Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: With the rise of bisexual chic, this project seeks to explore the messages being sent by female-female sexual relations and the repercussions of bisexual staging for both the bisexual and lesbian communities. This project is composed of three studies examining same-sex infidelity in heterosexual relationships and perceptions of promiscuity in female-female sexual relations within the heterosexual dating context. Study 1A examines attributions, perceptions of sexual orientation, and relational outcomes following a same-sex infidelity. Study 1B looks at male jealousy following the same-sex infidelity of their female partners. Lastly, Study 2 explores the message that female-female kissing sends regardless of an infidelity. Overall, this project examines the role of bisexual staging on judgments of promiscuity, and what effects a new generation of bisexual chic is having on the bisexual community. With the rise of bisexual staging, female-female acts are no longer seen as distinctive indicators of a bisexual or lesbian sexual orientation. Ultimately, this paper explores the messages that female-female sexual relations sends, both as an act of infidelity and as an entity itself.