“Regardless of Their Gender”: Descriptions of Sexual Identity among Bisexual, Pansexual, and Queer Identified Individuals

ABSTRACT

The present research investigates the way individuals under the bisexual umbrella conceptualize their sexual identity. Participants included 172 adults who self-identified as bisexual, pansexual, and queer. Participants individually completed an online survey in which they were asked to describe their sexual identity. Qualitative responses were analyzed via thematic analysis. Four major themes were identified and found relevant to all three identity groups: (1) labeling sexual identity, (2) distinctions of attraction, (3) explicit use of binary/nonbinary language, and (4) identity transcendence. Each of the four major themes was further composed of subthemes, and one minor theme of questioning also emerged. Patterns of responses across sexual identity were analyzed via chi-square analyses. Individuals who self-identified as bisexual, pansexual, and queer demonstrated similarities and differences in the way they described their sexual identities. Of the 15 emergent subthemes, six differed in frequency across sexual identity. Discussion focuses on elucidating when grouping bisexual, pansexual, and queer identities together may prove useful, and when it may further distort an understanding of the range of plurisexual experience.

KEYWORDS:

• bisexual umbrella
• gender diversity
• nonbinary
• pansexual
• sexual identity
• queer

Note

Notes

1. We use ‘plurisexual’ to refer to identities that are not explicitly based on attraction to one sex and leave open the potential for attraction to more than one sex/gender; e.g., bisexual, pansexual, queer, and fluid. The term ‘plurisexual’ is used instead of nonmonosexual because it does not linguistically assume monosexual as the ideal conceptualization of sexuality (see Galupo, Davis, Grynkiewicz, & Mitchell, 2014).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

M. Paz Galupo

M. Paz Galupo, PhD, is professor of psychology and director of the Sexual and Gender Identity Research lab at Towson University. Paz's research interests focus on understanding the intersection of sexual orientation and gender identity as they are negotiated in the context of social and personal relationships, with a particular focus on bisexual/plurisexual and transgender experience.

Johanna L. Ramirez

Johanna L. Ramirez is a clinical psychology graduate student at Towson University. Johanna's research interests focus on the intersection of sexual and racial identity, with a particular focus on LGBT people of color.

Lex Pulice-Farrow

Lex Pulice-Farrow is a clinical psychology graduate student at Towson University. Lex's research interests focus on sexual orientation and gender identity, with a focus on transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.