I would love to read your opinions! Do you believe that everyone who is sexually attracted to more than one gender is bisexual no matter how strong their preference for one gender is? Even if they couldn't be satisfied with the gender they feel only a slight attraction for? Or do you think you're only bisexual if you'd be completely satisfied with either gender you're attracted to? For example: I'm mainly lesbian but still feel some sexual attraction to only one certain man I love very much emotionally. I'm not able to feel attraction to any other man nor do I feel as intensive for him as I could feel for a woman but still like to sleep with him sometimes. I feel more honest to myself by consindering myself as "gay with exception". I want to add: This Thread is about personal opinions not about judging others choices what to identify as.
Tbh I would say a complete attraction to both genders. Studies have actually shown that most people aren't completely gay or straight. According to Kinsey less than 10% of all people were 100% gay or straight. Which leaves most people somewhere in between. So in my opinion it can't just be a slight attraction to your less prefered gender, it has to be more of a complete attraction
While I think "bisexual" covers a huge range, a slight interest in the other side doesn't take someone out of the gay or straight category. Many of the Kinsey 1s and 5s would not necessarily be bi, for example. I also don't think a "complete" attraction to more than one sex is required to be considered bi. By "complete", using the term in the other posts, I don't mean equal. Equal attraction is certainly not needed. Personally, I put myself around 4.5 - 5 on the Kinsey scale, a change from about 5.5 - 6.
I think bisexual is another word for "Straight acting homosexual" and your boyfriend would probably make an excellent girlfriend for you.
What the actual...? This is offensive on a number of levels but I'm just going to say that you're mistaken and should think twice about saying such a thing on a forum where people come to get support while they work out what their non-straight sexuality means to them. Including bisexuality.
Ah Ah The OP SPECIFICALLY stated this isn't a witch hunt but a request for personal opinions to the OP's specific question. If you're offended by anything on this thread you should have kept your opinion to yourself and gone to pout in your safe space.
Mate you know what you said was unfair and offensive no matter if you just frame it as an opinion, it sounds pretty biphobic and invalidating. --- To answer the OP I've seen people define bisexual as being attracted to both men and women, or attracted to people of ones own gender and people of other genders. Either definition I think works and is valid.
I didn't say I was offended. I said it was offensive in general. Are you now saying anyone who gets offended should keep it to themselves? I see. Also very supportive. Not. Sorry, OP.
Maturity Lad? I'm 55, openly gay and probably had actual sex more times than most on this thread have masturbated while wondering about. People come here looking for answers Sometimes the answers aren't what people want to hear. I didn't come to this forum looking fir love, respect, likes, or admiration but because I HOPE my experiences can help others understand and cope with the issues they will deal with as they move down the tracks of their lives.
None of those things actually denote maturity, rather they are life experiences. As such I stand by my statement. Regardless I do not wish to derail this thread any further, I wish you the best while maintaining my opinion as I'm sure you will yours.
I define it as anyone who is a 2-4 on the kinsey scale. 1's and 5's have slight attraction to the other sex, but It's usually not enough, so I wouldn't label them Bi just for this. On the other hand, most bi people are NOT 50/50, so you can have a preference and still be bi. But if it's so small that you wouldn't even date or sleep with the opposite sex, then probably not. Depends, though. If someone is sexually attracted to one guy and enjoys sleeping with him on the other hand, I would still consider that more toward the category of bisexuality to some extent, but I'm not going to force anyone to identify that way. I guess it just doesn't make sense to me, since if I used the same definition on myself, I'd be considered "asexual/aromantic, but can make exceptions for women sometimes". And for me that just doesn't feel right. Maybe it feels right for some people, I just don't understand it.
The problem is that a lot of gay people in committed relationships will say "romantically attracted to opposite sex; sexually to the same" or hold onto what little attraction they think they have for their straight partner to label themselves as anything but gay. What happens when or if that exception exits our lives? Are we still bisexual? You yourself said you consider yourself lesbian, and feel stronger towards women. Sometimes I see someone label themselves as "Kinsey 5.99999" and I'm like, "What's the point?" See, it's one thing to be attracted to a certain gender, and another to be attracted (or "in love") with one specific member of said gender (especially if its before we come out to ourselves). For me, I don't care what body parts a person has.
Yes, that's what i think. Personally, i think that creating labels for every small difference in human sexuality is pointless. If you like men and you are a man, you are gay. If you are a woman and like women, you are lesbian. If you like the opposite sex, you are straight. If you like both (or more), you are bisexual. There is no need to say "oh, 70% of the time i like women, but 30% of time i like men, therefore i'm 70%womensexual". While you can't change your orientation, it isn't a number, it isn't exact. Humans aren't exact. Labels and words were created to make communication easier. If you have to explain a label, it loses its purpose. Instead of creating a new label in the case above, for example, it is easier to say: "I'm bisexual (which is a common label, easy to understand), and most of the time i'm attracted to women, but i find some men interesting too". That's easy to understand. Or you can just use "i'm bisexual" if you don't want to explain the details.
The way I read this is "People use the term bisexual [wrongly] to mean self-deluding or other-deluding". I.e. it's a word that gets misused a lot. JaimeGay specifically did not say "I think bisexuals are...etc." They were talking about words. I think we should cut them some slack on this one. And this was just an ironic twist on things. I might have said the same if I were clever enough. And to OP: I think it would be a better world if people could acknowledge that "gay with exception" is a valid thing. I think in your case it's a better description than "bisexual". But you know, categories schmategories.
You know, this is the exact reason that there is so much hatred towards bisexuals. People say that they just "haven't decided yet" or that they "are hiding that they are actually gay". Do some people do those things? Yes, and I am not denying that. The bisexual community does not deserve to be belittled and mocked for that. I'm not even sure what you mean by that last line. If you were going for some sort of pun then that failed. Instead, you have managed to offend pretty much every marginalized community within the lgbt umbrella. If you really respected people, you would not tell them to "put on their big boy pants". You instead would be working to understand how what you said is problematic and the reasons why it is problematic. I'm sure that you don't want to hear that though. It is clear from the inflammatory tone of your message. You may be 55, but that does not mean that you are more mature. Age and sexual experience does not equate to maturity. Your true level of maturity has been shown in this thread. It comes down to this. Respect. If you don't want to respect others and instead trample over their identities, then this may not be the right place for you. The choice is yours on if you want to listen. I hope that you decide to listen, because these ideas hurt not just the bisexual part of the community, but the community as a whole.
