Sexual orientation refers to a long-term pattern of romantic and sexual attraction to women, men, and/or people of other genders, or even those who are not sexually attracted to anyone.

Sexual orientation is commonly defined as having several components, of which the major dimensions are:

1) Sexual attraction – the interest you may have in other people that is of a sexual nature, which could be influenced by gender, physical features, and/or personality traits.

2) Sexual behavior – actions of a sexual nature which involve others, such as oral sex.

3) Sexual identity – how you think of yourself in terms of your sexuality, the label you adopt to signify to others your sexual orientation.

Other components could include sexual fantasies (the types of sexual acts you may imagine) and social relationships. For some people, these components all match up (e.g. a woman who is sexually and romantically attracted to women, has been sexually intimate with women, and considers herself to be someone who loves women). For others, these may not always match (e.g. a man who is sexually attracted to men but only has sex with women due to societal convention).

It is important to keep in mind that all of these components are fluid for some people and have been known to change over time.

While the list of sexual orientations is ever-expanding, let’s look at five common sexual orientations:

1. Heterosexual – when a person is romantically and sexually attracted to someone of the opposite sex.
2. Homosexual – when a person is romantically and sexually attracted to someone of the same sex.
3. Bisexual – when a person is romantically and sexually attracted to two sexes, e.g. a man who enjoys having sex with either a man or a woman.
4. Pan Sexual – when a person is romantically and sexually attracted to a person regardless of their gender or sex, and may include those who are considered transgender.
5. Asexual –  when a person exhibits no sexual attraction toward anyone or considers themselves free from and unaffected by sexual desire.

Identity 

A commonly used acronym to identify and refer to a group of individuals of non-heteronormative sexual orientations is “LGBTIQA+”. While this acronym does include people of non-heteronormative sexual orientations, it also includes those of diverse gender identity and sex characteristics.

• L: Lesbian – a woman who is romantically and sexually attracted to other women. The term Lesbian is derived from the Greek isle of Lesbos, which is the birthplace of the ancient Greek poet Sappho, who lived circa 6th century BCE, whose poetry has been interpreted as expressing love and desire for other women.
• G: Gay – a man who is romantically and sexually attracted to other men. The use of the term to refer to the identity of homosexual men reportedly emerged in the mainstream with the Stonewall Gay Rights Movement in late 1960s.
• B: Bisexual – a person who is attracted to both men and women.
• T: Transgender – a collective umbrella term to refer to people who are in the process of transforming their gender identity.
• I: Intersex – a person born with diverse sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies”.
• Q: Questioning and Queer – Questioning generally refers to a person who is exploring their sexuality and Queer generally refers to a person who has a sexual identity that isn’t heterosexual or a gender identity that isn’t cisgender, and also a person who chooses to reject other labels.
• A: Asexual – a person who is not sexually attracted to another person.

The Kinsey Scale of Sexual Behaviour suggests that some of us may exhibit bisexual Behaviour, giving rise to discussions around circumstantial bisexuality – same sex encounters within same sex environments such as schools and prisons – and sexual fluidity. These discussions are especially uncomfortable as they don’t allow for specific labels and boxes.

In 2021, the medical community led by the Sri Lanka College of Psychiatrists and the Sri Lanka College of Community Physicians called for the decriminalizing of same sex relationships, and reiterated the World Health Organization stance that non-heteronormative sexual orientations are not mental illnesses.