Can you be attracted to both sexes

And why not? We live in fast-moving times, and sexual mores are far less inhibiting than they were a generation ago. With only one life to work your way through, it does seem somewhat narrow-minded to limit your options unless your romantic and sexual proclivities leave absolutely no room for manoeuvre.

Discovering what compels and pleases you on the physical front is surely something to experiment with rather than worry about. The complexities of our species have been illuminated and explored in art and literature, music and poetry over millennia, so none of us should be surprised to find that we have hidden depths.

Finding one sex or the other more to your physical tastes is also not a finite choice. Plenty of people go through life convinced their sexuality runs one way, only to find a chance encounter leads them in another direction. The way human beings attract each other is an infinitely more complex and fascinating area than you give it credit for. Gender : Characteristics of masculinity and femininity that are learned or chosen. It is important to note that gender is different from and not inherently linked to sexual orientation.

Gender binary : The concept that there are only two genders and that they are inherently connected to biological sex. Gender Confirmation Surgery : Sex reassignment surgery or SRS also known as gender reassignment surgery, genital reconstruction surgery, gender confirmation surgery or sex realignment surgery is the surgical procedure or procedures by which a transgender person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble that socially associated with their identified gender.

Gender Dysphoria : the condition of feeling one's emotional and psychological identity as male or female to be different than one's biological sex. Gender Expression : The way in which a person chooses to dress and present themselves, this is the result of society assigning gender to certain clothes or accessories. Gender identity : Describes the gender with which a person identifies i. Gender Neutral : denoting a word, expression, item that cannot be taken to refer to one gender only Genderqueer : A term used by some people who identify outside of the traditional two-gender or gender-binary system.

This term refers primarily to gender identity rather that sexual orientation. Gender Role : the role or behavior learned by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by the prevailing cultural norms. It is largely responsible for the staggering numbers of queer teen suicides, depression, and substance abuse. Internalized ableism, biphobia, racism, sexism, and transphobia, likewise, are responsible for shame, negative body image, and violence within our communities. Though the word internalize sounds negative, it is possible to internalize positive self-images and pride.

Intersex : Describes people born with some combination of male and female sex organs. Many consider surgeries to often be medically unnecessary and a form of mutilation. Monosexual : A Person who is romantic or sexual attraction to members of one sex or gender only. A monosexual person may identify as heterosexual or homosexual. Queer : Is sometimes used as an umbrella term for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, inter-sex, or asexual.

For this reason, its use can be controversial. It can be a political statement which advocates breaking binary thinking and seeing both sexual orientation and gender identity as potentially fluid. Trans : An umbrella term for people whose gender identity is different from the sex and gender role they were assigned at birth.

Transgender people can be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and may not identify as queer. Genderqueer people may or may not identify with this term. That can be especially true for people who have romantic or sexual thoughts about someone who is the same sex they are. Being interested in someone of the same sex does not necessarily mean that a person is gay — just as being interested in someone of the opposite sex doesn't mean a person is straight.

It's common for teens to be attracted to or have sexual thoughts about people of the same sex and the opposite sex. It's one way of sorting through emerging sexual feelings. Some people might go beyond just thinking about it and experiment with sexual experiences with people of their own sex or of the opposite sex. These experiences, by themselves, do not necessarily mean that a person is gay or straight.

This abbreviation stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" or "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning". Transgender isn't really a sexual orientation — it's a gender identity. Gender is another word for male or female.

Transgender people may have the body of one gender, but feel that they are the opposite gender, like they were born into the wrong type of body. People who are transgender are often grouped in with lesbian and gay as a way to include people who don't feel they fit into the category of being "straight.

Why are some people straight and some people gay? There is no simple answer to that. Most medical experts, including those at the American Academy of Pediatrics AAP and the American Psychological Association APA , believe that sexual orientation involves a complex mix of biology, psychology, and environmental factors.

Scientists also believe a person's genes and hormones play an important role. Most medical experts believe that, in general, sexual orientation is not something that a person voluntarily chooses. Instead, sexual orientation is just a natural part of who a person is. There's nothing wrong about being LGBT.

Still, not everyone believes that. These kinds of beliefs can make things difficult for LGBT teens. For many LGBT people, it can feel like everyone is expected to be straight. Because of this, some gay and lesbian teens may feel different from their friends when the heterosexual people around them start talking about romantic feelings, dating, and sex.

LGBT teens might feel like they have to pretend to feel things that they don't in order to fit in with their group, family, or community. They might feel they need to deny who they are or that they have to hide an important part of themselves.