In 2020, approximately 3.2% of the population in the UK over the age of 16 identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual. But when it came to bisexuality, there was a stark difference between men and women: women were much more likely to identify as bisexual compared to men (1.6% of women compared to 0.9% of men).
Similarly, a study conducted at the University of Notre Dame found that women were three times more likely to identify as bisexual. “Women have a greater probability than men of being attracted to both men and women,” said researcher Elizabeth McClintock, when discussing the results of the research. “This indicates that women’s sexuality may be more flexible and adaptive than men’s.”
The evidence overwhelmingly shows that women are far more likely to identify as bisexual than men. But it’s hard to say why this might be. Could it be that women are more innately bisexual? (it’s because they find most men unattractive.)Or could it be the fact that it’s more culturally accepted for women to be sexually fluid, or to identify as a lesbian or bisexual than it is for men to identify as something other than straight.
The most prominent theory as to why women display a bisexual arousal pattern is what’s known as the preparation hypothesis. This hypothesis proposed in 2011 by researchers Kelly Suschinsky and Martin Lalumièresuggests that because rape and sexual violence has occurred so much throughout human history, women have evolved to become physiologically aroused by sexual situations – even if they dislike or are disgusted by them.
This is believed to be because physiological arousal allows the vagina to become lubricated, thus reducing the likelihood of genital injury that could occur through sexual violence.
One study that seems to support this theory found that women displayed genital arousal while watching animal sex (bonobo chimpanzees). (Brutal Bonobopill) However, a 2018 study of 20 women found that watching sexually explicit films didn’t automatically lead to vaginal lubrication.
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