There was a time when bisexuality was not accepted as a thing. Since then, progressive thinkers have championed more than just a halfway point, arguing that sexuality runs along a spectrum, with many stages in between two poles. For British youngsters between the ages of 18 and 24, that kind of thinking is already old hat, according to a new study conducted by YouGov (pdf) of roughly 1,800 young and adult Brits. The respondents were asked to position themselves from 0 (completely heterosexual) to 6 (completely homosexual) on a scale developed in 1940 by American sexologist Alfred Kinsey.
Forty-six percent of 194 respondents aged 18 to 24 said they considered themselves 100% heterosexual, 6% said they were exclusively homosexual, and 43% said they fell somewhere in between (the remainder were people who didn’t know).
The same poll found a higher prevalence of heterosexuality and lower rate of spectrum-oriented sexuality among the 1632 respondents who were aged 18 and above. Among British adults overall, 76% considered themselves fully heterosexual, 4% fully homosexual, and 19% somewhere along the spectrum (anyone who categorized themselves as 1 to 5). Of those who considered their sexuality along a spectrum, 9% said they were closer to full heterosexuality (level 1), while 1% considered themselves nearly completely homosexual (level 5 on the scale). More women than men defined themselves as fully heterosexual, and more men as fully homosexual.