‘Our Little Secret’: How Publicly Heterosexual Women Make Meaning From Their ‘Undercover’ Same-Sex Sexual Experiences

Walker, Alicia M.

doi:10.1080/15299716.2014.902347

Cited by 21 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…It is worth noting, however, that some of these women also report being pressured by their boyfriends to “perform bisexuality” in threesomes, which they sometimes experience as unwelcome or coercive (Fahs, ). Perhaps to avoid this, some heterosexually identified women in committed relationships pursue “secret” or “undercover” sexual encounters with women without their boyfriends' knowledge (Walker, , ). These women turn to online resources like http://Craigslist.org to find other women for casual sex that they then hide from their spouses or partners.…”

Section: Heterosexually Identified Women's Experiences With Same‐sex mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some readers may be skeptical of this claim, but as we hope our analysis will demonstrate, there is a lot of empirical evidence supporting it (see Chauncey, ; Humphreys, ; Irvine, ; Laumann et al, ). Some heterosexuals who experience same‐sex attractions and engage in same‐sex sexual behavior may want to avoid the negative social consequences that come with identifying as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, while others may interpret their identities and/or experiences in ways that render them compatible (Anderson, ; Budnick, ; Carrillo & Hoffman, ; Fahs, ; Humphreys, ; Reback & Larkins, ; Silva, , ; Walker, , ; Ward, , ; Yost & McCarthy, ). Some individuals, and perhaps women to a greater extent than men, experience substantial change in attractions, behaviors, and identities in different contexts and across the life course (Diamond, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The experience and meaning of same‐sex sexuality among heterosexually identified men and women: An analytic review

Hoy

London

2018

Sociology Compass

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The components of sexual orientation, including but not limited to sexual desires, attractions, behaviors, and identities, are generally assumed to align in predictable ways.However, ample research from sociology and other social and behavioral science disciplines shows that for many people, these components do not align as expected. In this article, we focus on individuals who identify as heterosexual and experience same-sex sexual desires, attractions, and/ or behaviors. First, we briefly review the available quantitative data on the prevalence of such experiences and use data from one high-quality national survey-the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG)-to show that self-identified heterosexuals account for as much as one-half of the same-sex sexuality that is reported. Then, we turn to recent qualitative literature and draw attention to the contexts within which heterosexually identified men and women experience same-sex sexuality, how they make sense of these experiences, and the interpretive strategies they use to reconcile their same-sex sexuality with their heterosexual identities and their gendered presentations of self. Finally, we conclude by discussing the significance of this research and pointing to several paths forward for sociologists and other researchers.

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Section: Heterosexually Identified Women's Experiences With Same‐sex mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The experience and meaning of same‐sex sexuality among heterosexually identified men and women: An analytic review

Hoy

London

2018

Sociology Compass

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“…Many people engage in same-sex sexual encounters or desire them but maintain a heterosexual identity; others who adopt a lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) or other sexual minority identity later relinquish it for a heterosexual one (Diamond, 2003;Hamilton, 2007;Walker, 2014aWalker, , 2014bWard, 2015). One study of college students found 30% of women and 19% of men who identified as heterosexual reported same-sex attraction (Hoburg, Konik, Williams, & Crawford, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Same-Sex Hookups Among Self-Identified Heterosexuals Women also seek out same-sex sexual partners while identifying as heterosexual (Walker, 2014a, b), although research on students included only small samples of 80 or fewer (Diamond, 2003;Hamilton, 2007;Peterson & Gerrity, 2006), and research outside of college contexts is even more limited. Walker (2014a) found women married to men who had affairs with women felt these encounters "didn't count" in terms of monogamy. While reporting lifelong same-sex attraction and sexual encounters, they rejected a bisexual identity, instead explaining these acts as due to their "freakiness," which they felt was the accurate term for their sexual orientation (Walker, 2014b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterosexual College Students Who Hookup with Same-Sex Partners

Kuperberg

Walker

2018

Arch Sex Behav

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Individuals who identify as heterosexual but engage in same-sex sexual behavior fascinate both researchers and the media. We analyzed the Online College Social Life Survey dataset of over 24,000 undergraduate students to examine students whose last hookup was with a same-sex partner (N = 383 men and 312 women). The characteristics of a significant minority of these students (12% of men and 25% of women) who labelled their sexual orientation "heterosexual" differed from those who self-identified as "homosexual," "bisexual," or "uncertain." Differences among those who identified as heterosexual included more conservative attitudes, less prior homosexual and more prior heterosexual sexual experience, features of the hookups, and sentiments about the encounter after the fact. Latent class analysis revealed six distinctive "types" of heterosexually identified students whose last hookup was with a same-sex partner. Three types, comprising 60% of students, could be classified as mostly private sexual experimentation among those with little prior same-sex experience, including some who did not enjoy the encounter; the other two types in this group enjoyed the encounter, but differed on drunkenness and desire for a future relationship with their partner. Roughly, 12% could be classified as conforming to a "performative bisexuality" script of women publicly engaging in same-sex hookups at college parties, and the remaining 28% had strong religious practices and/or beliefs that may preclude a non-heterosexual identity, including 7% who exhibited "internalized heterosexism." Results indicate several distinctive motivations for a heterosexual identity among those who hooked up with same-sex partners; previous research focusing on selective "types" excludes many exhibiting this discordance.

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“…In the case of attraction, some individuals may have invested in maintaining a different-sex marriage in order to stave off any suspicions regarding their same-sex attractions (Humphreys 1970;Seidman 2002). In terms of behavior, it is possible that some who engage in extramarital same-sex behavior find that doing so offers them an outlet for fulfilling their sexual desires, thus minimizing their need to leave the marriage in order to achieve sexual satisfaction (see Walker 2014).…”

Section: Same-sex Sexuality and Different-sex Marital Durationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Same-Sex Sexuality and the Duration of First Different-Sex Marriages

Hoy¹,

London²

2017

Population Review

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Recent research has focused on the once-married and associations between various aspects of same-sex sexuality (i.e., desire/attraction, behavior and identity) and divorce from a different-sex spouse. In this paper, we theorize that same-sex sexuality could be associated with either shorter or longer marital duration, and we use data from the 2011-2013 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to examine the associations between three aspects of same-sex sexuality and marital duration among those who married and divorced once (N=617). Among the once-married/divorced, same-sex sexuality substantially reduces marital duration by approximately 18-24 months, on average, net of other variables. Supplemental analyses indicate that these associations do not differ by sex/gender but do differ in nuanced ways for individuals who are bisexually attracted (identified) compared to those who report, respectively, same-sex only or different-sex only attraction (heterosexual, bisexual and lesbian/gay identity). Between-group differences in age at marriage exert a substantial influence on the associations between same-sex sexuality and marital duration documented in the supplemental analyses of bisexuality. We discuss our findings in relation to the extant literature, the limitations of available data, and directions for future research.

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‘Our Little Secret’: How Publicly Heterosexual Women Make Meaning From Their ‘Undercover’ Same-Sex Sexual Experiences

Cited by 21 publications

References 25 publications

The experience and meaning of same‐sex sexuality among heterosexually identified men and women: An analytic review

The experience and meaning of same‐sex sexuality among heterosexually identified men and women: An analytic review

Heterosexual College Students Who Hookup with Same-Sex Partners

Same-Sex Sexuality and the Duration of First Different-Sex Marriages

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