A new study finds heterosexual males are more likely to believe bisexuality amongst men is "not a legitimate sexual orientation," according to a news release.
The study led by University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health researcher Mackey Friedman, Ph.D., M.P.H., will be presented at the American Public Health Association's 141st Annual Meeting & Exposition in Boston on Tuesday.
Findings show "straight" men are three times more likely to not believe bisexuality exists in men:
Overall, respondents were generally negative in terms of their attitudes toward bisexual men and women, with almost 15 percent of the sample in disagreement that bisexuality is a legitimate sexual orientation. However, women, white people and people who identified themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual had less bias and prejudice against bisexual people. Of note, respondents who identified as gay or lesbian responded significantly less positively toward bisexuality than those identifying as bisexual, indicating that even within the sexual minority community, bisexuals face profound stigma. In addition, these findings indicate that male bisexuals likely suffer more stigma than female bisexuals.
"Bisexual men and women face prejudice, stigma and discrimination from both heterosexual and homosexual people," Friedman, director of Project Silk, an HIV prevention initiative, said in a news release. "This can cause feelings of isolation and marginalization, which prior research has shown leads to higher substance use, depression and risky sexual behavior. It also can result in lower rates of HIV testing and treatment."
The findings were based 33-question survey and administered online to 1,500 adults. The words used to describe bisexuality were "confused," "different" and "experimental." Friedman explained this attitude towards bisexuality could lead to feelings of isolation, as they are unable to talk about their experiences with people around them.
"Having hard data to back up why a bisexual person might feel the need to be secretive about sexual orientation, something that can lead to higher depression and many other negative health outcomes, is very useful to people trying to fight stigma and marginalization," said Friedman. "For example, this information can guide social marketing interventions and outreach to reduce that stigma, and improve rates of HIV prevention, testing and treatment within the bisexual community."
