Bisexuality and identity of young adults: A qualitative descriptive study

Abstract

Sexual identity development is an important part of developing a coherent sense of identity in young adulthood. When one identifies outside of the heterosexual identity, it can pose many challenges when one considers the stigmatisation that follows. Identifying as bisexual has its own difficulties, with its own stereotypes and stigmatisation, and research shows how it is often invalidated, made invisible, or treated as a transitional phase between homosexuality and heterosexuality. Bisexuality can be understood as having an emotional, romantic, and physical attraction to more than one gender.