Sexual orientation

In the world of EarthUnbound, any sexual orientation is fully accepted by virtually all members of modern society. Marriage among persons of any genders is fully legal anywhere, supported by most major religions, and viewed with essentially universal acceptance. It is possible to encounter a backward-thinking individual, culture, or splinter religious group which condemns certain orientations or practices, but such bigots are rare, and not tolerated among mainstream society.

It is considered normal, to the point of being practically a social obligation, for everyone to experiment sexually with persons of various genders, particularly during one’s teenage and college years. It is expected that most people will have at least a few surprisingly satisfying sexual experiences with people of genders other than their usual preferences. The general understanding is that everyone’s orientation will be at least somewhat fluid throughout their lives, and that regular experimentation outside one’s typical gender preferences is a healthy way to fully explore all possibilities. To a person in the world of EarthUnbound, anyone who claims to be strictly hetero- or homo-sexual, or who no longer feels any wish to experiment outside their usual orientation, would be considered at least a little bit closed-minded, and not very self-aware.

As a result of this universal and protracted period of socially-expected sexual experimentation, almost everyone who doesn’t already identify as pan- or bisexual can be considered at least somewhat “hetero-flexible” or “homo-flexible:” preferring one gender more than others, but comfortable engaging in at least some sexual activity, at least some of the time, with people of any gender. This isn’t to say that people don’t have gender preferences. A person can decline sexual intimacy with someone who isn’t of a preferred gender without seeming rude or narrow-minded; only constant adherence to a narrow, unchanging orientation, without any exceptions, would seem unhealthy.

It is also quite common and socially accepted in the world of EarthUnbound for people to be comfortable with an orientation that doesn’t fit into common categories. For instance, it is not uncommon for a person to be “socially” pansexual, freely having sex with fellow guests of any gender at parties, but in their normal personal life be inclined to date and/or sleep with persons only of a specific gender. It’s also quite common to have certain sexual partners which don’t correspond to their usual orientation without changing their usual feelings towards persons of that gender. For instance, a person might have a close childhood friend with whom they have been having sex since they were teenagers experimenting together, despite that person not being of the gender they usually identify as being attracted to; this wouldn’t be considered at all strange by society.