Sexual orientation is about who you might have a crush on, fall in love with and be attracted to. Some people can be attracted to people of another gender or to people of the same gender, some people are attracted to men and women, some might not even think about the gender of the person they are attracted to. Some don’t feel attraction towards others at all. Sexual orientation is not necessarily set in stone, it can vary from person to person, and for some it can change over time.
Heterosexuality (straight) being attracted to people of a different gender
Homosexuality (lesbian, gay) being attracted to people of the same gender
Pansexuality being attracted to people regardless of their gender
Asexuality having little or no sexual attraction towards other people
Bisexuality being attracted to two genders
People who aren’t straight (e.g. homo-, bi- and pansexual people) face a lot of prejudice. It is important to think about the words you use and not to use sexual orientation to make fun of people or demean those who are different. We live in a very straight world where most people assume everyone is heterosexual, which means that queer people constantly have to come out of the closet. Be open to diversity, don’t assume that everyone is straight and remember that people come in all colours of the rainbow!
