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Sexual Orientation In The LGBT Community

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The way in which a person recognises themselves sexually, of the gender in which they are attracted to is known as their sexual orientation. A person can identify themselves as being one of many orientations. The most known and recognised of these are homosexual; lesbian and gay, bisexual; being sexually attracted to both sexes and transgender; which means that a person has a sense of self-identity of themselves and their gender which differs with the gender in which they were born. These sexual orientations are grouped and known as the LGBT community.
Unfortunately, for the individuals that recognise themselves in this way, there have been many preconceptions and shaming surrounding their orientation by some heterosexual people. This leads to the dislike and prejudice of those who are a part of the LGBT community resulting in homophobic and transphobic behaviour. Although this is shown amongst a number of heterosexual people, people who also identify themselves as being LGBT, can also exhibit homophobic/transphobic manners.
George Weinberg, a heterosexual psychologist was the man who came up with the word homophobia in the late 1960’s. He penned this term to describe the dread held by heterosexuals when in close proximity of homosexuals. He also used the word to describe a homosexuals’ self-loathing.
Prior to the introduction of the Sexual Offences Act in 1967, it was illegal to be a male homosexual, with it even being considered a capital offence some century earlier.

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