Like most women, I have no shame in admitting that I find other females attractive. I have even admitted to being open to experimentation ("Of course I would sleep with Halle Berry! It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity"). For women, it's perfectly acceptable to be a little bi-curious (cue every male fantasy), and according to research, it's the norm.
A study reveals that women's s3xual preferences tend to be a gray area (yep, identity confusion wasn't just for those college dorm days). In fact, researchers at Boise State University found that in a group of heteros3xual women, 60 percent were physically interested in other women, 45 percent made out with a woman in the past, and 50 percent had fantasies about the same s3x.
I fall into that 60 percent.
Sometimes when I catch myself staring at a beautiful woman in the grocery store, I wonder about my own s3xuality. I'm not supposed to like girls! (At least according to society.) Would I date a woman? I'm not sure, but I am attracted to the beauty of other women — and they're so much easier to understand psychologically than men. We girls form deep relationships through friendships, which some say are the basis of love. And personally I believe that emotional connection and physical attraction are linked — i.e., guys tend to get cuter in our eyes if they're genuinely nice.
Experts support this view. "Women are encouraged to be emotionally close to each other," psychology professor Elizabeth Morgan told YouBeauty.com. "That provides an opportunity for intimacy and romantic feelings to develop." From talking about personal issues for hours to calling each other "lovers" (well, maybe that's just women in my generation), women's friendships are often barely distinguishable from romantic relationships.
When heteros3xual women hook up with other women, their relationships is based on an emotional connection. Lisa Diamond from the University of Utah believes that it only takes the right person for convince a woman to enter into a relationship with someone of the same s3x.
Does that make them bis3xual? Not exactly.
"You can still be heteros3xual and have interests, experiences or fantasies with the same s3x," says Morgan.
In addition, s3xuality gets more, not less, fluid with time — yet more proof that experimentation isn't just for college. In a study conducted by Diamond, the older a woman was, the more likely she was to describe her s3xual preference as "unlabeled". "We have this idea that s3xuality gets clearer and more defined as time goes on," says Diamond. "We consider that a sign of maturity to figure out who you are. I've seen it's really the opposite."
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