The 10 types of homosexuality (and characteristics)

We live in an age where sexuality and the high level of diversity in which it can occur is becoming a valued and increasingly visible part of society.

Over the years, a level of sexual freedom unprecedented in history is being achieved. In this way, over the last decades it has started little by little (since in many cases it is still criminalizing or pathologizing) to accept the existence, make visible and protect the existence of sexual orientations different from Heterosexual. One of these orientations, the best known and until recently pursued, is the homosexuality or same-sex attraction.

Being gay or lesbian implies the existence of attraction towards people of the same biological sex as one's own. However, human sexuality is broad and diverse, and not all people who are attracted to people of the same sex experience their sexuality in the same way. That is why throughout this article we are going to see different types of homosexuality and orientations in which there may be attraction to people of the same sex.

• Related article: "The 10 main types of sexual orientation"

Homosexual, gay, lesbian

At an operational level and in a generic way, we can consider homosexuality as attraction towards people of the same sex. In other words, if you are a man you are attracted to men and if you are a woman you like women. As a general rule, this interest in individuals of the same sex occurs both on a sexual and romantic level.

Although the term gay can be used to speak of both homosexual men and women, as a general rule it is Gay men are called homosexuals while lesbian is understood to be the woman who is attracted to women.

But as stated above, sexuality is not something homogeneous that can be labeled in a fixed and restrictive way. Not all gays and lesbians are in the same way or live their sexuality in the same way. In fact, same-sex attraction can even appear without the person's sex itself being the core of sexual interest. Let's see different typologies below.

• We recommend you read: "The Kinsey Scale: Are We All Bisexual?"

Types of homosexuality according to the experience of one's own orientation

The attraction to people of the same sex can be experienced differently according to the circumstances and the personality of each individual.

In this sense we can find two types of homosexuality, depending on how one's sexuality is lived as something positive or is rejected by the person himself. You can also contemplate the possibility that a person does not know their true orientation and ends up discovering it over the years.

1. Egosyntonic homosexuality

Most of the homosexual population lives their sexuality as something self-syntonic, that is, as something with which they are in tune and is part of them.

Your urges and desires are perceived as positive, pleasant, and satisfying. In other words, they have their sexual orientation well integrated into their lives, seeing homosexuality as something normal about which they should not be ashamed. It is the type of individuals who seek or want social integration and the normalization of their orientation.

2. Egodystonic homosexuality

Gays, lesbians and bisexuals can now express their existence and their tastes with relative normality. However, throughout history homosexuality has been frowned upon and even persecuted, instilling in the collective imagination the thought that being attracted to someone of the same sex is something negative, despicable and that must be hidden or even eliminated.

This type of thinking has been passed down through the generations, still in force today in the thinking of some people. There are countries where gays and lesbians are persecuted and attacked with impunity for their orientation without them being protected by law, and in others an accusation of being one can even lead to the death penalty. Even in a society like ours, being homosexual can cause rejection by family or friends, difficulties at work, bullying at school or at work, and even assaults.

This set of elements can make some men and women live their sexuality in an aversive way, being ashamed of their tastes and desires, hiding that part of themselves and even attacking those who live their orientation as something normal. Because of this, these people have a high level of life dissatisfaction and a high level of frustration. In many cases they decide to lead a typically heterosexual life, sometimes having sporadic relationships with their true object of desire that they live with shame. It is not uncommon for anxiety disorders to appear or mood, as well as substance abuse.

3. Latent homosexuality

Most gays and lesbians have taken a while to discover and come to terms with their sexual orientation. Keep in mind that most of the population is heterosexual and has been educated in a way in which heterosexuality is seen as normative.

Therefore, it is not uncommon to think throughout development that we will like people of the opposite sex. It is generally during adolescence, the stage in which the first relationships of a romantic and sexual nature begin, the moment in which that one's orientation is defined towards a concrete object of desire (be it of the opposite sex or same).

In some cases, people assume that they are heterosexual because it is the most common, without ever questioning their preferences. However, at a given moment a person of the same sex can draw her attention and cause the subject to end up discovering that deep down they have a preference for people of the same sex. These would be people who have not denied homosexuality, but have never considered being so.

Sometimes it can overlap with an egodystonic homosexuality that the subject has tried to hide. The knowledge of one's homosexuality can be a liberating factor for the person, although According to the beliefs and situation of each subject, it can also involve great pain and feelings of guilt.

Homosexuality according to the level of exclusivity

Often people tend to catalog the tastes and preferences of the population in a dichotomous way: either you are heterosexual or you are homosexual. They also put a middle ground, bisexuality. However, as we have already said, human sexuality is dynamic and fluid, with a large number of situations in between.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Kingsley created a seven-level scale to try to unlink and unseat the idea of ​​a completely closed and invariable heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality, developing a continuum between heterosexuality and homosexuality exclusive.

