Sexual Orientation & Relationship Complexities

1. Sexual Orientation & Relationship Complexities

2. I. Sexual Orientation • Sexual Identity: achieved by seeing oneself as a sexual • being, recognizing one's sexual orientation, coming to terms • with sexual desires, and forming romantic or sexual • attachments. B. Sexual Orientation:focus of consistent sexual, romantic, and affectionate interest, either heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. C. Biological arguments for homosexuality… 1) Hypothalamus Evidence 2) Right Hemisphere Evidence 3) Twin Studies

3. D. The Discomfort Levels Among Heterosexuals When Around Homosexuals E. Exotic Becomes Erotic Theory:individuals can become romantically or erotically attracted to individuals whom they view as different or exotic from that of the norm.

4. Differences between men and women regarding preferences for various sexual acts.

5. Desired number of sexual partners over the course of one’s lifetime.

6. II. Relationship Complexities A. Sexual Inadequacy:a broad term used in reference to the inability to effectively function sexually due to physical or psychological problems, a perception of sexual inexperience (often when compared relative to a partner), or the belief that one is not worthy of sexual activity in general or with a particular person. • Several investigators have suggested that psychological • aspects of sexual inadequacy and jealousy are rooted in low • self-esteem or insecurities about self-worth. B. Infidelity 1) Males exhibit more distress to sexual than to emotional infidelity, while females exhibit more distress to emotional rather than to sexual infidelity.

7. C. Time Travelling Infidelity! 1) Men are more likely to feel threatened by a woman’s rich sexual past, while women are more likely to feel threatened by a man’s rich emotional closeness with a past partner or partners. D. Self-Disclosure:revealing important information about oneself to another. 1) Disclosure Reciprocity:the tendency for one person’s intimacy or self-disclosure to match that of a conversational partner. An overlapping of selves… You become part of me and I become part of you.

8. E. Exchange/Equity Relationships:we seek relationships with people with whom we feel we can make equitable transactions of goods and services and that the rewards and costs experienced are roughly equal. 1) Overbenefited:getting a lot of rewards, incurring few costs, having to devote little time or energy to the relationship. 2) Underbenefited: getting few rewards, incurring a lot of costs, having to devote a lot of time and energy to the relationship. 3) Comparison Level: people’s expectations about the level of rewards and costs they are likely to receive in a particular relationship. 4) Comparison Level for Alternatives: people’s expectations about the level of rewards and costs they would receive in an alternative relationship.