Can your sexual orientation change over the course of your life?

While some claim to have known their sexuality since childhood, could a person's sexual orientation change over time, or even overnight?

Can Your Sexual Orientation Change Over the Course of Your Life?
© Unsplash/Sharon McCutcheon
Can Your Sexual Orientation Change Over the Course of Your Life?

A 32- year-old woman named Audrey, noted that she has recently been attracted to women. She wondered if she is unique, or if individuals can change their sexual orientation in the course of a lifetime.

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Audrey's case is "not a question of science"

Catherine Blanc is a sexologist and psychoanalyst, who appeared on the show. She explained that even if this "change of preference" seemed very sudden, it is most likely the result of a longer period of change. The expert explained her hypothesis about Audrey's situation: The young woman in her thirties would have likely repressed her sexuality for a long time before being able to fully embrace it.

It's never all at once. The construction of an individual takes place throughout his or her life. The source is in her, she has probably repressed it for multiple reasons, cultural, educational, or perhaps guilt. And this mechanism is not necessarily conscious. Moreover, she might wonder about the way she functioned with men: what was her role in her previous relationships? Because there are cases of heterosexual couples whose roles are reversed.

Does family pressure suppress sexuality?

Would Audrey have finally decided to abandon men in order to find what was already inside her for a long time? According to our expert, it can be that upon getting divorced or operating from their families, people finally realise their sexuality. Catherine Blanc has a clear answer to this question:

Yes, you have couples who are heterosexual, who have children. Then all of a sudden they get divorced and the new partner happens to be of the same sex. Proof that it didn't just come out of nowhere. It's not disgust that caused the change, but rather a difficulty to fit in.

The maturity and emotional intelligence that was gained with age and space would therefore allow Audrey to express herself fully, on all levels.

Does this relate to you?

Sexual aftercare: What is it, and how can it improve your sex life? Sexual aftercare: What is it, and how can it improve your sex life?