Betydningen av seksuell erfaring, tiltrekning og identitet for ...

sexual orientation of the respondents – homosexual behaviour/homosexual
orientation or homosexual behaviour/heterosexual orientation? The second
question concerns the gender differences: Young females are the most
experienced, whereas young men’s experiences are more strongly linked to
romantic feelings and thus possibly to a homosexual orientation. Why?
We would expect GLB self-identification to be more prevalent among
respondents with homosexual genital experiences and homosexual arousal/romantic
attractions than among respondents without such sexual attractions
and/or genital experiences. Thus, a minority of the young people in the
Young in Norway study would probably have a self-understanding as gay or
lesbian at the time of their participation in the study. An additional minority
would probably not have a gay or lesbian self-understanding at that point,
but would perhaps have changed their opinion if asked again three years
later on, or have a self-understanding as bisexual. Yet another minority
would perhaps claim that their sexual experiences were of no importance for
their identity. Still, the majority of the young people in this study will most
probably self-identify as heterosexual and stick to this identity throughout
their lifespan. All of these instances could in theory be found among those
with only heterosexual experience, as well as in both homosexual experience
groups. In the following, we will discuss alternative meanings of homosexual
behaviour in adolescence in relation to two different assumptions
regarding the respondent’s sexual self-identity – homosexual or heterosexual.
Finally we briefly discuss a third option; no label.
Homosexual behaviour – homosexual identity
Homosexual experiences may play an important role in a process of GLB
identity development for young people. For some, a homosexual encounter
may serve as an eye-opener or make out the missing pieces of a puzzle
(Hegna et al 1999) or be an element in expressing authenticity (Holt and
Griffin 2003). Experiences with intimacy is a core developmental issue
during the adolescent years, but may be particularly important for homosexually
oriented young people, given the sexual prejudice that often characterises
the cultures in which they grow up (Diamond and Lucas 2004).
At the same time, heterosexual experience was very common among
youth who had been in love with someone of their own sex and hence could
be seen as having a homosexual orientation. Gay or lesbian adolescents – or
future GLB youths – may initiate a heterosexual exploration and identity
development in the same way as their peers as a result of a heteronormative
pressure and lack of competing sexual role models in adolescence. Since
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– NOVA Rapport 1/07 –