Sexuality And Gender Identity

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Sexuality is defined as “the capacity or ability to have sexual feelings” as well as “a person’s sexual orientation or preference in relation to the gender they are attracted to.”(Webster’s Dictionary, 1891) Sexual orientation also refers to a person's sense of identity-based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions.(Michael G. Shively MA & John P. De Cecco PhD 1977) However, sexuality and sexual orientation involve more than just a simple attraction and scientist believe that there are lots of genes that can influence sexual orientation. In fact, another factor that can influence one's sexual orientation is the gender issue. National Geographic dedicated a whole edition …show more content…
This is because every child is different and they find themselves and express themselves in ways that are comfortable to them. With Millennials opening their minds to a broader understanding that gender is more of a spectrum and a social construct than a binary, it is understood that gender and sex are different things with sex being determined by biological factors such as chromosomes and genetics. On average, around the age of two years, children become aware of the physical difference between boys and girls and they are able to easily label themselves (Green 1974, Tucker 1975). As kids grow older and start attending school they are likely to be influenced by other kids, and due to the fact that human beings have an inert need to belong they tend to conform to what’s happening in their surroundings (Ferguson, 1989, 2001, 2010) which could be supported by Roy Baumeister and Mark Leary (1995) who have organized evidence for this “deep need to belong”. Although gender identity and sexual orientation are distinct, gender identity helps answer the question of whether or not a child’s sexual orientation can be changed with the aid of conversion therapy. This is because gender identity is the expression of what a child feels internally however, these expressions don’t always conform with the sex they were assigned at birth. For example, a boy may express feminine characters(because of his genetics) and later have a relationship with a male (seen as gay) Conversion therapy may not be successful in the pursuit to change this child's sexual orientation because not only is he struggling with gender identity but he also acts in a way which feels right to him(because of genes). This suggests that conversion therapy cannot change something that's internal and was not a

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