Gendered Anti-Bisexual Bias: Heterosexual, Bisexual, and Gay/Lesbian People’s Willingness to Date Sexual Orientation Ingroup and Outgroup Members

ABSTRACT

Bisexual people may appear to have more potential romantic partners than people only attracted to one gender (e.g., heterosexual, gay, lesbian people). However, bisexual people’s dating choices are limited by non-bisexual people’s reluctance to date bisexual people. Studies have indicated that some heterosexual, gay, and lesbian people are reluctant to date bisexual people, particularly bisexual men. We extend current understandings of gendered anti-bisexual bias through investigating heterosexual, bisexual, gay, and lesbian people’s reported willingness to date within and outside of their sexual orientation groups. Participants (n = 1823) varying in sexual orientation completed measures regarding their willingness to engage in a romantic relationship with heterosexual, bisexual, gay, and lesbian individuals. Heterosexual and gay/lesbian people were less willing to date bisexual people than bisexual people were to date them, consistent with anti-bisexual bias rather than mere in-group preference. Preferences against dating bisexual men appeared particularly strong, even among bisexual women.

KEYWORDS:

• Bisexuality
• binegativity
• dating
• gender
• LGBTQ+
• sexual prejudice
• stereotyping

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This project was supported by a grant from the Fund for Lesbian and Gay Studies at Yale University (FLAGS). The funding agency played no role in the design of the study, the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, the writing of the report, or the decision to submit the report for publication.