Bisexuality
Bisexuality is a sexual orientation. Bisexual people are attracted to both men and women. Some people[who?] say there is a difference between what people think and feel in this area, and how they actually act.
Some bisexual people love men and women the same and some love one more than the other. A person's sexual orientation can range from only heterosexual to only homosexual, but it can also fall somewhere in between. A person can be mostly heterosexual but have some homosexual feelings. Or a person can be mostly homosexual and have some heterosexual feelings. Some of the people who are somewhere between only homosexual and only heterosexual are bisexual. Where any person fits in this range is referred to as their sexual orientation.
In 1948, Alfred Kinsey published the Kinsey scale. The Kinsey scale shows that sexuality is a continuum, meaning it moves little by little from homosexuality to heterosexuality. On the Kinsey scale, a 0 is someone who is only homosexual. A 6 is someone who is only heterosexual. Someone who is equally homosexual and heterosexual (bisexual) is a 3.
Most bisexual people feel they are part of the LGBT community (group of people). But some bisexual people do not feel they belong with lesbian and gay or straight people. Some feel they should have a separate community.[source?]
In biology bisexual can mean an organism that has both male and female organs. This talks mostly about plants. Animals and people who have some male and female characteristics or organs are called hermaphrodites or intersexed.
[change] References
- Sexual orientation and bisexuality FAQ's from the American Psychological Association
- James D. Weinrich, Sexual Landscapes: Why We Are What We Are, Why We Love Whom We Love, Charles Scribner's Sons, December 1987.
