Sexual orientation is the idea that everyone is either homosexual, heterosexual or bisexual. Supposedly, everyone fits into one of these boxes. Which box a person's sexual desires fit into is also supposed to tell us what sort of person they 'really' are.

How are we supposed to know what we (and other people) 'really' are? You only have to answer two simple questions: 1) are you a man or a woman? and 2) are you sexually attracted to men, women or both? But, are these questions that simple? Maybe not.

This site is developing with the support of Pander, as a resource to help people think about sexuality and relationships differently. Is it okay to tell people who they really are, who they should be or what they should want? This is what is happening when we try to fit people into sexual orientation boxes.

At the moment, the site focuses on my PhD research project, which tried to develop an understanding of how people experience 'sexual orientation' and what can be done about the problems it causes. So, some of the things on the site are a bit academic and some aren't. I am working to add more material all the time, both academic and otherwise. If you want to be informed of updates to the site, please contact me to be added to the e-mailing list.

Jamie Heckert, April 2005