Sexual diversity in urban Norwegians

Journal of Sex Research, Nov, 2002 by Bente Traeen, Hein Stigum, Dagfinn Sorensen

Expressions of sexuality have been shown to vary according to historical period, as well as between and within different societies and cultures. Culture shapes sexual beings, and what is perceived as normal, natural, true, good, bad, right, or wrong is connected to culture-specific norms, rules, values, and expectancies. No two cultures have exactly the same expressions of homosexuality. For instance, the least homosexual behavior is observed in countries with the least acceptance of homosexuality (Sandfort, 1998). During the past decades there has been a growing social acceptance of homosexuality in Norway, as reflected by recent legislation. In 1993, the Norwegian parliament granted lesbian and homosexual couples the same rights and responsibilities that heterosexual couples automatically receive through marriage, except the right to adopt children and to be married in the church.

Between 1987 and 1997, the number of Norwegians who reported ever having sexual contact with a person of the same gender increased from 4% to 5% among men, and from 3% to 6% among women (Stigum, Traeen, & Magnus, 2000). However, the prevalence of homosexual behavior is likely to be higher in larger cities than in a country as a whole (Sandfort, 1998; Wellings, Wadsworth, and Johnson, 1994). Practicing homosexuality is probably easier in urban than in rural areas, in the sense that the social control of sexuality is less strict and visible in a big city. Also, there are more places in a city for homosexual people to meet and socialize. Life in a city is likely to allow for greater anonymity and as such allow for sexual diversity (Wellings et al., 1994). This does not exclude the existence of pockets of the urban population with unrealized homosexual desires. However, to explore this possibility further, sexual behavior surveys in representative samples of the population are necessary.

Gagnon and Simon (1977) have claimed that sexual behavior surveys are important in providing an empirical framework for recognition of sexual diversity. The term diversity here refers to a broad spectrum of sexual expressions, and no more value is attached to the one or the other. Thus sexual diversity can be expressed through specific behaviors, attitudes, feelings, and preferences, including the choice of gender of the person being sexually engaged with. Gender of the sex partner is, however, closely connected to the concept of sexual orientation, which is commonly perceived as a stable part of personality, including not only sexual feelings and behaviors but also feelings of love, commitment, and other relational aspects (Sell, 1997). Sexual diversity may thus be confused with sexual orientation. In population surveys, it is often the prevalence of same-gender and opposite-gender sexual contact that is measured, rather than sexual orientation. Some people report exclusively heterosexual contacts, others exclusively homosexual contacts, and still others bisexual contacts. The reporting may be indicative of sexual orientation, but the extent to which sexual behavior in itself can be used to define sexual orientation remains uncertain (Sell, 1997). As shown in several general population studies on sexual behavior, the number of people reporting exclusively homosexual contact is small (Sandfort, 1998). In his extensive analysis of homosexual and bisexual behavior in European countries, Sandfort (1998) concludes that most people with homosexual experience have also had heterosexual experience in some form at some point in their lives. A form of bisexuality prevalent in early adulthood may represent a traditional phase in which preferences are tested through experimentation with different lifestyles and relationships (Wellings et al., 1994). The question in the present study is not when or how often a particular individual has chosen the same or opposite sex as the object(s) of his or her sexual attention; rather, this study aims to explore the extent to which people report exclusively or mostly to have had sexual feelings for and/or have had sex with persons of the same gender and opposite gender.

Sandfort (1998) concluded that little is known about respondents who report homosexual experience in population studies. Stokes, Vanable, and McKirnan (1997) also concluded that little is known about what distinguishes exclusively homosexual persons from bisexual persons. This study aims to contribute to the body of knowledge in these areas. In past decades it has become more and more common to regard the choice of same-gender sex partners as part of a broad spectrum of sexual expressions (Wellings et al., 1994). The present study aims to investigate sexual diversity in groups of the urban Norwegian population. The terms exclusively homosexual, exclusively heterosexual, and bisexual will be used in the text to describe subgroups of the population. However, this is not necessarily equivalent to sexual orientation. To avoid the theoretically problematic concept of sexual orientation and at the same time broaden the concept of sexual experience, the gender-relative part of the expression of sexual diversity is operationalized as four different aspects of gender preference: sexual fantasies about, having sexual conduct with, and falling in love with.