Bisexuals at midlife: Commitment, salience, and identity

In the framework of a constructionist approach, a life-course point of view and traditional concepts borrowed from identity theory the authors report on a study of fifty-six San Francisco bisexuals. The data show that by midl ife, changing life commitments among the participants were associated with a decrease in sexual involvement, a move toward sexual activity with just o ne sex, a decrease in contact with the bisexual subculture, and a decrease in the salience of a bisexual identity. Given these changes, the data revea l the opposite of what might be expected-an increase rather than a decrease in the certainty about and stability of the bisexual identity. The authors show that this was due to the continuation of dual attractions that were p ositively regarded even as there was a move away from a bisexual lifestyle. In explaining these findings, they discuss the interplay between sexual co mmunities, relationships, selves, and sexuality.