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from Clinical/Therapeutic Issues
Lesbian Sexuality Said to be "Fluid"
One interesting trend in the literature is the growing
acknowledgment by gay-affirming therapists that sexual identity,
attractions and behavior are often "fluid," particularly for bisexual and
lesbian women.
In a recent article in Developmental
Psychology (2000, vol. 36, no. 2, 241-250), author Lisa Diamond of the University of Utah
says, "For sexual-minority women, non-exclusivity in attraction is
the norm, rather than the exception."
She concludes that there is a broad diversity of sexual
identities and behaviors among non-heterosexual women throughout the course
of their lives, with half of the 80 lesbian, bisexual and
"unlabeled" women in the study reporting at two-year follow-up that they
had changed sexual identities more than once. Bisexual women were
more likely to have made a significant shift in both identity and
attractions. Some women claimed to have had heterosexual
identities in adolescence, but later adopted bisexual or lesbian identities.
"Western culture expects sexuality to come in one neat
package," Dr. Diamond reported, "when often that is not the case."
Dr. Diamond's study, of course, contradicts the American
Psychiatric Association's recent statement that there is no evidence
suggesting that sexual orientation can change.
Updated: 8 February 2008
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