More young people identify as Bisexual

[cplnluv1 872]

Opened up my local paper this morning and on Page 2 there is an article about more people identifying themselves as bisexual. The article goes on to site statistics from the CDC.

 

I am not sure if there are truly more bisexuals or than in today's society it is more acceptable to admit. In a survey they conducted of 18-24 year-olds, 76% of the women said they are only attracted to men. 89% of the men said they were only attracted to women. In a survey of 10,000 Americans, 5.5% of women said they are bi and 2% of men.

 

A strange statistic, maybe not that strange, 7.5% of women who said they are only attracted to men had had sexual contact with a woman. 2.8% of straight men have had sexual contact with a man.

 

From a personal perspective, it had me wonder how I would have answered the survey. As a teen, I had what some would have called lesbian experiences, but I would never had classified myself as lesbian or bi. My experiences were more out of my sexual curiosity, not an attraction. My closest friend had lost her virginity to an "older" boy. Of course she confided in me and I listened to every detail. I wasn't naive, but really wasn't a know it all either. I knew all the stories about sex but didn't ever talk to someone about what they did. I am sure we all were curious to what the first time would be for ourselves. I knew what made me feel good but would never tell anyone other in a joke that I touched myself at night. It was my friend that was my confidant. After her first experiences with a boy, we had what I call my lesbian experiences. I wasn't sexually attracted to my friend but sexually curious with her. It wasn't long before I too was with a boy.

 

In high school we all knew who was "gay". It was becoming more accepted, something our parents didn't understand at first. I don't remember labeling anyone as bi. In college there was more and more awareness to non-straight people. I became more sexually active and cared less what people thought. It was my wild days. I did plenty of experimenting.

 

This brings me back to how I would answer the survey. I am not outright attracted to women as I am to men. Until recently, I went many years with sexual contact with a woman. I enjoyed, and once again enjoy sex with both men and women. I am sure many of you would say I am bisexual.

 

On the other side of the question, I am not surprised less men will answer they are bi. In college I knew gay men, but only was involved in a male bisexual experience twice. Most men I knew in college were not homophobic, but stayed clear of sexual contact with other men.

 

I'm wondering what others think or have experienced?

[GoldCoCouple 4,066]

Personally, I think that it is more acceptable to be something other than heterosexual, especially among college aged kids. When I was growing up, being 'gay' was a bad thing that people teased others about. Now being gay is not that big of a thing. So if you happen to think that someone your own sex might be 'interesting', that's now kind of okay. In the case of a woman saying that she likes other women, most guys think it is incredibly sexy. As we age we also realize that those 'labels' don't have as much meaning as before. While Ms. Gold won't identify herself as bi, she seems to enjoy playing with another woman.

[sunbuckus 3,567]

I agree...I think it has more to do with it being more acceptable to be "out" and that it isn't as shameful as it once was to be gay or bisexual. In fact, I just watched an old tv show that I used to watch 15 years ago and it was a big thing back then to have a gay character and it was actually the first "gay kiss" to be broadcast. However, what really got me was a conversation that the gay character had with his gay boyfriend that got me.

 

The younger gay man had been "out" to his family and friends since he was a teen and then openly to anyone and everyone. But his boyfriend was only "out" to his friends and family but didn't want to be "out" to the public since he was a public servant. Well, the couple was having an argument about this very topic. The public servant gay boyfriend said, "Not all of us were fags at 15. It's not so easy for some of us." The shocked younger boyfriend responded by saying, "You know what the difference is between you and me? You were a fag at 15. You just haven't stopped hating yourself for it."

 

Even though it has become more acceptable to say one is gay and bisexual, we still have a long way to go. There's still a lot of gay/bisexual-shaming and it does result in these children and people hating themselves. There was something I heard awhile back about how a lot of teen suicides are because it was difficult for them to be gay/bisexual. They felt that they had to hide that part of themselves or that if they were "out" they were shunned.

 

As for me and my personal experience regarding gay/lesbian/bisexuality, I was taught that being any of those were sinful. It was wrong. So, naturally, I didn't want to do something wrong or be "sinful" so I fell into the mindset that I was only to be attracted to males. And I am attracted to men. But I do check out other women. For a long time, I did so for "comparison" reasons which usually resulted in feeling bad about myself but that's another topic. But since we've been swinging, I've been able to break out of that mold and truly appreciate other women's beauty in a sexual way. I'm not sure I would call myself bisexual but I don't think I'm 100% heterosexual. I think it really makes a different in the type of community or social circles one is involved in that determines how comfortable one feels about "coming out" in regards to being gay/lesbian/bisexual.

[Shore2Please 612]

I am neither young nor bi but I fall into the only attracted to men but have had contact with a woman. I still hesitate doing anything to a woman but admit to enjoying what a woman did to me. Maybe I am jealous of the younger people in that they don't have as many hang ups we did. From the people on this board my feeling there is a much higher percentage of people who would answer they are bi than in the general population.

[GMOFLEISURE 221]

I've noticed a lot of younger men, under age 25 are a lot more open about trying m/m sex, just to check it out. While there is still a fair amount of desire for discretion & privacy in this they are exploring their sexuality with a lot fewer reservation than forty or even fifteen years ago. This may be true for younger women these days too. Last weekend I had a nice evening with a 29 y/o woman who was seeking nsa birthday sex, & quickly accepted a proposal for a mmf threesome, her first. I dont think she thought of this as 'slutty' at all but just adventerous exploration.

[ViSexual 1,008]

There needs to be a term for someone who can be attracted to either sex other than bisexual. To me, bisexual simply means that there are things you can do, and enjoy, with either sex but it doesn't mean that you find either sex really attractive.

 

I like some men. I enjoy conversations, jokes, doing things, and being friends. And, if they share my open-mindedness, I can enjoy sex with them too.

 

But when it comes to seeing a person and getting that stimulating feeling in my groin, that only happens with women.

 

So, for me I know, I am bisexual but I'm not bi-whatever.

[enhancer 1,585]

Nothing is set in stone when it comes to how people indentify their sexuality! Different people will call it different things. From what we see online though we break it into three different groups.

 

First one is bi sexual! To us a bi sexual person is one that is equally attracted to both sexes. These kind of people could have a relationship with both the same sex and opposite sex. This is how Ms Enhancer would identify herself and it is the kind of women we look for in other couples we meet.

 

Next one is bi curious! To us it means someone who is not attracted to the same sex, but curious to try some sexual activities with them.

 

The last one is bi situational or bi receptive! This is someone who is not at all attracted to the same sex, but will do some limited things with them for other reasons. Maybe to make their partner happy or for attention at a party. We avoid these kind as much as possible. Ms Enhancer has zero interest playing with someone who is not also attracted to her and has no interest doing things to them with nothing in return.

[Sandra_sff18 17]

I am lucky to be living with a guy who know I am bisexual and understands he can not give me what I get from girls, so as long as I put on a show for him and his friends sometimes I can have sex with girlfriends.