Kinsey Scale

I found the scale on this site lgbtdata.com that defines it like this: "Individuals who have only incidental homosexual contacts which have involved physical or psychic response, or incidental psychic response without physical contact."

 

Hey @BiBoyToy

I believe, based on what I've read, is that someone who has had same sex experiences or desired same sex experiences, to the point that arousal occurred, but is predominately attracted to, and/or experienced sex with, opposite sex people, then they are "incidentally" homosexual. So, if a guy is attracted to women and has sex with women most of the time but, under the right circumstances, will have sex with a man, then he is incidentally homosexual. Even if he fantasizes about those encounters it means the same thing if arousal occurs.

Remember that "homosexual behavior" and "being gay" might not be the same. Kinsey was studying sexual behavior. Human sexuality is a bit more complicated than this simple scale.

I'm not sure what this means for people when they are young and in a process of discovery. Most of my close friends and I experimented, to some degree, in high school. I'm rather sure that none of them, save one, would consider these episodes of homosexuality a gay experience! I, certainly, did not. Even now that I identify as bisexual I still feel that I was only really gay with one of them. It felt different, but I was unaware of it at the time.

How do you see your same sex experiences? Were these encounters "incidental" to how you, emotionally, feel about human intimacy. Or, are they "defining" in how you feel about human intimacy?

 

From my understanding of the Kinsey Scale, I place myself as a “5”. And if decimals were added, 5.8 is probably more accurate.

 

I feel like I am a “1” or “2”. I feel like all of my experiences with the same sex are incidental. There’s never been a relationship or any buildup to a relationship, and I laugh at the idea of a relationship with the same sex. It’d be awkward as heck for me lol. However, I think it’s fun to have sexual fantasies of the same sex or kiss someone of the same sex, and for me that’s what it means to be “incidentally homosexual”

 

For what it's worth, I see Kinsey 1/incidental "homosexuality" as people who might have moments of curiosity which may or may not be acted upon. To all intents and purposes this a straight person with a healthy curiosity. If they have sex with another member of the same sex it's most likely for fun and to get off and reveals very little else. It's probably inaccurate to refer to them as homosexual (even incidentally). To offer an example, it might be a straight man who does "gay for pay."

If an attraction develops then it's probably more than Kinsey 1... but let's remember that the Kinsey scale is a very old measure of human sexuality. Although the scale serves a basic purpose, it's no longer ground-breaking and feels somewhat limited in exploring modern concepts in human sexuality.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head with the Kinsey scale being an older measure of human sexuality. But, in my research on the Kinsey studies, the study was really of "sexual behavior" and not "sexuality". Your statement that having a same sex encounter is not the same as being homosexual I think is pretty accurate.

I don't believe the scale was intended, nor should be used, to rate our sexuality. It is a tool to understand that sexuality is a spectrum. It helps us understand that sexual curiosity is OK and not uncommon.

 

It sounds like there are no actual indicators of sexual orientation. If we study only behavior, that’s not a reliable indicator of someone’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

That makes sense. I’ve had same sex encounters before but that doesn’t make me homosexual. They are just encounters I.e. behaviors. It doesn’t sound like behavior is a determinant of sexual orientation. Then what is?

 

Honestly I feel like a sexual orientation or identity doesn’t exist if we all fall on a spectrum anyway.

 

Hmm maybe I’m more of a Kinsey 2 then. I had a positive physical encounter with someone of the same sex and was looking forward to another one in the future. That might be a stretch though. I could still be Kinsey 1.

 

Be careful with this interpretation. Because our behavior does have reasons behind it. Consider the difference between an 18 year old guy who is so horny he will, pretty much, do anything that feels good and a 30 year old guy who goes out and hooks up with guys on a regular basis. Both are the same behavior. But, what drives the behavior is different.

 

As a bisexual, I have to REALLY disagree with this. I feel my capability of having attraction towards both men and women IS part of my identity and has a lot to do with how I feel about people that I care about.

 

I guess what I am trying to say is that we really don’t know for sure if behavior is related to someone’s sexuality, and that behavior should not be relied upon only when it comes to determining sexuality, we just don’t know what is on the persons mind, unless we ask them. that’s why I wonder how helpful it is to only look at behavior.

There is increasing acceptance of sexuality as a spectrum rather than a one or the another (gay or straight) identity, and that it’s fluid. What this tells me is that everyone is fluid to some degree, and it’s not black and white. In my opinion this makes it very difficult (at least for me) to find a fitting identity for oneself (e.g., gay, bi, pan, etc.)other than fluid. If sexual orientation is on a spectrum, if the Kinsey scale isn’t reliable, how does one truly know who they are?