Most straight women don't want to date bi guys, but most straight men are open to bi women - LGBTQ Nation
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The reasons people gave for not wanting to date bi partners show the lingering stigma of bi stereotypes.

Two-thirds of straight women and one-third of straight men are unwilling to date a bisexual person of the opposite sex, according to a YouGov poll published today, during Bisexuality Visibility Week. The poll illustrates how lingering stereotypes negatively affect people’s impressions of bisexual individuals.

The poll — which surveyed 5,983 Britons during late March, including 2,031 straight women and 1,517 straight men — found that 48% of all respondents had positive views of bisexual people and only 8% had negative views. The remaining percentage had neither a positive nor a negative view of bisexuals.

…

When the survey asked straight women and men why they were unwilling to date a bisexual person of the opposite sex, most (16% and 19%, respectively) said they “just don’t” or claimed, “It’s just a preference.”

A nearly similar portion, 17% of straight women and 16% of straight men, said they felt like bi people are more inclined to cheat, or that they themselves would feel insecure that they’d be unable to provide a bi partner whatever they get from a same-sex partner.

Interestingly, 9% of straight women said they feel disgust or discomfort towards men with same-sex experiences, 8% worried about possible sexual health risks, and 10% of straight men said they considered bisexuality to be either religiously or morally “wrong.” Approximately 12-13% of all straight respondents said they just wanted their dating partner to be heterosexual.

  • LyingCake@feddit.org
    0·
    3 days ago

    The overall observation that men are more homophobic than women is pretty established (source below). I believe what is happening here is that the overall lower attitude towards gay men compared to lesbian women is overshadowing the gender difference in overall homophobia.

    Since its about heterosexuals, the study is only looking at

    Women -> bi men & Men -> bi woman,

    so even though women might be less hatefull overall, this is overshadowed by societies’ dislike of men who deviate from gender norms. Alternatively, being bi is less of a gender norm violation for women than it is for men (see last to sentences below).

    Gender difference homophobia: Overview article (Godø et al, 2025):

    Furthermore, studies have shown that on average, men tend to express more negative attitudes toward LGBT people compared to women (Cotton- Huston & Waite, 2000; Nagoshi et al., 2008). The cause of this gender difference may have various explanations. One potential explanation lies with the social construct of masculinity. Traditional masculinity is often associated with toughness, aggression, and dominance, and this may lead to men perceiving LGBT people as a threat to their own masculinity or power (Theodore & Basow, 2000). This resembles much of what is known as machismo, a culturally shaped and maintained belief in Latinx groups, con- sisting of both hypermasculine characteristics and familial responsibility (Hirai et al., 2014). Such beliefs may result in discomfort and hostility toward those who do not conform to traditional gender roles (Goodman & Moradi, 2008). This may also be connected to the fact that young men are often socialized to be more tough and competitive, while young women are encour- aged to be nurturing and empathetic. This can result in different attitudes toward LGBT people, with men being more likely to view it as deviant or abnormal. However, no single factor seems to be the cause of this gender difference; rather, it is a combined result of gender norms, socialization, and cultural beliefs.

    • ThirdConsul@lemmy.zip
      0·
      3 days ago

      Alternatively, being bi is less of a gender norm violation for women than it is for men

      The other way around? More women express negative attitude toward Bi people than men?

      studies have shown that on average, men tend to express more negative attitudes toward LGBT people compared to women

      There is one more alternative explanation. Studies in question were shaped in a way that didn’t record women negative attitudes.

      • LyingCake@feddit.org
        0·
        3 days ago

        1.) “for women [who are bi, perceived by whomever]”. It’s quite tricky to talk about this correctly, because we are talking about gender differences relating both to perceivers and the perceived. I didn’t phrase that clearly.

        2.) what you you mean with “shaped in a way that didn’t record women’s negative attitudes”? I don’t quite get that. That the items are phrased in a way that women just have a harder time agreeing, no matter what it is about?

        • ThirdConsul@lemmy.zip
          0·
          3 days ago

          From the current study the topic is about, we can see that there is a subset of LGBT people that women have more often negative view than men.

          This stand in contrast with previous studies you shared.

          That means either this new finding augments the older notion about attitudes split across genders (men have on average more negative attitude toward LGBT+ people, but something changed and now for Bi it’s women who are negativity forerunners), or how the old study was performed was inadequate to capture women negative attitude towards bi people since then, e.g. the study didn’t check unwillingness to date bi people.

          (Then being 2000 and 2008)

          Edit: actually, now that I’ve read the 2000 and 2008 study - performed on undergrads I call both of those studies worthless. WEIRD bias is a thing.

      • Simon_Shitewood@lemmy.ml
        0·
        3 days ago

        For women to perform, not in women’s views. I.e. being a bi woman is less of a violation of the idea of womanhood than being a bi man is manhood.