Sexual Fluidity and Psychological Distress: What Happens When Young Women’s Sexual Identities Change?

By Alice Campbell

Sexuality can be fluid, especially in women. A young woman might identify as bisexual one year and lesbian the next. But how do women feel when their sexual identities change? According to my study published in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, the answer is “it depends”. Let me explain.

It is widely assumed that sexual orientation is a fixed trait, and for many people this is true. Efforts to change people’s sexual orientations—so called “conversion therapies”—have been shown to cause terrible harm. They rarely, if ever, work. A person’s sexual orientation cannot be changed at will.

However, some people experience spontaneous changes to their sexual attractions and/or the label that they use to describe their sexual orientation across the course of their lives. Famous examples in the media include the writers Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) and Piper Kerman (Orange is the New Black). Academic research confirms that sexual fluidity is increasingly common. Clearly, the fixed and binary model of sexual orientation is not always a good fit.

To gain a better understanding of sexual fluidity, I analysed survey data from more than 8,000 women over a five-year period.  In the first year of the study, the women were aged between 18 and 23. Across the five years, more than 30% changed their sexual identity at least once, and 3% changed it 3 times.

In addition to their sexual identities, women reported their levels of psychological distress. Psychological distress incorporates feelings such as hopelessness, anxiety, worthlessness, and unexplained fatigue. I compared levels of psychological distress between women who had changed to a new sexual identity and those who had kept the same identity.

I found no evidence that changes in sexual identity are universally distressing. Rather, levels of distress varied according to the identity to which a woman changed. On the one hand, psychological distress was higher among women who had changed to a bisexual identity compared to those who had kept a heterosexual identity. On the other hand, distress was lower in women who had changed to a heterosexual identity compared to those who maintained a lesbian or bisexual identity.

What is driving these differences? I imagine that some readers might interpret my findings as suggesting that there is something inherently harmful in bisexuality. Yet, I have never encountered any rational argument or empirical evidence to suggest that this is true.  Rather, my knowledge and experience as a sociologist tell me that answers can often be found in our social environment – in our relationships, culture, norms, and intuitions.

So, what does the social environment look like for LGBQ youth? On the one hand, acceptance of sexuality diversity has been increasing in many parts of the world. Same-sex marriage was legalised nationwide in the United States in 2015 and in Australia in 2017. Yet, evidence shows that LGBQ people continue to be negatively stereotyped and victimized. Bisexual women experience sexual objectification and violence at higher rates than any other group. For many women, disclosure of their bisexuality will not be met with support.

Given this, I was not surprised to find that the women in my study who changed to a bisexual identity reported greater social stress than those who continued identifying as heterosexual. Higher levels of stress in their relationships with their parents, extended family, and friends partly accounted for women’s elevated psychological distress upon changing to a bisexual identity. These results held controlling for a range of factors including relationship status, geographic region, early sexual debut, drug use, and experiences of childhood abuse.

So, what should we take away from all of this? This year on coming out day, it is important that we acknowledge the discrimination, vilification, and victimization that LGBQ people continue to face. We must challenge biphobia, homophobia, and discrimination based on sexual orientation if we are to protect the mental health of our youth. And we must better support young people who are questioning their sexual identity or coming out as LGBQ.

Article Details
Sexual Fluidity and Psychological Distress: What Happens When Young Women’s Sexual Identities Change?
Alice Campbell, Francisco Perales, Tonda L. Hughes, Bethany G. Everett and Janeen Baxter
First Published March 28, 2022
DOI: 10.1177/00221465221086335
Journal of Health and Social Behavior

About the Author