More and more people now say they are bisexual, meaning they are attracted to both men and women.
Recent official statistics show that 1.8% of the UK population, around 987,000 people aged 16 and over, identify as bisexual. This has nearly doubled from 2018, when the number was 457,000 (0.9%).
However, a scientist believes that the real number is much higher.
Dr. Jason Hodgson, an anthropologist and evolutionary geneticist at Anglia Ruskin University, suggests that most people fall within the bisexual range, much like some primates in the wild.
He explains that sexuality exists on a spectrum, with exclusive heterosexuality on one end and exclusive homosexuality on the other. Most people, he says, fall somewhere in the middle, meaning they may have had experiences with both sexes.
“I believe most people are actually bisexual,” Dr. Hodgson told MailOnline.
He suggests that genes influencing same-sex behavior are likely linked to social skills. People who have some same-sex experiences may simply be better at forming different types of relationships.
To explain this, Dr. Hodgson imagines a scale from 0 to 1, where 0 means only heterosexual experiences and 1 means only homosexual experiences. Anyone with a value between those two points would be in the bisexual range.
For example, if someone had one same-sex experience and 99 opposite-sex experiences, their score would be 0.01—technically bisexual.
Dr. Hodgson stresses the difference between identifying as bisexual and engaging in bisexual behavior. Many people who say they are 100% heterosexual may still have had at least one same-sex experience.
Bonobos, one of our closest relatives, also show bisexual behavior. Both males and females engage in same-sex and opposite-sex encounters, which help maintain social bonds within their groups.
Studies suggest that sexuality has genetic influences, but it is also shaped by environmental factors.
Recent research involving over 470,000 people found that there is no single “gay gene”. Instead, there are thousands of genetic markers that influence sexual orientation.
Even with this knowledge, predicting a person’s sexuality based on DNA remains impossible, as genetic and environmental factors are too complex.
Scientists believe that same-sex and opposite-sex encounters may become more common as social views shift and bisexuality becomes less of a taboo.