Bisexuality, Bisexual Lifestyle, and Bisexual Dating at Consonance (Gleichklang)
Consonance (Gleichklang) is the only matchmaking service in the German-speaking internet that explicitly also facilitates bisexual relationships. But what exactly is meant by the term bisexuality?
Bisexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by sexual attraction to people of both genders. A bisexual person thus feels attracted to persons of both sexes. Colloquially, the abbreviation “bi” has become established for bisexual individuals, and this abbreviation is also used as a self-designation.
The bisexual orientation is a (possibly latent) readiness or inclination that does not necessarily need to be implemented at the behavioral level. For a person to be described as bisexual, it is sufficient that this person experiences, on a subjective level, a sexual attraction emanating from persons of both sexes. In addition to this latent bisexuality as a non-lived disposition, there is open bisexuality, in which a person actually enters into sexual and, under certain circumstances, also romantic partnerships with persons of both sexes.
Bisexuality is to be distinguished from heterosexuality, homosexuality, and also from intersexuality (hermaphroditism). Sexual contacts between man and woman, or the desire for them, are common to heterosexuality and bisexuality, while sexual contacts between women among themselves and between men among themselves, or the desire for such, are common to homosexuality and bisexuality. The defining characteristic of bisexuality, however, is that both heterosexual and homosexual sexual needs are present. Bisexuality thus combines heterosexual and homosexual components of sexuality. Occasionally, bisexuality is confused with the term intersexuality, also called hermaphroditism or being a hermaphrodite. Persons with intersexuality, however, do not feel sexually attracted to persons of both sexes, but merely themselves have (biologically determined) physical characteristics of both sexes. There is no connection here with the bisexual orientation.
The prevalence of bisexuality in the general population is unknown, which is also related to methodological difficulties in measuring bisexuality. While the original Kinsey report still assumed that the majority of the population is bisexual, more recent studies indicate proportions of 2-6% of bisexuals in the general population. In this respect, it is currently also disputed whether bisexuality occurs more frequently than homosexuality or not.
The low percentage figures for bisexuality in more recent studies should be questioned. They result primarily from the fact that the majority of those respondents who, in addition to heterosexual experiences, also reported sexual encounters with the same sex, do not consider themselves bisexual. However, this self-assessment should be questioned if it is assumed that the fact of practiced sexuality speaks for the existence of a corresponding attraction. In this respect, more recent studies may underestimate the proportion of bisexuals in the general population by ignoring actual behavioral facts and relying on self-definitions that are susceptible to distortion.
If one assumes the existence of sexual experiences with both sexes, the proportion of bisexuals is certainly estimated to be over 10%, although this percentage does not yet include latent bisexuals and therefore should also represent an underestimation.
There is evidence of a stronger prevalence of bisexuality among women than among men, although this could also be related to still stronger fears among men of being labeled as homosexual.
Probably the truth regarding the proportion of bisexuality among sexual orientations lies between the findings of the original Kinsey report and the current tendency toward extremely restrictive estimates. In all likelihood, with an interpretation that does not ignore behavioral facts, it is to be assumed that bisexuality represents the second most common sexual orientation after heterosexuality and still ahead of homosexuality.
Tendencies, even with bisexual experiences, not to identify oneself as bisexual are probably related to society’s attempt to enforce a monosexual norm. This tendency to enforce a monosexual norm is particularly evident in the social institutions of marriage and registered civil partnerships, which only provide for partnerships between two people, thus by definition only heterosexual and homosexual partnerships are socially valued and protected. The discrimination against bisexuals that comes to light here is not even addressed by interest groups at present, which points to the extremely strong influence of society’s tendency toward the monosexual norm.
Attempts in the discussion to explain away bisexuality as concealed homosexuality are also to be regarded as an expression of the monosexual norm, which is reflected in the self-identifications of surveyed individuals.
To what extent bisexual-playful scenarios, as presented partly in pop culture or in fashion, will have a favorable effect in the sense of weakening the monosexual norm and the resulting self-denial of many bisexuals, remains to be seen. At least it is possible to recognize prospects that the playful engagement with bisexuality, which can be observed in pop culture and in fashion, could lead to increased social acceptance of bisexuality and thus also to improved self-acceptance of bisexuals.
In the long term, this will result in increased needs to abandon the general practice of hide-and-seek and accordingly to establish explicitly bisexual partnerships that include more than 2 persons, from which, in the long run, when same-sex marriages have already become a matter of course, a struggle for social recognition of these bisexual partnerships will emerge.
Consonance supports its bisexual members in their pursuit of realizing their bisexuality. This is part of the alternative approach of Consonance compared to other matchmaking agencies. To this end, we assess every member’s acceptance of bisexuality and suggest to our bisexual members exclusively those persons before whom they do not have to hide their bisexuality, but can develop it together with them. This can also result in partnerships between more than 2 persons.
Further pages on bisexual dating at Consonance:
en.consonance.com/bisexuelle-partnersuche/
en.consonance.com/besonderheiten/sexuelle-orientierungen/bisexuell/
en.consonance.com/erfolg-fuer-bisexuelle-bei-der-partnersuche/
External information on bisexuality:
http://www.bine.net/promi/index.php
