In the context of pervasive prejudice, violence, and mental health issues faced by U.S. plurisexual women, there is a need to better understand positive factors that can improve their lived realities and wellbeing. In this study, we conducted a qualitative examination of bipositivity-focusing on the experience and function of bipositivity. We analyzed in-depth 1-1 interviews with plurisexual women across the U.S. (N = 31) using reflexive thematic analysis. We identified three themes regarding how bipositivity operates in their social and internal worlds: (1) seeing and being seen, (2) internal bipositivity as an anchor, and (3) community-dependent internal bipositivity processes. Across themes, bipositivity was beneficial to participants' wellbeing and instrumental in their resilience amidst binegativity. Our findings highlighted the ways bipositive community was integral to the processes facilitating internal bipositivity and the cyclical pattern of processes observed from bipositive experiences to development and integration of internal bipositivity, maintenance, and transferal.
Online dating is exceedingly common on college campuses, yet the experiences of bisexual+ (bi+) college students are comparatively understudied. This study examines the online dating experiences of bi + college students through a three-month digital ethnography. Imbedded in a combined framework of queer theory and the sexual borderlands, findings suggest that bi + students negotiate their position within online dating's extension of campus culture. Namely, bi + students utilized strategies of both resistance and capitulation to the sexual borderlands of campus as they navigated profile creation, conversations with matches, and the role of their friends in the online dating process. Implications of this work focus on how higher education can center bi + students' needs and experiences, as well as contend with exclusionary digital contexts like online dating.
Sexual victimization and mental health disparities have been consistently documented amongst bi + populations across the past decade. Less research has focused on identifying what factors increase bi + people's vulnerability for these negative health outcomes, or how those factors might differ across different groups of bi + people. The current paper reports on a 12-month longitudinal study investigating the monthly prevalence of bisexual stigma and other forms of discrimination, sexual victimization, depression, anxiety, and suicidality amongst a sample of 112 bi + women and nonbinary people aged 18-25. We further analyzed whether gender identity, race/ethnicity, bisexual stigma, and everyday discrimination predicted poor mental health and sexual victimization over time, and separately, whether sexual victimization longitudinally predicted poor mental health. The majority of participants reported experiencing sexual victimization, suicidality, and clinical levels of anxiety and depression symptoms at least once during the 12 months. There were limited differences across race and ethnicity, though Black, Indigenous, & People of Color (BIPOC), cisgender women reported less anti-bisexual stigma from gay and lesbian people than white cisgender women, and white trans women and nonbinary people reported higher odds of depression than white cisgender women. Longitudinally, anti-bisexual stigma from heterosexual people was associated with increased depression, but anti-bisexual stigma from gay and lesbian people was associated with decreased depression. Discrimination was associated with increased suicidality. Sexual victimization was not associated with other variables in longitudinal models.
Scientific literature shows health disparities in disordered eating in bisexual people and consistent associations between minority stress and binge eating. This study aims to explore the mediating role of shame between internalized binegativity and binge eating. A survey was conducted involving 109 bisexual people (Mage = 24.94 years, 75.2% identifying as women, 86.2% of the sample cisgender) from the Italian context. Self-report questionnaires were administered regarding internalized binegativity, shame and binge eating. Data analyses were conducted including descriptive analyses, bivariate correlations and mediation analysis through PROCESS macro. Bivariate correlations confirmed significant associations between all main variables. Mediation analyses found an indirect effect of internalized binegativity on binge eating through shame (B = .217, BootSE = .066, 99% CI [.069, .413]). Shame significantly and fully mediated the relationship between internalized binegativity and binge eating behaviors. Increased shame resulting from internalized binegativity could be a possible clinical target for reducing binge eating. Preventing negative attitudes related to sexual orientation may help promote physical and mental health in bisexual people.
Solitary masturbation provides a variety of benefits for the sexual health of people, and one of its most important dimensions is the orgasmic experience. The literature has addressed the orgasmic experience in terms of frequency or whether it is present or not, with less attention paid to the subjective orgasm experience. Hence, the aim of this study involved analyzing the subjective orgasm experience in the context of solitary masturbation in bisexual men, bisexual women, gay men, and lesbian women. For this purpose, 1,878 Spanish adults who engage in bisexual or gay/lesbian relationships (individuals who are sexually involved in relationships with partners of the same or different sex or same-sex relationships) participated in the study. The results showed that bisexual women reported a greater intensity of subjective orgasm experience in the affective, sensory, and intimacy dimensions, with differences in 18 of the 25 adjectives that make up the ORS, and a nearly identical trend was found between the four groups in the top six items of the ranking describing the solitary masturbation subjective orgasm experience.
This study aims to explore how plurisexual participants (i.e., those who experience attraction to multiple genders) understand their experiences during adolescence and early adulthood related to their sexual orientation, including their perspectives of societal influences on mental health. Utilizing the Life Story Interviewing technique, interviews were conducted in 2024 with 21 young adults (18-30 years old) who identify as plurisexual (e.g., Bisexual, Pansexual, Queer) to explore their sexual identities and experiences during adolescence and early adulthood in a narrative manner. All participants identified mental health challenges throughout their life, with over half (n = 11) identifying a complex/acute conditions and/or sexual assault (n = 11). Three quarters (n = 15) experienced childhood trauma, and just under half experienced inter-partner violence (n = 9) or financial vulnerability (n = 9). Data were synthesized deductively through an adapted four-layer socio-ecological framework then further synthesized inductively using reflexive thematic analysis within and across the four layers. This generated several themes including societal attitudes toward LGBTQA+ community, Mental Health Supports, Family and Community Connections, and Future Hope. These findings emphasize helpful insights into various factors that influence the mental health of this cohort, inclusive of experiences of help-seeking and desirable traits of mental health professionals.
