Kevin
May 29, 2021
Common Questions
Do you know the definition of heteroflexible? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word heteroflexible, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!
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According to Mind Body Green and Healthline, the word heteroflexible is a type of sexual orientation in which a person considers themselves “mostly straight.” They are usually attracted to those of a different gender, but are at times attracted to people who are the same gender. This could either be sexual attraction, romantic attraction, or both. Some people believe that this is a form of biphobia or bisexual erasure, since being bisexual does not necessarily denote a cut and dry 50/50 attraction to different genders. Some people who consider themselves bisexual are 90% attracted to the same gender adnd 10% to other genders, while others are the complete opposite. Some also believe that this erases the concept of pansexuality, in which a person does not care that the gender is of the person they are attracted to. Some people describe themselves as both heteroflexible and bisexual. Remember that a person’s sexual activity does not determine their sexuality. Bisexual men and bisexual women, for example, might be in a relationship with someone of the opposite gender. This does not negate their bisexuality; they do not suddenly become straight people when they enter a “straight relationship. Vice versa, one who participates in homosexual activity or sexual behavior could still consider themselves bisexual. A person’s sexual identity is entirely person and should never be assumed by others.
While the origin of the term heteroflexible is not entirely clear, it likely began around the early 2000s on the internet. Heteroflexible people accept their attraction to people of the same sex, but are more liekly to be attracted to someone of the opposite sex. This has caused great contention among those in the LGBT community – do heteroflexible people “count” as a part of the LGBTQ communty? There is a large gray area here. Some people who are heteroflexible consider themselves to experience bisexuality or to be pansexual as well, while otehrs do not. It is largely up to person preference for one to determine if they are part of the community or not. Try using this word of the day or other new words in a sentence today!
According to Healthline, the Kinsey scale is also known as the hetero-homosexual rating scale, and is one of the oldest and widely known scales to describe attraction and sexual orientation. While this scale is outdated as it does not account for those who are nonbinary, it was the first instance in which the people who are attracted to more than one gender were acknoeldged, as well as the concept of sexuality as a spectrum. The Kinsey scale was developed by Alfred Kinsey and was first published in 1948.
The scale is on a scale from zero to six, and also includes an “x” category that means that a person does not experience any sexual or romantic attraction. This person would be considered asexual. A person who is a 0 on the Kinsey scale considers themselves exclusively heterosexual. A person who is a 1 considers themselves to be mostly hetosexual and only slightly or incidentally homosexual. A person who is a 2 on the Kinsey scale is mostly heteosexual, but more homesexual than a person who is a 1. A person who is a 3 on the Kinsey scale considers themselves equally homosexual and heterosexual. Someone who is a 4 on the Kinsey scale is mostly homosexual, but more than slightly heterosexual. Someone who is a 5 is mostly homosexual and only slightly or incidentally heterosexual, and someone who is a 6 on the Kinsey scale is exclusively homosexual.
A person who is heteroflexible would probably consider themselves a 1 or a 2 on the Kinsey scale, whereas a person who is homoflexible might consider themselves a 4 or a 5. While this could be a good place for a person to start exploring their sexuality, be aware that this scale does not account for those who are nonbinary or who consider their gender identity to fall outside of the binary in another way.
According to Very Well Mind and Healthline, there is a big difference between a person’s sexual orientation and their gender identity. A person’s sexual orientation describes who they experience sexual and romantic attraction to. A person’s gender identity describes their own gender. For example, a transegender lesbian would consider her sexual orenation to be homosexual, i.e. gay or lesbian, and her gender identity to be female. A nonbinary pansexual person would conider their gender identity ot be nonbinary, and their sexual orentaiton to be pansexual. This is very specific and individual from person to person. Make sure to be respectful and ask for someone’s pronouns.
The word heteroflexible is fairly specific and is used to describe someone who is mostly straight, but has instances of homosexuality. Here, Jen is on a date with Rick. They are discussing their past experiences.
Jen: I’m bisexual, myself. I’m pretty evenly attracted to men, women, and those outside the gender binary.
Rick: Cool. I’d say I’m heteroflexible – I’m mostly straight, but I’ve had experiences with men that I didn’t not like.
Overall, the word heteroflexible is used to describe a person that predominantly experiences heterosexuality, but also experiences instances of being attracted to a different gender than their own. Heteroflexible men might consider themselves to be mostly attracted to women, but can also be attracted to men and nonbinary people a small portion of the time.
