Review: Mostly Heterosexual and Mostly

Gay/Lesbian: Evidence for New Sexual Orientation

Identities
Hello,
Quote: "The team, led by geneticist Alan Sanders, identified two regions of
the human genome that have clear ties to homosexuality - one located on the
X chromosome and another on the middle twist of chromosome 8. According
to Andy Coghlan at New Scientist, the region on the X chromosome, called
Xq28, was first identified as having a possible link to homosexuality in 1993,
and has previously been linked to sexual behaviour in animals. The link
between homosexuality and the other region, called 8q12, was first
suggested in 2005."[9]
Read another interesting study on human sexuality. Although some limitations, the
results match well with past studies. What is known is that sexual preference is NOT
often black and white. Rather, many men and women often have same sex
attraction[1;7], same sex fantasies[7], and same sex partners[1;7] but consider
themselves heterosexual--women have the latter characteristics more so than
men[1;7], and women also consider themselves "mostly heterosexual" more often
as well[1].
Quote: Decades of research on nonheterosexual populations have revealed
that many lesbian- and gay identified individuals are not exclusively samesex oriented in that they report at least some other-sex attraction and/or
partners (Diamond 2008;Rosario,Schrimshaw,Hunter,&Braun,2006; SavinWilliams, 2005). Bisexually identified women and men vary widely in the
balance of their same- and other-sex attraction and behavior, ranging from
almost exclusively heterosexual to almost exclusively homosexual (Diamond,
2008; Weinberg, Williams,&Prior, 1994;Weinrich&Klein, 2002). Similar
inconsistencies exist among heterosexually identified individuals (Dunne,
Bailey,Kirk,&Martin, 2000; Ellis,Robb,&Burke, 2005; Hoburg,
Konik,Williams,&Crawford 2004;Vrangalova & Savin-Williams, 2010). For
example, although 95% of participants in a large Australian twin registry
identified as heterosexual, only 80% were exclusively heterosexual in that
they reported no same-sex attraction or behavior (Dunneet al.,2000). In a
convenience sample of heterosexually identified U.S. college students, 84%
of women and 51% of men reported at least some same sex attraction,
fantasies, or partners (Vrangalova & Savin-Williams, 2010).[1]
Quote: Table 1 shows the number and percentage of participants in each of
the sexual orientation identity categories. Our predictions were confirmed in
regard to the mostly heterosexual group. Mostly heterosexual was the most
frequently chosen nonheterosexual label in both sexes;among women,this
group was larger than the three other nonheterosexual identity groups
combined.[1]
Quote: As predicted, at least some individuals in each group reported sexual
attraction and/or partners toward theirnon preferredsex. Between 13 and

