A number of callers and emailers have asked whether any other such research has focused on so-called physiological bisexual stimulae/response, and the answer appears to be no. On the other hand, the latest study appears to be flawed, per research critics, due to questions of methodology, recruitment of volunteers, leaps of logic from data to conclusion and more. However, there is a large body of research already out there on the vastness and diversity of bisexuality, and we will be listing some of that here soon. Meanwhile, those interested may wish to get a copy of the Journal on Bisexuality from last year, also published by The Haworth Press as "Current Research on Bisexuality," edited by Ron Fox, PhD.

The latest study itself

The latest study is published in the current issue (Volume 16, Number 8, August 2005) of the American Psychological Society's journal "Psychological Science" under the title "Sexual Arousal Patterns of Bisexual Men" (although, in keeping with the report's conclusion, we guess the title should have been "...of Men Who Self-Identify as Bisexual"). Per a preliminary proof, the abstract says "... In general, bisexual men did not have strong genital arousal to both male and female sexual stimuli. Rather, most bisexual men appeared homosexual with respect to genital arousal, although some appeared heterosexual. In contrast, their subjective sexual arousal did conform to a bisexual pattern. Male bisexuality appears primarily to represent a style of interpreting or reporting sexual arousal rather than a distinct pattern of genital sexual arousal."

As critics have pointed out, the "sexual stimuli" is of a particular nature and not necessarily universal; actual touch was not explored, nor were other forms of stimulae, nor were the participants shown heterosexual activity. (A similar study in 2003 by the same professor indicated most women have bisexual arousal, regardless of self-identity, when viewing females with females and males with males; more on that later.)

The study is available to members of the APA at http://www.psychologicalscience.org/journals/ps/16_8.cfm but requires a logon. We will attempt to seek legal permission of the study to post here. The authors are Gerulf Rieger, Meredith L. Chivers, and J. Michael Bailey.