Same-sex experiences are increasing the US, according to a new study. It seems that Americans are more opened than ever to the idea of bisexuality and homosexuality. The percentage of same-sex encounters has doubled in the last 16 years. The study was published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.
Bisexual individuals are the largest group within the LGBT community.
Using data from a survey from the General Social Survey, a team of social scientists has examined the sexual preferences of a total of 3,728 participants. The findings showed that the percentage of men who reported male sexual partners increased by nearly 100 percent from 1990 to 2014. As for the women, the percentage of same-sex experiences had more than doubled in the same period.
The study also shows that the number of Americans accepting this kind of sexual interactions is also on the rise. The acceptance of LGBTQ individuals has been a decades-long struggle for the community, and recent studies have shown how social behavior can change relatively quickly.
According to survey data from 1973 and 1990, the percentage of adults who were tolerant to the idea of same-sex experiences encompassed only 11 to 13 percent of all subjects. By 2014, however, that number had risen to 49 percent.
The increased tolerance is most likely the cause of same-sex behaviors’ boost. The percentage of men who have had sexual encounters with men rose from 4.5 percent to 8.2 percent between the years 1990 and 2015. The women reporting having sex with other female partners has also increased from 3.6 percent to 8.7 percent.
The significant change was brought by bisexual behavior, researchers say. The percentage of subjects who have had all same-sex experiences has not increased significantly. However, the percentage of respondents who have had both male and female sexual encounters had grown by 4.6 percent.
Other recent surveys have shown that bisexual individuals are the largest group within the LGBT community. About half of people who identify as LGB fall place themselves in the bisexual category. However, bisexuals are less likely to “come out”, as opposed to their gay and lesbian peers. However, this too might change, as same-sex experiences are increasing in the US and Americans are quite ok with it.
Paper co-author, Jean Twenge, believes that this social change was brought by an increased sense of individualism. Twenge believes that the growing acceptance and the increased behavior shows how people are caring more about themselves than in the past.
IMAGE SOURCE: Wikipedia
