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Tuesday 31 December 2013

The Spectra of Gender/Sexual Minority Identities

A chart consisting of various spectra which might (or might not) represent members of the Gender-Sexuality Minority. What do you think? Does it work?


I think that it is possible for people to exist fluidly on multiple spectra, such as biological sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, romantic inclination, asexuality, etc. - all with varying degrees of strength. It is, for example, possible for a biological female to identify as androgynous and feel strongly romantically inclined to females, yet sexually attracted to males and females alike.

It is also possible for a biological male who identifies as existing within a range on the gender identity spectrum to be mildly romantically inclined towards men, but strongly asexual.

I also think that it is possible for any of the identifying factors to change with time or depending on other circumstances. Someone might shift from being mostly attracted to the same gender to being pansexual, for example.

I included a "sexual experience" spectrum because 1) I feel that it plays a role, though not an important one; 2) Dee Hurlbert's chart which she developed for the Michigan State University LGBT Resource Center included that spectrum; and 3) Kinsey was single-minded like that, so I grandfathered it in.

I'm not much a fan of the gender gingerbread person because it isn't possible to express how strongly one feels inclined a certain way; and romantic inclination, asexuality, a-genderism, and sexual experience aren't included in the chart.

2 comments:

  1. There is no such thing as biological female or biological male, only assigned gender at birth i.e. assigned female at birth or assigned male at birth. Also androgynous is not a gender it is a gender expression. I think you mean either agender or neutrois but in this chart's case it would be bigender.

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  2. You are exactly on point. This chart needs revising (and I the time to do it). Thank you.

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