Below we indicate those scales in which same-sex attraction appears.

5. Exclusive homosexuality

This category refers to the gay population that is only sexually attracted to people of the same sex, not being sexually stimulating to people of the opposite sex.

6. Predominantly heterosexual with frequent homosexual contacts

This type of individual is mostly attracted to people of the opposite sex, but He is also attracted to numerous people from the same as his own. It could be considered a form of bisexuality with a tendency towards heterosexual relationships.

7. Mainly heretosexual with sporadic homosexual contacts

These are heterosexual people who feel sexual activation and attraction to certain people of the same sex, maintaining carnal relations with them.

Types according to the type of existing attraction

When we think of a gay man or a lesbian woman, a person who feels physically and emotionally attracted to people of the same sex comes to mind. However, it's not always like that.

Although it is not the most common, sometimes it is possible to find people who are only attracted in a sexual or emotional way by people of the same gender.

8. Affective-sexual attraction

It is the most common type of attraction, and what is generally imagined when talking about homosexuality. In these cases the person will feel an interest in people of the same sex, both at the level of physical desire and at the level of emotional bond.

9. Only sexual attraction

This type of attraction assumes that the person will feel a sexual interest in people of the same sex, but this attraction is not transferred to the affective field. The person can be sexually homosexual but affectively heterosexual.

10. Only affective attraction

It is possible to find cases of individuals who feel a romantic inclination towards people of the same sex, but said inclination does not include any type of sexual desire. It can be about heterosexual people who fall in love with a person of the same sex without ceasing to be so.

There can also be a general interest in the same sex without feeling sexual desire (as we will see subsequently, it may be the case of asexual people who are romantically attracted to people of the same sex).

Other sexual orientations in which there may be same-sex attraction

Human sexuality is very diverse and varied. What produces desire and excitement in us, what makes us fall in love and what makes us choose the person we love can vary enormously and, as we have seen, it may not be exclusive.

Although the essential characteristic of homosexuality is the fact that there is affective-sexual attraction for people of the same sex is not exclusive to this sexual orientation, there being different sexualities in which it can Appear. Some of them are as follows.

Bisexuality

Considered by many people as a sexual orientation that is found at the midpoint between heterosexuality and homosexuality (Although there may be preferences towards one or the other), bisexuality is conceptualized as sexual attraction towards people of both the same and opposite sex. Thus, both men and women can be of interest to these people.

Sporadic heterosexual contacts

This category includes all those bisexual people who, although they mainly feel attracted to people of the same sex, occasionally have a desire for some people of the same sex opposite.

Frequent heterosexual contacts

There are people who, although as a general rule they are attracted to people of the same sex, they also feel stimulated and attracted to people of the opposite sex. It could be considered a form of bisexuality with a tendency towards homosexual relationships.

Pansexuality

Pansexuality It is defined as sexual attraction towards specific people regardless of their gender. Although by its definition it can be confused with bisexuality, in the case of pansexuals the attraction ignores the nuance. It is not that these people are attracted to both men and women, but that both sex and gender identity are elements that are not taken into account.

It will be other aspects that will attract the attention of the pansexual, appearing the attraction to other characteristics such as personality. In this way, they can initiate relationships with people of both the same and opposite sex.

Polysexuality

This category refers to people who are attracted to people because of their gender identity, not your sex. The attraction is towards groups and collectives with a specific gender identity, regardless of whether they are men or women.

Homoromantic heterosexuality / heteroromantic homosexuality

While it cannot be fully considered a type of sexual orientation, to understand this differentiation it is necessary to take into account the difference between sexual orientation and orientation romantic Although they generally go hand in hand, there are cases in which people who are sexually attracted to a specific sex on an emotional and romantic level only feel linked to the opposite.

In other words, the sexual desire is directed towards one sex and the romantic towards the other. It does not refer to a specific infatuation with someone of the opposite sex to our sexual preference, but rather to a continuous condition in which the affective and the instinctual are dissociated. Thus, we could find heterosexuals who fall in love with people of the same sex or homosexuals who do the same with people of the opposite sex.

Asexuality

While the asexuality It is defined by the absence of sexual desire of any kind, this does not imply that people with this type of sexual orientation cannot develop emotional ties of a romantic nature.

That is to say, that they are not sexually attracted or interested in sexual aspects does not mean that they cannot fall in love. And this infatuation can occur towards people both of the opposite sex (heteroromantic asexual) and of the same sex as one's own (homoromantic asexuality).