Bisexuality: Meaning, Attraction, Identity, and Relationships

For example, a bisexual woman may be attracted to women, men, and some nonbinary people. A bisexual man may experience attraction toward men and women. Another bisexual person may be attracted to people across several gender identities.

The attraction does not need to be evenly divided. Someone may feel attraction more often toward one gender while still being genuinely attracted to others.

• She spoke openly about her bisexuality.
• Bisexuality is a valid sexual orientation.
• The article discusses bisexuality and pansexuality.

The adjective bisexual describes a person, identity, attraction, or experience:

• a bisexual person;
• bisexual attraction;
• a bisexual identity;
• bisexual representation.

It may also function as a noun:

• She identifies as a bisexual.
• The group includes bisexuals and pansexuals.

However, many people prefer person-centered wording such as bisexual person.

The informal shortened form bi is widely used:

• He identifies as bi.
• She is part of the bi community.

• bi-, traditionally meaning two;
• sexual, referring here to sexual attraction;
• -ity, forming a noun that describes an identity or state.

The historical prefix does not require bisexuality to be limited to only men and women. Language and community definitions develop over time, and many bisexual people define the orientation as attraction to more than one gender.

• Bisexuality involves attraction to more than one gender.

Bisexual is the adjective or identity label:

• She is bisexual.
• He describes his orientation as bisexual.

The distinction is similar to:

• homosexuality and homosexual;
• heterosexuality and heterosexual;
• pansexuality and pansexual.

Pansexuality generally means attraction to people of any gender or regardless of gender.

The orientations overlap considerably. Some bisexual people are attracted across the full gender spectrum. Some pansexual people choose their label because gender does not strongly influence their attraction.

Compare:

• A bisexual person may say, “I am attracted to more than one gender.”
• A pansexual person may say, “Gender does not limit who I can find attractive.”

Neither label is more inclusive, modern, or valid than the other. Personal identity depends on which term feels most accurate and meaningful.

Bisexuality is broader and does not specify whether attraction includes every gender or how gender affects the experience.

A person may choose bisexual because of its history, community, familiarity, or flexibility. Another may choose omnisexual because it communicates all-gender attraction more specifically.

Bisexuality means attraction to more than one gender and may include similar patterns.

The terms may overlap. Identity labels are not scientific measurements with perfectly fixed boundaries. People choose words that best communicate their experiences and community connections.

Examples may include:

• heterosexuality;
• gay identity;
• lesbian identity.

Bisexuality involves attraction to more than one gender.

This distinction concerns the range of genders toward whom attraction may occur. It does not determine how often someone feels attraction, how strong it is, or whether they act on it.

A bisexual person may be:

• biromantic;
• panromantic;
• heteroromantic;
• homoromantic;
• aromantic;
• another romantic orientation.

For example, someone may experience sexual attraction toward more than one gender while experiencing romantic attraction mainly toward one gender.

Some people use the word bisexual broadly to include both sexual and romantic attraction. Others describe the two separately.

Attraction may be:

• stronger toward one gender;
• more frequent toward one gender;
• romantic toward some genders and sexual toward others;
• influenced by personality or emotional connection;
• fluid or changing over time;
• difficult to measure precisely.

Unequal attraction does not make bisexuality less genuine.

Transgender people are not a separate third category outside women and men. A transgender woman is a woman, and a transgender man is a man. Some transgender people are nonbinary or use another gender identity.

A bisexual person may be attracted to cisgender and transgender people of different genders. Attraction to transgender people is not limited to bisexual or pansexual orientations.

A bisexual person remains bisexual while:

• dating a woman;
• dating a man;
• dating a nonbinary person;
• married;
• single;
• celibate;
• in a monogamous relationship;
• in a consensually nonmonogamous relationship.

For example, a bisexual woman married to a man does not automatically become heterosexual. A bisexual man dating another man does not automatically become gay.

A bisexual person may prefer:

• monogamy;
• consensual nonmonogamy;
• casual dating;
• long-term partnership;
• marriage;
• celibacy;
• single life.

Attraction to more than one gender does not mean needing partners of different genders at the same time. Faithfulness depends on behavior, values, and relationship agreements—not orientation.

Examples include:

• calling a bisexual woman straight because she dates a man;
• calling a bisexual man gay because he dates a man;
• treating bisexuality as a temporary phase;
• avoiding the word bisexual in media or history;
• assuming marriage ends bisexual identity.

This erasure can occur in heterosexual and LGBTQIA+ communities.

Monosexism is the broader belief that attraction to only one gender is more legitimate, stable, or understandable than attraction to multiple genders.

Common stereotypes may claim that bisexual people are:

• confused;
• indecisive;
• unfaithful;
• seeking attention;
• secretly gay;
• actually heterosexual;
• attracted to everyone;
• unable to commit;
• sexually available.

These ideas confuse orientation with personality, behavior, and relationship choices.

• using the identity label a person chooses;
• not defining orientation through a current partner;
• avoiding invasive questions about sexual history;
• not demanding proof of attraction to multiple genders;
• rejecting stereotypes about infidelity;
• recognizing bisexual people in all relationship types;
• respecting changes in identity language;
• not treating bisexuality as confusion or experimentation.

A person does not need sexual experience with multiple genders to identify as bisexual.

Bisexual people are attracted to everyone.
They experience attraction selectively, like people of other orientations.

A current partner determines someone’s orientation.
One relationship does not reveal the full range of attraction.

Bisexuality causes infidelity.
Faithfulness depends on choices and agreements, not orientation.

Bisexuality excludes transgender or nonbinary people.
Many bisexual definitions explicitly include attraction across gender diversity.

Bisexuality is only a phase between straight and gay.
It can be a stable and lasting orientation.

• bisexual identity;
• bisexual orientation;
• bisexual attraction;
• bisexual community;
• bisexual visibility;
• bisexual representation;
• openly bisexual;
• identify as bisexual;
• bisexuality and pansexuality;
• bisexual erasure.

• A woman identifies as bisexual while married to a man.
• A bisexual man dates another man without changing his orientation.
• Someone experiences stronger attraction toward women but also attraction toward men.
• A bisexual person enters a monogamous relationship.
• A television character remains bisexual across relationships with different genders.
• A school includes bisexuality in sexual-orientation education.
• A partner avoids stereotypes about bisexuality and infidelity.
• Someone uses both bisexual and queer to describe their identity.

1. She describes her sexual orientation as bisexual.
2. Bisexuality involves attraction to more than one gender.
3. Attraction does not need to be equal across genders.
4. His current relationship does not erase his bisexuality.
5. A bisexual person may choose monogamy.
6. Bisexuality and pansexuality overlap but are not always used identically.
7. The series includes thoughtful bisexual representation.
8. A person does not need sexual experience to know their orientation.
9. Calling bisexuality a phase is a biphobic stereotype.
10. Respectful partners discuss boundaries instead of relying on assumptions.

A bisexual person may be sexually active or abstinent, partnered or single, monogamous or nonmonogamous. They may experience attraction frequently, rarely, equally, or unevenly across genders. None of these differences makes the orientation more or less valid.

Bisexuality does not imply consent, sexual availability, promiscuity, or attraction to every person. Healthy sexuality requires communication, respect for gender identity, bodily autonomy, personal boundaries, and freely given agreement.