Living Without Labels
PAGE 6
Dr. Lisa Diamond, author of Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's Love and Desire, says women like Chris and Rebecca are far from unusual. "A lot of people think fluidity means choice. That's not true," Dr. Diamond says. "As we've heard here, a lot of these women never expected to feel what they felt. It was not a conscious decision. It was something they experienced happening to them."
Although it's difficult to define sexuality, Dr. Diamond says it can be measured in a spectrum called the Kinsey Scale, which ranges from 0 to 6. If you score 0, you're only interested in members of the opposite sex. If you score 6, you're only interested in people of the same sex. "For women, those categories in between— 1, 2, 3, 4, 5—are actually more common," Dr. Diamond says.
Women may not be able to choose which gender they're more attracted to, but Dr. Diamond says they can make a choice about the person. "For many women, the question they're asking themselves is, 'Am I gay or am I not?'" Dr. Diamond says. "Another question they might consider asking is: 'Who do I feel close to? What kind of intimacy do I want in my life, and where do I get that intimacy?'"
Although it's difficult to define sexuality, Dr. Diamond says it can be measured in a spectrum called the Kinsey Scale, which ranges from 0 to 6. If you score 0, you're only interested in members of the opposite sex. If you score 6, you're only interested in people of the same sex. "For women, those categories in between— 1, 2, 3, 4, 5—are actually more common," Dr. Diamond says.
Women may not be able to choose which gender they're more attracted to, but Dr. Diamond says they can make a choice about the person. "For many women, the question they're asking themselves is, 'Am I gay or am I not?'" Dr. Diamond says. "Another question they might consider asking is: 'Who do I feel close to? What kind of intimacy do I want in my life, and where do I get that intimacy?'"
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