Discuss the concept of sexual orientation as presented in the textbook

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: Sexual orientation is defined in the textbook as the prevalence of erotic arousals, feelings, fantasies, and behavior, and is divided into sexual attractions, sexual behavior, or sexual identity. Almost all individuals find something sexually attractive. Generally there is a particular type of person for which they have feelings, thoughts, and sexual desires. They don’t necessarily act on it and it is clearly quite separate from how they identify themselves. Sexual behavior is quite straightforward. Many people act on what they find attractive. This does not always involve genital contact or orgasm, but it does involve some sexual feelings and perceptions. Generally people have some sort of sexual identity. The most obvious identities are straight, bi, lesbian or gay, and there is a host of associations they, their families, and society places on those identities. There are cross-cultural differences in how these three aspects of sex interact. One example from the book is that in Native American cultures there are still a variety of ways of construing someone who is not clearly stereotypically male of female. In some Native American cultures, an individual can have a spiritual-sexual identity in which they have relations with both men and women and they are considered blessed.