An odd question for bi guys...

I'm sure you've all heard the study where they hooked guys up to machines and made them watch naughty videos. The people in the study were basically one side or the other as far as physical arousal.

Now, if you consider yourself to be bi and have actually thought about it, then I doubt that this study really changed your mind. But still, how would you explain the findings? Is pornography an accurate way to measure sexual orientation? Do you respond sexually to the mere image of both sexes, or do you like one gender 'visually' and another one for different reasons?

I'm just curious, not trying to prove any point, and expecting a variety of different views.

Edit: Girls can answer too, if they want.

 

Bi/gay pics, vids and stories excited me. It was because it was something different. The curiosity and taboo of something I never did was exciting.
Strange as it might sound, seeing and thinking about doing something gay/bi became very exciting and my curiousity grew. Still does.
When I first told my wife, she understood, because she felt the same way about seeing womens naked pics.
That led to our late in life bi experimentation.

 

Well, I'll give a little background info to explain why this subject interests me so much. Warning: Long and confusing!

I have been, from a very young age, strongly attracted to guys, physically. It's basically a hammer-to-the-knee reflex. It hasn't always been a 'I want to have sex with that person' type thing, but seeing guys has always gotten the quickest response from me. I also had crushes on guys, although these weren't usually the guys I found the most physically attractive. My lack of physical response to the female anatomy culminated in my self-identifying as 'gay' at the age of 13.

I started noticing girls around this age, and later came to repress my gay-ness for religious reasons. I focused strongly on the opposite-sex attractions, hoping I would turn 'straight' by doing so. This went on for about 4-5 years before I finally sat down with myself and decided to stop repressing things. I decided that although I liked girls in certain ways, I wasn't automatically aroused by the female anatomy and, therefore, was gay. I was a little scared, but kind of relieved. Being 'gay' was safe because it just required a subconscious instinct, and I was intensely curious about what a gay relationship would be like. I passed off any 'straight' feelings as 'gay crushes' that most gay guys get (nevermind that those are usually for people like Angelina Jolie and not the girl that sits next to you in class). Besides, I've never been comfortable around girls and so this would save me a lot of trouble.

Well, I grew into this identity, came out of the closet to my family and friends, and even got an impromptu boyfriend. It was an interesting experience physically, but honestly, being in a 'relationship' with a guy still did not feel natural to me. It didn't even make sense to certain parts of my brain, which still registered this guy as 'friend'. Maybe he wasn't necessarily the sexiest man alive, but what if he was? I can't imagine feeling any differently. I felt suffocated being in the relationship because I couldn't be 'romantic'. We eased the tension with making out and making sexual innuendos every other sentence. It was tragically unsatisfying.

So yeah, by that point I was wondering if 'gay' was so safe after all. Apparently my gay attractions really weren't cues to have sex with attractive guys, which meant I probably needed to reevaluate my relationship with the opposite sex. Now I'm confused as hell.

My GOD, that is long. (Cue my ex-boyfriend saying: "That's what he said!") Thank you to anyone who actually reads it. I just thought I should explain myself before anyone thinks I'm biphobic and clams up, when I really just want another perspective on all of this.

 

I thought I was straight until I was 18, then thought I was bi until I was 23... Now I realise I'm mostly gay... I've also realised that I never got erections looking at or thinking about girls. Any attraction I have to girls seems to be purely aesthetic rather than physical, and that seems to be how it's always been for me.

There's more to attraction and sexuality than just physical responses though, so I don't think this study you mention really disproves the existence of bisexuality or anything like that.

 

One person pointed this out: Would a straight man enjoy looking at his plain wife in a porno if he didn't know her?

 

From my own personal experience, and what I've heard from lots of other guys on this forum, some tend to be more attracted to one or the other sex at a certain time, day or whatever, but it changes (and does it a lot for me). Like some mornings I'll wake up and like girls and some mornings I'll wake up and like guys. And some days I'll be pretty open to both... or neither.

 

I dont think you can use this as a general gauge. My wife loves to watch lez porn, but when she tried to play with another girl she did not enjoy it at all...she gave it a fair shot with 3 different girls and never liked it..

 

I'm not sure I understand the question. Since it's directed to Bisexual Guys I would have to say that I am a bisexual to answer, right? Well I'm not a bisexual but my opinion about this with regards to porno is that you decide how to interpret what you're watching, or whether you're curious about it or whatever. You can let it run you up the walls, or you can just be like "Tempting, but no".

 

Well the original poster was referring to a study they did, which I understand involved sitting guys in front of various kinds of porn, and measuring 'arousal' by looking at the amount of blood pressure or whatever in the penis, presumably with some kind of highly-sensitive gadget.

