Reproduction is NOT Sexual Orientation’s Purpose
Often the topic of reproduction being the purpose of sexual orientation is included in discussions about why people are gay to show the homosexual orientation is abnormal because it does not lead to reproduction.
Indeed, homosexual behaviors do not lead to reproduction. But reproduction is not the purpose of sexual orientation. Instead, pleasure is the purpose of sexual orientation.
You can easily demonstrate pleasure is sexual orientation’s purpose by simply asking your friends, family, and strangers, why they have sex. No matter what biological sexes or sexual orientations your friends, family, and strangers are, you can expect their most frequent responses to be related to pleasure.
Cindy Meston and David Buss of the University of Texas published results of a study using this exact method. They found no differences between men’s and women’s responses to this question, with their replies consistently being about pleasure, feelings, and happiness.
You can also demonstrate pleasure is sexual orientation’s purpose by doing a simple thought-experiment. Add the number of times you’ve had and hope to have sex during your lifetime. With this number in mind, consider how many times the goal was (or will be) for reproduction versus how many it was (or will be) for pleasure. Which number is higher? The number of times for reproduction or the number of times for pleasure? Or should I reframe this question to: which number is WAY-WAY-WAY higher!?
Why are people gay? The same reasons why people are heterosexual, bisexual, pansexual, or otherwise.
We are programmed a lot by nature, and a little by nurture, to have sexual orientations, so we can seek our own and facilitate others’ happiness, despite the barriers, we ourselves, put up to deny pleasure.
For a complete transcript of this video with primary references, check out: https://humansexuality.medium.com/reproduction-is-not-sexual-orientations-purpose-7c25742f573e
References
Bailey, J. M., Vasey, P. L., Diamond, L. M., Breedlove, S. M., Vilain, E., & Epprecht, M. (2016). Sexual orientation, controversy, and science. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 17, 45–101.
Copen, C., Chandra, A., & Febo-Vazquez, I. (2016). Sexual behavior, sexual attraction, and sexual orientation among adults aged 18–44 in the United States: Data from the 2011–2013 National Survey of Family Growth. National Health Statistics Reports, 88, 1–13.
Diamond, L. M. (2009). Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women’s Love and Desire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Frankowski, B. L. (2004). Sexual orientation and adolescents. Pediatrics, 113, 1827–1832.
Gillespie, B. J., Frederick, D., Harari, L., & Grov, C. (2015). Homophily, Close Friendship, and Life Satisfaction among Gay, Lesbian, Heterosexual, and Bisexual Men and Women. CUNY Academic Works.
Meston, C. M., & Buss, D. M. (2007). Why humans have sex. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36, 477–507.
Thomeer, M. B., & Reczek, C. (2016). Happiness and sexual minority status. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(7), 1745–1758.
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Don Lucas is a Professor of Psychology and head of the Psychology Department at Northwest Vista College in San Antonio Texas. He loves psychology, teaching, and research.
If you like this story, then check out Don’s videos on his YouTube channel, 5MIweekly: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQFQ0vPPNPS-LYhlbKOzpFw/featured, follow him on Instagram @5MIweekly, and like him on Facebook: http://fb.me/5MIWeekly
LGBTQ gay lesbian normal psychology sexual orientation pleasure happiness reproduction
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