One in five young women do not identify as heterosexual

One in five young women do not consider themselves heterosexual , according to a study by INED published on Wednesday, April 30.

"Between 2015 and 2023, the number of young adults aged 20-29 identifying as bisexual or pansexual " (attraction to a person regardless of their gender) "has increased sixfold," the National Institute of Demographic Studies underlines in a press release.

Some 5% of young women "identified" in 2023 as "pansexual", one in ten as "bisexual" , 2% as lesbian , and 81% as "heterosexual", according to the study entitled "Home, bi and non-binary: when young people question heterosexuality".

Among young men, 3% identified as homosexual and 3% as bisexual.

The study analyzes the results of the Survey on the Emotional Life of Young Adults (Envie) conducted in 2023 by Ined on a sample of 10,000 young people aged 18 to 29.

"Relative trivialization" and MeToo

While 19% of women aged 18 to 29 do not identify as heterosexual, this figure is 8% among men their age, according to the study published in the journal Population et Sociétés. This was the case for 3% of women aged 20-29 and 2% of men of the same age in the 2015 Virage survey, explained Wildried Rault, research director at INED.

Among the factors that could explain this trend, a "relative trivialization of homosexuality" and the MeToo movement, which has made heterosexuality "less desirable" for some young people , the researcher said during a press conference.

The debate around inequalities in domestic work also contributes to this development, he says.

The "growing visibility" of sexual minorities, notably with same-sex marriage in 2013, has "made these forms of sexuality more conceivable, particularly for young people who have always experienced these contexts," Mr. Rault said.

Some 37% of women aged 20-29 in 2023 say they have had "attractions" "to both sexes" during their lives, compared to 7% in the 2015 Virage (INED) survey. This is the case for 18% of men in 2023, compared to 2% in 2015.

"It is mainly women aged 18-21 who identify with these new identities" : 78% of 18-21 year-olds identify as heterosexual, compared to 87% of 26-29 year-olds.

Additionally, 1.7% of young people identify as " non-binary ," meaning neither male nor female. This increase in bi and pansexual people is also visible in other European countries and North America, according to the study.