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from What do clinical studies say?
Female Bisexuality: A Longitudinal Study
By Psychologist Lisa Diamond
January 24, 2008 - Lisa Diamond (University of Utah) has published "Female Bisexuality From Adolescence to Adulthood: Results From a 10-Year Longitudinal Study" in Developmental Psychology (2008, Vol. 44, No 1., 5-14).
Diamond's study assessed 79 "sexual-minority" women who identified as lesbian, bisexual, or unlabeled five times over a 10-year period.
The study analyzed the following conceptualizations of bisexuality: Bisexuality as a transition stage into lesbianism; bisexuality as a third type of sexual orientation; bisexuality as a heightened capacity for fluidity.
According to Diamond, the results of her study "provides further support for the notion that female sexuality is relatively fluid and that the distinction between lesbian and bisexual women is not a rigid one."
She also notes: "The present results provide evidence for both the 'third orientation' and 'heightened fluidity' models of bisexuality. The 'third orientation' model would suggest that bisexual women's patterns of sexual attraction are stable over time, and notably distinct from those of lesbian women."
Diamond says the conceptualization of bisexuality as a transition stage is not supported by her study.
After ten years, most women "had settled down into committed monogamous relationships." "Not only did bisexual women tend to pursue exclusive, monogamous relationships over time, but they were more likely to do so than either unlabeled or lesbian women. By the 10-year point, more than 60% of the T1 bisexuals were involved in relationships lasting longer than 5 years, and 30% had undergone either conventional marriages or commitment ceremonies."
Diamond concludes that there are "appreciable boundaries between the long-term development trajectories of lesbian, bisexual and unlabeled women, but these boundaries are relatively fluid. Hence, the present study supports the notion of bisexuality as a third type of sexual orientation and also supports the notion of bisexuality as a capacity for context-specific flexibility in erotic response."
Additional Reading:
New Work By Janelle Hallman On Female Same-Sex Attraction;
Researcher Says Bisexuality More Common Among Women Than Men;
Northwestern University Graduate Student Publishes Study Alleging Bisexuality Not A Sexual Orientation;
New York State University Professors Urge Affirmative Therapy For Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Clients
Updated: 8 February 2008
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