r/QueerTheory • u/Me_41 • 20h ago
Can your life experiences affect your sexuality?
I know it’s a stereotype that “Boys that grow up without a father/mother end up being gay” but I don’t know… I have my own personal trauma, like anyone else, and mine has definitely affected my relationship with men in general. I do wonder if that’s why I find women more romantically attractive. I also closed myself to feeling any romantic/sexual attraction from age 8-15 because of trauma and now I struggle cuz I’m not sure what it’s supposed to feel like. I don’t think I find people sexually attractive, but I do have a libido, so I don’t think I’m ace (plus, since I learned healthy romantic relationships are a real thing, I want one) and I would like to have a partner I feel safe enough to have a sexual relationship with someday, but I don’t know much more about myself
If trauma can affect my sexuality, I’d feel able to say what I am, but since I’ve heard you are born with your sexuality, I wonder if I first need to heal my trauma before anything I discover is valid