New study claims women are three times more likely to change their sexual identity
A new report from the US claims that women are more adaptive when it comes to sexuality, meaning they are more likely to become bisexual.
The study found that women are three times more likely to change their sexual identity compared to men, who are much more rigid in their sexual preferences.
A team of scientists tracked 5,018 women and 4,191 men from adolescence to young adulthood, asking them about their sexual identity.
Women who were more educated, more physically attractive and who did have children young were less likely to experiment with same-sex relations.
“Women with some degree of attraction to both males and females might be drawn into heterosexuality if they have favourable options in the heterosexual partner market,” according to lead researcher Dr Elizabeth McClintock, from the University of Notre Dame.
“Women who are initially successful in partnering with men, as is more traditionally expected, may never explore their attraction to other women. However, women with the same sexual attractions, but less favourable heterosexual options might have greater opportunity to experiment with same-sex partners.”
While this doesn’t mean that one bad boyfriend can ‘turn’ you gay it does point to the fact that if there is a distinct lack of attractive male mates, women who perhaps identify as bi-curious will start dating other women.
The findings come at a time when, more so than ever before, people are moving away from the rigid definitions of sexuality that come with labels like ‘gay’ and ‘straight’.
Lily-Rose Depp is the latest high-profile face to identify as falling “somewhere on the vast spectrum” of sexuality rather than being defined by any one category.
She took part in the Self Evident Project, as organised by friend and artist iO Tillett Wright, which features a series of photographs of 10,000 people who are “anywhere in the LGBTQI spectrum”.