I'm old but when I was young there were not many words for anything having to do with sexuality, gender was never up for discussion and even your body parts were vague euphemisms that varied depending on what part of the world you lived in--and I lived in quite a few. Needless to say, it was limiting, not to mention confusing. I started out identifying as straight without thinking about it and had lots of boyfriends, fell in love with a woman and called myself gay, fell in love with another man and then another woman and called myself bi, hated the term (sooooo boring) and basically decided long ago to just call myself sexual. Now, I've been in a monogamous relationship for almost thirty years but the truth is, I'm still the same sexual being I was when I first figured out that I was one--I like Foreigner's term, animal body. From the very first time a baby discovers sensual, sexual pleasure for him or herself, the small mind of cultural norms has to start slapping filters onto the experience. Referring to myself as sexual feels the most accurate, the least exclusive and at this point it has a rich history that is all my own. I raised two kids and got close to a lot of their friends. Some have transgendered, some declare themselves asexual, most identify as straight or gay or pan. And I don't see the point in adding to the confusion for any more generations by putting anyone down for what they want to do or who they want to do it with as long as its consensual.
