In this episode, Malcolm and Simone Collins dive deep into the surprising statistics and social dynamics surrounding bisexuality. They explore mental health trends, relationship patterns, discrimination, and the unique challenges faced by bisexual men and women. From discussions about societal perceptions, sexual satisfaction, and the intersection of identity and privilege, to personal anecdotes and a deluge of data, this conversation is both thought-provoking and candid. The hosts question common assumptions, analyze studies, and share their own experiences, all while keeping the tone engaging and relatable. If you’re curious about why bisexuals often appear as outliers in so many statistics, or want to better understand the complexities of sexual orientation, this episode is for you. Join the conversation in the comments—Malcolm and Simone want to hear your theories! Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and check out our other episodes for more deep dives into fascinating social phenomena. Malcolm Collins: [00:00:00] Hello, Simone. Today is gonna be an interesting episode. That is an episode that was spurned from something that happened as we recorded other episodes, some of which haven’t even gone live yet. But basically we occasionally, when there’s a sexual statistics, we’ll go through them and we’ll be like, oh, what’s going on here? What’s going on here? Right? Because, Simone Collins: yeah. Do people typically break things down by, are you gay? Are you straight? Are you lesbian, or are you bi, or are you trans? And then. Malcolm Collins: Yeah, and every time we’ve done this, there’s been this little phenomenon that I always throw out in the moment, right? It’s always like, well, you have the straight people who are typically doing pretty well. Then you have the gay people that are typically doing middling. Then you have the trans people, which are typically doing pretty bad. Simone Collins: Yeah. Malcolm Collins: And then for whatever reason. You have the bi people who are off the charts doing bad. Simone Collins: Yeah. Malcolm Collins: Which is weird because if I was thinking about it, I would think that the, the, the data would typically [00:01:00] go straight, bi, gay, trans. Simone Collins: Yeah. ‘cause especially like if you’re bi, it’s almost like you get the best of all worlds. Like if you wanna live your best gay life, you get to do that. If you wanna live your straight life and conform with society, you could do that like. Malcolm Collins: Yeah, the last thing I would’ve expected was straight gay trans bi. Simone Collins: Yeah. Yeah. Like you’d think that that, that you, you’re all-terrain. You’re all-terrain Sexual. Well, like why is this Malcolm Collins: an all-terrain sexual? Yes. Yes. No. So let’s dig into this, because one, when I look into it, you find it in any statistic you’re looking at. Simone Collins: That’s the thing that always shows up, and we always have other things to talk about so we don’t dive in. But what? What is going on? Malcolm Collins: All right, so let’s start with a graph here. Okay. Simone Collins: Okay, Malcolm Collins: so this graph is mental health bisexual orientation. Simone Collins: Okay. Oh boy. Okay, Malcolm Collins: so on the far left, you’ve got hetero female. Okay. They’re doing pretty well. They’re in the positives here. Simone Collins: Oh, Malcolm Collins: and then hetero male. Oh, the [00:02:00] only other group in the positives. That’s nice. That’s nice. Simone Collins: Good for them. Okay. Okay, Malcolm Collins: so who’s got the next best mental health? Just a little bit down in mental health. Okay. Gay males. Simone Collins: Honestly, I’d expect them to do better. So this is a little surprising, but Okay. Malcolm Collins: Pretty close to fine. Okay. Then who’s, who’s doing next best? Okay. Just a about twice as bad as gay males. All right. Here you’ve got gay females. Okay. Okay. Simone Collins: Yeah. Malcolm Collins: Okay. Okay. Let’s look at bisexual females because they’re the next down. Simone Collins: Oh boy. Malcolm Collins: They are doing about five times worse than gay males. Simone Collins: Whoa, man. Malcolm Collins: Like significantly worse. Simone Collins: Okay. Malcolm Collins: So, but then the FARs is down, is bisexual males. Simone Collins: Oh, that’s, Malcolm Collins: which is just off the charts Simone Collins: down. That’s so weird because like we talked about, like even I was just listening to some asthma gold today, being like, oh man, when I was a teen, I, I wished I were gay. ‘cause it would just be so much easier Malcolm Collins: if I, no, I actually, before I went to puberty, I had the thought of like. [00:03:00] Life’s gonna be so much more fun if I’m gay. Simone Collins: No, I think a, I think a lot of guys have that thought. And here’s the thing, like I think in some ways it can suck to be gay. ‘cause like let’s say you’re religious, right? And you wanna have a family, like you wanna pursue the sacrament of having a family.
