Psychological characteristics of bisexual, heterosexual and homosexual women.
One hundred and twenty-five female volunteers completed a questionnaire designed to measure masculinity, femininity, body cathexis, and self-esteem. Women were categorized as bisexual, heterosexual or homosexual according to self-labeling and according to erotic preference. The proportion of androgynous and undifferentiated individuals was much greater among self-labeled homosexual women. Feminine individuals were conspicuously under-represented among self-labeled homosexual and bisexual women. Women who reported both opposite-sex and same-sex sexual experiences, regardless of their self-label or erotic preference, were more agentic (i.e., possessed more socially desirable masculine traits), more satisfied with their bodies and its functions, more satisfied with both their sexual activities and their biological sex, and more satisfied with themselves and their abilities than were women who only reported opposite-sex sexual experiences.
D001828:Body Image; D002409:Cathexis; D003075:Coitus; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006716:Homosexuality; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D012649:Self Concept; D012725:Sexual Behavior