ABSTRACT
Below we have laid out several competing conceptualisations of sexual orientation (Figures 4.1-4.3). We would like you to reflect upon each and ask yourself which you believe most accurately represents human sexuality. In the one-dimensional or bipolar model, sexual behaviour is seen as a continuum with heterosexuality and homosexuality at its extremes. The Ross and Paul model (1992) places homosexual and heterosexual at the same pole of a continuum and bisexuality at the opposite, on the basis that homosexuals and heterosexuals share an attraction based on the sex of their partner. This model asserts that bisexuals may emphasise features such as personality and social characteristics to inform their choice of desired sexual partner.
