Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–9Cite as

Sexual Identity

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 198 Accesses

Synonyms

Gender and sexual minorities (GSM); LGBTQ+ identity; Romantic identity; Sexual life; Sexual nature; Sexual orientation identity; Sexual personality; Sexual self;

Definition

An individual’s identification and self-definition based on the magnitude and type of intrapersonal and interpersonal attractions, desires, fantasies, and behaviors pertaining to sex, sexuality, and intimacy.

Introduction

Identity is the chosen term or terms used by an individual as a label denoting the representation of their values, beliefs, characteristics, behaviors, attractions, and roles. The construction of a personal, or ego, identity begins with two main components, distinguished by psychologist Roy Baumeister as continuity and differentiation (Baumeister 2011). Continuity refers to the ability to see oneself as fundamentally the same over time, while differentiation refers to the ability to distinguish oneself from other individuals or groups; thus, what is required for a personal identity is to...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Gender differences in erotic plasticity: The female sex drive as socially flexible and responsive. Psychological Bulletin, 126(3), 347–374.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F. (2011). Self and identity: A brief overview of what they are, what they do, and how they work. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1234(1), 48–55.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cass, V. C. (1979). Homosexual identity formation: A theoretical model. Journal of Homosexuality, 4, 219–235.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chandra, A., Copen, C. E., & Mosher, W. D. (2013). Sexual behavior, sexual attraction, and sexual identity in the United States: Data from the 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth. In International handbook on the demography of sexuality (pp. 45–66). Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Augelli, A. R. (1994). Identity development and sexual orientation: Toward a model of lesbian, gay, and bisexual development. In Human diversity: Perspectives on people in context (pp. 312–333). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, xxii, 486 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, L. M. (1998). Development of sexual orientation among adolescent and young adult women. Developmental Psychology, 34(5), 1085.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, L. M. (2008). Sexual fluidity. Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dillon, F. R., Worthington, R. L., & Moradi, B. (2011). Sexual identity as a universal process. In Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 649–670). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fassinger, R. E., & Miller, B. A. (1997). Validation of an inclusive model of sexual minority identity formation on a sample of gay men. Journal of Homosexuality, 32(2), 53–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halpin, S. A., & Allen, M. W. (2004). Changes in psychosocial well-being during stages of gay identity development. Journal of Homosexuality, 47(2), 109–126.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Katz-Wise, S. L., Rosario, M., Calzo, J. P., Scherer, E. A., Sarda, V., & Austin, S. B. (2016). Endorsement and timing of sexual orientation developmental milestones among sexual minority young adults in the growing up today study. The Journal of Sex Research, 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, J., & Johnson, C. (2004). Stigmatized individuals and the process of identity. The Sociological Quarterly, 45(4), 807–833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., & Martin, C. E. (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co..

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein, F., Sepekoff, B., & Wolf, T. J. (1985). Sexual orientation: A multi-variable dynamic process. Journal of Homosexuality, 11(1–2), 35–49.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Langdridge, D., & Moon, L. (2008). Are you angry or are you heterosexual? A queer critique of lesbian and gay models of identity development feeling queer or queer feelings?. In Radical approaches to counseling sex, sexualities and genders (pp. 23–35). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3, 551–558.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McClelland, S. I., Rubin, J. D., & Bauermeister, J. A. (2015). “I liked girls and I thought they were pretty”: Initial memories of same-sex attraction in young lesbian and bisexual women. Archives of sexual behavior, 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, T. G., Bearden, A., Ellis, S. R., & Harriman, R. (2005). Correlates of genital perceptions among Canadian post-secondary students. Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality, 8, 1–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Penke, L., & Asendorpf, J. B. (2008). Beyond global sociosexual orientations: a more differentiated look at sociosexuality and its effects on courtship and romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1113.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. (2001). A critique of research on sexual-minority youths. Journal of Adolescence, 24(1), 5–13.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Savin-Williams, R. C. (2009). The new gay teenager (Vol. 3). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Savin-Williams, R. C., & Joyner, K. (2014). The dubious assessment of gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents of add health. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 43(3), 413–422.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • van Anders, S. M. (2015). Beyond sexual orientation: Integrating gender/sex and diverse sexualities via sexual configurations theory. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44(5), 1177–1213.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vrangalova, Z., & Savin-Williams, R. C. (2012). Mostly heterosexual and mostly gay/lesbian: Evidence for new sexual orientation identities. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(1), 85–101.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Worthington, R. L., Savoy, H. B., Dillon, F. R., & Vernaglia, E. R. (2002). Heterosexual identity development a multidimensional model of individual and social identity. The Counseling Psychologist, 30(4), 496–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Sarah Merrill

Authors
  1. Sarah Merrill
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah Merrill .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Abertay University, Dundee, Scotland

    Christopher Watkins

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Cite this entry

Merrill, S. (2017). Sexual Identity. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3368-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3368-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation