Gender-Specificity in Sexual Interest in Bisexual Men and Women

Abstract

The present study assessed the gender-specificity of sexual interest of bisexually-identified men and women, compared to gay men and lesbian women. Utilizing viewing time as a measure of sexual interest, self-identified bisexual men (N = 50) and women (N = 54) rated the sexual appeal of sexually provocative pictures while the amount of time spent viewing each picture was inconspicuously measured. As hypothesized, bisexual men and women demonstrated a pattern of sexual interest that was significantly less gender-specific than that of a gay/lesbian sample. That is, bisexual men and women (1) viewed other-sex pictures significantly longer than gay men/lesbian women viewed other-sex pictures and (2) rated other sex pictures significantly more sexually appealing than gay men/lesbians rated other-sex pictures. Additionally, the difference in viewing times and appeal ratings between male and female sexual stimuli for bisexuals was significantly less than the difference evidenced by gay men and lesbians. These findings suggest that self-identified bisexual men and women demonstrate a truly bisexual pattern of sexual interest, characterized by greater other-sex attraction and less gender-specificity than is true for gay men and lesbians.