Human sexuality is a concept that has been widely studied despite the fact that it has drawn an equal amount of criticism. This study concentrates on the sexual interests of human beings, their functions and behaviors. The sexologists who carry out these studies are drawn from a wide range of fields including criminology, psychology, sociology, epidemiology, medicine, and biology. There are a wide range of issues that can be addressed concerning human sexuality. These include sexual activities, sexual relationships, gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexual development. The study may also be extended to cover some other issues like sexuality among the disabled and the elderly and sexual dysfunctions such as pedophilia and erectile dysfunction (Maier, 2009). When I think of all the information that I have acquired about sexuality, the question that I would like to gain more insight about is: Is it okay to classify a person’s sexual orientation either as a homosexual or a heterosexual?
My research question is very important to the study because this is an issue that has elicited a lot of reactions from different people especially the church. Studies have shown that at least 1 in 10 Americans are homosexuals. Some people still believe that it is not proper to define people’s sexual orientation as homosexual or heterosexual since their sexuality may change with time. Additionally, sexual orientation is purely a psychologically phenomenon that is based on fantasies, attraction and desires. People go through different phases of sexuality throughout their life which are sometimes influenced by the environment in which they live (Drucker, 2010). A person may be labeled as a homosexual today but still get married to a person of a different sexual orientation at another point in time. Thus, it may not be proper to label such a person as a homosexual since they may just be living through a certain phase of their sexual life.
There are a number of lessons that i learnt from the studies such as Kinsey’s and Master’s and Johnson’s that are of great help in designing my study. I can use the Kinsey’s scale from the Kinsey’s study to rank the different sexual behaviors for my main subjects of the study. The scale has a value of zero to six. The state of being completely homosexual will be represented by the value 6 on the scale while the state of complete heterosexuality will be represented by zero. Using this scale will help me to establish whether there are different sexual representations rather than homosexuality and heterosexuality and how they transition along the scale (Drucker, 2010). According to the study by Master’s and Johnson’s, homosexuality is a psychological disorder that can be treated. This will help me to show that people go through various sexual phases and some finally discover their true orientation later on (Maier, 2009).
My study will be conducted on college students from specific institutions in different locations. However, the scope of the study will be limited to students within the confines of the institution so as to enhance the accessibility to and the credibility of information collected. My main method of data collection will be through interviews which will be carried out based through a structured questionnaire. After data collection, i will analyze the relationship between people from the six classes so as to establish whether a relationship exists between two or more of these classes. Based on the findings, i will make the appropriate conclusion on whether or not it is right to classify people’s sexual orientation as homosexual or heterosexual.
There are a number of ethical issues that I will have to consider when designing my study. First, I will have to ensure that the participants fully understand the type of research that I am carrying out and how I intend to use the data from the findings. Thus, I will prepare pamphlets regarding the same and avail it to them so that they can get to know what they are signing up for. Secondly, I will ensure that the participants willingly agree to take part in the study. Thus, I will not influence their decision to take part in the study by bribing them or making false promises to them. Thirdly, I will give them the right to withdraw if the whole thing becomes uncomfortable or unbearable for them. Thus, they do not have to feel like they are tied to the study (McGee, 2006).
References
Drucker, D. (2010). Male Sexuality and Alfred Kinsey's 0–6 Scale: Toward “A Sound Understanding of the Realities of Sex”. Journal of Homosexuality, 57(9), 1105-1123. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2010.508314
Maier, T. (2009). Masters of sex. New York: Basic Books.
McGee, P. (2006). Ethical Issues in Research Design: A Commentary. Research Ethics, 2(1), 25-27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/174701610600200106
