Mainstream media outlets have highlighted (and even exulted in) the massive growth of Americans embracing a “LGBTQ+” identity in recent years. They have routinely acknowledged that this shift is heavily tilted toward teens and younger adults. Often more muted is another observation: that by huge margins these increases have been disproportionately driven by those embracing bisexual identities. Further acknowledgment that this explosion in bisexual identity among the young has been heavily driven by females, not males, tends to be even more subdued. All of this was evident in a USA Today piece this past March that covered a seminal Gallup poll documenting the sexual orientation and gender identity of American adults ages 18 and up, headlined “Portion of US Adults Identifying as LGBTQ Has More Than Doubled in Last 12 Years.” A more accurate headline would have been, “Explosion of Young Females Describing Themselves as Bisexual Is the Biggest Driver in the Growth in Non-Heterosexual Identity Among U.S. Adults.” But if the barely hidden agenda is further establishing “LGBTQ+” as statistically normal, the broad brush is preferable. That Gallup report showed that, among females in 2023, 20.7 percent of Generation Z, 9 percent of Millennials, 2.8 percent of Generation X, 4/10th of 1 percent of Baby Boomers, and 1/10th of 1 percent of the Silent Generation identified as bisexual. The comparable percentages for males were, in order, 6.9 percent, 2.5 percent, 0.7 percent each for Generation X and Baby Boomers, and 0.2 percent for the Silent Generation. The total LGBTQ+ percentage for females was 28.5 percent for Generation Z, and 12.4 percent for Millennials, compared to, respectively, a far lower 10.6 percent and 5.4 percent for males. Meanwhile, 72.6 percent of both Generation Z and Millennial non-heterosexual females were bisexual, compared to, respectively, 65.1 percent and 46.3 percent for males. These numbers make it clear how outsized the contribution of bisexual females is to the overall growth in LGBTQ+ identity in the United States. We have known about this shift to bisexualism, particularly among young females, for a long time. For example, in 2004, the Washington Post covered the growing contingent of teenage girls who were open to sex and romance with both females and males — and who often resisted the “bisexual” label or lesbian identity in favor of cool terms like “gayish” or even “queer.” The Post referred to this as the “partway gay” phenomenon.  The large and prestigious National Survey of Family Growth, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for decades, enables us to track the rapid increase in bisexual identity over time, by age group, with laser-sharp specificity. I analyzed it, distinguishing those 15 to 17, 18 to 22, 23 to 27, and 28 to 32. In the NSFG 2011-13 cycle, the percentages of female describing themselves as bisexual or equivalent were 10 percent, 8 percent, 7.4 percent, and 4.8 percent, respectively. By their 2017-19 cycle, only six years later, those numbers had risen to 15.4 percent, 17.8 percent, 14.7 percent, and 10.8 percent, respectively. The percentages for females ages 15 to 17 had increased by over a third, and for those 18 to 22 by more than double. Now, compare those last percentages with those for males, among the same age groups in the same order — 3.5 percent, 5.1 percent, 3 percent, 2.3 percent. There was certainly growth in bisexual identity among males, with comparable percentages in 2011-13 being 1.3 percent, 1.9 percent, 3 percent, and 2.6 percent. But, once again, the big story about skyrocketing bisexual identity is its growth in females, not males. By a long shot. Sadly, many of these females flocking to embrace a bisexual identity do not know some of the harsh realities of the landscape they are stepping into, at least not until it is too late. Without at all being speculative or bigoted, there are at least two things they should be aware of before making the leap into active bisexuality. First, they will not necessarily be accepted within the gay and lesbian community. Quite the contrary, as those willing to speak up among the latter are happy to admit. Second, within their intimate partnerships, they will be much more likely than heterosexual or lesbian females to experience violence.  On that first point, even quick Google searches reveal that bisexuals are often not liked or embraced by the LGBTQ+ community. They face rejection by both the latter and straights, which is often called “double closet, “double discrimination,” “double hurt,” or “double stigma.” The growth of those identifying as bisexual has not alleviated this problem. One writer for a gay publication described lesbians as “notorious for rejecting bisexual women as potential friends and … partners.” This double rejection of bisexuals has negative mental health consequences, discussed for example here, here, and here.  On the second point, the elevated risk for “intimate partner violence” for bisexuals is enormous. This was abundantly documented in a well-regarded 2013 report using data from a large (16,507 adults, 9,086 of whom were women) 2010 survey of American adults’ experience of intimate partner violence, which I also discussed in my recent American Spectator column on intimate partner violence among lesbians. (Note: for female bisexuals, things are a whole lot worse.) The following percentages are those who have ever experienced such violence within intimate partnerships, and only include females. Twenty-two percent of bisexuals had been raped (completed, attempted, or fueled by alcohol or drugs), compared to 9.1 percent for heterosexuals. What about other forms of sexual violence? The difference was 40 percent versus 15.3 percent. Then there was stalking (“harassing or threatening tactics … that is both unwanted and causes fear or safety concerns”) — which bisexuals experienced at a rate of 31.1 percent compared to 10.2 percent for heterosexuals. Moving on to physical violence, the difference between bisexuals and heterosexuals ever experiencing slapping, pushing, or shoving was 55.1 percent versus 29.8 percent. What about more severe physical violence? The difference was 49.3 percent versus 23.6 percent. And then there was psychological aggression: 76.2 percent versus 47.5 percent. For the most serious forms of this, classified as “coercive control,” the difference was 68.8 percent versus 40.5 percent.  Rejected within the larger LGBTQ+ community, often isolated and lonely, and astronomically more likely to suffer violence from intimate partners. This is not a pleasant picture. Compassion and common sense tell us that young females need to be informed about the realities of living out a bisexual orientation that so many are obviously viewing as “hip” and “liberating,” a pathway out of that increasingly “uncool” straight identity. Then, at least if they proceed, they will be forewarned. But I doubt these grim facts are being covered much in sex ed classes. Maybe it is time for this factual negligence to end. READ MORE: Intimate Partner Violence In Lesbian Relationships The post Explosion of Female Bisexuality appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.