What is sexuality?
Sexuality is a natural, normal and healthy part of being human. Everyone has sexuality, but we all experience it and express it in different ways. Sexuality isn’t just about sex, it’s about your feelings, attractions and desires and how you express these. This includes who you find attractive and who you enjoy being with.
Sometimes this might be easier said than done, we all question our sexuality at some time. It might seem that your friends are all sure of what they want or who they are and there might be a lot of pressure to be cool and fit in. It’s difficult to be different from your friends but not everyone, including your friends, can be sure of what they want and it’s ok to question your sexuality.
Enjoy your sexuality, take your time to find out what you really want, you don’t have to rush to choose a label…your sexuality is absolutely unique to you. It’s important and exciting exploring your feelings and not something you should be worrying about!
What is healthy sexuality?
It includes:
- having fun and enjoying yourself.
- feeling good about yourself and being aware of your own feelings. We all question our feelings…this is ok and healthy too!
- being safe- protecting yourself and your partner from STIs and unexpected pregnancy. It’s also important to be careful about your personal safety.
- consensual- this means that both you and your partner have both agreed to and want have sex. If someone is forced to have sex when they don’t want to this is abuse.
- legal- this is when both partners are over the age of 16 and both want to have sex.
LGBT
You may have heard of the term LGBT. This stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual are sexual orientations where as Transgender is about gender identity.
LGBT are often talked about together because they have similar experiences in coming out (telling other people about their sexual orientation or gender identity) and experience similar prejudice and stigma.
More help and information
If you want to talk about your sexuality or any issues surrounding it then there are lots of helpful organisations out there that can help you out so get in touch.
Terrence Higgins Trust - The Terrence Higgins Trust offers advice to young gay and bisexual men. Phone their helpline on 0845 12 21 200 (Mon to Fri 10am - 10pm, Sat & Sun 12noon - 6pm). You can get leaflets on the website.
Strathclyde Gay & Lesbian Switchboard - This is a support service for people in the West of Scotland experiencing problems relating to sexuality. The number is 0141 847 0447
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