Potential attraction to more than one gender, defined by the person using the label.
Back to the glossaryIdentity & diversity
Bisexual
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.
Identity & diversity
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.
Potential attraction regardless of gender or across genders; some people use pan and bi together or differently.
Romantic attraction to more than one gender, sometimes used separately from sexual orientation.
Partners or sexual experiences, which do not by themselves determine orientation.
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.
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.
Reviewed 30 August 2026
Keep exploring.
This detailed field note uses the best available evidence without treating one community sample as universal. Evidence limits and UK context are stated where relevant.
Prepared by The UK Kink Guide editorial team. Read the evidence and review methodology.
Found an error or important omission? See how to report a correction.
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