New research indicates that sexual fluidity in attractions is relatively common in Malaysia. The new findings appear in the Journal of Homosexuality.
A number of studies have examined changes in sexual desires and identities over time. However, most of this research has been conducted in Western countries with relatively liberal views and laws regarding same-sex relationships. The authors behind the new study were interested in seeing whether these findings would hold in Malaysia, a largely conservative country where homosexual acts are criminalized.
“I am a counselling psychologist by profession and as such have had experience dealing with sexual minority clients facing distress, primarily because of a lack of understanding and discrimination within society,” explained study author John Pinto, a licensed psychologist and PhD candidate at the University of Malaya.
“My observations from my work and exposure to sexual minority individuals had made me curious about the experience of sexual fluidity as it manifests in the lives of these individuals, and the unique struggles it affords them. I think that understanding sexual fluidity in the local context can produce more effective ways of educating the public about it and perhaps producing more effective solutions to the distress faced by misunderstanding, discrimination and a lack of acceptance.”
For their study, the researchers recruited 81 men and 93 women aged between 18 and 38 who had experienced same-sex sexual attractions.
To assess sexual fluidity, the researchers asked the participants whether they had ever experienced a change in their attractions to others. Those who answered yes then indicated the approximate age at which they experienced a change of attraction for the first time. They also indicated whether they had experienced a experienced a change of attraction more than once and whether they expected their sexual orientation to change in the future.
Sexual fluidity appeared to be relatively common.
“Of note is the fact that some of these individuals adopt an exclusive sexual identity, i.e. gay, lesbian or even heterosexual despite having experienced some form of change over time,” Pinto told PsyPost. “Although data with greater statistical power may be needed to draw more conclusive results, sexual fluidity is likely to be a more common experience than is thought among sexual minorities in Malaysia. We hope this will allow for an inclusion of the narrative of sexual fluidity in conversations on sexual minorities, as we believe this might have an impact on healthcare, advocacy and policy.”
The researchers found that 72% of women indicated that they had experienced a change in attractions to others over time and 64% of men reported sexual fluidity in attractions. Multiple changes in attractions over time were reported by 44% of women and 36% of men. Importantly, however, these difference between women and men were not statistically significant.
“The study did not replicate the gender differences found in frequencies of sexual fluidity in many other studies, where women were observed to be more fluid,” Pinto explained. “Nonetheless, it is aligned with some other studies that showed no gender differences. Some suggestions that were previously offered by other scientists for the gender differences that are more commonly observed include the idea that sexuality is more dependent on social construction (and therefore more malleable) in women than in men.”
“Although much of the reasons for our observations are largely speculative at the moment, we think an important takeaway is to question and re-question the extent to which societal and interpersonal factors can influence sexuality in men. It seems like they do play a significant role, but likely in a different way for men than they do for women. Nonetheless, further studies are needed to properly elucidate this.”
But the fact that a person’s attractions can shift over time should not be taken as evidence in favor of so-called “ex-gay” therapy. Research has consistently found that practices aimed at changing people’s sexual orientation or gender identity results in an increased likelihood of adverse mental health outcomes, including higher levels of depression and suicidal behavior.
“I would also like to highlight that the occurrence of change should not be mistaken or co-opted to promote any form of reparative ‘therapies’ which do not have their basis in facts, as this could cause more harm than good,” Pinto explained. “Sexuality is complex and develops at the confluence of social, interpersonal and individual factors.”
“Any attempt to fully control or modify the manifestations of these processes have shown to cause more harm than good and, in some sense, violates the rights of the individual by propagating the fallacy that sexual minority orientations are a form of pathology rather than a variation. It is thus important that we warn against using our work or any other work on sexual fluidity to make pseudoscientific claims that are driven by ideological desires rather than facts.”
As for the study’s limitations, Pinto said that “it is important to view this study as one that is largely exploratory. To our knowledge, this is the first study on sexual fluidity in a Malaysian context, and we do not presume our sample to be representative of the population. If anything, this study is meant to inspire further work on the subject within the local context.”
“It is also important to note that our sample focused on individuals from the largely urban areas and unfortunately does not include those of lower socioeconomic status and educational attainment due to various difficulties as expressed in the article,” he added. “The sample also consists only of those with a fairly good proficiency of the English language, and therefore excludes those who do not speak or understand English. As such, I think the study should be seen as a first peek rather than a conclusive document. We do hope future studies will be able to reveal more.”
The study, “Sexual Fluidity in a Malaysian Sample: A Case for the Presence of Facilitative Environments within a Restrictive Sociocultural and Political Landscape“, John Pinto, ,Suat Yan Lai, and Wah Yun Low.
