For as many good things as I have to say about OkCupid, the free online dating website, I, as a bisexual woman, am offended by a July 7 OKC blog entitled "The Big Lies People Tell in Online Dating."
My husband and I have both successfully found dates (and my current girlfriend) through OkCupid, and we've found it delightfully friendly toward both bisexuals and polyamory, but last week my husband pointed out this blog after learning about it through an OKC e-mail. After discussing how many people lie about their height (they're often about two inches shorter,) their incomes (they usually make 20 percent less than they say,) and their pictures (that the more attractive the picture is, the more likely it's out of date,) the article then hit on bisexuality. It said that according to its statistics, about 80 percent of people listed as bisexuals are only interested in one sex, with 41 percent sending messages to men only, 36 percent sending messages to women only, and 23 percent sending messages to both. Okay, that's fine, but the blogger then goes on to make these conclusions:
"This suggests that bisexuality is often either a hedge for gay people or a label adopted by straights to appear more sexually adventurous to their (straight) matches."
This article appears in Aug 12-18, 2010.