Lisa Diamond's Four Elements of Sexual Fluidity

From Lisa Diamond's (2008) Sexual fluidity: Understanding women's love and desire:

  1. Women do, in fact, have a general sexual orientation: most are predominantly attracted to men; some are attracted to both sexes; and some are mainly attracted to women. As noted, there are many possible causes of these orientations, and they might unfold at various points in development.
  2. In addition to their sexual orientation, women also possess a capacity for fluidity. Think of this as a sensitivity to situations and relationships that might facilitate erotic feelings. An example might be an intense emotional relationship (with either a man or a woman) or exposure to environments that provide positive experiences with same-sex relationships. Fluidity can trigger either same-sex or other-sex attractions.
  3. The sexual attractions triggered by fluidity may be temporary or long-lasting, depending on how consistently a woman encounters the facilitating factors. For example, a heterosexual woman who becomes unexpectedly involved with a close same-sex friend might experience her newfound same-sex attractions as long-lasting if the relationship develops into a stable, long-term bond. Alternatively, the attractions might disappear altogether if the relationship dissolves. The key point is that the attractions triggered by fluidity do not alter a woman's basic orientation, though they might function like an orientation in terms of consistency.
  4. Not all women are equally fluid. Just as women have different orientations, they have different degrees of sensitivity to the situational and interpersonal factors that trigger fluidity. As a result, though two women may be exposed to the same set of potential "triggers," one will experience the development of unexpected same-sex attractions whereas the other may not. 

References

Diamond, L. M. (2008). Sexual fluidity: Understanding women’s love and desire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.


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