The study seemed to show that regardless of whether someone considers themselves bisexual, they only have a direct physical response to one sex or the other.

My point is that there is a lot more to attraction and sexuality than just physical responses - personally my dick has only ever really responded to gay porn, although I considered myself straight for 18 years then bi for a few more. I was responding to an aesthetic attraction to females along with society's expectations that everyone is heterosexual by default, and had no problems manually creating that physical response (ie. an erection) when looking at straight porn.

I'm not saying the study is correct (I mean being part of a scientific study is bound to have an effect on your ability to become aroused naturally anyway), I'm just saying that even if it was true that everyone responds physically to one sex or the other and never both, it doesn't really say anything about the existence of bisexuality, because sexuality cannot be reduced to just physical responses.

 

Do you respond sexually to the mere image of both sexes, or do you like one gender 'visually' and another one for different reasons?
No, i do not respond to either sexes by just looking at a picture. I would have to him/her face to face to really "respond" to someone. This goes for both males and females.

 

Fair enough, but the study the OP is talking about relates to INvoluntary physical responses...

 

Define for me what classifies as a "involuntary physical response."

 

dick getting hard (even a little bit) from only visual stimulus.

 

Actually, anyone can answer. I was just more interested to know what bi guys have experienced. I'm mostly just trying to understand things outside of the perspectives I've been conditioned to hold.

 

Im a bi girl. I like all porn. 2 girls is best......2 guys is 2nd....guy and a girl...meh. its ok.

 

Here's an article about the study in question:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/06/030613075252.htm

The point seems to be that guys tend to be hardwired - they're turned on by porn showing what they identify as - straight, gay or bi. In contrast, women tend to be turned on by everything, regardless of what we identify as. lol which makes it way more fun to be us. This might mean that women's sexuality is more fluid - we may have reasons other than wiring behind our sexual identities.

I think it's a fascinating study that bears a LOT more examination. I do know plenty of straight or straightish women - myself included - who like watching girls with girls. And it seems pretty obvious that straight girls aren't grossed out by the thought of being with other girls as much as straight guys are by the thought of making out with other guys. I'd always figured that was a societal thing, but who knows?

 

I should have added that my wife also enjoyed looking at gay porn as much as I/we liked lookiing at str8 porn.
Before the internet, my wife hated porn and porn mags. She would always go through any magazine I had and I noticed that it always got her in the mood. I used to leave things around, just so she would go through them. Vids too.

 

This is a difficult question because I think it's so subjective. Personally, most any kind of porn gets me excited, with exception to lesbian and freaky two-girls-one-cup-esque shit.
People are weird, our urges are weird, and I think it's all way to complex to fit nicely into certain categories. All sexuality is fluid. The gayest guy I know (we're talking he walks into a bar and all the alcohol goes FOOSH) told me that he is bisexual and he has sex with women regularly... later that night he and I slept together, but that's beside the point.

It seems like whenever sexuality and science meet, the latter tries to categorize the former. In my opinion, it's oil and water. Science and sexuality don't mix well because sexuality is not exact.

 

'Two girls and a cup' is not porn, it's shock art. My roommate's boyfriend showed me that, and I literally spasmed away from the screen. I am open-minded, but I was definitely shaking a little afterwards.

In general, I would say I'm less responsive than most guys I know. There isn't really one side or the other that feels like 'home' to me. I feel just as uncomfortable being labeled 'gay' as I do being labeled 'straight' or 'bi'. But sometimes there is definitely a hammer-to-the-knee response, and if it's still pictures, it probably isn't girls.

 

This is interesting. I posted a thread earlier where I cited this study. What Im confused about is this...(obviously I realize that studies are just studies and don't prove anything definitively, but inconsistancies just bother me) These people say that male bisexuality really doesn't exist (thats what I think theyre getting at) its either a state of confusion, or a "cop out." Personally, I think it probably does exist, but nevermind what I think...
But then we have the Freudians and the like who say that there are many heterosexual men who are actually "latent homosexuals" which means they are not overtly homosexual, they are actually straight. But this "latent homosexuality" is a normal sexual attraction between otherwise heterosexual males which is repressed and finds its outlet in things like fighting, boxing, drunk "I love you man"'s and shit like that...Apparently this is somehow different than bisexuality? I really don't understand. Wish someone would clear this up for me...

Me personally, I sometimes think "I might be a bit bisexual" but it doesn't bother me. Although, I've only ever been aroused by females, and have absolutely no desire to do sexual things with a man, I do have the capacity for tender feelings towards either sex which many would label as "gay." I guess those 'many' might be the latent homos in question?

Very interesting, and confusing stuff.