Why are bisexual men unwilling to come out of the closet

A study by the University of Columbia's Melman School of Public Health examines the reasons for bisexual men's refusal to derail. The results show that bisexual men want to avoid shyness and gay panic that can lead to strong negative emotional reactions and changes in love relationships. This study was published on Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Researchers explored behavioral bisexual men in large sample populations, never - usually never intended - to their friends, family and girlfriend / wife to confess their sexual orientation. 

Researchers conducted an in-depth interview with 203 men from New York City who had not made public sexuality to female partners. In order to ensure the rationality of the study, participants are satisfied: 18 years of age, self-identity as non-homosexual, in the past year with men and women have sex and other conditions. Participants are recruited through the Internet, advertising and recommendation.

Dr. Eric W. Schrimshaw, associate professor of social medical science at the Meyer School of Public Health, said the findings clearly show the need for universal access to common knowledge about bisexual men - they are not homosexual, not HIV carriers, and monogamous system. In addition, the prospective female partner's negative reaction shows that there is a need to take some measures to help bisexual men treat each other frankly, while minimizing negative reactions and trying to maintain lovers.

The reasons for the choice of silence for bisexual men include the expectation of negative emotional reactions, the expectation of negative changes in love relationships, the notion of homosexuality of homosexuality against family members, friends and women, as well as the previous views on openness Negative experience and so on.

The reasons for the participant's report do not include heterosexual self-identity, self-identification uncertainty, or other self-identification reasons. Schrimshaw said bisexual men are often silent to avoid shame from social circles, such as ridicule, exclusion and injury. 

The reason why silence is the most surprising is that all men see the religious or cultural background of their friends, family and female partners as open obstacles because they think it will lead to rejection. 

The theory of gay male openness is contradictory. Martin J. Downing, a public health solution, says that although research shows that openness is part of the development of self-identity, it will occur after the individual's self-identity is more confident and more self-acceptance, but this is not the study The discovery.

The researchers said they found that bisexual men were more likely to respond to gay men than gay men. However, the researchers suggest that homosexual men perceive less humiliation (and thus prefer to be public), or that they are similar, and are not yet clear, since the study did not compare homosexual men as subjects of study. 

Downing said that such research is important for the understanding of the potential causal relationship between homosexual and bisexual men's shame and openness.

Schrimshaw's previous study shows that one of the consequences of concealment of bisexual men is depression. Schrimshaw said that the current study provides a new perspective on the mechanism of concealing sexual orientation leading to depression.