“A client wonders if she’s bisexual. How do I help her decide?”
“A patient thinks he’s asexual. How do I evaluate this?”
I provide case consultations for many therapists each month, and questions like these are not unusual. Much to the surprise of my colleagues, I generally say that they—and their patients—are asking the wrong question.
Many therapists say that labels such as “bisexual,” “asexual,” and “demisexual” give people permission to (finally) be who they are. But I say…
The percent of U.S. adults who identify as something other than heterosexual has doubled over the last 10 years, according to a new Gallup poll. The increase comes primarily among the youngest U.S. adults.
Some people say this is a good thing. Others say it’s a bad thing. I say we have no idea what this actually means.
The Gallup Poll just released their latest figures on Americans’ sexual orientation.
Almost 6% of Americans identify as LGBT. But what does that mean? Is sexual orientation about behavior or identity? Does it matter?
For a lot of people these days, sexual identity seems to be more about identity than about sexuality. That is, people are adapting or defining their sexual identity based on what group they want to affiliate with, or what that identity tells them about themselves, rather than simply enjoying what they enjoy.
I’ve always said that I’m not one of those sex therapists who gives advice. I don’t tell you who you shouldn’t marry, which sex position “most women” like, or if you should try a threesome.
Rather, I see my job focusing more on education: providing facts about biology, laying out competing ideas about how to make decisions, and sharing my accumulated experience of how things tend to work.