<p>Sexuality is thought to be mostly fixed (and certainly does not respond to active interventions to change it), but sometimes self-descriptions shift. It's unclear to what extent these shifts are changes in sexuality itself versus changes in how people <em>identify</em>. More broadly speaking, people aren't always good at describing their own wants/desires/feelings, and social and cultural factors can have a strong influence. Individuals may have experiences that make them rethink how they see themselves, or they may be more or less comfortable expressing a view that is outside perceived norms at different times.</p>
<p>Savin-Williams et al 2012 studied a group of young adults longitudinally and compared self-reported sexual orientation during two study waves, one when participants were 18-24 and later when they were 24-34.</p>
<p>Out of 5204 men who reported being &quot;100% heterosexual&quot; in the first wave, the vast majority, 5064, said the same in the second wave. 105 said &quot;mostly heterosexual&quot;, 11 said &quot;bisexual&quot;, 24 said &quot;homosexual&quot;. Other categories were somewhat more fluid, as was sexuality among women, and you can see the whole study linked below.</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-012-9913-y" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Savin-Williams, R. C., Joyner, K., &amp; Rieger, G. (2012). Prevalence and stability of self-reported sexual orientation identity during young adulthood. Archives of sexual behavior, 41(1), 103-110.</a></p>

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2021-04-12T17:52:15.067Z
"compared self-reported" so what were there real sexual orientation
Dark Knight
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2021-04-12T17:52:33.793Z
And what is the meaning of second wave
Dark Knight
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2021-04-12T17:54:32.107Z
@DarkKnight The study used self-report. They did not use other possible measures like arousal. That said, it's not clear that arousal and orientation are really the same. The self reports are good enough for knowing self-reported orientation. "Wave" is a term used in longitudinal studies to mean a set of data making up one time point. As I wrote in this answer "during two study waves, one when participants were 18-24 and later when they were 24-34". Every participant reported on was asked about orientation twice.
Bryan Krause
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2021-04-12T17:57:53.407Z
Since sexuality can change is it possible to change it artificially
Dark Knight
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2021-04-12T18:01:42.977Z
@DarkKnight "Since sexuality can change is it possible to change it artificially " - It's really not. People have tried to do so. A lot. Especially for religious reasons. The outcomes of those attempts are horrible: they don't cause changes in sexual orientation, but do cause mental health problems. Bad bad bad idea. Chris Rogers wrote about this extensively on another question of yours, please read that carefully if you haven't.
Bryan Krause
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2021-04-12T18:05:41.570Z
Thanks for the answer
Dark Knight
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2021-04-09T20:55:23.343Z
2021-04-09T20:55:23.343Z
Bryan Krause
<p>Can a heterosexual male that doesn't have any attraction towards male become gay without any attraction towards females.</p>
<p>Or will he become bisexual because he was heterosexual before.</p>

<sexuality>
How Sexual fluidity works?
Dark Knight
# How Sexual fluidity works?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-04-09)

Can a heterosexual male that doesn't have any attraction towards male become gay without any attraction towards females.

Or will he become bisexual because he was heterosexual before.

**Tags:** sexuality


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-04-09. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Sexuality is thought to be mostly fixed (and certainly does not respond to active interventions to change it), but sometimes self-descriptions shift. It's unclear to what extent these shifts are changes in sexuality itself versus changes in how people *identify*. More broadly speaking, people aren't always good at describing their own wants/desires/feelings, and social and cultural factors can have a strong influence. Individuals may have experiences that make them rethink how they see themselves, or they may be more or less comfortable expressing a view that is outside perceived norms at different times.

Savin-Williams et al 2012 studied a group of young adults longitudinally and compared self-reported sexual orientation during two study waves, one when participants were 18-24 and later when they were 24-34.

Out of 5204 men who reported being "100% heterosexual" in the first wave, the vast majority, 5064, said the same in the second wave. 105 said "mostly heterosexual", 11 said "bisexual", 24 said "homosexual". Other categories were somewhat more fluid, as was sexuality among women, and you can see the whole study linked below.

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[Savin-Williams, R. C., Joyner, K., & Rieger, G. (2012). Prevalence and stability of self-reported sexual orientation identity during young adulthood. Archives of sexual behavior, 41(1), 103-110.](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-012-9913-y)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: "compared self-reported" so what were there real sexual orientation  
> **username_0**: And what is the meaning of second wave  
> **username_1**: @DarkKnight The study used self-report. They did not use other possible measures like arousal. That said, it's not clear that arousal and orientation are really the same. The self reports are good enough for knowing self-reported orientation. "Wave" is a term used in longitudinal studies to mean a set of data making up one time point. As I wrote in this answer "during two study waves, one when participants were 18-24 and later when they were 24-34". Every participant reported on was asked about orientation twice.  
> **username_0**: Since sexuality can change is it possible to change it artificially  
> **username_1**: @DarkKnight "Since sexuality can change is it possible to change it artificially " - It's really not. People have tried to do so. A lot. Especially for religious reasons. The outcomes of those attempts are horrible: they don't cause changes in sexual orientation, but do cause mental health problems. Bad bad bad idea. Chris Rogers wrote about this extensively on another question of yours, please read that carefully if you haven't.  
> **username_0**: Thanks for the answer  

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