Up to 15% of the U.S. population may identify as heteroflexible, according to a2020 study1.
That’s more than the number of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people combined.
But to many people, this identity is still a mystery.
What is heteroflexible?
In a nutshell, heteroflexible means “mostly straight.”
Because heteroflexible people are not entirely straight, they fall onto the LGBTQIA+ spectrum of sexual and romantic identity.
Both women and men canidentify as heteroflexible or mostly straight.
That said, the meaning of heteroflexibility is subjective; there’s not just one way to be heteroflexible.
If you think that sounds somewhat similar to being heteroflexible, you’re not wrong.
Like all sexual identities, both of these words are subjective.
Their meanings are nuanced and often have more to do with evolving popular usage than strict dictionary definitions.
Bisexual and heteroflexible are separate, coexisting identities.
“For each person it will be different,” psychotherapistTodd Baratz, LMHC, tells mbg.
“Ultimately, this is a subjective experience.
Some don’t want to commit to one label or feel more comfort and congruence with another.”
Linguistically speaking, heteroflexible and bisexual are very different-sounding words.
By contrast, the word bisexual doesn’t contain “hetero” at all.
This may appeal to those for whom same-gender attraction is a more central part of their identities.
But also, this can make life confusing for not-straight folks.
“There isn’t usually a ‘how to do sexual orientation,'” Baratz explains.
“People explore and experiment.”
Onlyyoucan decide whether you identify with this word.
(The term “homoflexible” also exists for those who identify as mostly gay.)
While the term “heteroflexible” is new, being mostly straight is definitelynota recent phenomenon.
In 1948, Alfred Kinsey developedthe Kinsey scaleto more accurately reflect this range.
The scale goes from 0 for “exclusively heterosexual” to 6 for “exclusively homosexual.”
This is true for both men and women.
Moreover, this trend seems to be on the rise in younger generations.
But not everyone is supportive of this new identity.
One popular criticism holds that identifying as heteroflexible is biphobic.
Biphobia often comes in the form of erasure, whereinbisexual people get excluded, invalidated, or made invisible3.
This is a major problem even within the LGBTQIA+ community.
For example, many peoplemistakenly believethat bisexuality isn’t a “real” sexual orientation.
Bisexual women are often presumed to be straight, while bisexual men are often presumed to be gay.
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