Sexuality

Sex can refer to gender, or the act of intercourse or acts leading up to, or following, intercourse, including if intercourse is not achieved or is not desired.

Virginity is the state of never before having had intercourse.

On Earth, human sexuality varies. Heterosexuality refers to a preference for the opposite sex, e. g. males for females, and vice versa. Homosexuality refers to a preference for the same gender, e. g. females for females. Bisexuality is attraction to both genders. Intersex individuals can show more than one set of genitalia, or can just have less specific internal organs. An individual who is transgendered does not personally identify with their original biological gender. An open marriage generally refers to a marriage where the parties are free to engage in intercourse with others.

Slang for any of these terms, including homosexuality, varies greatly over time. Acceptable slang in one decade may become a slur in the next, or the reverse might occur. Gay is a generally-accepted umbrella statement for homosexuality, often referring more to men, though the term is sometimes used to refer to women. Gay women are generally referred to as lesbians.

Sexuality varies among species. Denobulans have three mates of the opposite gender, and each of these mates has three, etc. (). Andorian marriages require groups of four (). While preferences are not specified, the presence of such multiple individual marriages strongly implies that some sexuality may be fluid.

=Fan continuities=

Bisexual character

 * Melissa Madden

Gay characters (female)

 * Leah Benson
 * Leonora Digiorno
 * Diana Jones
 * Preece Ti

Gay characters (male)

 * David Constantine
 * Lucas Donnelly
 * Preston Jennings
 * Franklin Thomas Todd

Open marriage

 * The marriage of Lili O'Day and Douglas Jay Hayes Beckett was an open one after 2159, when Doug took a lover, Melissa Madden, and Lili took a lover, Malcolm Reed. Melissa also retained her lesbian lover, Leonora Digiorno. The parties referred to the marriage and its adjuncts as "the arrangement". The arrangement was discontinued upon Doug's death, in 2181 (:Equinox), although the parties remained close.

Multiple marriages

 * Daranaeans divided females into three separate castes, depending upon aroma. Wealthy Daranaean men would have three wives, one from each caste. Less wealthy men either did not marry at all or would only have one wife, often purchased from the lowest caste (:The Cure is Worse Than the Disease).

Alternate and unconventional practices

 * Pamela Hudson was a sexual abuse victim, and preferred mild forms of bondage and light sadomasochism (:Intolerance). Malcolm Reed confessed that the light bondage was the only thing he had liked about that (:Together).

Interspecies sexuality

 * Kevin O'Connor was part-Gorn and part-human, making him an obvious product of mixed species mating. His wife, Josie (Jhasi Tantharis), was Aenar (:Temper).
 * Pamela Hudson married Treve, a Calafan. The difference in species made it impossible for them to have children together (:Remembrance).

=External links=