Explained: Mono-sexuality-gay, lesbian, heterosexual

"The beauty of standing up for your rights is others see you standing and stand up as well." And Pride month celebrates the same.

"We should indeed keep calm in the face of difference, and live our lives in a state of inclusion and wonder at the diversity of humanity." —

As part of the explained series, when it comes to sexual orientation, you are probably familiar with heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual identities.

But what does it mean to be mono sexual?

Monosexuality is a term often used in academia as a direct contrast to bisexuality. To be monosexual means to be sexually and/or romantically attracted to only one sex or gender. So whether you are homosexual or heterosexual, you are monosexual. But if you identify as bi, pan, fluid, or queer, then you are considered non-monosexual.

It was likely adopted in place of unisexual, which is already used in biology and would produce confusion. It is often considered derogatory by the people to whom it is applied, and is not in common use as a self-label by either straight or gay people.

Lesbian:

A woman who is sexually attracted to other women. A lesbian is a homosexual woman. The word lesbian is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexuality or same-sex attraction.

Heterosexual:

Heterosexual: A person sexually attracted to persons of the opposite sex. Or a person who has sexual relations with the opposite sex. Colloquially known as "straight."

As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to persons of the opposite sex; it "also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions."

Across cultures, most people are heterosexual, and heterosexual activity is by far the most common type of sexual activity.

Love has no gender - compassion has no religion - character has no race.

Photo by Emily Morter on Unsplash