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By
ANDREW KEEGAN
Friday, November 04, 2005
A noted and once immensely popular
sex therapist is coming under fire for
telling bisexuals to choose their sexual
orientation, since there is no such
thing as “a bisexual person.”
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, a pioneer in the
field of psychosexual therapy during the
1980s, wrote in an early October
syndicate of her twice-weekly column
that, “everyone is either straight or
gay.”
She was responding to a male letter
writer who indicated he was becoming
more attracted to men, although he has a
steady girlfriend.
Westheimer, who also hosts her own
radio program, “Sexually Speaking,” told
the man that it wouldn’t be fair to
experiment without his girlfriend
knowing and to end the relationship with
her.
“Everyone is either straight or gay,”
Westheimer wrote in the column. “Some
people go through an in-between stage
where they are perhaps not sure, but
eventually they fall into one category
or the other, so that there really is no
such thing as being bisexual.”
She reaffirmed her belief that
bisexuals do not exist in an Oct. 18
post to a message board on ivillage.com.
Westheimer’s column is carried by
King Features Syndicate. Claudia Smith,
a spokesperson for the company, said the
advice piece is carried by 50
publications. Smith said Westheimer was
on vacation and could not be reached for
comment.
BI ADVOCTES Reacted quickly to
Westheimer’s advice.
“Dr. Ruth is wrong,” said Robyn Ochs,
author of “Getting Bi: Voices of
Bisexuals Around the World.”
“I think that the root of this
problem lies in people’s desire for
everything to fit neatly into two, and
only two, carefully wrapped boxes: gay
and straight. But for many of us, it’s
not that tidy,” Ochs said.
Sheela Lambert, a bisexual for 32
years and member of the New York Area
Bisexual Network, expressed shock over
Westheimer’s comments.
“How long does one have to be
bisexual to qualify as not a phase?”
Lambert said. “Most of the people I know
in the bisexual community I have known
for 14 years. Are the thousands of
members of the over 200 bisexual groups
listed in ‘The Bisexual Resource Guide
4th Edition’ all in a phase, too?”
What’s disturbing is that Westheimer
claimed her advice was based on
scientific research, according to
Lambert.
“Is she not aware that all such
‘evidence’ has been discredited?” said
Lambert, pointing to a study on
bisexuality reported on by the New York
Times in July.
That study, conducted by Michael
Bailey, a Northwestern University
psychology professor, reported that
bisexuality in men did not exist. It was
criticized by some for using flawed
methodology.
In the study, bisexual men reported
being sexually aroused by erotic videos
of both men and women. But a device
attached to their genitals revealed
attraction only to videos featuring men.
Fritz Klein, a sex researcher for
more than 25 years with a focus on
bisexuality, said Westheimer is wrong to
claim people fall into only two sexual
orientations.
“The problem is there is such a large
continuum from being straight to gay,”
Klein said. “There are actually three
different types of bisexuals; closer to
being straight; in the middle; and
closer to being gay.”
Klein, author of “Bisexual Option,”
said Westheimer was correct in stating
bisexuality has to do with the mind.
“All sex is controlled by the mind,”
Klein said. “It’s what turns you on and
how you feel. But, bisexuality has been
around too long and there are too many
bisexuals to dismiss it.”
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation, a gay media watchdog, also
panned Westheimer’s advice on
bisexuality. |
