In his psychology today blog Sax on Sex, Leonard Sax ponders the reason so many more young women identify as lesbian or bisexual than young men. According to his cited studies, roughly 15% of young women identify themselves as lesbian or bisexual while only 5% of young men do. Sax theorizes a few different causes of this. He cites Professor Roy Baumeister at Florida State University who claims that sexual attraction in women is more malleable than in men. He writes that “If a teenage girl kisses another teenage girl, for whatever reason, and she finds that she likes it – then things can happen, and things can change. If a young woman finds her soulmate, and her soulmate happens to be female, then she may begin to experience feelings she’s never felt before.” He also looks at a study that shows that pornography usage among young men is on the rise. He uses this data to suggest that men are becoming more perverted and therefore less desirable to women. This, coupled with the aforementioned reason, is one theory as to why more women are self-identified as lesbian or bi-sexual.
While this may very well be true, I think that our culture is largely responsible for this disparity in numbers. Female sexuality may be more malleable than male sexuality, but this is a product of our culture, not our biology. From an evolutionary perspective, it would be no more advantageous for women to be homosexual than it would be for men to be homosexual. Heterosexuality is required by both sexes in order to pass on genes through reproduction. Therefore, the notion that female sexuality is more malleable must have cultural roots.
These roots grow from a few places.
Firstly, the female body is much more glorified than the male body. This is found not just in American today, but in many cultures throughout many different times periods. The female body is much more frequently depicted in various forms of art. In fact, the female body itself is often referred to as a work of art. Rarely is such a thing said about the male body. This reverence is well founded, considering the female body is capable of producing and feeding another human. But regardless, the fact remains that the female body is much more worshipped in our culture, which makes it more appealing to not just men, but women as well. Women are going to be attracted to other female’s bodies to a greater degree than men will be to other male’s bodies by the simple fact that our culture worships the female body. Both genders will be affected by this.
Secondly, I propose that female sexuality is more malleable than male sexuality because we allow it to be. Female homosexuality is not just more culturally acceptable than male homosexuality, often it is actually encouraged. Male centered media outlets, such as Spike TV, often feature lesbians in a sexually erotic way. By contrast, female centered networks, like Lifetime, never depict male homosexuality in a sexually erotic way to its viewers. If we were able to isolate humans from culture, I assume the number of homosexual females would equal the number of homosexual males. Male homosexuality is not as culturally acceptable, so it is likely that homosexual men may suppress that side of their self. Biologically, there is no reason for the number of homosexual women to be 10% higher than that of men.
I agree that the disparity between openly gay women and men stems from cultural influences and as you point out, most likely it is not an accurate reflection of the number of actual gay men and women.
I would be curious how these responses have changed over time. We do live in a world that is far more accepting of homosexuality–although more progress and open mindedness still needs to occur before more gays can come out and openly confess their sexuality. Sorry to spoil the ending for those who still want to see the 2010 movie Valentine’s Day, but it features Eric Dane and Bradley Cooper to be in a gay relationship. For some time the TV show The Real World has intentionally included a gay cast member in each season. Over time, as our culture becomes more saturated with a positive presence of homosexuality-and homosexual men, I would think that the responses of future questionnaires would be more evenly balanced.
This was a definitely an interesting post. I agree with you and Kira. Social constructs pinpoint male homosexuality as more taboo than female homosexuality. What comes to mind is the Adam Lambert example and all the flack he got for his sexually charged AMA performance–specifically when he kissed his male guitarist on stage. On the flip side, instead of huge criticism and backlash, the Britney-Madonna kiss was revered as one of the most memorable/celebrated televised music performances in recent history. Additionally, artists like Katy Perry, Ke$ha and actress Megan Fox often use the guise of faux-lesbianism to gain more popularity and build their bases.
The girl-on-girl construct has been socialized into an acceptable fantasy that is highly prevalent in popular culture. Despite the liberalness of Hollywood, the gay cliche for men still isn’t as common or is at anywhere near the same level of acceptance.
Although I definitely agree that the issue of female relationships is eroticized in pop culture, I don’t think that lesbian couples are more accepted in society over gay couples. I think it’s quite the opposite.
I think that often the lesbian relationships that are depicted in pop culture are superficial. Those relationships don’t have much depth to them and real lesbian relationships are not as prevalent or socially acceptable. I think that gay couples are more socially acceptable. I think this is completely evident in the amount of gay couples in television shows like Will and Grace, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, etc. and movies like The Birdcage, Brokeback Mountain, etc. There is much more attention that is given towards gay couples than there are for lesbian couples.
In Will and Grace, I distinctly remember Jack making fun of the “butch” and “gross” aspects of lesbian couples. Even within that socially open platform that was that television show, lesbian couples were looked down upon. I think this stigma happens because gay couples fit into a certain stereotype that exists for a lot of people, while lesbian couples may be something that people don’t really understand.
I think that there is definitely much more eroticism put towards two women being in a sexual relationship, but this might not necessarily be the acceptance that lesbians are looking for.
On your other point, I do see a lot of truth to the fact that women are more open to the idea of being in a lesbian relationship. I don’t think this is necessarily because it is seen as cool or hot, but because girls are more mature and are looking for a deeper emotional connection. This aspect of a romantic relationship may not be something that women are able to get from men who are of the same age.
i thought you wrote a really interesting piece that really covered a lot of ground. I’m pretty sure I agree with you when you say that “If we were able to isolate humans from culture, I assume the number of homosexual females would equal the number of homosexual males.” One of my theories is the acceptable experimentation thought process. Similarly to what you said about male homosexuality being suppressed, I think both sexes are equally curious but only the females have the opportunity to try and and try again switching back and fourth. I guess its the media and society’s pressures, but I feel like its more “forgiving” to deal with a females stages of experimenting than a males. For men, being curious and acting on it just seems to have a larger taboo attached to it than females do.