Bisexuality in human sexual behavior refers to the aesthetic, romantic, and sexual desire for people of both genders and/or for people of both sexes. For some writers, the term is parallel to homosexuality and heterosexuality, while for others the term expresses a blend of the two.

Although observed in a variety of forms in most societies throughout recorded history, bisexuality has only been the subject of serious study since the second half of the 20th century, and some disagreement remains about its prevalence and nature.

DESCRIPTION

Bisexual orientation can fall anywhere between the two extremes of homosexuality and heterosexuality; a bisexual person is not necessarily attracted equally to both genders, and many tend to prefer one or the other. Moreoever, a bisexual person may be attracted to both genders but not both sexes, or vice versa. Another view of bisexuality is that homosexuality and heterosexuality are two monosexual orientations, whereas bisexuality encompasses them both. However, some argue that bisexuality is a legitimate sexual orientation in its own right.

Individuals attracted to both males and females, like people of any other orientation, may live a variety of sexual lifestyles. These include: lifelong monogamy, serial monogamy, polyamory, polyfidelity, casual sexual activity with individual partners, casual group sex, and celibacy. For those with more than one sexual partner, these may or may not all be of the same gender.

Some people who might be classified by others as bisexual on the basis of their sexual behavior self-identify as gay or lesbian -- for example, a bisexual woman who considers herself a lesbian may do so on the basis that a lesbian might be defined as any woman who is attracted to women (even one who is also attracted to men), or a woman who is primarily attracted to other women. Some lesbian and gay people object, asserting that exclusivity is part of the definition. Other bisexuals consider themselves distinct from homosexuals but part of the larger LGBT or queer community. Some people who engage in bisexual behavior may be supportive of lesbian and gay people, but still self-identify as straight, and still others consider any labels irrelevant to their situations.

BISEXUALITY IN HISTORY

Historical and literary records from most literate societies indicate that male bisexuality was common and indeed expected. These relationships were generally age-structured (as in the practice of pederasty in the Mediterranean Basin of antiquity, or the practice of shudo in pre-modern Japan) or gender-structured (as in the Two-Spirit North American tradition or the Central Asian bacchá practices). Male heterosexuality and homosexuality, while also documented, appear mostly as exceptions, unless we are examining cultures influenced by the Abrahamic religions, where heterosexuality was privileged, and bisexuality and homosexuality forcefully suppressed. In fact, most of the commonly cited examples of male "homosexuality" in previous cultures would more properly be categorized as bisexuality. Determining the history of female bisexuality is more problematic, in that women in most of the studied societies were under the domination of the males, and on one hand had less self-determination and freedom of movement and expression, and on the other were not the ones writing or keeping the literary record.

In Ancient Greece it is believed that males generally went through a homosexual stage in adolescence, followed by a bisexual stage characterized by pederastic relationships in young adulthood, followed by a (mostly) heterosexual stage later in life, when they married and had children. Ancient Rome, Arab countries up to and including the present, China, and Japan, all exhibit patterns of analogous bisexual behavior. In Japan in particular, due to its practice of shudo and the extensive art and literature associated with it, the record of a primarily bisexual lifestyle is both detailed and quite recent, dating back as recently as the 19th century.

Perhaps the most famous example is Alexander the Great who had many wives, but also at least two male lovers, Hephaestion being his life-long friend. The same could be said of most Roman emperors, the shoguns of Japan, many Chinese emperors, and others.

However, it should be noted that the terms heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, and the concept of "sexual orientation" itself are all modern sociological constructs, and may not be appropriate in historical contexts, in which behavior might be considered homosexual, but people were not labeled using such terms.

Ancient Greece

Ancestral law in ancient Sparta mandated same-sex relationships with youths who were coming of age for all adult men, so long as the men eventually took wives and produced children. The Spartans thought that love and erotic relationships between experienced and novice soldiers would solidify combat loyalty and encourage heroic tactics as men vied to impress their lovers. Once the younger soldier reached maturity the relationship was supposed to become non-sexual, but it is not clear how strictly this was followed. There was some stigma attached to young men who continued their relationships with their mentors into adulthood.

Greek religious texts, reflecting cultural practices, incorporated bisexual themes. The subtexts varied, from the mystical to the didactic. See Mythology of same-sex love.

Middle Eastern cultures

 

Shah Abbas I embracing his wine boy.

Men's attraction to beautiful youths is understood to be normal and universal in Islamic cultures. Some religious texts warn men to avoid falling for this temptation, held to be stronger than attraction to women. Other religious texts, not uncontroversially, teach that gazing upon the beauty of boys is a path to communing with god. Poets and artists routinely celebrated their love of boys, consummated or not, from the medieval times until the early twentieth century. Among these were the famous poets Abu Nuwas, Hafez, and Omar Khayyam, and painters such as the Persian Reza Abbasi. The Qur'anic prohibition against liwat (anal intercourse with either males or females, held to be a major sin) was flouted by some and circumvented by others who indulged in such relationships but stopped short of intercourse. Men convicted of liwat, as well as their partners, could be and were upon occasion executed.

