Anderson, M.Z., Croteau, J.M., Chung, Y.B., & DiStefano, T.M. (2001). Developing an assessment of sexual identity management for lesbian and gay workers. Journal of Career Assessment, 9(1), 243 -- 260.
As a sexual orientation is complex and multi-dimensional, some academics and researchers specialized in these studies, claim that this is a social and historical construct. In 1976 the historian Michel Foucault argued that homosexuality is not intended as an identity existed in the eighteenth century, people then spoke of "sodomy," referring to the mere act of sex. Sodomy was a crime that was often ignored but sometimes severely punished. The term homosexual is often used by European and American cultures to envelop the entire social identity of a person, including themselves and their personality.
The above reading implies that sexual orientation is an integral part of one's personality and may vary from person to person. According to the article, sexual orientation of a person is highly influenced by social, cultural, historical and even genetical factors. In the earlier eras, human societies were much more conservative towards the idea of 'abnormal' sexual orientation and the only valid form of sexual orientation was attraction towards opposite sexes. In conservative societies, homosexuality was seen as a punishable crime and in turn it had negative implications on the personality grooming of a person. This was because a person with a sexual orientation towards same sex considered himself misfit for the society.
The author states that the word 'homosexual' was first coined by the western societies and with increased exposure of media and internet, homosexuality began to gain acceptance in liberal western societies. In contrast, the conservative school of thought has still not been able to consider homosexuality as a person's personality trait and social identity.
Britt, T.W., & Dickinson, J.M. (2006). Morale during military operations: A positive psychology approach. In A. Adler, T. Britt, & C. Castro (Eds.), Military life: The psychology of serving in peace and combat (Vol. 1, pp. 157 -- 184). Westport, CT: Praeger Security International.
"Here author tells the social problems of People with a homosexual orientation who can express their sexuality in a variety of ways and may or may not express it in their behavior. Some have sexual relations with people of their own predominant gender identity. Research indicates that many lesbians and gay men want to have, or fail to have, committed and lasting relationships. For example, some surveys indicate that between 40 and 60% of gay men and between 45 and 80% of women are currently engaged in a lesbian relationship. These data also indicate that between 18 and 28% of gay couples and between '8 and 21% of the U.S. lesbian couples have lived together for ten years or more."
I feel from The above reading that same-sex and opposite sex are equivalent in measures of satisfaction and commitment in romantic relationships, and that age and gender of sexual orientation are more reliable in predict satisfaction and commitment in the relationship so that people who are heterosexual or homosexual share expectations and ideals against a romantic relationship.
The article also implies that many people homosexual men and women also simultaneously maintain a relationship with the opposite sex. In my opinion, there can be two possible explanations for this. One possibility is that a person is bisexual and therefore feels equally satisfied with both kinds of sexual orientations and therefore finds it difficult to choose either of the two. This is usually more common in case of lesbians rather than gays. Another possible explanation is that due to social pressures of conservative school of thought, despite of having a sexual orientation towards the same sex, they maintain a relationship with the person of an opposite sex in order to make oneself acceptable in the society at large. This perception is also shared and explained by Lyons, Brennor & Fassinger (2005).
Belkin, A. (2003, Summer). Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Is the gay ban based on military necessity? Parameters, pp. 108 -- 119.
"The writer has spoken of the homosexual orientation is usually intended to be intrinsically associated with the sex of the individual. For example, it was thought that a person with people attracted to the female body would have attributes and/or masculine characteristics, and vice versa. This view was widespread of homosexuality from the mid-nineteenth to the early of the twentieth century."
This perception is in many ways coherent with the observations stated by Britt & Dickinson (2006). According to various researches, psychologists and sociologists believe that a person's sexual orientation has little to do with the physical dynamic of one's body. As a matter of fact, a person's sexual orientation is greatly dependent on the attributes and characteristics of one's personality. For example...
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