Heterosexual Legal Meaning
A 2-year study conducted by Lisa M. Diamond on a sample of 80 non-heterosexual adolescent girls (aged 16 to 23) found that half of the participants had changed their sexual minority identity more than once, a third of them during a 2-year follow-up. Diamond concluded that «although sexual attraction appears fairly stable, sexual identities and behaviors are more fluid.» [47] There was no need to invent a term like heterosexual until there was something else to contrast and compare. Jonathan Ned Katz dates the definition of heterosexuality as it is used today to the late 19th century. [51] According to Katz, Victorian sex was considered a means of procreation, and gender relations were not considered overtly sexual. The body was seen as a tool of reproduction, «human energy, although as a closed and severely limited system, should be used to produce children and work, and not be wasted on libidinal pleasures.» [51] According to several large studies, 89% to 98% of people have had only heterosexual contact in their lifetime; [22] [23] [24] [25] But this percentage drops to 79-84% when one or both homosexual attractions and behaviors are reported. [25] Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behaviour between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is «an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic and/or sexual attraction» to people of the opposite sex; It also «refers to a person`s sense of identity, based on these attractions, related behaviors, and the community belonging of other people who share these attractions.» [1] [2] A heterosexual person is usually referred to as heterosexual. Gender – (noun) a combination of physical characteristics, including chromosomes, hormones, internal and external reproductive organs, secondary sex characteristics, and gender identity.
Most people are assigned male or female at birth based on the appearance of their external genitalia. Gender reassignment surgery/SRS – A term used by some healthcare professionals to refer to a group of surgical options that alter a person`s biological sex. «Sexual confirmation surgery» is considered by many to be an affirmative term. In most cases, one or more operations are required to obtain legal recognition of gender variance. Some refer to different surgical procedures as «high» surgery and «lower» surgery to discuss the type of surgery they have without having to be more explicit. Comparisons of lesbians or gays with parallel groups. When comparing one group of gays or lesbians with others, parallel terms were not always used. For example, juxtaposing lesbians with «the general public» or «normal women» portrays lesbians as marginal in society. The most appropriate comparison groups could be «heterosexual women», «heterosexual men and women» or «gay men and heterosexual women and men». Hetero- comes from the Greek word ἕτερος [héteros], meaning «other part» or «other»[11], which is used in science as a prefix meaning «different»; [12] and the Latin word for gender (i.e., characteristic gender or sexual differentiation).
The term sexual orientation is preferred to sexual preference for psychological writing and refers to the sexual and emotional relationships of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual people. The word preference suggests a degree of voluntary choice that is not necessarily reported by lesbians and gays and has not been proven in psychological research. The word can be informally shortened[18] to «straight». [19] The term heterosexual originated in the mid-20th century. It is used as a gay slang term for heterosexuals, which ultimately comes from the phrase «walking straight» (as in «right and near») or stop engaging in same-sex relationships. One of the first uses of the word in this way was in 1941 by author G. W. Henry. [20] Henry`s book dealt with conversations with gay men and used this term in relation to people identified as ex-gays.
It is now simply a colloquial term for «heterosexual» that has changed over time in its main meaning. Some reject the use of the term precisely because it implies that non-heteros are crooked. [21] Heterosexism is a form of prejudice or discrimination in favour of sexuality and opposite-sex relationships. This may involve the assumption that everyone is heterosexual and may involve various types of discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, heteroflexible or transgender people. For the most part, religious traditions around the world limit marriage to heterosexual unions, but there are exceptions, including some Buddhist and Hindu traditions, Unitarian Universalists, the Metropolitan Community Church, some Anglican and Quaker dioceses, the United Church of Canada, and Reformed and Conservative Jewish communities. [53] [54] Almost all religions believe that legal sexual relations between a man and a woman are allowed, but there are some that believe it is a sin, such as The Shakers, The Harmony Society, and The Ephrata Cloister. These religions tend to view all sexual relations as a sin and promote celibacy. Some religions require celibacy for certain roles, such as Catholic priests; However, the Catholic Church also considers heterosexual marriage sacred and necessary. [55] Factors associated with the development of heterosexual orientation include genes, prenatal hormones and brain structure, as well as their interaction with the environment. Katz argues that modern ideas of sexuality and eroticism began to develop in America and Germany in the late 19th century.
The transformation of the economy and the «transformation of the family from producer to consumer»[51] have led to changes in values.