Young Women's Sexual Experiences Within Same-Sex Friendships

Abstract

SUMMARY Though not frequently studied for their role in sexual orientation identity development, sexual experiences within same-sex friendships may offer an opportunity for bisexual and bi-curious women to explore and define their sexual orientation. This study examined sexual self-defining memories and narratives about sexual orientation development in bisexual and bi-curious young women. Participants were 48 female college students of various ethnic backgrounds. They were selected for the study based on their primary sexual orientation identification and because they included a sexual experience with a same-sex friend as their event narrative. The event narratives were classified based on age (childhood versus adolescence) and type of same-sex friend sexual experience (sexual attraction versus sexual behavior). Themes of discovery, closeness, conflict, and defining identity emerged. Findings suggest that sexual experiences with same-sex friends can serve an important role in the emergence and definition of bisexual and bi-curious identity.