Women are 'either bisexual or gay but NEVER straight' - New study finds

I've known this claim for some time now. That women will get turned on by watching pornography with men and women, just men, or just women. Essentially, if people are naked and in a sensual situation, women get aroused (according to the study)

This study included a sample of 345 women and had the finding of "they are either bisexual or gay, but never straight".

This study is very interesting for so many reasons;

1. They say that "lesbians are the most like men" in that they have a specific preference for who they are attracted to.

2. This study challenges many status quo's. How exactly do we define "gay"? If nearly all women are aroused by the sight of any attractive person that's nude in a sensual situation, does that make them ALL bisexual or homosexual? Or does social pressure play a role?

3. I'm not overly shocked by this study. As a gender, women are overwhelmingly sexualized/sensualized by both women and men. The market for 'self beauty' is nearly exclusively a female market. Cosmetics, clothing, undergarments, jewelry, hair, footwear, etc - these markets are dominated by the female consumer to enhance their value as an individual. (80% of consumer spending is by females). Beer and burgers are sold with cleavage to men. Women sell to women and women sell to men. Either way; in advertising, women have what we want.

I'm still contemplating the exact impact of this study, but here are my initial conclusions;
Bisexual/homo preference in females is a coerced choice in regards that western women are impacted with the highest pressure to contemplate preference due to the focus of advertising dollars spent on the consumer market that is women focused and dominated (in advertising/spending). Thus, women are turned on by the image of what they see.

Since women contribute .80 on the dollar to consumer spending, marketers target women's fear of rejection and their desire for admiration to sell their product. This inevitable consumer market creates a gynocentric populace where we focus primarily on the desires of females.

So, a society focused on one gender should garner an increase on same sex attraction. Simplified, women should like women more than men like men if a country is gynocentric.

Which is exactly what we see in the US;
Bi women account for 2.2% of the population, lesbians are 1.2% of the population.
Bi men account for 1.3% of the population, gay men are 1.9% of the population.

So, maybe sexuality is 'fluid' and not a choice as long as long as advertising works and we indulge in a consumer/gynocentric based social construct.


LGTB Demographics

Onto the original article:

All women are Bi or Lesbian

Women are either bisexual or gay but 'never straight', a new study has claimed.

Women who class themselves as heterosexual are aroused by naked videos of both attractive men and women - whereas lesbians are far more attracted to the female form.

Clips were played to women and their responses, including whether their pupils dilated when shown sexual stimuli, were recorded.

Experts from the University of Essex found straight women were strongly aroused by both sexes, even though they said they were only interested in men.

In contrast, lesbians showed far stronger responses to women and barely any when shown the men.

The researchers said lesbians were the most like men in their responses because it is usually men who show distinct sexual responses to their favourite sex.

Women are 'either bisexual or gay but NEVER straight': Females become aroused by naked videos of both sexes

Study played clips of attractive naked people of both sexes to 345 women
Lesbians had much stronger attractions to the female form
Women who said they were attracted to men were stimulated by both
Women are either bisexual or gay but 'never straight', a new study has claimed.

Women who class themselves as heterosexual are aroused by naked videos of both attractive men and women - whereas lesbians are far more attracted to the female form.

Clips were played to women and their responses, including whether their pupils dilated when shown sexual stimuli, were recorded.

Experts from the University of Essex found straight women were strongly aroused by both sexes, even though they said they were only interested in men.

In contrast, lesbians showed far stronger responses to women and barely any when shown the men.

The researchers said lesbians were the most like men in their responses because it is usually men who show distinct sexual responses to their favourite sex.

'Even though the majority of women identify as straight, our research clearly demonstrates that when it comes to what turns them on, they are either bisexual or gay, but never straight,' he said.

Dr Rieger also said his study showed that lesbians who may dress in a more masculine way may not have more masculine behaviours.

'Although some lesbians were more masculine in their sexual arousal, and others were more masculine in their behaviours, there was no indication that these were the same women,' he said.

'This shows us that how women appear in public does not mean that we know anything about their sexual role preferences.'

Later Gerulf Rieger said ‘never’ was too strong but he meant ‘the majority of women who identify as straight are not straight in their sexual arousal.’

Ghost

I guess the stories about Amazonian women keeping men captive for breeding purposes only are true.

In all seriousness though, it actually sounds kinda right...

My wife has admitted some forbidden desires involving genders of the same sex.

I have always thought this to be. Women come from women, men do not come from men. Women have that extra female bond.

I think it's crap.

I like looking at pictures of airplanes, I have no desire to copulate with one.

I like fast cars, and get a thrill out of driving them. And watching formula 1. I have no desire to copulate with a Ferrari.

Kind of absurd to say oh well you responded to this picture this way, ergo you're a lesbian. Maybe bi. Definitely not straight though.

