Measurements of sexual orientation - don't virgins have an orientation?

[everywhere and nowhere]

This topic may already have been explored, but I just don't know and I think it's a topic for more than discussion, even for critical essays. I'm no expert on sociology or sexology, but have read a bit about measurements of sexual orientation and too often one of the aspects explored in describing someone's orientation is hir experience.

A naive question: don't authors of these measurements realize than not all people have ever had sex?

As in the title: don't virgins have a sexual orientation? Really, how do these questionnaires work if someone's only possible answer to the question about whether zhe has had sex with men or women or both (I realize there are more genders, but such authors not always do) is "with no-one at all"? Which measurements of sexual orientation are more asexual-friendly and which are more friendly to sexually inexperienced people in general?

[Guest]

Most of my experience has been with things that ask "have/want/N/A" sort of things. Though, ones geared towards teens may have more of the questions for haven't done yet, rather than adults, as they assume most adults have done at least some things. I haven't much looked into them as an adult. 

 

 

[borkfork]

Yes. It's possible to be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, etc. without any prior consensual sexual experience ('virgin' is not a scientifically accurate measurement of anything). Just like one can be ace with or without having had sexual experiences. Which is one the reasons behavior isn't an accurate measure in this area. 

[Lord Jade Cross]

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[SithAzathoth WinterDragon]

I have no idea, I  myself have never been sexual and I've never desired to try anything sexual. Virginity is outdated in words as many in "normal society" have at least tried all or 1 thing. 

[daveb]

Virgin just means someone who hasn't had sex. It says nothing about orientation. And you don't have to have had sex to know your orientation.

[borkfork]

8 minutes ago, daveb said:

Virgin just means someone who hasn't had sex. 

There's a lot people out there who think there are technicalities like only doing _____ preserves virginity. Have or have not been sexually active is more accurate.

[everywhere and nowhere]

I just used the word "virgin" as an abbreviation for "a person who has never had sex".

[Mermaidy]

I've seen it said on AVEN that someone DOES need to have sex in order to know his sexual orientation.  I don't agree with that though based on basically every single anecdote I've heard lol

[everywhere and nowhere]

On AVEN? Where a) most people agree that asexuality IS a sexual orientation, b) a fair percentage of users have never tried sex? This would mean they have no orientation and thus would be contradictory.

But more seriously, has anyone perhaps researched different sexual orientation scales and knows which one are friendly for inexperienced people and which are blind to the very fact that sexually inexperienced adult people do exist?

I remember a blogger called, if I remember well, Cary Gabriel Costello. He's an intersex person and mostly writes about intersex stuff (however, he didn't update his blog often and I'm not sure if he's still writing it) - usually very msart and interesting, but one thing made me angry. He proposed a gender questionnaire that wouldn't make trans and intersex people feel like weirdoes and it also included a section on sexuality... and in the section about partners' gender (and I consider it, by itself, a very interesting move: to ask about partners' gender without relation to subject's gender - from this point of view, straight men and lesbians are gynecophilic, straight women and gay men are androphilic etc.) he didn't include the simple option "I haven't had any sexual relationships". Really, why do people find it so hard to imagine that there ARE adult people who have never had sex, by choice or by chance?

[timewarp]

Moving this to musirants.

timewarp, Project Team