What is Sexual Identity? It is a term used to describe a person’s sexual orientation. The term is often interchanged with "…sexual preferences, affectional preference, and sexual orientation" Unfortunately, the terms are often abused causing further speculations and problems.
 
    The debate about what causes lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons to choose their sexual identity still exists today.  Is it nature or nurture? Genetics or environment?  Studies have shown that the answer to that question is split evenly.(Alice E. Moses etd. by Eliason)  How does nurture cause a decision over sexual identity?  Richard Troiden from Eliason’s article describes how nurture may affect sexual identity:

People are born into a state of polymorphous perversity, a capacity of bodily pleasures that is fluid and diffuse.  Sexual preferences develop accordingly to culturally specific sexual scripts.  Sexual scripts are a set of norms, values, and sanctions regarding sexuality.  These scripts are culture specific and are learned in childhood and adolescence…

     To summarize,Troiden is saying that we are born without knowing norms of society, but as we grow older, society fills our heads with norms and definitions.  These norms and definitions shape and define ourselves and causes us to identify our sexuality. Homosexuals see how society would treat them (like inferiors).  On the other hand, nature may also cause an individual to be homosexual.  There is always the argument of why a person would choose to be “that” way?   Many articles have stated that being a homosexual is run through the genes.  People with homosexual relatives may also have a chance of being a homosexual.