Sexual orientation is a term that includes many aspects including sexual attraction (who a person is sexually attracted to), sexual behaviour (who a person has sex with), and sexual identity (which label and/or community a person identifies with, be that lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, heterosexual or other labels). All variations of sexual orientation are normal and should not to be regarded as forms of illness, pathology or immorality.
Gender identity and expression, and intersex variations are separate to sexual orientation. People with any sexual orientation might identify with any gender and/or might have an intersex variation.
Knowing when, where and how to come out as same sex attracted person is important. Some people find coming out easy and others need support and help to deal with negative attitudes. It can be very useful to discuss these issues with a sensitive healthcare provider.