Degrees of sexual orientation

[nandm]

Mattcake started a thread on bisexuality and it brought to mind the argument essay I had to write for my writing class this past week as it states my thoughts on sexuality and orientation. Rather than highjack his thread I thought I would open a discussion here by presenting my essay to you.

Degrees of Sexual Orientation

As the parent of a lesbian daughter I have often wondered about the range of sexual orientation.Ok, I was a chicken here and did not want to admit to the class that I am gay. My daughter is gay though so this is not a lie. In today’s society there are many theories on this topic that range from the belief that heterosexuality is the only normal orientation and anything else is a disorder, to the belief that there are basically three types of sexual orientation all of which are normal. Being raised in a strict Southern Baptist household I am familiar with the conservative Christian beliefs which typically fall into the extreme of any sexual orientation besides heterosexuality is abnormal and therefore wrong. Over the years I have developed my own beliefs through experience, reading, and a lot of listening. I believe that sexuality spans a wide spectrum, similar to how colors range in a spectrum. There is not just one, two, or three types of sexual orientation rather sexual orientation can fall anywhere on the spectrum which ranges from the 100% heterosexual to the 100% transsexual.

Many conservative Christians, evangelical Christians, Roman Catholic’s, and some other denominations strongly believe that the only normal sexual orientation is heterosexuality. I am by no means slamming or wanting anyone to slam religious people as that is not my point here so please let us not make this discussion a religious war ) They base these beliefs on basically 5 different Biblical passages. They include but are not limited to the following. Genesis 1 and 2, Genesis 19, Leviticus 18:19-22 and 20:1-18, Romans 1, I Corinthians 6:9, and Timothy 1:9-10.

Genesis 1 and 2, which explains the origin of humanity with the story of Adam and Eve, no where is it written in these chapters that this is the only form of sexual orientation. Genesis 19, which recounts the gang rape of an entire community of male citizens against two strangers within their gates. Rape is not a gay crime. It is a crime based on anger, hatred, control, and cruelness regardless of who is involved in the rape.

Leviticus 18:19-22 and 20:1-18, which is concerned with keeping the Israelites a distinct and separate people as they go out free from the bonds of slavery into other lands. Leviticus is a Holiness Code not a guide for all of humanity. It is aimed at the Israelite Priests.

Romans 1 in which Paul addresses the origin and consequences of idolatry within the Gentile nation. Paul shows the progression of the sinful state beginning with idolatry which lead the people to be filled with wickedness causing them to become ruthless, faithless, murderous, malicious, and God hating.

I Corinthians 6:9 and I Timothy 1:9-10 which do not contain the word homosexual in any ancient manuscripts of the Bible or in any of the translations prior to the 20th century. The two words that have been mistranslated to infer male homosexuality include Arsenokoites and Malakos. There is no reliable historic certainty on the word Arsenkoites as there’s no recorded appearance of the word prior to Paul’s usage and contemporary with and after Paul, appears only in lists of other vices and not within context where a definition can be exacted. Malakos was a common word used to describe one who was soft in character or effeminate. This could include men who bathed too often, enjoyed gourmet foods, laughed frequently, or had a smaller bone structure. There are many words that were accessible to Paul to describe homo-erotic acts but he chose not to use them.1 The use of the typical Biblical passages to justify the belief that there is only one normal or natural form of sexuality, heterosexuality, is not justified when these passages are studied further and put into context.

Unlike the conservative Christian views discussed above many liberal, progressive Christians as well as secularists, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and sexuality researchers, mental health professionals, and others believe that there are three normal or natural types of sexual orientation. These types are broken down as follows. Heterosexual: a person who is attracted only to persons of the opposite sex. Homosexual: a person who is sexually attracted only to members of the same sex. And bisexual: attracted both women and men, although not necessarily to the same degree. Although I tend to more closely relate to this belief, I still see it as not inclusive enough to actually cover human sexuality and orientation.

