Relationships Among Sexual Identity, Sexual Attraction, and Sexual Behavior: Results from a Nationally Representative Probability Sample of Adults in the United States

Abstract Social scientists struggle on how to best operationalize and measure sexual orientation. Depending on the survey, researchers can use self-reports of lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) identity, same-sex partner cohabitation, same-sex sexual attraction, or same-sex sexual behavior. All measures come with their own limitations. To illuminate differences in these measures, this study examines the intersections between self-reported sexual identity, attraction, and behavior among a nationally representative sample of US men and women aged 15–45. I explore how and when the three measures align, examine the determinants of self-identifying as gay or bisexual based on sexual behavior and attraction, and assess gender differences in the patterns. I find that about 20% of women and 10% of men aged 15–45 would comprise the LGB community if it were defined to include those who report at least one of the following: gay or bisexual identity, any same-sex attraction, or same-sex sex in the last year. This is much higher than the 6.4% of women and 3.6% of men aged 15–45 who self-identify as LGB. I conclude with recommendations that can aid in measurement of the LGB population, and discuss implications for using certain measures over others when conducting research on the LGB community.

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Is Men's Heterosexuality Perceived as More Precarious than Women's? An Intersectional, Race-by-Gender Analysis

10.31219/osf.io/a2mjg ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Christopher D Petsko ◽

Tony Silva ◽

Stefan Vogler

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Sexual Behavior ◽

Large Scale ◽

The United States ◽

Target Person ◽

Gender Analysis ◽

Same Sex ◽

Nationally Representative

In the United States, people perceive men’s masculinity to be more precarious, or easier to lose, than women’s femininity. In the present manuscript, we investigated (1) whether men’s heterosexuality is likewise perceived to be more precarious than women’s, and if so, (2) whether this effect is exaggerated when the targets in question are Black rather than White. To investigate these questions, we conducted a large-scale (N = 3,010), nationally representative experiment in which participants read about a target person who either did or did not engage in a single same-sex sexual behavior. Results revealed that participants questioned the heterosexuality of men more than the heterosexuality of women when they engaged (vs. did not engage) in a same-sex sexual behavior. Surprisingly, these effects were not moderated by whether targets were Black vs. White. In other words, men’s heterosexuality was indeed perceived to be more precarious than women’s, irrespective of targets’ race.

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Intersections between Sexual Identity, Sexual Attraction, and Sexual Behavior among a Nationally Representative Sample of American Men and Women

10.31235/osf.io/xps68 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Emma Mishel

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behavior ◽

Sexual Identity ◽

Representative Sample ◽

Sexual Attraction ◽

Same Sex ◽

Social Scientists ◽

Men And Women ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Conducting Research ◽

Bisexual Identity

Social scientists struggle in how to best operationalize and measure sexual orientation. Depending on the survey, researchers can use self-reports of lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) identity, same-sex partner cohabitation, same-sex sexual attraction, or same-sex sexual behavior. All measures come with their own limitations. To illuminate differences in these measures, this study examines the intersections between self-reported sexual identity, attraction, and behavior among a nationally representative sample of U.S. men and women aged 15-45. I explore how and when the three measures align, examine the determinants of self-identifying as gay or bisexual based on sexual behavior and attraction, and assess gender differences in the patterns. I find that about 20% of women and 10% of men aged 15-45 would comprise the LGB community if it were defined to include those who report at least one of the following: gay or bisexual identity, any same-sex attraction, or same-sex sex in the last year. This is much higher than the 6.4% of women and 3.6% of men aged 15-45 who self-identify as LGB. I conclude with recommendations that can aid in measurement of the LGB population, and discuss implications for using certain measures over others when conducting research on the LGB community.

Download Full-text