Our bisexual teammates are declaring it more frequently

[dan.woodlawn]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/24/us/americans-identifying-lgbtq-poll-trnd/index.html

[ocaladouglas]

yes more people are identifying in one way or another. I for one have always been Bisexual but in my younger years you were either gay or straight. no such thing as bi. and for years if someone asked if I liked guys I would say no for fear of what they would say or do. now days it is a lot easier to admit and realize who and what you truly are

[budg282]

It brings up the interesting question on if people are more OK to admit or are more people newly LGBTQ. For me I definitely developed into bi as in no thoughts about guys into my 30s. However, perhaps the more open environment makes it ok for people to explore their sexuality without as much guilt/shame as previously.

[dan.woodlawn]

you were either gay or straight. no such thing as bi..

Same boat, if you had asked at 13, 23, 33, 43, you would have gotten straight despite my actions or desires...only in the last 5 years was BI my common answer. Part confidence, part 'i dont give a shit what you think', part knowing we all have to admit it, or its never accepted.

[tenni]

There is little new in this article globally but it may be more relevant to the US. Research in Britain and Europe stated the numbers of bisexuals are the largest group of non-heterosexual sexualities etc. decades ago.

I agree with Budg282 that for some male bisexuals do not identify as anything but hetero until they are older i.e. in their 40's). Even when some come to this site male biguys claim that they are only into cock and have no attraction (physical or emotional) to other men. That may show that they are not comfortable with bisexuality and may have internalized biphobia. Maybe younger bisexuals may be more comfortable with identifying as bisexual because unlike older bisexuals they have known the term bisexual all their lives.

The theory that bisexuals need to come out ignores a large numbers who see sexual identity is private and no need to come out. This aspect is not in the article or other articles and lumps LGBT with bisexuals. As Dan suggests that there is a lack of political will for bisexuals to unite to improve our status. We seem willing to let gays decide what we need or not be too visible and public.

[Jazminedress]

Not to be a downer, but I put as much stock in these polls as I do a politician caring about more than just my vote. I saw this big poll on COVID vaccine, that was basically a slam fest on one group, it listed all these percentages and such.

Then at the bottom, the survey states it was a sampling of 1500 Americans, out of what 360 million......................this one doesn't even list that. Add in that it has become hip for hollywood to come out as bi and get the publicity,

[Geoff Gregg]

My wife and I believe everyone is on the scale and it changes through life.

[budg282]

I found the Gallup article and this survey was based on about 15K samples, with a sampling error of 1%. So not bad. But yes, I agree that I don't take this as 100% ground truth. Even with the large sample size, it depends on the randomness of sampling and the truthfulness of respondents. One fault I noticed is that it treated trans as an orientation. . . i.e. what tribe of LGBT are you? Thus a trans person who is also bi would probably only be counted in the trans category. Also, the poll is about identity and not behavior. Some men identify as straight but may still have sex with other men. So that category is not captured either.

Here is the Gallup article that has a little more detail if interested: https://news.gallup.com/poll/329708/lgbt-identification-rises-latest-estimate.aspx