Bisexual Women Suffer More from Health Risk Factors Than Males, Study Finds

[æonpax]

Bisexual women are more likely than their male counterparts to suffer from depression and stress and to binge-drink, according to a new national study led by Mason researcher Lisa Lindley. “Why?” Lindley wonders. “That’s what we keep asking. - http://news.gmu.edu/articles/7895

Also, a related commentary snippet from Jezebel Magazine;


Are Bisexual Women Getting The Short End Of The Emotional Stick? - … While the study's lack of answers is frustrating, the underlying theme makes sense. The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities all have different characteristics, and researchers lumping different groups together because they're all non-straight doesn't tell us much about their experience. Similarly, for bisexuals, a lack of understanding and acceptance from these communities only makes their situation worse.” - http://jezebel.com/5857793/are-bisexual-women-getting-the-short-end-of-the-emotional-stick

Both the study and the commentary raise more questions than it can answer. I however, agree with those you make the justifiable claim that most people (homo and heterosexual) who look at bisexuals, women in this instance, do so through a bias lens and a belief in myth/hearsay as opposed to facts. Some of these biases I will list are particular to bisexual females but some, can apply to males:

1. She is making out with a girl because they want to attract a straight man.
2. She will have a threesome with you.
3. She is 'really' straight just because she's in a relationship with a man.
4. That all she needs is 'some good dick' to be straight.
5. That she can't be your friend without falling in love with you.
6. She is hyper-sexual.
7. She likes it when you respond to 'I'm bisexual' with 'That's so hot.'
8. She can't be monogamous.
9. She can't want to marry someone because no matter what she will always be wanting someone of the opposite sex of the sex of the person she marries.
10. She can't commit to a woman, because eventually, she will leave you for a man.
11. She can't commit to a man, because she will leave you for a woman.
12. It's a phase, it's a trend.

Most disconcerting is that some of the most derogatory comments I’ve ever received, is from members of the lesbian community who seem to be steeped in their own self-righteous mythos. As it also stated in the Jezebel article, to wit:



"There's a lot of prejudice against them. They're {bisexuals} told 'You're confused — pick one.' There tends to be this expectation or standard that a person picks one sexual identity and sticks with it. I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about bisexuals. I think their risk has a lot more to do with stigma."
Clearly, this entire issue needs to be aired.

[Long Duck Dong]

honestly I would agree with you..... it seems that bisexual females are not taken seriously.... that some how they have it easier than males cos they are bisexual and therefore society finds them hot .....

my sister used to talk with me about how guys would hit on her and expect her to sleep with their gf's cos * thats what bi females do *..... and my sister used to vent ( rudely ) about not being seen as a person with feelings......

not sure about other bi ladies experiences, but my sister gave up going to the nightclub with a lady partner cos it got impossible to share a kiss on the dance floor without dealing with a lot of lewd remarks and guys hitting on them and thinking it was a invite for a 3some.....

while we talk about males finding it hard in society cos of social ideas.... its not often that the other side of the issue is raised and thats what bi / les ladies have to deal with, and it has been a real eye opener for me over the years

[FinkDoodle]

Funny thing about studies . . for every one that concludes with "X" you'll find an opposing one that concludes with "Y" and then at least two or three more that claim "Z" is the answer . .

And then people only believe the one in the assortment that figures most closely to themselves.

Why bother?

[BiDaveDtown]

You can argue all of this about bisexual men and a few years ago there was a study done where it said all of this about bisexual men how we abuse alcohol/drugs, how we have low self esteem, how we have high rates of suicide, how we have high rates of depression and other types of mental illness, how we feel alienated, how we can't be monogamous, how we just want sex, how we don't want relationships, how we're not taken seriously by people despite bisexual men being out loud and proud for decades just like gay men have been, that we're really gay men but closeted or confused, that we're really straight but experimenting or confused, how we experience a lot of biphobia and bisexual erasure from both gay men and straight men and women, etc.

Do your own research and you'll find these studies and results about bisexual men.

[æonpax]

You can argue all of this about bisexual men and a few years ago there was a study done where it said all of this about bisexual men how we abuse alcohol/drugs, how we have low self esteem, how we have high rates of suicide, how we have high rates of depression and other types of mental illness, how we feel alienated, how we can't be monogamous, how we just want sex, how we don't want relationships, how we're not taken seriously by people despite bisexual men being out loud and proud for decades just like gay men have been, that we're really gay men but closeted or confused, that we're really straight but experimenting or confused, how we experience a lot of biphobia and bisexual erasure from both gay men and straight men and women, etc. Do your own research and you'll find these studies and results about bisexual men.

I have no doubt that what you say is true (and no one including myself, said there are not similarities) however, the topic is bisexual women, research done with bisexual woman and with nuances that are particular to bisexual women. You might want to take the time and read the articles I linked to.

