Scientist makes new claim about human 'bisexual range' and it might surprise you
It's long been claimed that sexuality is a spectrum, but recently, one scientist has taken this notion one step further by making a bold claim that almost all of us are bisexual.
For those in need of a reminder, individuals that traditionally identify as 'bisexual' feel a sexual attraction to both men and women, as opposed to a single sex.
According to a 2021 survey by the Office of National Statistics, 1.3% of people aged 16 living across England and Wales identified as bisexual - equating to around 624,000 people.
As we say, however, as studies into sexuality develop as part of ever-changing societal norms and acceptances, one evolutionary geneticist has recently spoken out about misconceptions of bisexuality.
Advert
In fact, he declared that this specific way of identifying oneself could be even more omnipresent than many scientists first thought.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Dr. Jason Hodgson - who works at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge - opened up about his recent search on the 'bisexual range' of humans.
He believes, that people are rarely 100 per cent heterosexual, or 100 per cent homosexual.
Instead, Dr. Hodgson believes, in the case of human beings, that sexuality sits on a spectrum, and that 'most people should actually be bisexual'.
"The genes that influence same-sex sexual behaviour are probably just genes that influence general sociality," he told the publication.
"And people in the middle of the range of variation are probably better at all social relationships."
Dr. Hodgson continued: "Therefore people who would engage in same-sex sexual behaviour in some situations are probably also better at forming heterosexual relationships."
He added that such was also the case in relationships between the majority of primates, adding that bisexuality plays a social role in several animal groups.
A 2016 study that Dr. Hodgson conducted found that bonobos, in particular, are one of the few species that regularly engage in same-sex interactions - more so than with opposite-sex.
Illustrating his point in humans, the scientist uses numbers, and he believes every human has a 0-1 range, with the former representing heterosexuality and the latter indicating pure homosexuality.
He added: "So, if a person had one homosexual experience and 99 heterosexual experiences their value would be 1/100 or 0.01 — just slightly in the bisexual range."
Dr. Hodgson made sure to note that, by sexual 'experiences', this itself could range from a physical encounter with another person, or simply arousal.
With that in mind, he adds that an individual doesn't necessarily have to engage in either traditional heterosexual and homosexual acts to constitute as 'bisexual'.
"I suspect most people would be slightly in the bisexual range if given the right social circumstances," he concluded.
Topics: LGBTQ, Life, Real Life, True Life, Science, Sex and Relationships
Rhianna Benson