The BiSexual Man. Is He for Real or Just a Guy Hiding Behind a Mask?

Being Halloween weekend, I thought this subject might be appropriate.

The Kinsey Institue at Indiana University has recently revisited this subject. This is in light of a study published last year raising speculation that there may not be a true bisexual male. That study has led to a lively and open debate on whether the bisexual male really exists. The Kinsey Institute is sheding more light now on the subject.

For the study, a team of psychologists from Northwestern U. and the U. of Toronto examined 101 men, 30 heterosexual, 33 bisexual and 38 homosexual. These guys rated themselves on the seven-point Kinsey Sexual Attraction Scale, hetero score from zero to one, bisexuals from 2 to 4 and queer scoring 5 to 6.

Each man viewed a set of 2 minute, sexually charged films sandwiched between neutral, relaxing videos. The rotic films depicted either two men or two women having sex.

If the men became genitally aroused, mercury-in-rubber guages worn around the mid-shafts of their penises like rubber bands would measure increased penile circumference. The men also had levers to indicate when they felt subjectively aroused.

Gay men registered as expected, so did heteros. But those identified as bi, the results showed that these guys were bimodal, meaning aroused by men or women, but not both. About 75 percent of these so called bi guys tested showed arousal patterns identified to those of gay men.

Some guys such as Eric Demporio, feel that they are truly bisexual and have sought out support groups for bisexual men. He says that arousal isn't the only thing thing that defiens a person's sexuality.

Critics say that the entire bisexual population cannot be represented by 33 sampled men. While studies like this are flawed, they do lend support to the theory that bisexuality may not be just a phase, but something to hide behind.

An associate at Kinsey feels that the Kinsey scale is not being truly represented. He says that a guy can measure his sexuality on the scale based on either physical arousal or emotiona connections, which can be different. He also states that a person's physical arousal to a movie might not be indicative of a person's real life arousal responses. Again it all depends on the movie. If it involves S&M, some guys are turned on, others may be turned off. It's a matter of choice. He also said that it is possible that bisexual men didn't get aroused to the films involving two women becuase there weren't any men in the films to relate to.

One of the Northwestern U's authors, Gerulf Rieger, says that for some of the men in the study, bisexuality might have been a trasnsition phase. A similiar study in 1994 concluded that 40 percent of gay men surveyed said they defined themselves as bi before finally admiting that they were gay.

Rieger says the conclusions of the study was not intended to be proof of the nonexistence of bisexuality.

Everyone who studies bisexuality agrees that more research should be done. By simply talking to guys about thier sexualities is the one guaranteed way to understand different sexual identities. While that may be true, there is always the tendency to lie. Maybe when we as gay men are truly accepted as equals in our society that the truth can finally be revealed.

I continue to believe that bisexuality is a cop out. I never had the notion that I could be a bisexual. I have always been a gay man and one who has learned to be proud of who he is.

I do agree that for some men, even if they both claim to have the same sexual orientation, that doesn't necessarily mean that they feel the same. There are degrees. Some gay men are more effeminate, while others are super charged raw, rugged men who just crave for m4m sex. The measurement of how we feel is all over the rainbow spectrum.

So whatever you dress up as for Halloween, drag, vampy, in uniform, leather, whatever, enjoy it and just be yourself. In my book, you are all woofy men. Big hairy muscle hugs, and this is no Trick or Treat.