Women who identify with their sexual labels are healthier

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, men who have sex with men (MSM), and women who have sex with women (WSW), are just some of the labels commonly used in medical research to characterize sexual partnering. However, researchers have found that how women relate to their label could influence their health. The study, conducted by Vanessa Schick, assistant research scientist at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University Bloomington, set out to examine the health issues and behaviors specific to behaviorally bisexual men and women. The team found that commonly used labels, such as heterosexual and homosexual, can sometimes do more harm than good. The team conducted a Web-based survey and questioned 2,578 women who reported being attracted to, or having sexual encounters with women, about their mental, physical and sexual wellness. The researchers found that women who identified themselves as lesbian or bisexual reported that their health was at its best when their sexual identity matched their recent sexual history. However, these findings should not be interpreted as evidence that women should declare a sexual identify that matches their sexual behavior, warns Schick. According to Schick, women sometimes label themselves as "queer" in order to reject traditional labels that suggest the gender of their sexual partners. Schick explained: "Unlike the other women in the study, the mental, physical and sexual well-being of queer-identified women was not related to the gender of their recent sexual partners. This suggests that, instead of encouraging women to adopt labels that are more descriptive of their behavior, we should be more flexible in the behavioral expectations that we attach to these labels." There are numerous reasons as to why individuals often identify openly or just to themselves with a label that does not match their sexual history. According to Schick, one such reason is biphobia, the stigma and discrimination bisexual people experience from other individuals.