The Relationship Between Sexual Identity and Biology

Sexual identity refers to the way people think of themselves in terms of who they are sexually attracted. The relationship between sexual identity and biology has been studied through many theories. Complex processes involving genetic factors, environmental factors, and hormonal balances play a key role in determining the sexual identity of an individual. Also, gender identity and gender roles play a major role in the formation of sexual identity. One’s gender identity refers to the individual conception of being a female or male, and which is usually assigned at birth. Gender identity is usually self-identified and comes from a combination of environmental factors as well as inherent factors ( Kerr & Multon, 2015 ). One’s gender identity as a male or a female has a greater role in how a person forms sexual identity. Whether a person thinks that they are romantically attracted to male or female depends on what they believe their gender is based on the influences of both external and inherent factors. 

Gender roles, on the other hand, is an “outward manifestations of personality that reflect the gender identity.” Gender roles are observable within society through behaviors and appearance. It is based on the characteristics and behaviors such as dressing and mannerism that a person is expected to display in society. A person forms sexual identity based on the gender roles that society assigns them at birth. These gender roles determine how people believe they are attracted to a particular gender. Sexual orientation refers to the individual’s sexual identity based on the gender which they are romantically attracted to and can be either bisexual, homosexual or heterosexual. A person’s sexual orientation may be seen in such aspects as behavior or appearance, which tries to resemble the gender to which one is affiliated. 

Reference 

Kerr, B. A., & Multon, K. D. (2015). The development of gender identity, gender roles, and gender relations in gifted students.  Journal of Counseling & Development ,  93 (2), 183-191.