The purpose of this study was to examine associations between dimensions of positive identity (Intimacy and Authenticity) and sexual/relationship satisfaction among plurisexual parents, a population that is understudied despite its prevalence within the LGBTQ+ parenting community. Participants were 605 plurisexual parents (aged 18-64) who were partnered. Multilevel regression models predicting sexual and relationship satisfaction were conducted. Results indicated that identity-related intimacy was positively associated with both sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction. Identity-related authenticity was positively associated only with sexual satisfaction. Results highlight the importance of researching plurisexual parents and suggest that interventions enhancing identity-based intimacy and authenticity may be beneficial for sexual and relational health in this population.
This qualitative study examines intimate partner violence (IPV) experiences among asexual, bisexual, and pansexual (ABP) people in T & uuml;rkiye, including both intersex and endosex participants, as part of the broader category of SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics) minorities. Framing the analysis through Judith Butler's concept of precarity and the minority stress model, the study explores how sexual orientation and sex characteristics generate layered vulnerability structures. Reflexive thematic analysis was conducted on in-depth interviews with 17 participants. Six overarching themes were identified: forms of IPV, effects of violence on daily life, coping strategies, institutional insecurity and underreporting, consequences for future relationships, and post-violence empowerment. Findings show that participants experienced physical, psychological, and sexual violence alongside identity-based abuse, including attempts to invalidate, correct, or coercively reshape their sexual orientation. Intersex participants reported additional vulnerabilities linked to medicalization, bodily scrutiny, and disclosure-related threats, resulting in more embodied and historically situated IPV experiences compared with endosex participants. Despite pervasive violence, participants exercised agency by establishing boundaries, ending harmful relationships, and forming supportive networks. The study highlights the need for inclusive and identity-aware IPV prevention and response mechanisms for SOGIESC minorities in T & uuml;rkiye.
Bisexual individuals often experience unique forms of stigma, yet little is known about how psychology professionals and trainees perceive this population in Puerto Rico. This study examined levels of binegativity and social distance toward bisexual people among psychology professionals and graduate students, explored associations with sociodemographic variables, and compared these attitudes with those of a population-level sample. A quantitative design was used with 373 participants. Most professionals and students reported low binegativity and social distance, although 30% endorsed high or very high binegativity. Several sociodemographic variables, including gender, sexual orientation, religious identity, and acquaintance with a bisexual person, were significantly associated with attitudes. After adjusting for covariates, professionals and students showed lower binegativity than the general population, but no group differences emerged for social distance. Findings suggest that psychology professionals and students report less binegativity; however, social distance toward bisexual individuals remains similar across groups.
Despite documented mental health vulnerabilities, bisexual people report unsatisfactory experiences with mental health professionals that lead to negative psychotherapy outcomes. To gain insight into therapists' experiences working with bisexual clients across multi-national contexts, an online survey was disseminated through professional networks in primarily English-speaking countries. A total of 105 therapists (primarily from North America and Europe) completed the survey. Therapists reported a range of presenting problems from bisexual clients and most believed presenting problems were influenced by internalized binegativity. Therapists also described numerous approaches and interventions they used with bisexual clients (e.g., identity affirmation and exploring internalized stigma). Notably, working with a higher number of bisexual clients was associated with feeling adequately prepared, having more self-efficacy, and greater self-assessed skills. Higher therapist self-efficacy was associated with feeling more prepared and competent. Higher supervisor competence was positively correlated with therapist feelings of competence and preparedness. Exploratory group analyses revealed potential regional differences in terms of assessing client sexual orientation during intake and in barriers to directly addressing client bisexuality in session; Additionally, heterosexual therapists reported lower competence and self-efficacy than sexual minority therapists. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Bisexual people have a higher prevalence of mental health conditions than their gay/lesbian and heterosexual counter-parts. They also experience targeted discrimination and feelings of invisibility of their sexual orientation known as biphobia and bierasure, respectively. Furthermore, bisexual women have a unique experience with fetishization of their sexuality known as bimisogyny, underscoring the need for nuanced understanding and targeted support. This study investigated the contempo-rary experiences of cisgender bisexual women aged in their 20's, living in Australia and New Zealand. This qualitative study involved semi-structured interviews with seven bisexual women. Thematic analysis produced four main themes: firstly, bisexual women in their 20's experience bimisogynistic attitudes and fetishization of their sexual orientation. Secondly, bierasure and biphobia occurred across multiple contexts including within interpersonal relationships, across both straight and queer communities, and in a broader societal context including sys-tems, institutions, and discourse. Thirdly, bisexual women alluded to social media as a contemporary experience that both platforms bisexuality and further exposes them to bineg-ative attitudes. Finally, contemporary societal attitudes have lasting impacts on bisexual women's sense of self and mental health. Findings suggest that further research and societal action for bisexual communities is crucial for addressing social inequities, informing policy and practice, mitigating historical biases, and empowering these communities.
Plurisexual people-those who have sexual orientations characterized by attraction to multiple genders-form the majority of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and may face worse mental health outcomes than lesbian and gay populations. Internalized sexual stigma (ISS) and positive identity attitudes (PIA), representing the negative and positive dimensions of sexual orientation attitudes, respectively, have been linked to numerous mental health outcomes, yet little research has been conducted on how ISS and PIA are experienced in plurisexual people. This study used reflexive thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with n = 18 plurisexual people to explore the cognitive and affective experience of ISS and PIA, producing the following three themes: Doubting and Validating Myself, Avoiding My Truth and Owning It, and Shaming and Celebrating Myself. Implications for measurement development, research, and clinical practice are discussed.
