In 1995, 100 women were recruited for a ten year project, in order to study how female sexuality changed over time. 43 of the women were lesbian, 11 were heterosexual and the rest were bisexual or non-heterosexual. Rather than settling into their chosen labels as expected, two thirds of the women relabelled themselves at least once, with 1/3 changing their identity twice or more. In fact the most consistently used label by 2005 wasn’t a label at all, but ‘unlabelled’ or the rejection of the need for a label.
When Lisa Diamond, the woman behind this project, began her research on variations in female sexuality, she already thought she knew what she was going to find. Ten years later she realised she was wrong. Rather than sexual identities and behaviour greatly differing from woman to woman, instead she found it could also vary wildly in the same woman, sometimes repeatedly. Straight women could date women, bisexuals could swing from gay to straight and lesbians could drop labels altogether. Historically such women were considered confused, unstable or immature, a view Lisa Diamond no longer agrees with. In Sexual Fluidity she uses her own research along with the research of others to make the case for female sexual fluidity.
This is not to say that Lisa Diamond believes that sexual orientation can be changed, rather this fluidity allows some women greater flexibility with their sexuality than their orientation would suggest. Nor does Lisa consider her research a criticism of the gay identity, pointing out that female fluidity is not an unknown concept in the lesbian community, but one that has been neglected by mainstream media and scientists.
If you’ve ever wondered about female sexuality or felt you were the only one to feel a certain way about your own sexuality, this is the book for you. It’s well researched, well written and a fantastic read for gay and straight alike.
Review by Ida Raine
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