The Qur'an however requires that the transgression be witnessed by four men or eight women in order to convict the participants. Therefore, men are not given much trouble about these behaviors as it cannot be easily proved, so as long as they marry and raise families and fulfill other societal duties, they can easily "blend" in society. Such practices are claimed to be less common than in the past and have become covert, as a result of exposure to Western Victorian morality starting in the eighteen hundreds. An open declaration of homosexual preference in the Western egalitarian style would be unacceptable. In this way, some of the bisexuality in the Arab world and Persian world is somewhat similar to the DL culture prevalent in some African-American and Latino communities.

SOCIAL STATUS OF BISEXUALS

Historically, bisexuality has largely been free of the social stigma associated with homosexuality, prevalent even where bisexuality was the norm. In Ancient Greece pederasty was not problematic as long as the men eventually married and had children. All over the world among upper-class men of good social standing (i.e., properly married) homosexual affairs were tolerated, and heterosexual marriage was often successfully used as a defense against accusations of homosexuality.

Some in the gay and lesbian communities accuse those who self-identify as bisexual of duplicity, believing they are really homosexuals who are attempting to hold onto the social approval through their heterosexual activity. They may be accused of "not doing their part" in gaining acceptance of "true" homosexuality. Gay and lesbian people may also suspect that a self-described bisexual is merely a homosexual in the initial stage of questioning their presumed heterosexuality, and will eventually accept that they are gay; this is expressed by a glib saying in gay culture: "Bi now, gay later." These situations can and do take place, but do not appear to be true of the majority of self-described bisexuals. Nonetheless, bisexuals do sometimes experience lesser acceptance from gay and lesbian people, because of their declared orientation.

Bisexuals are often associated with men who engage in same-sex activity while closeted and heterosexually married. The majority of such men - said to be living on the down-low - do not self-identify as bisexual.

Because many bisexual people do not feel that they fit into either the gay community or the heterosexual world, and because they have a tendency to be "invisible" in public (fitting in rather seamlessly into both homosexual and heterosexual society), some bisexual persons are committed to forming their own communities, culture, and political movements.

The bisexual pride flag

A common symbol of bisexual identity is a pair of overlapping pink and blue triangles (the pink triangle being a well-known symbol for the gay community), forming purple where they intersect. Another symbol is the bisexual pride flag, which has a deep pink stripe at the top for homosexuality, a blue one on the bottom for heterosexuality, and a purple one (blended from the pink and blue) in the middle to represent bisexuality.

TERMINOLOGY

The term bisexual was coined by botanists c. 1809. It originally applied to plants that had both male and female sex organs. It is not known when the term was first applied to the context of sexual orientation. Some bisexuals and sex researchers are dissatisfied with the term, and have developed a variety of alternative or supplementary terms to describe aspects and forms of bisexuality. Many are neologisms not widely recognized by the larger society.

• Pansexual, omnisexual, and pomosexual (postmodern sexuality) are substitute terms that rather than referring to both or "bi" gender attraction, refer to all or "omni" gender attraction, and are used mainly by those who wish to express acceptance of all gender possibilities including transgender and intersex people, not just two. Pansexuality sometimes includes an attraction for less mainstream sexual activities, such as BDSM. Some people who might otherwise identify as pansexual or omnisexual choose to self-identify as bisexual because the term bisexual is more widely known, and because they see it as an important term in identity politics.

• Bi-permissive describes someone who does not actively seek out sexual relations with a given gender, but is open to them. Such a person may self-identify as heterosexual or homosexual, and engage predominantly in sexual acts with individuals of the corresponding gender, and might be rated 1 or 5 on Kinsey's scale. Near-synonyms include heteroflexible and homoflexible.

• Ambisexual indicates a primarily indiscriminate attraction to either sex. A person who self-identifies as ambisexual might be attracted with equal intensity on physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual levels to partner(s) regardless of sex or gender presentation, while upholding selectivity standards in other areas. Some might experience equally intense attractions that could be triggered by sex- or gender-specific traits in given the partner(s). A person with this orientation might fall in the 3 category on Kinsey's scale, as would some who subscribe to the 2 or 4 rating (although some individuals in these latter categories consider themselves Bi-permissive).

• Bi-curious, has several distinct and sometimes contradictory meanings. It is commonly found in personal ads from those who identify as heterosexual but are interested in homosexual "experimentation". Such people are commonly suspected - not necessarily correctly - of being homosexuals or bisexuals in denial of their homosexuality. It can also be used to describe someone as being passively-bi, bi-permissive or open to indirect bisexual contact.

• Trisexual (sometimes trysexual) is either an extension of, or a pun on bisexual. In its more serious usage, it indicates an interest in transgender persons in addition to cissexual men and women. In its more humorous usage, it refers to someone who will try any sexual experience.

• Biphobia describes a fear or condemnation of bisexuality, usually based in a belief that only heterosexuality and homosexuality are genuine orientations and appropriate lifestyles. Bisexual persons may also be the target of homophobia from those who consider only heterosexuality appropriate. The reverse can also apply in that bisexual persons may be targets of heterophobia or discrimination by some gays/homosexuals.

• Passively-bi, aka open-minded is a non-gender specific term that describes a straight or bi-curious person who is open to incidental or direct contact (typically in a Group sex scenario) from a MOTSS, usually without reciprocation.

• Actively-bi is a non-gender specific term that describes a bi-curious/bisexual person who initiates direct contact with a MOTSS.