Overview

Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior toward males and females. The term is mainly used in the context of human attraction to denote romantic or sexual feelings toward men and women.^[1][2][3] Pansexuality may or may not be subsumed under bisexuality, as the terms are often treated as synonyms and people may consider bisexuality, like pansexuality, to encompass romantic or sexual attraction to people of all gender identities or to a person irrespective of that person's biological sex or gender.^[4][5][6][7]

Bisexuality is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation along with heterosexuality and homosexuality, which are each parts of theheterosexual–homosexual continuum. A bisexual identity does not necessarily equate to equal sexual attraction to both sexes; commonly, people who have a distinct but not exclusive sexual preference for one sex over the other also identify themselves as bisexual.^[8]

Bisexuality has been observed in various human societies^[9] and elsewhere in the animal kingdom^[10][11][12] throughout recorded history. The termbisexuality, however, like the terms hetero- and homosexuality, was coined in the 19th century.

Bisexuality is the romantic or sexual attraction to males and females. The American Psychological Association states that "sexual orientation falls along a continuum. In other words, someone does not have to be exclusively homosexual or heterosexual, but can feel varying degrees of both. Sexual orientation develops across a person's lifetime–different people realize at different points in their lives that they are heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual."^[8][14][15] Sexual attraction, behavior and identity may also be incongruent, as sexual attraction or behavior may not necessarily be consistent with identity. Some individuals identify themselves as heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual without having had any sexual experience. Others have had homosexual experiences but do not consider themselves to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual.^[15] Likewise, self-identified gay or lesbian individuals may occasionally sexually interact with members of the opposite sex but do not identify as bisexual.^[8][15] The terms queer and polysexual,^[6]or heteroflexible and homoflexible, as well as the titles "men who have sex with men" and "women who have sex with women," may also be used.

Pansexuality may or may not be subsumed under bisexuality, with some sources stating that bisexuality encompasses romantic or sexual attraction to all gender identities or that it is romantic or sexual attraction to a person irrespective of that person's biological sex or gender.^[4][5][7] The concept of pansexuality deliberately rejects the gender binary, the "notion of two genders and indeed of specific sexual orientations",^[7] as pansexual people are open to relationships with people who do not identify as strictly men or women.^[5][7] The term pansexuality is used interchangeably with bisexuality, and, similarly, people who identify as bisexual may "feel that gender, biological sex, and sexual orientation should not be a focal point in potential [romantic/sexual] relationships".

Like people of other LGBT sexualities, bisexuals often face discrimination. In addition to the discrimination associated with homophobia, bisexuals must frequently contend with discrimination from gays, lesbians, and straight society around the very word "bisexual" and bisexual identity itself.^{[16][17][18][19]} The belief that bisexuality does not exist is common,^[16] and stems from two views. In the heterosexist view, people are presumed to be attracted to the opposite sex and it is sometimes reasoned that only heterosexuality truly exists. In the monosexist view, it is believed that people cannot be bisexual unless they are equally sexually attracted to both sexes.^[16][17] In this view, people are either exclusively homosexual (gay/lesbian) or exclusively heterosexual (straight),^[16] closeted homosexual people who wish to appear heterosexual,^[20] or heterosexuals who are experimenting with their sexuality.^[18][19][21]

The belief that one cannot be bisexual unless equally sexually attracted to both sexes is disputed by various researchers, who have reported bisexuality to fall on a continuum, like sexuality in general.^[8][22] In 2005, the belief that bisexuality must involve equal sexual/romantic attraction was further perpetuated by researchers Gerulf Rieger, Meredith L. Chivers, and J. Michael Bailey,^[23]who concluded that bisexuality is extremely rare in men. This was based on results of controversial penile plethysmograph testing when viewing pornographic material involving only men and pornography involving only women. Critics state that this study works from the assumption that a person is only truly bisexual if he or she exhibits virtually equal genital arousal responses to both opposite-sex and same-sex pornography, and have consequently dismissed the self-identification of people whose arousal patterns showed even a mild preference for one sex. Moreover, this study recruited men via advertisements in "gay oriented magazines" and an alternative paper in Chicago, using no vetting process other than a person's choice to call themselves bi in response to an ad for a paid study.^[22] Further, some researchers hold that the technique used in the study to measure genital arousal is too crude to capture the richness (erotic sensations, affection, admiration) that constitutes sexual attraction.^[22] The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force called the study and The New York Times coverage of it flawed and biphobic.^[24] Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) also criticized the study.^[25]

In 2008, Bailey stated he regretted repeating the notion that people are gay, straight or lying, especially with regard to men. In a new study with the same technology but different recruiting criteria and stimuli, he said he found bisexual genital arousal patterns in men.^[26][27] In 2011, he and other researchers reported that specifically among men with a history of several romantic and sexual relationships with members of both sexes, high levels of sexual arousal were found in response to both male and female sexual imagery.^[28][29] The authors noted this change in recruitment strategy was an important difference, but there was not enough data to establish a protocol to attain a representative sample of bisexual-identified men. Noting these factors, they concluded, "Bisexual-identified men with bisexual arousal patterns do indeed exist, however, and they present an interesting opportunity to illuminate the development and expression of male sexual orientation."^[29] A further study found a stronger bisexual arousal pattern in bisexual-identified men, compared to heterosexual and homosexual men, but that not all such identified men exhibited such arousal patterns.