Technically, I'm bisexual. But what does that even mean?
What is sexuality, anyway? The black and white scale of hetero vs. homo? I think that's what's commonly viewed.
In contrast, Sexual Behavior of the Human Female, 1958 explains that it's a human characteristic to attempt to classify matters as "normal or abnormal, socially acceptable or unacceptable, heterosexual or homosexual," and that society has difficulty realizing the fact that there is nothing so polarized.
"[We] do not represent two discrete populations, heterosexual and homosexual. The world is not to be divided into sheep and goats…The living world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects."
Dr. Alfred Kinsey (who wrote the quote above) is someone I think society ought to listen to more. On both sides of the spectrum, I believe that we ought to realize that there is no -- and ought not to be - only "straight" or "gay".
I'm attracted to both men and women - and why shouldn't I be? I've heard plenty of times (from both self-described straight and gay people) that bisexuality is simply one's fear of accepting their 'true' sexuality. I'm offended by this. Not as a bisexual person, but as a person, period.
the Kinsey Scale
The Kinsey Scale is one of my favorite inventions; it epitomizes what I've been talking about regarding sexuality, in that it explains the varying degrees between the extremes of "homo" and "hetero".It's a scale, from 0 to 6, that allows one to self-evaluate their own sexuality, based on the amount or frequency of your attraction to both the same and opposite gender. It's not a test; there's no wrong answer.
Me? 4..and a half. I prefer men, yet I know that I'm attracted to certain women.
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Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying that everyone should be bisexual. I'm just saying that it's useless to attempt to view world in the scope of "I can only love a man because I call myself gay." I'm saying that you shouldn't feel that you're obligated to be only attracted to men, or only attracted to women. it's your attraction. Don't restrict your desires based on how society pressures you to.
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Another version that, despite playing on the false stereotype that gay men are sexually promiscuous, I couldn't resist including:
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By the way, thanks, +Alice Blake
I love the Kinsey scale and I too believe that there is no such thing as 'pure' straight or gay.
ReplyDeleteI label myself a gay female, but that doesn't mean I don' t ever have an attraction to a male. Personally I can't see myself ever being in a relationship with a man, but that doesn't mean I don't find them attractive.
All that being said, I don't really like the message of that image of the Kinsey scale. As stated before I agree with the Kinsey scale wholeheartedly. But this image doesn't show men from 'straight' to 'gay', it shows men from clothed to unclothed. Or essentially saying gay men are promiscuous?
I know you probably didn't even think of it that way and didn't mean it that way, and I love your post, but the graphic is really bothering me. :P
When I published this post, with this graphic, the same thoughts were running through my head. I was afraid that it would create too much of a hypocritical image of myself, and that it would be too insulting - let alone that it's exclusively pointed towards gay men. Despite this knowledge, however, I think I included it in my post in order to create some kind of idea that I'm not necessarily afraid to be politically incorrect or abrasive (even if it is unintentionally hypocritical).
DeleteStill, I'm really glad you mentioned this because it had been nagging at me, lol. I probably will edit the post with a mention about how I really intend this to be viewed (which is more comically, than anything).
I plan on editing and adding to a lot of my posts initially, as I get used to becoming a 'blogger'. ;P