I used to believe that men were so ingrained from childhood that they could not be truly bisexual. Rather, I believed they had simply not come out yet. Thanks to a friend here, I no longer believe that. He has been in a heterosexual marriage for (I think) over 30 years, yet still identifies as bisexual. It has competely changed my world view on this subject, so thank you kdaddy23. Your words have not fallen on deaf ears.

That being said, I do myself identify as bisexual. I have had relationships with men and women. One night a few years ago at work, one of my co-workers, who was in a relationship with a woman, said to another co-worker that she felt she would eventually marry a man. I could relate. I loved my relationships I had, but I knew it just wouldn’t never be complete (for me) without a penis. Maybe I’m shallow. In any case, the co-worker just could not wrap her heard around that. Why date a woman, but know you probably wouldn’t marry a woman. Well, the great thing about bisexuality is it changes all that up for you. The smooth cheek of a woman (and legs, etc) are a nice change from the scratchy roughness of a man. That being said, it’s hard to explain if you don’t feel the same way. As with anything in life, the more we identify with it, the more we understand it.

So how many people actually say they are bisexual? This is how it stacks up. According to healthresearchfunding.org, there are some interesting statistics on bisexuality

  • Nearly 15% of women ages 18-44 identify themselves as bisexual.
  • Men in the same demographic? Only 1.8%! Again I believe this comes from society’s ingrained nature in men to be one or the other and likely highly under-reported.
  • When asked in a different way, up to 6% of males did claim to have sexual attraction to both men and women.
  • Bisexual men are 5 times more likely to use methamphetamine. (Because they are escaping admitting they are bisexual?)
  • Data from Australia shows a higher than average suicide attempts in bisexual persons.
  • Women who identify as bisexual are more likely to begin having sex before 14.
  • Teens that identify as bisexual are more likely to use birth control.
  • Nearly 1/4 of males that identify as bisexual have never had STI testing.
  • Most bisexuals do not reveal their orientation to their families until after 20 years of age, but were attracted to both genders around age 13.
  • 2/3rds of responders were Caucasian, 14% African-American, and 12% Hispanic.
  • Only 9% of persons 65 and older identified themselves as bisexual.
  • Up to 40% of the LGBT community identify themselves as bisexual, with women 2 times more likely to be bisexual.

I think we’re definitely are moving to people being more understanding with each other, which is fabulous. I wrote about the awesome decision from the supreme court, In our historic time, and boy have we come a long way baby. It thrills me to see tides changing, people being open with their sexuality, and being accepted.

That being said, what did these stats teach us? Get tested! It takes five minutes. Trust me, it’s worth it. If you are bisexual and having worried/scared/suicidal thoughts, please seek help. You aren’t alone.I suggest a hotline if you don’t have someone to talk to, such as  GLBT National Hotline. It’s okay to be different. There’s someone there who will understand you.

Blessed be.