Sexual Orientation: Meaning, Types, and Key Differences
Sexual orientation describes a person’s enduring pattern of romantic, emotional, and sexual attraction and how it differs from gender identity and behavior.
Sexual orientation describes a person’s enduring pattern of romantic, emotional, and sexual attraction and how it differs from gender identity and behavior.
Embodied self is a person’s experience of identity through the body, including sensation, movement, body image, emotions, boundaries, and physical awareness.
Sexual expression is the way a person communicates or experiences sexuality through identity, language, appearance, affection, creativity, relationships, or behavior.
Sexual identity is how a person understands and describes themselves in relation to sexual attraction, orientation, desire, relationships, and sexuality.
Romantically rigid describes an inflexible approach to romantic expectations, roles, or relationship patterns, often with little willingness to adapt.
Romantic attraction is the feeling of being drawn toward someone as a possible romantic partner, which may occur with or without sexual attraction.
Romantically open describes willingness or agreement to form romantic connections beyond one exclusive partnership, or emotional readiness to pursue romance.
Romantically flexible describes an adaptable approach to romantic preferences, expectations, or relationships without necessarily indicating a changing orientation.
Romantic-fixed describes a romantic orientation or general pattern of attraction experienced as relatively stable rather than fluid over time.
Romantically exclusive describes an agreement to reserve romantic partnership or intimacy for one partner, whether or not sexual exclusivity is also required.