SerpApi.Org
For decades, heterosexuality was often treated as a simple category: you’re either straight or you’re not. But a new long-running study suggests that for many young women, the picture may be becoming far more nuanced.
Researchers tracking university students over 15 years found a steady rise in the number of women reporting attractions, experiences and identities that extend beyond exclusively heterosexual boundaries. The shift was much less apparent among young men.
The finding emerged from an analysis of more than 10,000 students attending public universities in New York state between 2011 and 2026. Researchers weren’t interested solely in how students labelled themselves. Instead, they examined three separate parts of sexuality: attraction, sexual experiences and identity.
What they found was a pattern that repeated itself across all three measures.
In 2011, roughly one in five female students said their attraction was not directed exclusively toward men. By 2026, that figure had risen to nearly one in two.
The changes did not stop there.
Over the same period, women became more likely to report sexual partners who were not exclusively male. The percentage rose from 8 percent to 35 percent. Meanwhile, the share describing themselves as something other than exclusively heterosexual climbed from 18 percent to 44 percent.
Taken together, the results point to a broader shift than simple changes in labels.
Public discussion about sexuality often focuses on identity—whether someone describes themselves as straight, bisexual, lesbian or another term. The researchers argue that identities tell only part of the story. Attraction and experience can reveal changes that are not always visible through labels alone.
That helps explain why the researchers believe the trend they’re observing is bigger than an increase in LGBTQ+ identification.
“In our analysis, this gender gap is not only about who claims an LGBTQ+ identity; it is also about how the boundaries of heterosexuality are changing,” the authors wrote.
The study found that women showed movement across every category examined, suggesting that changes were appearing not only in the language women use to describe themselves but also in whom they are attracted to and whom they have relationships with.
Men, however, followed a different pattern.
Researchers set out to determine whether young men and women were changing in similar ways over time. Their conclusion was straightforward: “Our findings suggest they are not.”
Christian Bumpous, a psychotherapist and founder of Therapie PLLC, told Newsweek: “I think, generally, women tend to grow up with more permission to be emotionally open, to notice what they feel, and to actually name those feelings. I think when there’s an attraction that isn’t strictly heterosexual, they’re more likely to catch that instead of brushing past it.
“I think there’s also less social punishment for women being close to other women, so I think there’s more openness and curiosity that doesn’t get shut down by society.”
According to Bumpous, bisexuality right now is a much easier door for women to walk through than for men.
“For men, I think it’s the complete opposite. Masculinity in a lot of spaces that they grow up in is still built on keeping distance from anything that reads as gay or feminine. Even a man doing some internal self-reflection can feel risky.
“So, I think overall, the gap between men and women can be better explained by how narrowly we still define what it means to be a man, and that it might be changing for women.”
While the researchers observed significant shifts among women, they found much less change among male students.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the findings is the speed of the change. In just 15 years, the proportion of women reporting attractions that were not exclusively toward men more than doubled.
The researchers say the trend appeared broadly across racial groups, suggesting that the pattern was not confined to one particular demographic within the student population.
Ultimately, the study raises questions about whether traditional definitions of heterosexuality still reflect how many young women understand their own experiences.
As the researchers put it, “Women are drifting from exclusive heterosexuality.”
Rather than representing a sudden change, the data suggest a gradual evolution that has been unfolding for years—one that appears to be reshaping how many young women think about attraction, relationships and identity.
“I don’t think it’s as much about women racing ahead as much as it is about men that are being held in place,” Bumpous said. “I think the cultural conversation has given women room to rethink attraction in relationships, and it just hasn’t reached men in the same way.
“I think until being a man depends less on staying distant from anything gay or feminine, I would expect that gap to stick around, no matter what men are actually feeling on the inside. I think that gap might be measuring social permission a lot more than it is measuring actual desire.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Kara Dolman and Gray R. Thomas
Related Articles