50% of exclusively identified individuals reported some attraction toward

their non-preferred sex and between 9 and 39% reported at least one samesex partner (Table7). Taken together, 80% of heterosexual men, 57% of
heterosexual women, 48% of gays, and 39%of lesbians reported complete
exclusivity in both attraction and partners (Table 8).[1]
Quote: The continuous nature of sexual orientation was further supported
by the finding that exclusive identity categories were not entirely exclusive in
the other two sexual orientation components. Nearly half of heterosexual
women and a fifth of heterosexual men reported aspects of same-sex
sexuality, and more than half of lesbians and gay men reported aspects of
other-sex sexuality. Taken together, these data suggest that sexual
orientation is a continuously distributed characteristic and decisions to
categorize it into discrete units, regardless of how many,may be useful for
particular research questions but are ultimately external impositions that are
not consistent with reports of individuals.[1]
As with the last article, this journal article can be found at[1a].
As an example of a "continuum" of sexual preference instead of two discrete
populations (bipolar), I supply another article on bi-sexuality as related to black and
latino men[2]. In the article, the researchers discuss that many "best friends" tend
to have sex after a few beers. I believe the researchers, in this case, labeled the
men bi-sexual because of such escapades, but the current researchers, Dr.
Vrangalova et al.,might have labeled many as "mostly heterosexual."[2] Meanwhile,
Dr. Sanfort et al. do quote Kinsey et al.:
Quote: "Males do not represent two discrete populations, heterosexual and
homosexual. The world is not divided into sheep and goats. Not all things are
black nor all things white. It is a fundamental of human taxonomy that nature
rarely deals with discrete categories. Only the human mind invents
categories and tries to force facts into separated pigeon-holes. The living
world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects. The sooner we
learn this concerning human sexual behavior the sooner we shall reach a
sound understanding of the realities of sex. (p. 639)"-Kinsey, Pomeroy, &
Martin, 1948[2]
Personal Experience
This fascinates me because of my own very liberal position on sexuality, which is
the category of mostly homosexual/gay with a currently strong skewness towards
gay. I traveled from purely heterosexual to bi-curious to mostly pure gay, but I
consider myself to be, according to Dr. Vrangalova et al., mostly gay now. In truth, I
have met many heterosexual men, and many more heterosexual women, that fit
the category of mostly heterosexual, which is supported by Dr. Vrangalova's
research. I believe more women are comfortable with admitting "same-sex"
fantasies and attraction because society supports it.
As for "gay men," society tends to consider gay sex 'dirty,' but that is completely
false. First, some gay men don't engage in anal. Still, unlike most, if not all,
heterosexual couples that "experiment" with anal sex, gay men ("bottoms") prepare
for a clean environment by anal douching. When this is done properly, clear water

exits the rectum before sex is partaken. As such, heterosexuals that experiment can
actually learn from gay bottoms. By the way estimates say that 25% of college age
heterosexuals have experimented with anal sex, and that percentage correlates
with the national average[4]. As a heterosexual man, most women that I dated said
every man they dated asked to do anal, which is supported as well[8]. When I was
in the Army, heterosexual men talked about their girlfriends "surprising" them and
"slipping" a finger into their anus for prostate stimulation. How many douched
before partaking? As such, people should not condemn another. Personally, I believe
most men have tried fingering for "prostate" stimulation,and I would personally
categorize those men as "mostly heterosexual" if they continue even though they
would likely categorized themselves as exclusively heterosexual. Also, the prostate
gland is considered the male "G-spot" for a reason.
Quote: "25% of heterosexual undergraduate students have experimented
with anal sex at one point in their lives. This statistic is also consistent with
national trends for heterosexual adults."[4]
Religion
I know many "religious," perhaps even religious people that like a secret sex life
with anal, will say that the bible forbids homosexuality. In the USA, only 16% of the
population is "not affiliated" with a religion[6], and I don't expect "all" of that 16% to
be doing anal. As such, it is likely that greater than 9% of 'religious' people have
experimented with anal and many may still be partaking since other research has
shown that at least 25% of Americans have done anal. If two "religious" parents
partake in and like anal because it can be enjoyable, are they hypocrites for
disowning a "gay male" for becoming gay--especially since the homosexual decision
might be due to biological reasons? The same can be said for homophobic nonreligious parents who have liked anal, etc. In truth, any "curious" person should be
accepting even if they did not like anal, and there are many more of the world
population that have fetishes instead of anal. As an example, feet, bondage, or
golden showers ring a bell? Finally, there is much debate on whether the suspected
bibles position on homosexual activity is true or not[3;5]. As an example related to
the often cited Sodom,
Quote: Thus, the sin of the two groups of men in Sodom and Gibeah is, in
both instances, the desire to engage in homosexual rape. But there is validity
in connecting this sin to the violation of the norm of hospitality. There is
weight to the suggestion that the desire to rape the visitors is less the
expression of homosexual desire and activity per se, and more the use of
forcible homosexual rape to express dominance over the strangers. This
practice occurred in the Ancient Middle East when armies were defeated, and
it occurs today in certain all-male settings, such as prisons.[11] This is
supported by the fact that in both instances, when women were offered to
the men, both groups of men initially rejected the offer. The conclusion, more
clearly for Sodom than for Gibeah[12], is that the goal of homosexual rape is
the male inhabitants' desire to express their dominance over the
strangers.[5]
As you can see, "rape" is the concern. Like women, men, gay men as well, do not
want to be raped.

