Common Questions About Sexual Orientation

Overview

Many people believe things that aren't true about gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. Here are some questions people sometimes have.

Question: Can gay, lesbian, and bisexual people change their sexual orientation? Can they get some kind of treatment?

• Answer: Like heterosexuals, gay, lesbian, and bisexual people don't feel they can choose their sexual orientation. Most are satisfied to be who they are. They would not wish to become heterosexual. No "treatment" has been shown to change a person's sexual orientation.

Question: Can child abuse affect sexual orientation?

• Answer: Abuse does not make people straight, gay, or bisexual. Science has not yet discovered what determines sexual orientation.

Question: I have an uncle who is gay. Should I worry about letting my children stay with him? I've heard that gay people are more likely to be child molesters.

• Answer: The ability to be a loving, trustworthy relative has nothing to do with whether a person is straight or gay. Gay people are no more likely to molest children than heterosexual people are.

Question: My lesbian daughter and her partner are adopting a little girl. Will my new granddaughter grow up to be gay?

• Answer: There is no way to know this in advance. But a child's sexual orientation seems to come from inside. Most children of gay and lesbian parents grow up to be heterosexual. And most gay and lesbian children have heterosexual parents.

Question: Is it true that people who are bisexual change partners a lot?

• Answer: Being bisexual just means that the person has been romantically or sexually attracted to both males and females at least once. Many bisexual people are monogamous, which means they have only one partner at a time.

For more information, see the topics:

• Sexual Orientation.
• Gender Identity and Transgender Issues.