Is sexual orientation really stable?: gender differences
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Abstract
Introduction: Traditionally, sexuality has been conceptualized from a conservative perspective, considering sexual orientation as a hermetic and inflexible construct. These conservative beliefs, which have been translated into homophobic attitudes, seem to be more noticeable in men, possibly due to the importance that the concept of masculinity in traditional gender roles has in them. Objective: To know the age of definition of sexual orientation, if sexual orientation is a stable dimension throughout the life cycle, the assessment of traditional labels and the possible existence of gender differences in
these variables. Methodology: 2924 Spaniards between 18 and 73 years old (M=26.29; SD=9.10) participated in the present study, with 32.9% men and 67.1% women. Regarding sexual orientation, 77.8% identified as heterosexual, 9.6% as homosexual and 12.6% as bisexual. All of them completed an ad hoc questionnaire on sexual orientation, awareness and evolution of their sexual self-definition, as well as an assessment of traditional labels. Results: The evaluated sample defined their sexual orientation at 12.2 years of age (SD=4.70). Based on gender, women defined it at 12.5 years old (SD=4.41) and men at 11.5 year old (SD=5.18), with significant differences (t=4.37; p smaller than 0.001). Regarding their evolution, 11.5% of men and 15.3% of women (chi 2=7.46; p=0.006)
have experienced changes in their sexual orientation throughout their lives. On the other hand, 58.6% of men and 72.4% of women consider that traditional labels on sexual orientation (heterosexual, bisexual and homosexual) do not accurately represent today’s society (chi 2=56.19; p smaller than 0.001). And, finally, it is observed that the people who
had defined later their sexual orientation were those who had experienced changes in it (t=26.52; p smaller than 0.001) and who had considered that the traditional categories of orientation did not accurately represent to current society (t=3.77; p smaller than 0.001).
Conclusions: These results show the fluidity and the flexibility existing in the experience of sexual orientation. A significant percentage of the population seems to reflect on their sexuality and question traditional categories, which could delay the stable definition of their sexual orientation. This effect is more noticeable in women. These findings should be considered when conceptualizing sexual orientation, not only as a continuous dimension, but also as construct that evolves throughout the life cycle.
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