Bisexuality
Bisexuality is romantic attraction as well as a sexual attraction including sexual behavior toward both males and females. The term is mainly used in the context of human attraction to denote romantic and sexual feelings toward both males and females.[1][2][3] It may also be defined as encompassing romantic and sexual attraction to people of all gender identities or to a person irrespective of that person's biological sex or gender, which is sometimes termed pansexuality.[4][5][6] Bisexual minor attracted people sometimes refer to themselves as childlovers. Bisexuality is often confused with these who engage in facultative homosexuality and situational homosexuality, which often lacks the romantic component and tends to be purely sexual in nature.
Bisexuality is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation along with heterosexuality and homosexuality, which are each parts of the heterosexual–homosexual continuum. A bisexual identity does not necessarily equate to equal sexual attraction to both sexes; commonly, people who have a distinct but not exclusive sexual preference for one sex over the other, though still towards the middle of the sexual continuum, frequently also identify themselves as bisexual.[7]
Bisexuality has been observed in various human societies[8] and elsewhere in the animal kingdom[9][10][11] throughout recorded history. The term bisexuality, however, like the terms hetero- and homosexuality, was coined in the 19th century.[12]
References
- ↑ "Sexual Orientation, Homosexuality, and Bisexuality". APAHelpCenter.org. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- ↑ Sexual Orientation". American Psychiatric Association. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ↑ "GLAAD Media Reference Guide". GLAAD. Archived from the original on 1 January 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
- ↑ Soble, Alan (2006). "Bisexuality". Sex from Plato to Paglia: a philosophical encyclopedia. 1. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-313-32686-8.
- ↑ Firestein, Beth A. (2007). Becoming Visible: Counseling Bisexuals Across the Lifespan. Columbia University Press. pp. 9–12. ISBN 9780231137249. ISBN 0231137249. http://books.google.com/books?id=1pCKkZmBU1EC&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=Bisexuality&source=bl&ots=jLQsjdshH0&sig=VIz3j1_SOn-s66jHTmAERYSYlWE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9N1rUKzQOuTc2AX1ooGYCQ&ved=0CCwQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Bisexuality&f=false. Retrieved on October 3, 2012.
- ↑ Rice, Kim (2009). "Pansexuality". in Marshall Cavendish Corporation. Sex and Society. 2. Marshall Cavendish. p. 593. ISBN 978-0-7614-7905-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=YtsxeWE7VD0C&pg=PA593&lpg=PA593&dq=Pansexuality&source=bl&ots=YYqrMAWKKC&sig=ND_-SUQUyuN7Bw6e7w-v9pBYmRk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ct9rUPCoKOTO2AWN7oHIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Pansexuality&f=false. Retrieved on 3 October 2012. "In some contexts, the term pansexuality is used interchangeably with bisexuality, which refers to attraction to individuals of both sexes... Those who identify as bisexual feel that gender, biological sex, and sexual orientation should not be a focal point in potential relationships."
- ↑ Rosario, M., Schrimshaw, E., Hunter, J., & Braun, L. (February 2006). Sexual identity development among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths: Consistency and change over time. Journal of Sex Research, 43(1), 46–58. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
- ↑ Crompton, Louis (2003). Homosexuality and Civilization. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press. ISBN 0-674-01197-X.
- ↑ Bagemihl, Bruce (1999). Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity. London: Profile Books, Ltd.. ISBN 1-86197-182-6.
- ↑ Roughgarden, Joan (May 2004). Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24073-1.
- ↑ Driscoll, Emily V. (July 2008). "Bisexual Species: Unorthodox Sex in the Animal Kingdom". Scientific American.
- ↑ Harper, Douglas (11 2001). "Bisexuality". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
