What is the definition of bisexuality according to researchers?
Bisexuality is defined as romantic or sexual attraction to males and females, to more than one gender, or to people regardless of their sex or gender identity. Bisexual activist Robyn Ochs defines it as the potential to be attracted to people of more than one sex and/or gender, not necessarily at the same time, not necessarily in the same way, and not necessarily to the same degree. A bisexual identity does not require equal attraction to both sexes.
Who coined the term bisexuality and when?
Richard von Krafft-Ebing coined the term in German in the 19th century in his work Psychopathia Sexualis. Charles Gilbert Chaddock introduced it to English in his 1892 translation of that work.
What does the Kinsey scale say about bisexuality?
The Kinsey scale, created by zoologist Alfred Kinsey in the 1940s, runs from 0 (exclusively heterosexual) to 6 (exclusively homosexual). People scoring from 2 to 4 are generally considered bisexual. Sociologists Martin S. Weinberg and Colin J. Williams suggested that anyone scoring from 1 to 5 could in principle be described as bisexual. The scale has been criticized for implying that attraction to one sex decreases attraction to the other.
How common is bisexuality in the United States?
Estimates have varied widely. The Janus Report on Sexual Behavior, published in 1993, found 5 percent of men and 3 percent of women considered themselves bisexual. A 2002 National Center for Health Statistics survey found 1.8 percent of men and 2.8 percent of women ages 18-44 identified as bisexual. The first large-scale government survey, reported by the NHIS in July 2014, found only 0.7 percent of Americans identified as bisexual, suggesting many bisexual people remain uncounted.
What is bisexual erasure?
Bisexual erasure is the tendency to ignore, remove, falsify, or explain away evidence of bisexuality in culture, history, academia, and news media. In its most extreme form it involves denying that bisexuality exists. It stems from heterosexist assumptions that read bisexuality as experimentation, and from monosexist views that claim genuine attraction can only be directed at one sex.
What is the bisexual flag and who designed it?
The bisexual flag was designed by Michael Page and unveiled in 1998. It has a deep pink stripe at the top representing homosexuality, a blue stripe at the bottom representing heterosexuality, and a purple stripe in the middle blending both colors to represent bisexuality. A second common symbol, the biangles, was designed by artist Liz Nania in 1987.