Breaking out of the dominant paradigm: a new look at sexual attraction

Concepts of sexuality based on the physical sex of partners limit the way in which human sexuality is conceived and investigated. The shift in focus of inquiry from the sexual identity of individuals to the structure of their sexual relationships is an important step towards exploding concepts that, for the most part, have been severely restricted to male-female genital distinctions. This article argues that the genital organs are not the prime focus of sexual attraction. Careful studies may reveal that sexual arousal is based on criteria that transcend genital categories. To determine the basis of sexual attraction it is important to investigate an amalgam of characteristics--those related and unrelated to the partners' physical sex. There are indications that individuals with a greater mix of feminine and masculine characteristics (both mental and physical) are actually more arousing than those who fall closer to the stereotypes. The arts, it is suggested, have exploited this phenomenon.