Quote: "Only a little more than a century ago, many of the very same
passages now being invoked to argue that the scriptures label homosexuality
a sin or that God cannot countenance gay marriage were used to justify not
"biblical marriage" but slavery.
Yes, the apostle Paul selected same-sex pairings as one among many possible
examples of human sin, but he also assumed that slavery was acceptable
and then did nothing to protect slaves from sexual use by their masters, a
common practice at the time. Letters attributed to him go so far as to
command slaves to obey their masters and women to obey their husbands as
if they were obeying Christ.
These passages served as fundamental proof texts to those who were arguing
that slavery was God's will and accusing abolitionists of failing to obey biblical
mandates.
It is therefore disturbing to hear some Christian leaders today claim that they
have no choice but to regard homosexuality as a sin. They do have a choice
and should be held accountable for the ones they are making."[Dr, Knust, 3]
References:
[1] Vrangalova, Zhana; Savin-Williams, Ritch C. (2012). Mostly Heterosexual and
Mostly Gay/Lesbian: Evidence for New Sexual Orientation Identities. Retrieved
(2014, Sep. 30). Arch Sex Behav[online]. 2012. vol. 41. pp. 85-101. Available from:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Mostly%20Heterosexual%20and
%20Mostly%20Gay/Lesbian:%20Evidence%20for%20New%20Sexual%20Orientation
%20Identities ; doi: 10.1007/s10508-012-9921-y
[1a] Vrangalova, Zhana. Snezana Zhana Vrangalova. Retrieved (2014, Sep. 30).
nyu.academia.edu[online]. Available from:
https://nyu.academia.edu/SnezanaZhanaVrangalova
[2] Sandfort, Theo G.M; Dodge, Brian. "...And Then There was the Down Low":
Introduction to Black and Latino Male Bisexualities. Arch Sex
Behav[online].2008.vol.37(5), pp.675-682. Available from:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2597583/?tool=pmcentrez
-Columbia University Medical Center. Columbia Psychiatry. Theodorus G.M.
Sandfort, PH.D. asp.cumc.columbia.edu[online]. 2014. Available from:
http://asp.cumc.columbia.edu/facdb/profile_list.asp?
uni=tgs2001&DepAffil=Psychiatry
[3] Harding, Chris. (2015, Feb. 02). Interpretation, The Bible, And Homosexuality.
Received (2015, Feb. 02). facebook[online]. Available from:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/chris-harding/interpretation-the-bible-andhomosexuality/10152776150348477
[4] University of Illinois Ay Urbana-Champaign. McKinley Health Center: Anal Sex:
Questions and Answers. Retrieved (2014, Sep. 22). mickinley.illinois.edu[online].
Available from: http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/handouts/anal_sex.html

[5] Haas, Guenther. HERMENEUTICAL ISSUES IN THE USE OF THE BIBLE TO JUSTIFY
THE ACCEPTANCE OF HOMOSEXUAL PRACTICE. Retrieved (2014, Sep. 19).
phc.edu[online]. Available from: http://phc.edu/gj_haas_hermen.php
[6] Pew Research. Religious Landscape Survey. Retrieved (2014, Oct. 01).
pewforum.org[online]. Available from: http://religions.pewforum.org/reports
[7] Harding, Byron. (2014, Sep. 30). Correlates of Same-Sex Sexuality in
Heterosexually Identified Young Adults. Retrieved (2014, Sep. 30). Available from:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/chris-harding/correlates-of-same-sex-sexuality-inheterosexually-identified-young-adults/10152492591103477
[8] Cosmopolitan. Anal Sex 101; Why Guys Are Obsessed. Retrieved (2014, Sep. 21).
cosmopolitan.com[online]. Available from: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sexlove/advice/g2562/anal-sex/
[9] Crew, Bec. (2014, Nov. 18). Largest study yet points to genetic factors in male
homosexuality. Retrieved (2014, Nov. 17). sciencealert[online]. Available from:
http://www.sciencealert.com/largest-study-yet-identifies-genetic-factor-inhomosexuality