Random Scientific Study Suggests There's No Such Thing As "Straight" People (13 items)

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  (#2) The Study Showed That Gay-Identifying Women Are More Attracted To Women Than Straight Women Are To Men

  The 2015 study from Cornell University included 345 women who were shown videos of either attractive men or attractive women engaged in sexual acts. While both heterosexual-identifying and homosexual-identifying women in the study experienced some degree of arousal to the two genders, there was an ultimate difference. For the homosexual women in the group, they experienced arousal to their preferred gender (other women) 68% of the time. However, heterosexual women experienced arousal to their preferred gender (men) only 28% of the time.
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  (#10) Measuring Eye Dilation Is A Proven, Non-Invasive Method For Measuring Arousal

  When studying arousal, the most direct way to measure would typically involve observing changes in a participants' genitalia. However, due to the invasiveness of that procedure, that is less than ideal. However, researcher Dr. Gerulf Rieger conducted a study that showed a 100% link between arousal and pupil dilation, which means that measuring the pupils alone can be enough to determine arousal in a participant. This, in turn, means it's easier to get people to participate in arousal studies if researchers only have to look into their eyes and not anywhere else.
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  (#5) For Years It Was Believed The Idea Of Being 'Mostly Straight' Only Applied To Women

  The Kinsey Scale introduced many to the concept of human sexuality as a spectrum, with many people not being completely straight or completely gay. However, there appeared to be an imbalance along gender lines when it came to people reporting themselves as "mostly straight." Dr. Savin-Williams (one of the researchers of the 2015 study) said:

  We've always recognized mostly straight women, that is, women who mostly are straight but if the right woman comes along, well maybe she'll try it out. We used to think that was only a female phenomenon.

  So while the 2015 study focused on women's sexuality aligned with pupil dilation and traditionally "masculine" stimuli, researchers acknowledged that a separate study needed to be conducted to observe sexual attraction in men to see if it matched up — a hypothesis Dr. Savin-Williams refers to as the "mostly straight male" idea.
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  (#8) Learning About The Sexual Spectrum Helps People To Be Proud Of Their Attractions

  As society learns that it's perfectly normal for people to not be 100% straight or 100% gay, it will allow people to be more comfortable stating their true sexual identity and accepting others for doing the same. "I do see this loosening of the boundaries," said Dr. Savin-Williams. "It's probably a good thing, because it gives kids growing up more diversity, more options." He added, "Straight women and straight men feel much more comfortable than ever before in going into the realm of the other sex in terms of gender role and how they act."
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  (#12) Millennials Are More Likely To Identify Themselves Somewhere In The Middle Of The Sexual Spectrum

  When it comes to understanding that human sexuality is more complex than simply straight/gay/bi, Millennials are statistically proving to be more progressive and open-minded than older generations. A 2015 study of adults in the US under 30 years old found that 78% identified as completely straight. Four percent identified as completely homosexual. However, 16% said they are somewhere in between, with 10% saying they are more heterosexual than homosexual.

  Three percent said they are more gay than straight, and another 3% said they are right in the middle. According to reporting on the study, ultimately "31% of under-30s plot themselves as something other than exclusively heterosexual."
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  (#7) Many Men Have Culturally Been Afraid To Admit Feeling Attraction To Other Men

  Dr. Savin-Williams said his study of men who identify as straight showed that they do experience some attraction to men. In the study, straight men displayed eye dilation while observing erotic material featuring a woman, but also often showed some eye dilation when they observed men in sexual situations as well. "There are aspects (of male sexuality) along a continuum, just as we have always recognized with women," he said. "Men have gotten so much cultural crap put on them that even if a man does have some sexual attraction to guys, they would never say it."

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