HDFS 250Sexual Identity over the Life Span

3 credits · Human Development and Family Studies · Penn State

Concepts of affectional and sexual orientation over life span, with emphasis on lesbian and gay male personal, family, and community adaptation. HD FS (WMNST) 250 Sexual Identity over the Life Span (3) (US) This course reviews concepts of sexual identity as informed by a human development perspective. Concepts of sexual orientation are discussed in the context of a review of lesbian, gay male, and bisexual lives. Developmental processes of lesbian and gay life are detailed: personal change from the teenage years through adulthood, changes in family and relationship patterns, and impact of communities, laws, and culture. These processes are contrasted to the developmental processes of women and men who identify themselves as heterosexual. The complex effect of gender, race, ethnicity, class status, and historical time on sexual orientation and its expression has generated ongoing controversies in scholarship as well as in public discourse. The course will be an introduction to these controversies as informed by human development research.