Fluid sexuality: when the attraction escapes the standard categories
The way of conceiving sexuality has become more and more complex and is still in constant evolution. It is no longer possible to rely on the categories recognized up to now and it is necessary to go beyond prejudices to approach one's sexual sphere in total freedom. In recent years, the notion of sexual fluidity has increasingly taken hold, an expression that arises from the need to define a completely new way of experiencing sexuality beyond one's own orientation. Given the complexity, there is still little clarity on the subject and this ignorance leaves room for erroneous preconceptions and stereotypes by now anachronistic. This is why it is important to talk about it and take an increasingly inclusive attitude within society. Let's explore together the meaning of fluid sexuality, the opinions of science about it and how it differs from gender fluidity.
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What science says
Fluid sexuality, or sexual fluidity, is not a completely new concept, but has been explored since the mid-1900s. Alfred Kinsey is the first to talk about sexual fluidity and he does so in two publications: "The sexual behavior of men" and "The sexual behavior of women". The biologist thus introduces the "Kinsey Scale", a classification system of sexual orientation divided into 7 levels ranging from 0, the indicative value of a totally heterosexual person, to 6, a number corresponding to an exclusively homosexual individual. Being an early phase of research in this area, Kinsey had totally ignored all the other orientations we know today, but he had already noted the fact that in men there was a natural predisposition to homosexuality and that, therefore, the sexuality of the male gender was not entirely static and determined.
In 2000, Roy F. Baumeister introduced the concept of "erotic plasticity", underlining how the sexual instinct in men and women depends mainly on socio-cultural factors. The sociopsychologist also argues that female sexuality is much more malleable than male sexuality, also because, as evidenced by a 2014 Katz-Wise study, men struggle to experience and live sex in a free way because they are more conditioned by "heteronormativity, or the tendency of society to recognize heterosexuality as the only legitimate orientation."
To embrace Baumeister's thesis is Lisa Diamond who, after conducting a research work that lasted 10 years, was able to officially theorize the idea of sexual fluidity. The psychologist, in fact, interviewed a sample of 100 women, including 11 heterosexuals, 38 lesbians, 27 bisexuals and 24 without specific orientation, and repeated the interview for 5 years. Diamond noted that, from time to time, many of the answers to the same questions changed and that, by the end of the experiment, more than two-thirds of the participants had questioned their initial orientation or preferred not to define themselves. Thanks to this study, it therefore emerged that sexuality, especially female sexuality, is rather elastic and can vary over time and depending on the specific context.
What does fluid sexuality mean
Today everything related to the sexual sphere escapes any kind of definite and definitive categorization and appears nuanced and full of facets. This complicates the definition of fluid sexuality, which Lisa Diamond spoke of in these terms: “Recognizing sexual fluidity means that no matter how confident you may be in your sexuality right now, you may have an experience tomorrow - or in ten. years - which will position you exactly in the territory of sexual minorities. "In general, with this expression we indicate the possibility of conceiving our sexual orientation as free and changeable according to the contingent situations we encounter in our life. This means that, even if we conceive of ourselves as openly heterosexual, we can still feel attraction to people of our same sex and, therefore, recognize a form of bisexuality in us. This happens especially when we have particular experiences never lived before that moment. This means that one's own sexuality cannot be determined by fixed and pre-established categories, but it goes you hope gradually, opening up to ever new and unpredictable experiences.
Fluid sexuality is not a sexual orientation
When it comes to fluid sexuality, care must be taken not to confuse it with the concept of sexual orientation. Sexual fluidity, in fact, is not added to the already existing orientations such as heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, asexuality, pansexuality, etc.These indicate the gender and sex of the person to whom one is attracted and help to define one's sexual identity. , along with biological sex, gender identity and gender role. Fluid sexuality does not fall into any of these categories since it refers to the way in which we live our orientation in practice and, being this subject to mutations, it is not a certain and stable notion. Recognizing a certain fluidity in oneself means having the courage to experiment, being ready to explore all the nuances of sex and to indulge any form of attraction experienced depending on the moment.
Fluid sexuality vs gender fluidity: what changes
Addressing the topic of sexual fluidity, it should also be distinguished from the notion of gender fluidity. A person, whether male or female, is gender fluid when he does not identify with any gender and therefore escapes traditional categories, not wanting to officially recognize himself as a woman or as a man. Also in this case, the term fluidity refers to the freedom with which the individual chooses to define himself, or rather, not to define himself on the basis of his biological sex.
The concept of fluid sexuality in Italy
Unfortunately, still today, many questions and few answers hover around the idea of sexual fluidity. Especially in Italy, it is possible to encounter a certain reticence when dealing with issues related to sex. Due to a somewhat cumbersome religious heritage and a rather sparse information system, men and women are poorly updated with respect to their sexuality, often clipped by taboos and wrong prejudices. This can make the process of personal acceptance difficult for those who do not recognize themselves in the traditional categories, as they do not find a space in which to legitimize their fluidity and live it freely without being judged or pigeonholed within watertight compartments.
