A recent long-term study published in the journal Developmental Psychology gives weight to the idea that although sexual orientation is somewhat fluid, bisexuality isn’t just a transition between orientations.

The study of 79 non-heterosexual women over 10 years found that bisexual women maintained a stable pattern of attraction to both sexes. In addition, the research appears to have debunked the stereotype that bisexual women are uninterested in or unable to commit to long-term monogamous relationships.

“This research provides the first empirical examination of competing assumptions about the nature of bisexuality, both as a sexual identity label and as a pattern of nonexclusive sexual attraction and behavior,” wrote University of Utah psychologist Lisa M. Diamond, PhD, who conducted the study. “The findings demonstrate considerable fluidity in bisexual, unlabeled and lesbian women’s attractions, behaviors and identities and contribute to researchers’ understanding of the complexity of sexual-minority development over the life span.”

I personally like her inclusion of ‘unlabeled’ as a choice in the surveys, which allowed the women to differentiate uncertainty from bisexuality. Sexuality is complex, and it’s good to see solid research which acknowledges that.