# What exactly is your sexual orientation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 4, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539 "2015-10-04T20:38:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mikeisskeptical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@Mikeisskeptical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikeisskeptical)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/61 "2015-10-06T09:07:36Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > Octopus is so last year. All the cool kids are dressing up like cuttlefish these days. That’s so hot I almost inked my tentacles! ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/62 "2015-10-06T14:41:36Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > And people could understand it without consulting a dictionary? I understand about half the posts in this thread. > > ETA, almost forgot. Straight male, no modifiers that I’m aware of. Yeah, for all of us old farts who aren’t hip to the latest sexual orientation lingo that all the cool kids are using, what the heck does “cis” mean? Oh yeah, boring old straight married male. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/63 "2015-10-06T14:44:43Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Yeah, for all of us old farts who aren’t hip to the latest sexual orientation lingo that all the cool kids are using, what the heck does “cis” mean? > Oh yeah, boring old straight married male. Cisgender as opposed to transgender. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/64 "2015-10-06T17:51:43Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Yeah, for all of us old farts who aren’t hip to the latest sexual orientation lingo that all the cool kids are using, what the heck does “cis” mean? It means you are the gender you were born with. Except if it doesn’t. Personally, my number on the Kinsey scale is the square root of -1. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/65 "2015-10-06T18:09:48Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Yeah, for all of us old farts who aren’t hip to the latest sexual orientation lingo that all the cool kids are using, what the heck does “cis” mean? “Cis-” is a prefix meaning “on this side of”, as opposed to “trans-”, “on the other side of, beyond, across”. Cis-Neptunian object: An astronomical body found within the orbit of Neptune. Trans-Neptunian object: Anything beyond the orbit of Neptune (such as Pluto and other minor planets). Gallia Cisalpina: “Gaul on this side of the Alps”, a Roman province (today’s northern Italy). Gallia Transalpina: “Gaul on the other side of the Alps”, also a Roman province (today’s Provence). It’s pretty underrated as a prefix. We should think up more uses for it. Not that I can think of any right now. Actually, come to think of it, using “cis-” and “trans-” for gender alignment actually sounds vaguely offensive to me. Doesn’t “this side” and “the other side” kind of imply a value judgement? Then again, the PC police apparently came up with it, and I’m not going to attempt to out-PC the PC police. So I guess it just goes to show what I know. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/66 "2015-10-06T18:59:41Z")
Vanilla (French). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/67 "2015-10-06T19:03:24Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > “Cis-” is a prefix meaning “on this side of”, as opposed to “trans-”, “on the other side of, beyond, across”. > > Cis-Neptunian object: An astronomical body found within the orbit of Neptune. Trans-Neptunian object: Anything beyond the orbit of Neptune (such as Pluto and other minor planets). > > Gallia Cisalpina: “Gaul on this side of the Alps”, a Roman province (today’s northern Italy). Gallia Transalpina: “Gaul on the other side of the Alps”, also a Roman province (today’s Provence). > > It’s pretty underrated as a prefix. We should think up more uses for it. Not that I can think of any right now. > > Actually, come to think of it, using “cis-” and “trans-” for gender alignment actually sounds vaguely offensive to me. Doesn’t “this side” and “the other side” kind of imply a value judgement? Then again, the PC police apparently came up with it, and I’m not going to attempt to out-PC the PC police. So I guess it just goes to show what I know. There are cis and trans fatty acids. The natural ones are cis, and have all the hydrogenation on the same side of the molecule. The man-made ones are often trans, and have different biological properties > **[Cis–trans isomerism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cis%E2%80%93trans_isomerism)** > > Cis–trans isomerism, also known as geometric isomerism, describes certain arrangements of atoms within molecules. The prefixes "cis" and "trans" are from Latin: "this side of" and "the other side of", respectively. In the context of chemistry, cis indicates that the functional groups (substituents) are on the same side of some plane, while trans conveys that they are on opposing (transverse) sides. Cis–trans isomers are stereoisomers, that is, pairs of molecules which have the same formula but Ac... Biochem is the only place I ever saw the prefix “cis” before it started to be used for gender/sex stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/68 "2015-10-07T01:33:55Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > If I can figure out which sex my right hand is I’ll let you know. Have you ever considered your left hand, and if so, does that make you bi-curious? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/69 "2015-10-07T01:58:45Z")
North by Northwest & straight on til morning. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/70 "2015-10-07T02:09:32Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I have a male body and am attracted entirely to those with female bodies. Twenty years ago I thought this made me heterosexual. I now realise this is only due to society oppressing me with aggressive normative assumptions. > > In fact I now realise that I’m a butch gay woman trapped in a male body. Fortunately my external appearance only helps me - at a practical level - with passing myself off as male while being a female who wants to “act out” my fantasy preferences of pretending to be male. I can “pass” as male so convincingly I sometimes think I am male: a suggestion so insulting I’m thinking of having surgery to transform myself into a female bodied person so that I can undergo gender reassignment to pass as male to convince my doubters that I am actually female. I normally am a bit averse to a thread where the jokes pretty much write themselves, but, damn **Princhester** , this was funny. To me, the funniest part of the OP is the word “exactly” in the title. It screams … something, but I’m as yet undecided as to what that may be. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/71 "2015-10-07T02:17:01Z")
Boring and unenlightened. ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/72 "2015-10-07T02:44:14Z")
Very straight, always been attracted to women. Have yet to be romantically/sexually attracted to men. I am male by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/73 "2015-10-07T03:23:34Z")
Straight, male, cisgender. But would do Neil Patrick Harris in a heartbeat. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/74 "2015-10-07T04:06:52Z")
To the left. Until Saturday, then it’s only slightly to the right. Once a year, I try out up the middle to much delight of the entire neighborhood. Pics to follow to all Instagram subscribers. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/75 "2015-10-07T04:31:18Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I have a male body and am attracted entirely to those with female bodies. Twenty years ago I thought this made me heterosexual. I now realise this is only due to society oppressing me with aggressive normative assumptions. > > In fact I now realise that I’m a butch gay woman trapped in a male body. Fortunately my external appearance only helps me - at a practical level - with passing myself off as male while being a female who wants to “act out” my fantasy preferences of pretending to be male. I can “pass” as male so convincingly I sometimes think I am male: a suggestion so insulting I’m thinking of having surgery to transform myself into a female bodied person so that I can undergo gender reassignment to pass as male to convince my doubters that I am actually female. There’s a foolproof test to settle this… Can you open a pickle jar? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/76 "2015-10-07T04:41:24Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > There’s a foolproof test to settle this… Can you open a pickle jar? Stop oppressing me with your tests. What’s important is how I feel. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2015, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/77 "2015-10-07T11:11:10Z")
Right now, I’m orientated west-northwest. Sexually, I’m a Kinsey 6.0 male. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/78 "2015-10-07T14:00:54Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Stop oppressing me with your tests. What’s important is how I feel. I read that as _testes_. Time for more caffeine. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/79 "2015-10-07T14:35:20Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Straight, male, cisgender. But would do Neil Patrick Harris in a heartbeat. See, this is how I know that I’m completely heterosexual. If I had the slightest homosexual leanings NPH would likely have a restraining order out on me by now because I would stalk the bejeezus out of him. The dude is _awesome_ (despite his current TV dud) but everything below my neckline isn’t interested so there’s no point. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539/80 "2015-10-07T16:34:32Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > I read that as _testes_. Time for more caffeine. I only _im_press with my testes, never _o_ppress. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-your-sexual-orientation/733539.md?page=5)