Twelve-Year Study's Results: Sexual Identity More Fluid than Previously Thought

This article is reposted from The Conversation.

Willi Zhang, Karolinska Institutet

Nearly 16% of people changed their sexual identity over a 12-year period, according to a new study I conducted with my colleagues, involving around 35,000 residents of Stockholm County. This challenges long-held beliefs about sexual identity being largely fixed.

Between 2010 and 2021, we found that 15.7% of people aged 18 and older in Stockholm experienced shifts in their sexual identity. Bisexual people had a high rate of change, with 52% reporting a shift during the study period. Within this group, 33% changed to identifying as heterosexual in 2014 or 2021 and 9% moved towards a homosexual identity.

Homosexual people followed at 36%. Within this group, 26% changed to identifying as heterosexual in 2014 or 2021 and 7% shifted to a bisexual identity.

Heterosexual people had a much lower rate of change at 7%. Notably, about half of those identifying as bisexual in 2021 had previously identified as heterosexual in 2010.

Similar patterns have been observed internationally. In countries like Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the US, studies report that between 5% and 30% of people changed their sexual identity over various time periods.

These findings challenge the common belief that sexual orientation is biologically predetermined and unchanging throughout life. While sexual orientation broadly includes how people identify themselves, who they're attracted to, and how they act on those feelings, these studies show that sexual identity can evolve over time.

This may be influenced by personal experiences, relationships and shifts in societal attitudes, such as a growing acceptance of different types of relationships.

What is Sexual Identity?

Sexual identity refers to how people perceive and label their own sexuality – whether they consider themselves heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or another identity. It's based on personal attractions, experiences, and understandings. It can change over time and is not always fixed from birth.

For example, I identify as gay, but that wasn't always the case. Growing up, I assumed I was heterosexual, because everyone around me – family, friends, classmates – seemed straight. That changed when I went to college at 17, where I became close friends with a male classmate.

Over time, I started to like him in a romantic way. I was both excited and scared, questioning who I was and how I wanted to live my life. It took two years of self-exploration to understand and accept my new identity as gay. A personal journey like this is one of many examples of how life experiences and self-discovery can shape one's understanding of their sexuality.