Is sexuality even real?

Firstly, Thank you, Neoteric, for posing us this question. I love when the forums have fun questions like this in them.

Secondly, I feel like this is going to be a thread that could very easily lead to controversy, and I hope all posters on this thread share their opinions nicely. As for my personal opinion on this topic, I believe that there is no true answer to your inquiry.

Whether the world is black and white, or shades of gray is completely up to the interpretation of those who exist in it. If you only acknowledge people or things to have certain values, then to you, the person is only made up of those values.

As for the naming of sexuality matter; I think it's a necessary evil.

 

I don't that there is one set definition and that everyone is a shade of gray on a black and white spectrum. I think that it's up to a person's individual interpretation to determine what bisexual, gay, lesbian, etc. are, based on what values they *believe* that said individual would have. Like Batman stated, there's not going to be one right answer, and thus you'll wind up with a lot of debate and controversy where two people differ in opinions and values.

 

Agreed. It is black and white for some people. So of course sexuality is real.

 

Corresponding opinions are the best.

As for the necessary evil bit, while I don't think the extremely definitive labels for sexuality in our language are especially efficient, fair, or inclusive, it makes it much easier to file and categorize people, as our brains love to do. I think it's a tad inevitable in setups such as that of modern humanity. (And they certainly make dating profiles simpler to fill out)

 

"Homosexual" means merely that "a person who is attracted to other people of the same gender." You're not getting rid of the definition by removing the immediate label; it's no more or less real because you say it in one word rather than a sentence.

It's not anything particularly special to give a single name to sexualities, like any other complex idea. We'd be pretty stunted as communicators if we could only use the basic words of a language and repeatedly give long explanations instead of single, identifying words.

 

I believe that sexuality is a continuum rather than a clearly-defined set of possibilities, but that doesn't mean it's not real. The way we talk about it may be oversimplified, but I think it still works.

 

My question: what is real and what is not? Do we even exist? There is really no way of knowing.

I don't mean to be disrespectful in any way, but asking if sexuality is real is really sort of like asking this: if a toadstool eats a chocolate, will it grow wings? No one knows, because no one even understands the question.

 

OP's question was valid.

 

I think the attraction is real. I wasn't there, but I'm guessing there probably was greek men who strongly preferred men. They may even have had wives and children but that is still not that uncommon today. Sexuality I believe is a continuum to a degree with some people more on one side or the other.

And labels are produced to describe something (that exists).

 

Is anything even real? not really, but that doesnt stop it being real enough to me

 

My sexuality is pretty black and white and very real , I always notice hot women all the time , I also fantasize about doing things with them .:icon_redf
My sexuality name got me accurately only attracted romantically and sexually towards women and not men works great for me .

 

I'd really like it if people didn't need labels, like if there was no word for straight or gay, and everyone was just a person who could love who they chose, without being judged. Unfortunately, our society just isn't like that, you're straight until proven otherwise, and then you're labelled as different :/

 

I posed a similar question a few months ago. There is no doubt that our view of sexuality has changed over the millennia, and I must admit, it does seem as if sexuality itself works very differently now. But people just can't seem to contemplate the idea that their sexuality could be anything other than an immutable biological reality.

 

Looking at some posts, personally, "you love who you love" may sound nice and all when your love knows no limits, but I'd like it if I wasn't so annoyingly reminded of mine. You can argue that labeling it serves as a reminder as well, but it's more of a 'lesser of two evils', imo. It at least acknowledges where I am, rather than letting me hold onto the idea that it isn't real.

I am not in some gray area; things are pretty blatantly black and white, to me(although I'm not blind to how others could see gray for themselves).

 

Well, I would love for there to be no labels unless you want a label. It's just not a reality at this time.
I do think some people are completely on one side of the spectrum. Be it a completely straight guy or a completely lesbian girl ect ect I do think they exist.

Me right now. I think I am one of those 100% on one side. But you never know......