Gender Identity: Adding a Sexual Dimension to Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
Later adolescents add a sexual dimension to their gender identity that did not play much or a role in their child gender-role identifications
Physical attractiveness become more salient during this time
Maturation of the hormonal system, which influence emotional arousal as well as sexual urges, contributes to one’s gender identity
Research on sexual orientation suggests that later adolescence is a common time for the emergence of a homosexual identity