, several s of rearch and clil experience have led all mastream medil and mental health anizatns this untry to nclu that the orientatns reprent normal forms of human experience. Furthermore, seems likely that the promotn of change therapi rerc stereotyp and ntribut to a negative climate for lbian, gay, and bisexual persons.