Midwestern plurisexuals define bisexuality

Although bisexual-identified people make up the majority of the LGBTQIA+ community, bisexuality continues to be poorly understood. Researchers have previously defined bisexuality as based on behavior, identity, or capacity for attraction, but recent qualitative and mixed-methods research suggests that plurisexual people (people attracted to two or more genders) tend to define bisexuality as based on attraction or capacity for attraction. However, research also observed extensive variability in participants’ responses with definitions varying based on contextual factors and along sexual identity lines. The present study extends previous research by exploring how plurisexual adults in the Midwestern United States define bisexuality for themselves and to others. Participants completed a brief online survey answering open-ended and closed-ended questions of how they define bisexuality. Responses from 46 plurisexual adults in the Midwestern U.S. were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and repeated measures ANOVA. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed five key themes: (1) bisexuality predominantly defined as attraction, (2) (lacking) use of the split attraction model, (3) influence of partner gender, (4) engagement with identity politics, and (5) nuances between definitions used for oneself and those given to others. Repeated measures ANOVA found a significant preference for interest and capacity for interest definitions over behavior definitions. Participants provided various definitions of bisexuality, with many participants defining bisexuality as attraction to two genders or as attraction to two or more genders. No clear differences along gender or sexual identity lines were observed in this sample. Findings suggest that plurisexuals people’s individual definitions of bisexuality are highly varied and that behavior- and self-identity-based definitions of bisexuality may not accurately capture the experiences of plurisexual people.