Sexuality can be a term that is largely involved in various aspects of our life — whether it is in our choice of friendships, or in romantic or physical relationships. Sexuality is all about the feelings of attraction that we experience when around certain people we find desirable. Sexuality covers diverse kinds of attraction — an individual can find other individuals physically or emotionally attractive. Sexuality is varied, diverse, and personal to who you are.
There is no right or wrong when it comes to sexuality; there is only you — and what works and feels right for you. Importantly, sexuality is also fluid. It is dynamic, not static and does not remain unchanged over time, instead changing over the years, even if in minuscule shifts.
It can take time to figure out what sexualty fits you best; who you are attracted to — or if you are attracted to anyone at all. It's not wrong or shameful to be unsure; in fact, being unsure gives you a greater opportunity to explore your sexuality and learn more about yourself.
When you have that moment of questioning, when you see someone so ethereal that your heart skips a beat and your palms get sweaty, you might wonder if that is what attraction feels like. Take the time to work out what these feelings may mean for you, what it feels like to be attracted to this person. Does it just seem to fit? Does it come naturally to you? There's no deadline to which you have to figure out what your sexuality is — there's no rush.
Look at references — search up other people's experiences with their sexuality. Some videos to watch might be from Daniel Howell, Sufi and Anjali, Eugene Lee Yang, and channels such as PinkNews. You might be able to relate to their experiences and feel empathetic towards them, and these videos might help you out with your own journey of figuring our sexuality out. Explore different sorts of media that talk about sexuality and gender, and educate yourself. Through the accumulation of this knowledge, understanding yourself will become easier.
Research! Research is an important part of figuring yourself out. Looking through Google articles, social media forums, stories of those who have come before you, and more, can all help you along your journey of self-discovery. There are a number of labels that you can apply to yourself, such as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, and more! There's no rush to figure out which one suits you best — take your time! You can also choose to remain simply unlabelled as well. Your sexuality isn't simply who you have sex with — it's about the feelings you experience and how you identify with those and yourself.
Find your community! Here, at First Contact, we work on helping people of the LGBTQ+ community find people of their own groups through an online, metaverse, anonymous and completely safe platform. If you are questioning, making use of First Contact's events to listen to those around you could be an excellent method of understanding more of yourself, who you are, and what sexuality might mean to you. About the Writer: Shriya Bhatt is a a part-time freelance copywriter. If you want to work with her check out her LinkedIn Profile.