Now, Northwestern University also did a recent study on bisexual men but unlike this research done by George Mason University, which researcher, Lisa Lindley, did NOT reach any conclusion, the NW study did and was soundly rejected by both bisexual genders as being stereotypical. You might want to check into that.

If you disagree with the research or article, especially the part where the author the, Michele McDonald, qualifies her statement that “Bisexual Women Suffer More”, please state what exactly your objection is.

[æonpax]

honestly I would agree with you..... it seems that bisexual females are not taken seriously.... that some how they have it easier than males cos they are bisexual and therefore society finds them hot .....

my sister used to talk with me about how guys would hit on her and expect her to sleep with their gf's cos * thats what bi females do *..... and my sister used to vent ( rudely ) about not being seen as a person with feelings......

not sure about other bi ladies experiences, but my sister gave up going to the nightclub with a lady partner cos it got impossible to share a kiss on the dance floor without dealing with a lot of lewd remarks and guys hitting on them and thinking it was a invite for a 3some.....

while we talk about males finding it hard in society cos of social ideas.... its not often that the other side of the issue is raised and thats what bi / les ladies have to deal with, and it has been a real eye opener for me over the years

We are in agreement here. My first experience with the public "girls kissing girls" phenomenon, was in the late 90's, in high school. All of us girls knew this was just a put-on, to attract guys, but it did seem to work..for all the wrong reasons and with all the wrong guys. That trend still exists today ~ http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/15/girls-kissing-girls-whats-up-with-that/ ~ The fly in the ointment (which is not so obvious) is are these girls really straight or bi-curious?

Culturally, a female kissing a female "used" to have the same non-sexual connotation as guys whacking each other in the ass, but no longer.

While I have seen women kissing in straight nightclubs, that seems to be the exception, not the rule. As your sister confirmed and I have personally experienced, it attracts the wrong kind of men.

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

Ya'll seem to be missing the meat of the matter here, no pun intended. The topic was we Bi women are suppose to have a high health risk than men. I dont see How, but the powers that be and minds supposedly smarter than us lay-people(pun intended) think they have all the answers.:rolleyes:
How about hearing from some Bi-Gals. How's yer health, Ladies?
Cat

[tenni]

Thanks for bringing this research to my attention. It is interesting in part because it is a longitudinal study. It has been argued that bisexuals generally report more health risks than other in GLB groups in the San Francisco report last year. That was collaborated by previous studies but not by gender specific studies of bisexuals.(as I recall stress related physical issues, depression and alcohol drug use?)

"It's unclear why bisexual men are less at-risk than bisexual women, but Lindley believes it may have something to do with men feeling more connected to their community, while bisexual women just feel that they're alone."

This is an interesting statement. It is difficult to tell if this statement is in the article because of direct questions to the researcher or if this extrapolation was made by Lindley herself in the body of the study. I suspect it is an extrapolation/supposition that the reporter from a "womens?" magazine asked the researcher to make.

Were there connections to previous studies that support that bisexual men "feel" more connected to their community? The use of the word "feel" seems to be a word that I would not expect to find in a study. Is there more support for bisexual men than bisexual women generally? Are there fewer communities of bisexual women than there are of communities of bisexual men?

What might be increasingly interesting is when this survey is repeated when the subjects reach the age of say 45-51. There is a lot of self disclosure by men about their bisexuality surfacing after the age of 40 and some report absolutely no same sex attraction until after 40. Others report a re emergence of their attraction. This suppression or no same sex attraction would impact any longitudinal study if subjects did not report being bisexual at certain stages and then begin to report a change in their self identifying sexuality. I am unaware of such reports by women but that may also apply. I am unaware of studies supporting this self disclosure approach and it may be invalid. (to counter my ending questions) Now, that may be a generational aspect and the people in this study are emerging as bisexuals during different social circumstances than people presently past the age of 45. Reporting of depression may be altered in future survey studies of the same subjects.

The age range of the subjects is fairly wide as well. The subject age range from 12 to 18 initially. Is a six year age range generational? It might be argued that it is. It might be argued that there is insufficient control aspects compared to other longitudinal studies where the subjects are the same age throughout the longitudinal study. The group may experience similar social impact as a society in the year 1994 may be seen as less open to bisexuality than 2008. The time span (14 years) of the survey being repeated was not explained in the article but may be in the actual study. The subject's age range would be 26-32. Regardless of sexuality, do women generally at this age range experience more depression/health risks than men? Regardless of sexuality, are women in this age range more likely to identify and seek help for depression/health risks than men?

As far as self disclosure by women on this site and whether they experience depression/health risks, what would be the point? Would it nullify the study if there are no bisexual women on this site who experience depression/health risks? Would it validate this study if there were bi women experiencing depression/health risks?