A new YouGov poll explores attitudes towards dating the bi+ community
BY NIAMH LENEGHAN, IMAGE BY BASEIMAGE/CANVA
One in five lesbian women in the UK say they wouldn’t date a bisexual woman, new research released for Bisexual Visibility Day has found.
Lesbian women were almost twice as likely as gay men to say they wouldn’t date someone who is bisexual, with one in nine gay men (11%) saying they wouldn’t date a bisexual man.
Age also appears to be linked to these findings, particularly among lesbians. Just one in 10 lesbian women aged 18-34 say they would be unwilling to date a bisexual woman. This rises to one in five among 35-54-year-olds, and more than half (53%) of lesbian women aged 55 and over, although the sample size for the oldest age group was small (76 participants).
Bisexual people have long spoken about stereotypes and bi-erasure, including assumptions that they are “greedy”, confused or simply passing through on their way to identifying as gay or lesbian. For bisexual women, these stereotypes can be particularly difficult to navigate, with their sexuality sometimes questioned or erased depending on who they date.
Among those who said they wouldn’t date a bisexual person, relationship insecurity was the most common reason given. Some respondents said they believed bisexual people were more likely to cheat, while others worried they would always feel they were missing something they could have with a same-sex partner.
Despite this, 89% of Britons have either a positive or neutral view of bisexual people, compared with 8% who view them negatively.
Matthew Smith, Head of Data Journalism at YouGov, said: “While attitudes towards bisexual people are ostensibly accepting, this does not necessarily translate into willingness to date them.”
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