Editing Sexual identity (section)

{{short description|How a person thinks of oneself with regard to romantic and sexual orientation and behaviour}}
{{Distinguish|sexual orientation|gender identity}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{LGBTQ sidebar}}
'''Sexual identity''' refers to one's self-perception in terms of romantic or sexual attraction towards others,<ref name="Reiter">{{cite journal |author=Reiter L |year=1989 |title=Sexual orientation, sexual identity, and the question of choice |journal=Clinical Social Work Journal |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=138–50 |doi=10.1007/BF00756141 |s2cid=144530462}}</ref> though not mutually exclusive, and can be different from [[Romantic orientation|romantic identity]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Diamond |first=Lisa M. |date=January 2003 |title=What does sexual orientation orient? A biobehavioral model distinguishing romantic love and sexual desire |journal=Psychological Review |volume=110 |issue=1 |pages=173–192 |doi=10.1037/0033-295x.110.1.173 |issn=0033-295X |pmid=12529061}}</ref> ''Sexual identity'' may also refer to '''sexual orientation identity''', which is when people identify or dis-identify with a [[sexual orientation]] or choose not to identify with a sexual orientation.<ref name=apa2009>{{cite report|title=Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation |publisher=[[American Psychological Association]] |pages=63, 86|date=August 2009 |url=http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/therapeutic-response.pdf |access-date=February 3, 2015 |quote=Sexual orientation identity—not sexual orientation—appears to change via psychotherapy, support groups, and life events. |archive-date=June 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603121635/http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/therapeutic-response.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Sexual identity and [[Human sexual activity|sexual behavior]] are closely related to sexual orientation, but they are distinguished,<ref name="Reiter"/> with ''[[Identity (social science)|identity]]'' referring to an individual's conception of themselves, ''behavior'' referring to actual sexual acts performed by the individual, and ''sexual orientation'' referring to romantic or sexual attractions toward persons of the opposite [[sex]] or [[gender]], the same sex or gender, to both sexes or more than one gender, or to no one.

Historical models of sexual identity have tended to view its formation as a process undergone only by [[Sexual minority|sexual minorities]], while more contemporary models view the process as far more universal and attempt to present sexual identity within the larger scope of other major identity theories and processes.<ref name="Dillon, F. R. 2011 pp.649-670">Dillon, F. R., Worthington, R. L., & Moradi, B. (2011). Sexual identity as a universal process In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx, & V. L. Vignoles (Eds), Handbook of identity theory and research (Vols 1 and 2), (pp.649–670). New York, NY: Springer Science + Business Media</ref>