Bisexual: Difference between revisions

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Bisexuality can be similar to [[Pansexual|pansexuality]] and other [[Multisexual|multisexual identities]]. The differences between these identities usually comes down to individual preference, particularly where people may feel that different terms communicate their personal experience of attraction with more accuracy. Each bisexual individual may choose to define their attraction slightly differently.

According to zoologist Alfred Kinsey's research in the mid-1940s, most individuals are not exclusively [[Straight|heterosexual]] or [[Gay|homosexual]]<ref>https://kinseyinstitute.org/research/publications/kinsey-scale.php</ref>. The Kinsey scale measures sexual attraction and behavior on a seven-point scale ranging from 0 ("exclusively heterosexual") to 6 ("exclusively homosexual"). It was found that most of us fall somewhere in the 1-5 category and are believed to have "varying bisexual responses". However, people who rank anywhere between 2-4 are most likely to be recognized as bisexual, as they are often not one extreme or the other. For those individuals ranking either a 1 or a 5, the terms [[heteroflexible]] and [[homoflexible]] have come into the mainstream, though it is also recognized to use the label of bisexuality for their sexual orientation, as sociologists Martin S. Weinberg and Colin J. Williams wrote that, in principle, those who rank anywhere from 1-5 could be considered bisexual.

Pink represents same sex attraction (gay and [[lesbian]]). Blue represents attraction to the opposite sex (straight). They overlap to create the color purple, representing the attraction to both sexes.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20010801185547/http://biflag.com/Activism.asp</ref> Page also describes the flag's meaning in deeper terms, stating: "...the purple pixels of color blend unnoticeably into both the pink and blue, just as in the real world, where bi people blend unnoticeably into both the gay/lesbian and straight communities."<ref>https://mashable.com/2014/06/13/lgbt-pride-symbols/</ref> The colors of the bisexual flag are often incorrectly reinterpreted to represent attraction to women (pink), men (blue), and non-binary people (purple).

Ancient Greek religious texts, which reflected cultural practices, had bisexual themes throughout. Ancient Greece is generally considered to have been largely accepting of LGBTA people, albeit with different standards of morality. Same sex relationships between boys and men were common and considered a part of life and learning, although it was expected that men would have relationships with women to procreate as they grew older.

The first English-language use of the word bisexual referring to sexual orientation was by the American neurologist Charles Gilbert Chaddock in his 1892 translation of ''Psychopathia Sexualis, ''a seminal work created by Krafft-Ebing. ''Psychopathia Sexualis'' concerned itself with the pathologisation of sexuality and considered homosexuality a mental illness; 'bisexual' therefore referred to people who were both heterosexual ''and'' homosexual (hence 'bi'). Prior to this, the word "bisexual" was used in reference to plants, suggesting that species were hermaphroditic or [[intersex]]'''. '''

===Openly bisexual people in early history===

The first openly bisexual people in history were rare in early American life. Some examples of this include poet Walt Whitman, who has been described as both bisexual and homosexual in his feelings and attractions. In the early 20th century, during the Harlem Renaissance, blues singers Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith made no secret about their relationships with men and women. Poet Edna St. Vincent Millay was also openly bisexual.