# Sexual orientation versus sexual inclination **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 9, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220 "2009-06-09T16:49:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/1 "2009-06-09T16:49:56Z")
If you don’t have sexual feelings towards either gender, but you think people of your own sex are attractive and people of the opposite sex are not, then what does that make you? ---
**Author:** ![Wargamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Wargamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wargamer)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/2 "2009-06-09T16:51:29Z")
Asexual? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/3 "2009-06-09T17:04:57Z")
A homosexual with no sex drive ? ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/4 "2009-06-09T17:45:42Z")
Single? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/5 "2009-06-09T18:23:58Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > If you don’t have sexual feelings towards either gender, but you think people of your own sex are attractive and people of the opposite sex are not, then what does that make you? What do you mean by “attractive”? I know women who are entirely heterosexual yet who find women attractive in an aesthetic sense (like, they’d rather look at pictures of naked women than of naked men). Or, **Der Trihs** ’s answer could be the correct one. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/6 "2009-06-09T18:24:09Z")
If **Wargamer** ’s and **Der Trihs** ’s answers had a love child, it would look a lot like the right answer. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/7 "2009-06-09T18:28:41Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > If **Wargamer** ’s and **Der Trihs** ’s answers had a love child, it would look a lot like the right answer. Unfortunately, neither of those two answers are capable of having a love child. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/8 "2009-06-09T19:54:56Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > What do you mean by “attractive”? I know women who are entirely heterosexual yet who find women attractive in an aesthetic sense (like, they’d rather look at pictures of naked women than of naked men). I mean, that [this woman](http://media.photobucket.com/image/japanese%20hair/kikyou_dany/MAKIGOTO-3.jpg) would be pretty in the same way that [this cat](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3222/3128682469_02c8fcd2ce.jpg)or [this painting](http://studioartworks.com/eglife/s.jpg) would be pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/9 "2009-06-09T20:00:41Z")
Then asexual. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/10 "2009-06-09T20:07:28Z")
Yeah, fine, she’s pretty – would you go out of your way to look at pictures of pretty women, or is it just a vague thought if you encounter the photo of one? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/11 "2009-06-09T20:15:06Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I mean, that [this woman](http://media.photobucket.com/image/japanese%20hair/kikyou_dany/MAKIGOTO-3.jpg) would be pretty in the same way that [this cat](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3222/3128682469_02c8fcd2ce.jpg)or [this painting](http://studioartworks.com/eglife/s.jpg) would be pretty. No comparison! The most beautiful of those three things is the pussy. ---
**Author:** ![Elysium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Elysium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysium)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/12 "2009-06-09T20:19:28Z")
I’m definitely of the belief that human sexuality lies on a continuum, and that people can certainly change their minds or grow toward a different orientation. I tend think of orientation as defined by sexual attraction. One can be aroused by men, women, both, some more than the other, etc. But one can also have no sexual attraction or either/or. In this sense, orientation is totally separate from whether someone can objectively say someone is beautiful/handsome. I can think my best friend is gorgeous not be sexually attracted to him/her, and that doesn’t effect my orientation in any way. For your example, if the person doesn’t have sexual feelings towards either gender then they are most likely asexual. If they seem to feel one gender is more aesthetically pleasing than the other, well that’s probably just how they define beauty. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/13 "2009-06-09T20:38:45Z")
You’re probably in a nursing home, yet have a vague recollection of having been gay. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/14 "2009-06-10T00:32:31Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Yeah, fine, she’s pretty – would you go out of your way to look at pictures of pretty women, or is it just a vague thought if you encounter the photo of one? I go out of my way to look at cats. I like cats better than people in personality, asthetics, and pleasantness to touch. I mostly use Google Images for looking up “kittens”, “fuzzy kittens”, “siamese cats”, and the like. Come to think of it, my concept of human beauty includes feline features- my ideal pretty person looks like some sort of fantasy elf. And for that matter… oh, never mind. I’m going to stop before you think I’m really weird. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/15 "2009-06-10T00:41:15Z")
Too late. Weirdo. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/16 "2009-06-10T12:54:35Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I go out of my way to look at cats. I like cats better than people in personality, asthetics, and pleasantness to touch. I mostly use Google Images for looking up “kittens”, “fuzzy kittens”, “siamese cats”, and the like. > > Come to think of it, my concept of human beauty includes feline features- my ideal pretty person looks like some sort of fantasy elf. Wow. I think you qualify as my complete opposite. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/17 "2009-06-10T13:00:17Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > Unfortunately, neither of those two answers are capable of having a love child. :smack: They could always look into adoption. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/18 "2009-06-10T13:16:27Z")
It could make you someone with strong sexual repressions. For some of my teenage years, I honestly identified as an asexual. Later, in retrospect, I realized it was just hangups bottling up the healthy expression of my sexual feelings. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/19 "2009-06-10T13:30:25Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > For some of my teenage years, I honestly identified as an asexual. Later, in retrospect, I realized it was just hangups bottling up the healthy expression of my sexual feelings. I used to spend a lot of time on a different message board. There was a young man who was a member there who admitted to not having any sexual desire at all. I left that board for a few years then came back. He had just come to the painful but enlightened realization that he was gay. Fortunately, the board was very supportive and helpful to him. Not saying that’s the situation here, I just mention it in passing. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220/20 "2009-06-10T14:06:27Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Come to think of it, my concept of human beauty includes feline features- my ideal pretty person looks like some sort of fantasy elf. Have I got the [chick](http://spi0n.fr/blog/wp-content/plugins/hot-linked-image-cacher/upload/awfulplasticsurgery.com/slideshows-2/PS-JocelynWildenstein.jpg) for you! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexual-orientation-versus-sexual-inclination/499220.md?page=2)