It seems Western culture has undergone a paradigm shift in discussing

File: tiberius.jpg (16KB, 250x305px) Image search: [Google]

16KB, 250x305px

It seems Western culture has undergone a paradigm shift in discussing sexuality. In ages past, something like homosexuality, whether condemned or celebrated, was considered an action. One might engage in homosexual acts. There was no conception of sexual orientation as we think of it today; no-one would be called 'gay' or 'straight' regardless of their actions or inclinations. Of course, some were undoubtedly more inclined to homosexual behavior than others, for whatever reason, and others less, but even if this inclination rose to the level that the individual were associated with the act, it was still act dependent. A man with homosexual tendencies who was nonetheless married would not be considered a homosexual (if that term had any meaning as an identifier of identity and not simply action), not even if he occasionally indulged those tendencies.

Now, we view sexual orientation as a matter of categories in which individuals fall based on their desires and psychological factors. Is this view more correct and what is its basis? What are the implications for society in categorizing people by their thoughts and not their actions?