Identities and Identifications: Changes in Metropolitan Bisexual Men's Attitudes and Experiences

Abstract

Drawing on 90 interviews with men who identify as bisexual from Los Angeles, London, and New York, this article examines how bisexual men from three different age cohorts remember first experiencing bisexuality, how they identify today, and how this is changing with younger groups of men. Using an innovative recruitment strategy, the majority of participants in this study are not affiliated with bisexual community groups or counselling services. Thus, it provides insight into how bisexuals outside of these specific institutional settings feel about their sexual identities. It supports the contention that sexual identities are becoming less central to the lives of younger generations, who use them in more pragmatic and strategic ways.

KEYWORDS:

• bisexuality
• generation
• identity
• identifications
• youth

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mark McCormack

Mark McCormack, PhD, is a senior lecturer in sociology at Durham University and codirector of its Centre for Sex, Gender and Sexualities. His research examines the influence of decreasing homophobia on gendered behaviors and sexual identities. He has published more than 20 articles on these topics, and his book The Declining Significance of Homophobia: How Teenage Boys Are Redefining Masculinity and Heterosexuality is published with Oxford University Press. He is currently coauthoring a book on bisexual men's lives with Professor Eric Anderson for Columbia University Press.

Liam Wignall

Liam Wignall, BSc, is a graduate student interested in the stratification of sexualities in society, examining how people engage in a range of ways with kink communities on the Internet and offline. He has forthcoming articles examining the use of gay language, as well as examining how Facebook can be used as an educational tool in university settings.

Eric Anderson

Eric Anderson, PhD, is a sociologist who examines the intersection of sexualities and masculinities among youth. He is the author of Inclusive Masculinity: The Changing Nature of Masculinities (Routledge, 2009); The Monogamy Gap: Men, Love and the Reality of Cheating (Oxford University Press, 2012); Sport, Theory and Social Problems: A Critical Introduction (Routledge, 2010); and 21st Century Jocks: Sporting Men and Modern Heterosexuality (Palgrave, 2014); and coauthor of Bisexual Men's Lives (Columbia University Press, 2015).