Gender, Heteronormative Attitudes, and Sexual Identity Stability and Change

Changes between heterosexual (straight) and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning (LGBQ) identities have been observed among a substantial minority of people in longitudinal studies. While a robust base of the literature has explored why women are more likely than men to identify as LGBQ, little research has investigated gendered social factors associated with changes in sexual identity-especially changes from an LGBQ identity to straight. To address this gap, we tested associations between preference for heterosexuality, endorsement of conventional family ideology, and changes in sexual identity in women and men. Analyzing data from a large and representative longitudinal study of Australian adults (ages 20-99 years, M = 50.63), we found a positive association between the endorsement of conventional family ideology and the odds of changing to a straight identity among LGBQ women but not men. Meanwhile, greater preference for heterosexuality increased the odds of changing to a straight identity among GBQ men but not LGBQ women. The vast majority of those changing to a straight identity had previously identified as bisexual, other, or unsure, with very few people changing from gay or lesbian to straight. Our results indicate that social factors are related to sexual identity change in gendered ways.