Sexual Orientation. A person’s enduring pattern of romantic, emotional, or sexual attraction to others. It’s made up of three main components: sexual attraction, sexual identity, and sexual behavior. 

Sexual orientation is different from gender identity, which is a person’s innermost concept of themselves. Gender identity can be the same or different from a person’s sex assigned at birth. 

Some terms used to describe sexual orientation include: 

• Straight or heterosexual: Attracted to people of the opposite sex or gender 
• Gay: Attracted to people of the same sex or gender 
• Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to women 
• Bisexual or bi: Attracted to both men and women 
• Pansexual: Attracted to any gender or sex 

People’s sexual orientation and identity can change over time, and there’s no need to feel pressured to choose a label. Many people experience changes in who they’re attracted to and how they identify, and this is called fluidity.