I have become convinced that sexuality is more fluid than either of the previous beliefs allows it to be. Let’s consider the spectrum of sexuality that I propose. First the 100% heterosexual; this is a person who is someone who is exclusively attracted to the opposite sex. They have trouble appreciating the beauty that individuals of their own sex exhibit. The 75% heterosexual; this person is very much attracted to the opposite sex but is still able to appreciate and admire the beauty of someone of the same sex. The 50% heterosexual; this person can appreciate and is attracted equally to both sexes. The 75% homosexual; this person is very much attracted to the same sex but is still able to appreciate and admire the beauty in people of the opposite sex. The 100% homosexual; this individual is strictly attracted to the same sex and has difficulty appreciating or seeing the beauty of the opposite sex. The 50% transsexual; this individual is attracted to both sexes but feels as though he/she has a body that is not the correct sex. The 75% transsexual; this individual is mainly attracted to the same sex, appreciates and admires the opposite sex, but struggles with the feeling that they are in the wrong sexed body. The 100% transsexual; this individual is attracted only to the same sex and feels they are in the wrong sexed body.

I believe that my theory is a more accurate portrayal of human sexuality. Just as colors on the color spectrum blend into each other with fluidity so does human sexuality. There is no just black and white but rather a range of sexuality as individual as the variety of skin tones present in different individuals. Limiting something as important and defining as sexuality to an either or black and white type thinking only promotes discrimination, intolerance, and judgment on all sides of the sexual orientation spectrum.




1 http:http://www.inherit-the-kingdom.org/b...snokoites.html

References:

http:http://www.inherit-the-kingdom.org/b...snokoites.html

The Holy Bible: King James Version

ReligiousTolerance.org

Biblical Ethics and Homosexuality Edited by Robert L. Brawley

Informal polling of a variety of individuals

[MCake]

Thanks for a very interesting read, Judith.

I was raised a Catholic, which made for an interesting experience. Let's just say that my memories of sunday school are not good; to be honest, though, I went out of my way to ruffle feathers, so I probably deserved being labeled an "impossible troublemaker" as one of the people in charge called me. In time, though, my relationship with my ex-religion changed from outspoken hostility to tolerance.

Your analysis of the bible references is really informative. And it just goes to show that it's possible to interpret the writing in different ways.

I agree with the spectrum of sexuality theory. As usual, categorizing people with labels seems to be a dangerous game to play; it leads to assumptions, stereotypes and misunderstandings. I think that applies to all labels: "catholic", "alcoholic", "straight"... Yeah, maybe these words are necessary in everyday life, but they still make me wary... Just call me by my first name, and leave it at that Disclaimer, though: I'm extremely flaky

[Live]

What a well written and researched work, NandM.
And not that it matter, but I believe exactly as you do re:the fluidity of sexulaity!

BRAVO!

[freya]

Thanks for sharing that, Nandm!

I, too, have found this to be true -- at least insofar as the entire range of human experience as related to sex and gender is concerned. As far as any given individual goes, it seems to me like the level of "fluidity" can vary hugely from one person to another and can also change over time for any one person. In other words, some people seem to authentically be able to express a wide range of sex and gender behaviors and others seem able to express authentically within a much narrower range. Of course, due to the tremendous baggage that our culture attaches to issues of sex and gender, it's also very, very difficult to know when and how much of the "narrowness" is related to things like fear, conformity and/or ignorance and when and how much of the "wideness" is nothing more than an over-reaction against those same cultural limitations.

Like for instance, I would be willing to bet my last dollar that most people would be open to a lot more sexual experimentation/exploration, at least early on in their lives, if the culture was more sex-positive...while, on the other hand, I have also known more than a few sex-and/or-gender activists who were so over-the-edge when it came to having any kind of consistent sex and/or gender identity that they struck me as being more about shocking others and creating chaos than about discovering, expressing, and being anything fundamentally real and true about themselves.

There's a really fun sex and gender continuum excercise that I know I shared with some other members on this site several years ago. I can't figure out how to format it so it looks right when it shows up on the thread...but it lists 7 catgories like sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, etc..... with continuum lines beneath each category, so that people can think about where they personally fall in the continuum for each category. (If anyone's good at the tech stuff, I could e-mail it to someone as an attachment and maybe you could figure out how to get it to post properly???)

It's just kinda interesting and thought-provoking to take a highlighter and highlight the ranges in each section that are true for you -- and it's even more fun as a conversation starter if you get a bunch of people to do it together -- almost as much fun as talking about religion or politics!!!!!!!

freya