An orientation involving the potential for sexual and/or romantic attraction to more than one gender. Attraction need not be equal, simultaneous, constant or expressed through behaviour.
Sources and evidence type
Manual claim and limitation notes are shown where an individual source audit is complete. Other evidence-type labels are a publisher aid awaiting source-by-source confirmation.
Stonewall: LGBTQ+ termsCommunity context
Source design
Contextual or community source
What it can support
Terminology, reported practice or community context within the source’s own setting.
Important limitation
Community usage is not universal and does not establish safety, prevalence, clinical benefit or legal permission.
Illustration created using generative AI; not documentary evidence.
In brief
Attraction to more than one gender without required symmetry or behaviour.
Bisexual, often shortened to bi, is an inclusive and historically established label. It does not require belief in only two genders. A bi person remains bi regardless of a current partner's gender, relationship structure, sexual history or periods when attraction feels different.
What the label includes
Bi attraction can involve different kinds, degrees or frequencies of attraction across genders. No numerical threshold or equal split is required.
Some people use bi as a broad umbrella including pan, queer or other multisexual identities; others treat them as distinct personal labels.
Status
Detailed editorial draft
Publisher
The UK Kink Guide
Reviewed
Structured draft present; individual review date not recorded
Evidence
3 cited sources · types labelled below
Jurisdiction
UK-focused general education
Read the rest: evidence, law, safety and sources
Bisexual
Potential attraction to more than one gender, defined by the person using the label.
Pansexual
Potential attraction regardless of gender or across genders; some people use pan and bi together or differently.
Biromantic
Romantic attraction to more than one gender, sometimes used separately from sexual orientation.
Behaviour
Partners or sexual experiences, which do not by themselves determine orientation.
Identity is not partner-dependent
A relationship may be socially read as straight or gay, but that description does not erase a person's bisexuality. Single and inexperienced people can also know their orientation.
Monogamy does not force a person to stop being attracted to more than one gender, just as it does not erase any other orientation.
Stereotypes and wellbeing
Bisexuality does not imply indecision, dishonesty, promiscuity or a need for multiple partners. These stereotypes can contribute to concealment, exclusion and barriers to care.
Support should recognise possible biphobia from both heterosexual and lesbian or gay settings without treating bisexual identity as a transitional phase.
Consent and sexual health
Orientation does not predict safer-sex practices, anatomy or relationship agreements. Ask about actual activities, partners and prevention needs.
Disclosure is personal and context-dependent. Nobody owes proof through sexual experience or public identification.
Non-graphic examples
What the umbrella may include
Being bi while in a monogamous different-gender relationship.
Feeling attraction to genders in different ways.
Using both bisexual and pansexual labels.
Knowing one is bi before any partnered experience.
Requesting sexual-health advice based on activity rather than stereotypes.
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Questions you could ask a professional
What information would help you understand my question?
What are the realistic options and uncertainties?
How can disability, communication or privacy needs be accommodated?
When should the situation be reviewed again?
These prompts do not replace assessment and do not imply that every reader needs professional care.
Continue learning
Take the next step from definition to context.
Continue with independent guidance connecting bisexual to evidence, consent, safety, uncertainty and practical decisions.
The UK Kink GuideEvidence-led glossary