Dual Attraction: Understanding Bisexuality

448 Pages·1994·14.11 MB·English

by  Martin S. Weinberg

Dual Attraction
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D U AL
A T T R A C T I ON
Understanding Bisexuality
Martin S. Weinberg
Colin J. Williams
Douglas W. Pryor
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York Oxford
Oxford University Press
Oxford New York
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Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
First published in 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.,
200 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 1995
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Weinberg, Martin S.
Dual attraction : understanding bisexuality /
Martin S. Weinberg, Colin J. Williams, Douglas W. Pryor.
p. cm. Includes index.
ISBN 0-19-508482-9
ISBN 0-19-509841-2 (pbk.)
1. Bisexuality—United States—Longitudinal studies.
2. Sexual behavior surveys—United States.
I. Williams, Colin J. II. Pryor, Douglas W.
III. Title.
HQ74.W44 1994 306.76'5'0973—dc20 93-5620
2468 10 97531
Printed in the United States of America
Dedicated with Much Love
to
Barbara, Ellana, and Marion
Huw and Sally
Amy and Hannah
and to the memory of
David Lourea
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Preface
Bisexuality is a topic long ignored by sex research. Despite the early
investigations of Alfred Kinsey, who discovered a continuum of sexu-
alities, people who are not exclusively heterosexual in their sexual feel-
ings and behaviors have usually been considered "homosexual." As a
result, a great deal of attention has been paid to explaining why some
people are homosexual or to the differences between heterosexuals and
homosexuals. This trend has reinforced the belief that sexual preference
exists as a dichotomy, that there are two natural classes of people whose
sexual desire is fixed. Bisexuals, who do not fit in either category, have
generally been seen as confused, dishonest, or in transition to becoming
homosexual. We believe that sexual preference is much more compli-
cated than this and will never be fully understood until the phenomenon
of bisexuality is rigorously examined in its own right.
Our study illustrates how the social world shapes our sexuality. We
show that sexual preference is a more complex, fluid, and emergent
outcome than today's biological determinism dictates. We introduce the
reader to a group of people who define themselves as "bisexual" and who
organize their sexuality around that label. We write about them dealing
with their dual attraction, struggling to put together satisfying relation-
ships, and confronting a rapidly changing sexual environment. This en-
vironment became dominated by AIDS during the course of this study.
How they adapted their sexuality to the emerging health crisis provides
the final theme to the book.
We are grateful to the many people who helped us with this project.
First of all, Maggie Rubenstein for her persistence in getting us to under-
take the study, the late David Lourea who as President of the Bisexual
Center helped us in every way he could, and The Edward L. Anderson
Jr. Foundation, Inc. who funded the research. In addition, we would like
to express our appreciation to twelve members of the Bisexual Center for
their assistance as volunteers in conducting interviews, and for endless
other tasks they performed in the data collection phase of the research.
We cannot name them for reasons of confidentiality, but we will always
viii Preface
remember them and hope that some day soon the need for such conceal-
ment will be unnecessary.
We would also like to thank a number of students at Indiana Univer-
sity who provided invaluable assistance to the research: Cassandra Cal-
han and Elizabeth Bennett who assisted us in the field; and Tammy
Taylor, Lynn Gibson, and Jon Young who helped coordinate the data
analysis. Special thanks to Jon for the tremendous amount of work he did
on the project. The following students also worked on the project at
various times: Neal Carnes, Kim Gamson, Kari Hallett, Amy Kopel, Lilly
Komanov, Liisa McCallister, Lee Mitchell, Heather Morgan, Christine
Ostapiuk, Kathleen Petroff, Diane Phillips, William Pridemore, Laurie
Ragland, Denise Riggs, Michelle Rubinstein, Phelissa Scott, Lisa Turner,
and Lisa Wilder.
Throughout the data analysis and write-up we often relied on our
colleague Brian Powell for advice; his counsel was always helpful. Our
thanks also to Susan Duke and Chris Martindale who gave us so much of
their time in typing numerous drafts as well as the final manuscript.
Finally we would like to acknowledge Indiana University for provid-
ing a safe haven within which to do sex research. We feel heirs to the
similar support they gave Alfred Kinsey over fifty years ago.
Contents
1 The Riddle of Bisexuality, 3
Part I Bisexual Lives
2 Bisexuals in San Francisco, 13
3 Becoming Bisexual, 26
4 Bisexual Types, 39
5 The Nature of Dual Attraction, 49
6 Transsexual Bisexuals, 59
7 Sexual Activities, 66
8 Significant Others, 76
9 Marriage, 93
10 Jealousy, 107
11 Being "Out," 116
Part II Bisexuality, Heterosexuality, and
Homosexuality
12 Surveying the Sexual Underground, 135
13 The Development of Sexual Preference, 139