Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction , or sexual behavior toward both males and females , [1] [2] [3] or to more than one gender. The term bisexuality is mainly used in the context of human attraction to denote romantic or sexual feelings toward both men and women, [1] [2] [8] and the concept is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation along with heterosexuality and homosexuality , all of which exist on the heterosexual—homosexual continuum. A bisexual identity does not necessarily equate to equal sexual attraction to both sexes; commonly, people who have a distinct but not exclusive sexual preference for one sex over the other also identify themselves as bisexual. Scientists do not know the exact cause of sexual orientation, but they theorize that it is caused by a complex interplay of genetic , hormonal , and environmental influences , [10] [11] [12] and do not view it as a choice. Bisexuality has been observed in various human societies [15] and elsewhere in the animal kingdom [16] [17] [18] throughout recorded history. The term bisexuality , however, like the terms hetero- and homosexuality , was coined in the 19th century. Bisexuality is romantic or sexual attraction to both males and females. The American Psychological Association states that "sexual orientation falls along a continuum. In other words, someone does not have to be exclusively homosexual or heterosexual, but can feel varying degrees of both. Sexual orientation develops across a person's lifetime—different people realize at different points in their lives that they are heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual.
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Bisexual erasure or bisexual invisibility is the tendency to ignore, remove, falsify, or re-explain evidence of bisexuality in history , academia , the news media , and other primary sources. Bisexual erasure may include the assertion all bisexual individuals are in a phase and will soon choose a side, either heterosexual or homosexual. One reason for this is the belief that bisexual individuals are distinctively indecisive. Bisexual erasure often results in bisexual-identifying individuals' experiencing a variety of adverse social encounters, as they not only have to struggle with finding acceptance within society but also within the LGBT community.
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Bisexuality , often shortened as Bi , is a fluid identity that encompasses the sexual attraction between two genders and all genders, with or without preferences to gender. Bisexuality is often seen as an umbrella term because its attractions are also well known with labels like pansexuality , polysexuality , and omnisexuality , but all four of these labels are their own sexualities. Bisexuals can be attracted to two, three or more, multiple, or all genders, it's up to the person. However, because of this, bisexuality is often considered "too broad" or "too general", so many may prefer the aforementioned labels instead. Regardless of how one identifies, bisexuality is historically known to include more than two genders, despite its prefix. Many activists have been known to express inclusion beyond two genders in their attraction, most notably Lani Ka'ahumanu. They've also made it known that it is possible to be bisexual and experience attraction regardless of gender. Revealed on December 5th , the bisexual flag was designed by Michael Page to represent and validate bisexuals in the LGBT community and wider society.
View more global usage of this file. This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong. From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. File information. Structured data. Captions English Bisexual pride flag. Portuguese Bandeira do Orgulho Bissexual.
