Straight women less willing to date bisexual men than men are bi women, says data
Straight women are less likely to want to date bi men (Getty Images)
Straight women are far less willing to date bisexual men than straight men are to date bisexual women, a YouGov poll published during Bisexual Visibility Week has found.
Among straight women, 19% said they would date a bisexual man and 66% said they would not. Among straight men, 53% said they would date a bisexual woman and 35% said they would not.
The poll surveyed 5,983 Brits in late March, including 2,031 straight women and 1,517 straight men. Across all respondents, 48% reported positive views of bisexual people and 8% reported negative views, with the remainder neutral.
Acceptance can look very different across LGBTQ+ life, though. On 29 June, YouGov’s tracker found 76% of UK adults supported same-sex marriage.
What people said put them off
When straight respondents who were unwilling to date a bisexual person of the opposite sex were asked why, 16% of straight women and 19% of straight men said they “just don’t” or that it was “just a preference”.
Seventeen per cent of straight women and 16% of straight men cited concerns that bisexual people are more inclined to cheat, or said they would feel insecure about meeting a bi partner’s needs.
Nine per cent of straight women said they felt disgust or discomfort towards men with same-sex experiences, and 10% of straight men said they considered bisexuality religiously or morally “wrong”.
The poll also found older straight, gay, and lesbian respondents were generally less willing to date bisexual people than younger respondents.
Less common assumptions
YouGov’s Head of Data Journalism Matthew Smith said some respondents offered less common explanations, including beliefs about polyamory and assumptions bisexual people are “actually gay”.
He wrote: “Smatterings of people gave less common answers, such as believing that bisexuals want polyamorous/open relationships (3-5%); seeing bisexuals as confused, indecisive or ‘actually gay’ (2%); believing that being in a relationship with a bisexual person would be ‘complicated’ (2%); considering bisexuals to be more promiscuous (1%); or apparently confusing bisexual and transgender people (1%).”
Online discussion about bisexual men often sees them conflated with “DL” – or “down low” – men, who are men who want to keep their sexuality secret for whatever reason that may be.
One Threads user wrote earlier this year: “A bisexual man & a DL man are 2 completely different things & I rlly need y’all to respect that.”
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
