Turns out men are identifying as ‘mostly straight’ because bisexual is ‘too gay’
Turns out some people don't like the term 'bisexual' and we have no idea why
By Joshua Haigh
There’s been a rise in the number of men who identify as ‘mostly straight’, and their reason is because ‘bisexual’ is “too gay”.
Ritch C. Savin-Williams, a professor of development psychology at Cornell University, is releasing a book entitled Mostly Straight: Sexual Fluidity Among Gay Men which is explores this new phenomenon.
In an article published by TIME magazine, Savin-Williams wrote: “To the uninitiated, mostly straight may seem paradoxical. How can a man be mostly heterosexual?”
“Yet the evidence suggests that more young men identify or describe themselves as ‘mostly straight’ than identify as either bisexual or gay combined.”
Savin-Williams also addressed a government poll conducted between 2011-2013, which found that 6% of men aged 18-24 described themselves as being attracted to “mostly the opposite sex”.
In the same poll, the men were asked to choose one of three labels – straight, bisexual or gay – and three quarters of them said they were straight because bisexual seemed “too gay”.
For his book, Savin-Williams spoke to a group of ‘mostly straight’ men to get a better understanding of them.
“The mostly straight man belongs to a growing trend of young men who are secure in their heterosexuality yet remain aware of their potential to experience far more…”
“Perhaps he’s made out or he wants to make out with a guy friend. He’s participated in all-male group masturbation or is willing to receive oral sex from an attractive guy he’s just met. But it’s unlikely that he has had penetrative sex with a guy, though he might be willing to if the right guy or circumstance appeared.”
“He might have had an intense guy crush. But to fall passionately in love with a guy is too much, though he might have quite strong feelings and cuddle with a best friend.”
He went on to say that same-sex attraction makes up around 5-10% of a ‘mostly straight’ man’s sexual and romantic feelings. The remaining 90-95% is dedicated to the opposite sex.