Klein Sexual Orientation Grid
The Klein Sexual Orientation Grid (KSOG) is a multidimensional measure of sexual orientation, devised by sex researcher Fritz Klein in 1978 to answer a limitation of the single-axis Kinsey scale — that orientation is not one thing. Instead of one number, it rates seven separate dimensions — sexual attraction, behaviour, fantasies, emotional preference, social preference, self-identification, and lifestyle — each on a 1-7 continuum running from exclusively other-sex to exclusively same-sex, with a balanced middle for bisexuality. Klein also asked how each dimension shifts across a person's past, present, and ideal, treating orientation as a dynamic process rather than a fixed category.
The Klein Sexual Orientation Grid (KSOG) was devised by sex researcher Fritz Klein in The Bisexual Option (1978) and formalised and validated by Klein, Sepekoff & Wolf (1985), who rated seven dimensions of orientation across past, present and ideal time frames. It is a widely used research instrument that maps orientation as a continuum on each dimension rather than a single label. Here you record your present-day standing on each of the seven variables — a reflective self-ID, not a diagnosis. (Klein Sexual Orientation Grid (Klein, Sepekoff & Wolf, 1985))
Dimensions
- Sexual attraction (Other-sex – Same-sex) — Who you feel sexually attracted to. Leaning high means attraction to the same sex; leaning low means the other sex; the centre means drawn to both.
- Sexual behaviour (Other-sex – Same-sex) — Who you have actually had sexual contact with. Leaning high means partners of the same sex; leaning low means the other sex; the centre means both.
- Sexual fantasies (Other-sex – Same-sex) — Who appears in your sexual fantasies and daydreams. Leaning high means the same sex; leaning low means the other sex; the centre means both.
- Emotional preference (Other-sex – Same-sex) — Who you form your closest, most loving emotional bonds with. Leaning high means the same sex; leaning low means the other sex; the centre means both equally.
- Social preference (Other-sex – Same-sex) — Who you most enjoy spending social time with. Leaning high means mostly the same sex; leaning low means mostly the other sex; the centre means both equally.
- Self-identification (Heterosexual – Gay or lesbian) — How you label your own orientation. Leaning high means gay or lesbian; leaning low means heterosexual; the centre means bisexual.
- Lifestyle (Heterosexual – LGBTQ+) — Whether the social world you live in is mostly heterosexual, mostly LGBTQ+, or a mix of both. Leaning high means a largely LGBTQ+ community; leaning low means a largely heterosexual one.
References
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