Editing Heterosexuality (section)

===Sexual fluidity===
{{Main|Sexual identity|Sexual fluidity}}
Often, sexual orientation and [[sexual orientation identity]] are not distinguished, which can impact accurately assessing sexual identity and whether or not sexual orientation is able to change; sexual orientation identity can change throughout an individual's life, and may or may not align with biological sex, sexual behavior or actual sexual orientation.<ref name="Sinclair">Sinclair, Karen, About Whoever: The Social Imprint on Identity and Orientation, NY, 2013 {{ISBN|9780981450513}}</ref><ref name="Rosario et al.">{{cite journal | last1 = Rosario | first1 = M. | last2 = Schrimshaw | first2 = E. | last3 = Hunter | first3 = J. |last4 = Braun | first4 = L. | year = 2006 | title = Sexual identity development among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths: Consistency and change over time | journal = Journal of Sex Research | volume = 43 | issue = 1| pages = 46–58 | doi=10.1080/00224490609552298| pmc = 3215279 | pmid=16817067}}</ref><ref name="Concordance/discordance in SO">{{cite journal|first=Michael W.|last=Ross|author2=Essien, E. James |author3=Williams, Mark L. |author4= Fernandez-Esquer, Maria Eugenia. |title=Concordance Between Sexual Behavior and Sexual Identity in Street Outreach Samples of Four Racial/Ethnic Groups|publisher=American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association|year=2003|pmid=12567166|journal=Sexually Transmitted Diseases|volume=30|issue=2|pages=110–113|doi=10.1097/00007435-200302000-00003|s2cid=21881268|doi-access=free}}</ref> Sexual orientation is stable and unlikely to change for the vast majority of people, but some research indicates that some people may experience change in their sexual orientation, and this is more likely for women than for men.<ref name=fluidity>
*{{cite journal|last1=Bailey|first1=J. Michael|last2=Vasey|first2=Paul|last3=Diamond|first3=Lisa|last4=Breedlove|first4=S. Marc|last5=Vilain|first5=Eric|last6=Epprecht|first6=Marc|title=Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science|journal=Psychological Science in the Public Interest|date=2016|volume=17|issue=2|pages=45–101|doi=10.1177/1529100616637616|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301639075|quote=Sexual fluidity is situation-dependent flexibility in a person’s sexual responsiveness, which makes it possible for some individuals to experience desires for either men or women under certain circumstances regardless of their overall sexual orientation....We expect that in all cultures the vast majority of individuals are sexually predisposed exclusively to the other sex (i.e., heterosexual) and that only a minority of individuals are sexually predisposed (whether exclusively or non-exclusively) to the same sex.|pmid=27113562|doi-access=free}}
*{{cite book|first1=Dennis |last1=Coon|first2=John O. |last2=Mitterer|title=Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior with Concept Maps and Reviews|publisher=[[Cengage Learning]]|isbn=978-1111833633|year=2012|page=372|access-date=February 18, 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EYwjCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA372|quote=Sexual orientation is a deep part of personal identity and is usually quite stable. Starting with their earliest erotic feelings, most people remember being attracted to either the opposite sex or the same sex. [...] The fact that sexual orientation is usually quite stable doesn't rule out the possibility that for some people sexual behavior may change during the course of a lifetime.}}
*{{cite book|first1=Eric |last1=Anderson|first2=Mark |last2=McCormack|title=The Changing Dynamics of Bisexual Men's Lives|chapter=Measuring and Surveying Bisexuality|publisher= [[Springer Science & Business Media]]|isbn=978-3-319-29412-4|year=2016|page=47|access-date=June 22, 2019|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7_AgDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA47|quote=[R]esearch suggests that women's sexual orientation is slightly more likely to change than men's (Baumeister 2000; Kinnish et al. 2005). The notion that sexual orientation can change over time is known as ''sexual fluidity''. Even if sexual fluidity exists for some women, it does not mean that the majority of women will change sexual orientations as they age – rather, sexuality is stable over time for the majority of people.}}</ref> The American Psychological Association distinguishes between sexual orientation (an innate attraction) and sexual orientation identity (which may change at any point in a person's life).<ref name=apa2009-2>{{cite web|title=Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]|pages=63, 86|date=2009|access-date=February 3, 2015|url=http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/therapeutic-response.pdf}}</ref>

A 2012 study found that 2% of a sample of 2,560 adult participants reported a change of sexual orientation identity after a 10-year period. For men, a change occurred in 0.78% of those who had identified as heterosexual, 9.52% of homosexuals, and 47% of bisexuals. For women, a change occurred in 1.36% of heterosexuals, 63.6% of lesbians, and 64.7% of bisexuals.<ref>{{cite journal | url = http://midus.wisc.edu/findings/pdfs/1153.pdf | author1 = Mock, S. E.|author2= Eibach, R. P. | year = 2012 | title = Stability and change in sexual orientation identity over a 10-year period in adulthood | journal = Archives of Sexual Behavior | volume = 41 | issue = 3 | pages = 641–648 | doi = 10.1007/s10508-011-9761-1 | pmid=21584828| s2cid = 15771368}}</ref>

A 2-year study by [[Lisa M. Diamond]] on a sample of 80 non-heterosexual female adolescents (age 16–23) reported that half of the participants had changed sexual-minority identities more than once, one third of them during the 2-year follow-up. Diamond concluded that "although sexual attractions appear fairly stable, sexual identities and behaviors are more fluid."<ref>{{cite journal | author = Diamond, L. M. | year = 2000 | title = Sexual identity, attractions, and behavior among young sexual-minority women over a 2-year period | journal = Developmental Psychology | volume = 36 | issue = 2 | pages = 241–250 | doi = 10.1037/0012-1649.36.2.241 | url = http://www.psych.utah.edu/people/people/diamond/Publications/Sexual%20identity,%20attractions,%20and%20behavior.pdf | pmid = 10749081 | access-date = 2015-04-20 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100610021104/http://www.psych.utah.edu/people/people/diamond/Publications/Sexual%20identity%2C%20attractions%2C%20and%20behavior.pdf | archive-date = 2010-06-10 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

[[Heteroflexibility]] is a form of sexual orientation or [[situational sexual behavior]] characterized by minimal homosexual activity in an otherwise primarily heterosexual orientation that is considered to distinguish it from bisexuality. It has been characterized as "mostly straight".<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1037/0012-1649.44.1.15 |last1=Thompson |first1=E.M. |last2=Morgan |first2=E.M. |year=2008 |title="Mostly straight" young women: Variations in sexual behavior and identity development |journal=Developmental Psychology |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=15–21 |pmid=18194001}}</ref>