This is just weird and I say bogus. Guess I am an an exception. Where are the studies on men???

a reply to: ghostrager

My spouse and I can both attest to this. Then again, I'm also aroused when looking at a full moon and she gets randy when she smells certain things. Sexuality is a complex thing.

Also, I partially agree with Shamrock6 that this may not be the most accurate way to determine this. People often get aroused when they watch animals going at it but that doesn't mean they are into bestiality. I hope not, anyway.

a reply to: Shamrock6

I have no desire to copulate with a Ferrari.

Liar!

I've known a lot of women that are open to the idea of being with another woman, it wouldn't surprise me if more than we thought were more in the middle of the spectrum. I don't think that means you're bi though. Of the women I know none of them would be interested in a romantic relationship with a woman (and I think quite a few do/say things for attention).

ETA: Man that first sentence is a disaster. Just read it again and went cross eyed. Needs less more.

I just shared this with my significant other...she wasn't as excited about this new study as I was.

"Hon! This new study says you're either bisexual or gay!"

This is pretty much the reaction I got:

a reply to: MystikMushroom

I don't want to alarm you, but I think she may be a black man.

originally posted by: Domo1
a reply to: Shamrock6

I have no desire to copulate with a Ferrari.

Liar!

I've known a lot of women that are open to the idea of being with another woman, it wouldn't surprise me if more than we thought were more in the middle of the spectrum. I don't think that means you're bi though. Of the women I know none of them would be interested in a romantic relationship with a woman (and I think quite a few do/say things for attention).

That doesn't mean their bodies aren't gay, though. The study was based on physical reactions to the stimuli. Meaning, whether or not they would be willing to endure the social alienation that conservatives likes to put gay folks through, their bodies were definitely responding to other women.

I think that is what makes this test pretty neat. A person can say they are straight as a ruler but their bodies may disagree with them.

a reply to: Abysha

Yeah I guess you're right. For some reason I equate homosexual as more than just a sexual response.

I guess a possibly terrible example of my thinking would be people becoming sexually aroused while being raped.

I'm not attracted to the wind but when I was a certain age a stiff breeze certainly seemed to entice the peen.

I am sorry, but this is simply not true. I am female, and my attraction to other females is about the same as a 100% gay man. Besides breasts are gross blobs of fats. Guys with manboobs or even a fit guy with large pecs gross me out. I will never figure out what men find attractive about the female body.

If this study said a larger percentage of woman are bi or gay, than previously thought, sure. The problem I have is with the word never.

This article I found on LiveScience goes hand in hand then:

Women may be more "hetero-flexible," or be primarily attracted to men with some same sex attraction, because same-sex behavior allowed women to raise their children with other women, a new study has proposed.

The hypothesis, published this April in the journal Evolutionary Psychology, suggests that more fluid female sexuality may have evolved because it benefited women's offspring. Some women who were raped or fathered children with absentee or deceased dads formed sexual relationships with other women, which may have made it easier to raise children together, according to the theory.

Link

Kind of an interesting hypothesis, I can't say I fully believe it though.

a reply to: calstorm

Well, what they're saying is that even with women who claim just what you claimed -- these women had physical reactions to same-sex stimuli. This is subconscious, something they're not aware of.

I agree there is a close bond between women where they feel comfortable being playful, flirty and nurturing toward one another. I'm sure many posters know about the drunk girlfriends who make out with each other for fun. I've seen it many times before and it's just funny and just for pretend. But to say all women would have sex with another female is a whole different level if you consider what that involves beyond making out...you know first base, second base, third, home run...

what a load of rubbish!

if that's true, then it must be also true that men are also both.. i know far more men who secretly want to suck on something than women who want to indulge

I wonder if it was just any picture or any sound which aroused them? Was the arousal intensity and duration the same for woman and men--for straight woman? Another thing is arousal might not be the same thing as active sexual desire for that gender. For example, straight woman might be sexually aroused by videos of naked woman bending each other, but that doesn't necessarily translate to them wanting to have a sexual relationship with another woman. Sexual arousal on its own is 1-dimensional. I've for example had dreams about ***** but I'm definitely not bi or gay. People have tendency to jump to conclusions at the slightest persuasion.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Now i get it why my GF always had GF sleeping in her bed

Plenty of women are only straight, so, I believe it's a bit flawed. Not only because of that because of another study in the past had claimed that "women are turned on by what is done to the other women in the film no the women in particular"- explains it better here. Also, while possibly attracted to other women, but not sexually, but rather admirably,etc.

a reply to: ghostrager

Never is an absolute,

The market for 'self beauty' is nearly exclusively a female market. Cosmetics, clothing, undergarments, jewelry, hair, footwear, etc - these markets are dominated by the female consumer to enhance their value as an individual. (80% of consumer spending is by females). Beer and burgers are sold with cleavage to men. Women sell to women and women sell to men. Either way; in advertising, women have what we want.

Stop buying it. It wouldn't exist if no one bought it.