Studies show...

Posted on: August 21, 2008 - 8:04am
Studies show...
... that bisexual behavior is way more common that anyone seems to have previously thought and yet it is rare for people to identitfy as bi. We also know that bisexual behavior is present in literally hundreds of animals and insects. We also know that the suicide rate among bisexual young men from the ages of 15 to 25 is the highest of any sexual orientation and age group looked at.
So why are so many people who are behaviorally bi still not able to come out of the closet and are still identifying as straight or gay even though they are attracted to more than one gender.

Posted on: August 21, 2008 - 1:25pm #1

That's very interesting...

What studies are these?

At least people I know seem to be increasingly aware of the biphobia that takes place in both straight and -ironically- gay communities. It's refreshing that there are studies that look beyond the token gay-male population.

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Posted on: August 21, 2008 - 10:36pm #2
Look in the bisexual's guide to the universe under the chapter weird science. Has a lot of the studies.
Posted on: February 7, 2009 - 5:12pm #3
Hah, interesting and very thought provoking...

Personally, I don't like the term bi because "bi" means "two," implying only two genders that you can be attracted to... and of course, we know there are more than two genders, right? To me, the term is kind of antiquated.

I would say I'm technically pansexual, but I have a strong preference towards men and male-bodied people. For this reason, I'll often say I'm gay... usually to repell women who I'm not interested in. :-/ After all, what's a little white lie?

I also use the term "gay" because I don't want people to assume I'm equally attracted to all genders. I don't actively look for female partners, but if a really special girl happens to come along, that's all good.
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Posted on: February 17, 2009 - 1:39pm #4
I recognize that there are more than twop possible genders and I am fine with that. I still use the termn Bisexual because I am really only attracted to two genders, I have always liked guys and girls. For people who find themselves being attracted to more than two genders then pansexual works great, it would not work well for me.
I never use the term gay to describe myself and have never used it. I also will not allow it to be used to describe me if I am present just as i will not allow the term straight to be used to describe me.
There is a problem in our society that most people assume that you are straight and then if they realize that you are not straight they think then that you are gay. There is also a phenomenon referred to as gay-washing in which trans, bi, straight queers, and other queers become invisible because the term gay gets used as a catch all term because a person wil have a denotation in their own head that it convers all queers but the main conotation in society is the gay, white, young , skinny, effiminate male.
So I am careful about how terms are used.
The only time it ever comes up around here is when one of my students who is bi refers to us both as being gay, but he hasn't done that in a long time.