What is bisexuality?

At its simplest level bisexuality refers to a physical and emotional attraction to any sex or gender identity and is more commonly thought of as an attraction to both men and women. However, it’s a bit more complicated than that and someone who identifies as a bisexual person may have a more fluid understanding of what being bisexual means to them.

Being bisexual doesn’t necessarily mean a person finds both men and women attractive in equal measure and all of the time. It may include a range of sexual identities from seeing their sexuality as consistently changeable to finding one gender more attractive than another during certain periods of their lives.

At the Steve Retson Project we know how you describe your sexual identity is a personal issue and that men experience bisexuality in different ways. No matter what those differences may be, we are here to help every bisexual man access the services they need.

Why focus on Bisexual men as a group?

We know from research we’ve carried out that bisexual men are less likely to engage with sexual health services than other sexual identity groups. We also know from independent research that men who identify as bisexual have higher rates of mental health issues compared to other groups. Young bisexual men in particular are less likely to access services, meaning they may be even more vulnerable to poor sexual health.

What health issues might bisexual men face?

Bisexual people often face inequalities in health compared to people who identify as straight or gay. Experiences of biphobia and bisexual invisibility have been linked to depression, anxiety, self harm and suicidal thoughts. In addition, bisexual men have been found to be more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and use recreational drugs than gay or straight men.

Furthermore, from our own FAQ Scotland research, we found that bisexual men are significantly less likely to attend sexual health services than gay men, with other studies suggesting 49% of bisexual men have never tested for HIV (compared to 29% of gay men).

The team at the Steve Retson Project understand how these experiences can impact on the quality of your health and aim to ensure we provide a place that you feel is accessible, accepting and professional in supporting good sexual health and emotional well-being.

How can Steve Retson Project help?

Steve Retson Project offer sexual health clinics on four evenings a week (Monday – Thursday) to support your sexual health and emotional well-being.

Our SRP Choices team can offer further support in relation to your sexual health and relationships, including but not limited to:

  • Coming out
  • Self esteem & confidence
  • Mental health concerns
  • Substance misuse
  • Violence & abuse

If you would like to speak to someone about SRP Choices you can self refer by contacting us by phone or by discussing referral with a member of staff the next time you're at one of our clinics.