Sexual orientation is the preferred term used to refer to an individual's physical and/or emotional attraction to the same and/or opposite sex. Heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, and pansexual are all sexual orientations. An individual's gender identity and expression are distinct from their sexual orientation. Throughout their lives, as the individual explores the world around them, they are shaped by the unique experiences and influences passed on to them. All people experience life subjectively. There is therefore no monolithic way of seeing or defining one's sexual identity. However, certain particular experiences can shape and develop specific characteristics or tendencies that a group of people may share. Andrew Sullivan addresses this very question in his 1995 book, Virtually Normal: An Argument about Homosexuality. In the prologue, entitled “What is a homosexual?” » Sullivan questions what exactly constitutes a homosexual life and why certain environmental factors are fundamental and exclusive to the homosexual experience. It views self-control/subjugation as a crucial part of all human experience, however, it views the homosexual (more broadly, LGBTQ) experience as unique in that they learn to make sexual/emotional distinctions early on out of a need for survival. They learn to operate within the parameter of certain social rules in order to blend in and it eventually becomes a sort of second nature that is hard to break. In adolescent development, socially constructed stigmas often hinder the advancement of self-expression; there is an idealistic tendency. and generally severe shame that is imposed by Western social normativity. As such, there is an inherent fear that is held (at least initially) by many young...... middle of paper ...... alive, therefore marginalized, even demonized. Although in recent times there has undeniably been a greater sense of acceptance towards homosexuals, there are certainly generalizations that tend to hinder the overall perspective on identity. The issue of sexual and gender identity has recently been brought to the forefront of social discourse, thanks in large part to major activism from the LGBTQ community and countless progressive institutions. Through recognition of the gender binary, we can see that there is a range of preferences when it comes to being and behaving. Rather than having to follow traditional roles, people should be able to be masculine, feminine, androgynous, aggressive, vulnerable or indifferent. The issue is not necessarily diversity, but rather openness to gender possibilities and the freedom to unapologetically experiment and explore facets of one's individual expression..