Straightening out the queer? Same-sex experience and attraction among young people in Norway.
The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of same-sex experience, from deep kissing, through petting to genital contact, same-sex romantic attraction and reported same-sex arousal in a representative sample of young men and women aged 17-18 in Norway. While same-sex experiences were reported as being more prevalent among young women (27.4%) than among young men (6.5%), the gender difference in the case of same-sex genital experiences was smaller (F = 4.6%, M = 2.7%) than in the case of deep kissing (F = 25.7%, M = 3.9%). While same-sex romantic attraction was more prevalent among young men with same-sex experiences than young women, such attraction was confined to a minority of all young men. Results suggest that same-sex experiences among Norwegian youth are not unequivocally tied to same-sex attraction and possible homosexual self-identity. We argue that among young men, same-sex behaviour is more often associated with same-sex orientation whereas young women's same-sex relations seem to be more exploratory.
Hegna
Kristinn
K
NOVA - Norwegian Social Research, Oslo, Norway. kristinn.hegna@nova.no
Larsen
Camilla Jordheim
CJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012747:Sexual Partners; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires