Returning to the Genderbread Person, according to them Biological sex “refers to the objectively measurable organs, hormones, and chromosomes. Female = vagina, ovaries, XX chromosomes; male = penis, testes, XY chromosomes; intersex = a combination of the two.”(1)
Other aspects of gender as defined on the Genderbread Person, however, are far less straight-forward.(2) Gender identity and gender expression come immediately to mind, as I’ve noted before. (3)(4)
That’s why as I sat down to write this, I really didn’t know where the Genderbread Person’s last category, “Sexual Orientation” would fit in. I should have known things would get complicated when I saw that a later version of the Genderbread Person had it labeled “Sexual Attraction.”. (That, and I was on deadline. These things always get complicated when I’m on deadline.)
For now, let’s stick with sexual orientation.
Wikipedia defines it as: “an enduring personal quality that inclines people to feel romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender.”(5) While KidsHealth.org says it’s “the emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction that a person feels toward another person.”(6)
I especially like the KidsHealth citation. It allows that sexual attraction is part of sexual orientation. Not only is this simpler to understand, it’s also less to write. (Did I mention I’m stressing about being on deadline?)
There are, naturally, different names for different types of attraction:
(All of these definitions come from “International+LGBT: LGBT Terms and Definitions.”(7) Any number after the definition itself refers to an “Unbroken Raina Thought” that discusses that topic more in depth.)
Asexual: A person who generally does not feel sexual attraction or desire to any group of people. Asexuality is not the same as celibacy.
Bisexual: A person who is attracted to both people of their own gender and another gender.(8)
Gay: A person who is attracted primarily to members of the same sex. Although it can be used for any sex (e.g. gay man, gay woman, gay person).(9)
Heterosexual: A person who is only attracted to members of the opposite sex. Also called “straight."
Lesbian: A woman who is primarily attracted to other women.(10)
Pansexual: A person who experiences sexual, romantic, physical, and/or spiritual attraction for members of all gender identities/expressions, not just people who fit into the standard gender binary (i.e. men and women).(11)
And that pretty much seems to cover it, doesn’t it? But then there’s that second version of the Genderbread Person I mentioned. The one with “Sexual Attraction,” instead of “Sexual Orientation.”
On version 2.0, orientation is not only relabeled as attraction, but it’s explained differently as well.(12) Instead of just a discussion of chromosomes, it looks at traditional labels like, “men,” “female” and “masculinity” on a sliding scale. And while this might be terribly inconvenient for writers in a hurry, It has the benefit of more accurately reflecting what’s actually happening in the real world.
For instance:
* “Dr. Lisa Diamond notes that romantic love and sexual desire are fundamentally distinct experiences that evolved for different reasons. Sexual desire evolved to promote survival of the species through procreation. Romantic love evolved from the bond between infants and their parents… Thus, there is no biological requirement that romantic love and sexual desire be in agreement.”(13)
* “A person’s sexual orientation can change throughout their lifetime… Research has shown that many youth who ultimately come out as gay experienced both opposite-sex and same-sex attractions during childhood and adolescence… But when opposite-sex attractions fade or disappear, they later identity as gay or lesbian.”(13) Also, “Some adults who have historically experienced only same-sex or other-sex attractions find themselves having one or more experiences that expands their sexuality as they grow older.”(13)
* Some gay men are attracted to straight men. Why? Theories vary, but one psychotherapist finds explanations in Internalized homophobia, pursuing “forbidden fruit,” straight men’s representation of authority and father figures, and even a need for a sense of belonging and masculinity.(14)
* Gynandromorphophilia: An eight syllable word that would take up an entire line of a typical Dr. Seuss book. Maybe that’s why it’s also been called, gynemimetophilia -- so Dr. Seuss would have another eight-syllable word that rhymes for later on. Either way, however, it’s the sexual preference for male-assigned people who look or act like women, including crossdressed men and trans women. The term “men sexually interested in transwomen” (MSTW) has also been used to describe the phenomenon among men.(15) Making it even more confounding: “In a survey of 205 men with a sexual interest in transwomen, 51 percent identified as straight, 41 percent called themselves bisexual and a piddling six men ID’d as gay.”(16)
And the list goes on.
From examples above, it would seem every type of human attraction has a label or a study somewhere. As gender-equality activist Mariella Frostrup once wrote, “There are few surprises left in the terrain of the human heart.”(17) All those eight-syllable words have to come from somewhere.
And yet I return to the Genderbread Man v2.0, where it notes there are “infinite possible...combos.” And while I doubt that’s true -- there are only 6.3 billion people on the planet, I do think everyone is unique.
Indeed, as I look over Genderbread Person v2.0 further, I can see that on every definition -- biological sex, gender identity and gender expression -- they’ve changed all of them to a sliding scale with infinite possible combinations.(12)
So much for my deadline.
References
1) Clttering Bones: Queer Terminology 102
http://www.clatteringbones.com/category/terminology/
2) It’s pronounced metrosexual: The Genderbread Person
http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2012/01/the-genderbread-person/
3) RainaBowe.weebly.com: When it comes to gender, a different identity doesn’t mean a confused one.
http://rainabowe.weebly.com/unbroken-raina-thoughts/january-12th-2014
4) RainaBowe.weebly.com: Pink mugs and “Pocahantas on Ice”: A story of gender expression
http://rainabowe.weebly.com/unbroken-raina-thoughts/pink-mugs-and-pocahontas-on-ice-a-story-of-gender-expression
5) Wikipedia: Sexual Orientation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_orientation
6) KidsHealth.org: Sexual Attraction and Orientation
http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/guys/sexual_orientation.html
7) International+LGBT: LGBT Terms and Definitions
http://internationalspectrum.umich.edu/life/definitions
http://rainabowe.weebly.com/unbroken-raina-thoughts/switch-on-the-acdc-and-turn-on-the-lights-bisexuals-are-here-really
9) RainaBowe.weebly.com: How America got its gay on
http://rainabowe.weebly.com/unbroken-raina-thoughts/how-america-got-its-gay-on
10) RainaBowe.weebly.com: Call them “gay,” call them “lesbian,” just don’t call them a voyeur.
http://rainabowe.weebly.com/unbroken-raina-thoughts/call-them-gay-call-them-lesbian-just-dont-call-them-as-a-voyeur
11) RainaBowe.weebly.com: Spanning the globe and counting the genders
http://rainabowe.weebly.com/unbroken-raina-thoughts/panning-the-globe-and-counting-genders
12) It’s pronounced metrosexual: The Genderbread Person v2.0
http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2012/03/the-genderbread-person-v2-0/
13) Your Sexual Orientation: Seven Myths about Sexual Orientation
http://www.yoursexualorientation.info/Sexual_Orientation_Myths.php
14) Huffington Post: Why Some Gay Men Are Attracted to Straight Men
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-kort-phd/why-some-gay-men-are-attracted-to-straight-men_b_4453726.html
15) Wikipedia: Attraction to transgender people
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attraction_to_transgender_people
16) Salon: What’s behind transsexual attraction?
http://www.salon.com/2011/10/21/whats_behind_transsexual_attraction/
17) The Guardian: I'm a gay man, but now I am feeling attracted to women
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jul/21/gay-man-attracted-to-women