Hello doctor,As bisexuality is defined as attraction to both men and women, however, many men who feel that way tend to not identify as that. Please explain why this is? And, why bisexuality among men has been so stigmatized in the past? And why it has not seemed to improve, even as people become more accepting of homosexuality?
Hello. Bisexuality is common and a lot of men and women have bisexual orientations at some point in their lives. This does not mean that a person will have homosexual relationship with same sex partner. A person who is happily married might have likings for same sex too. But this has been stigmatized in the past and because of cultural beliefs people never thought of accepting this in public. Since birth an individual is conditioned to behave in a particular manner like boys are supposed to be more active in competitive sports, they are encouraged to be masculine while girls are supposed to be delicate, sophisticated in most countries and most cultures. If a boy behaves like girls he faces many issues like other peers make fun of him. This conditioning is the basis of sexual orientations too. Boys are supposed to have girlfriends and girls have boyfriends. Homosexuality was considered as sin and even a lot of countries still consider homosexuality a crime and is stigmatized. Even these days media and the internet are working to reduce the stigma but in society, people make fun of homosexuals (especially of men). This is the reason things are improving but still, people do not look at bisexuality with good intentions. 