Bisexuality. This year's black?
So this past weekend I was watching a super cheesy movie on Starz called Camp. Now let me tell you how disappointed I was to learn that this movie was not the gay classic movie by the same name, but was instead an after school special type movie about a group of outcast high school students who go to thespian camp every summer to feel normal. (Dont try to watch tv on a saturday night or you will be subjected to such things) Though I could make fun of such a plot for hours on end, I shall refrain for once. Now there was a male character in this movie, who I curiously found attractive despite him being totally out of any age range I would ever date, who had OCD and liked to please people. Well like all thespian summer camps this one had a gay guy at it (how there was just ONE I don't know) who found said OCD guy cute. Well in order for gay guy to like him the OCD guy flirted with him and even stripped naked once (damn, maybe I should have gone to thespian camps in high school instead of playing football...or maybe not). This other girl in this cheesy movie got mad-she liked the OCD guy too- and made the wild statement that there was no such thing as bisexuality. Now imagine my shock to hear such a declaratory statement from a high school thespian. I mean, at my high school all the thespians were bisexual. But this got me to thinking, and I decided to share my view of bisexuality, and indeed sexuality in general.
Now the common knowledge says there are 3 sexual preferences-heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality. Since there are only two genders that I'm aware of(we shall leave out the complexities involved with the transgendered here) this would seem to cover all the bases (we shall also not address things like bestiality which might add a 3rd type). Most people have long considered people to fall into one of these three categories, but I simply don't think sexuality is quite that simple.
So I have an alternative view, that I've found some people like, and others are somewhat afraid of. I see sexuality not as 3 distinct pigeon-hole categories, but more as a spectrum along which people fall. At one end is complete heterosexuality and at the other is complete homosexuality. Now this is just me, but I don't think many people actually fall at precisely those points. Instead I think most people fall in between the two. Now I would agree that if you put dots on the line they would probably be clumped towards the ends, but I think just maybe everyone is a little bit bisexual, whether they ever act on it or not.
Now before you get all upset, this is meant only to reflect sexual preferences, not who you love. And I also don't think your actions necessarily determine where you fall. I'm from the school of thought that thinks just b/c a guy has sex with a guy, it doesn't necessarily make him gay. Many of us experiment at one point in our lives. To me it's more what's going on in your head. For myself, I think I prolly fall pretty close to the homosexual side as I do pay more attention to men, but I don't find women unattractive, and I am not totally opposed to the idea of sexual relations with a woman. Women just make it so much harder than men, especially since I'm not interested in dating a woman. I mean, I would NEVER be able to plan my own wedding if I married a woman, and I just can't have that. Hmm, unless I dated a lesbian maybe....
That's a somewhat crude summary of what in my head seems like a complex idea, but I tried. If you disagree I respect that, although I can't fathom how someone would think bisexuality doesn't exist at all, especially a thespian. After all, under my theory everyone is sorta bisexual, just to different degrees. Now I ask that any comments you leave be kind. This is just my opinion, and I shall never claim it as the absolute truth, so comment accordingly. Until next time!

2 Comments:
In undergrad we called it "The Four Lane Divided Highway of Sexuality". There were your people on either shoulder (the complete heterosexuals and complete homosexuals), the people who rode the median (bisexuals), but most people were just driving down one of the lanes on either side. Figured that was always a good description.
- Kym
I am interested in a definition of the end points on your spectrum on sexuality. You mentioned its what's in your head, but I do not understand what constitutes the what.
Is it merely sexual attraction to a particular gender? It seems attractiveness is associated more with gender-type charactaristics than gender. I bring up attractiveness because you placed yourself closer towards the homosexual end of the spectrum, but added that you did find women unattractive.
It seems an individual's rating of attractiveness of gender-type charactaristics might be a more appropiate analytic vehicle for
discussing sexuality. Of course using this method could fall subject to my objection as well. I think though, that typing gender charactaristics using social norms is more useful than physical gender types if the goal is to further the interests and equality of society's sexual "deviants". It does this by demonstrating to the norm, that the norm is not so sexually homogenous.
Some social scientists theorize that individuals create behavioral intentions from desires, intentions to act are then held in check by social pressure. I think the attractiveness thing gets at desire issue, but also touches on social pressure. Is it possible gender is merely a social constraint?
I have heard more than one heterosexual man comment on the sexual attractiveness of an individual, only later to find the individual wasn't a women. I find evidence of the social constraint at work in that an individual can go from a loose lipped locker room swaggering to red-faced embarrassment (a social emotion) when they find they are attracted to someone of the same gender. Are there any women, lesbians, or gays that have experience something similar to the story above?
Thanks for the thought-provoking post.
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