This is how someone refers to their sexual orientation (e.g., "straight", "lesbian", or "queer").

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- sexual behavior
- sexual desires
- sexual identity

3 Dimensions of Sexual Orientation

Keuroghlian, A. S., Ard, K. L., & Makadon, H. J. (2017). Advancing health equity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people through sexual health education and LGBT-affirming health care environments. Sexual Health (Online), 14(1), 119-122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/SH16145

Advancing health equity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people through sexual health education and LGBT-affirming health care environments

This refers to someone's actual sexual behaviors/acts, and does not always align neatly with sexual identity.  Some examples of this might be a lesbian dating a transgender man, or a man who has sex with other men but identifies as straight.  It's important for healthcare professionals to clarify this vs. identity in order to give relevant health information or care (e.g., proper STI prevention).

Sexual behavior

Sexual identity

This refers to someone's attraction to other people that may or may not be discussed, which if not discussed can lead to feelings of isolation because they might not have the opportunity to bring these up in a clinical setting.

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