The quality or state of being sexually attracted to or capable of functioning as both male and female, or being attracted to multiple genders.
From Latin 'ambi-' (both) + 'sexuality' (from 'sexus'). Developed in 20th-century sexology as terminology evolved to describe diverse sexual orientations and identities.
This word represents how language evolves to capture human experience more precisely—as society became more aware of sexual diversity, we needed better vocabulary than just 'normal' or 'abnormal.'
This singular abstract form emerged in sexology and psychology as a clinical category, often used in mid-20th-century literature to describe attraction to multiple genders within a pathologizing framework that positioned it as aberrant or requiring explanation.
If referencing the concept academically, use 'attraction to multiple genders' or cite bisexual self-terminology. Prefer identity-affirming framing: 'bisexual identity' over clinical 'ambisexuality.'
["bisexuality","attraction to multiple genders","multisexuality"]
Bisexual people have fought against medicalization of their identity. 'Bisexual' is the term most bisexual-identified people use to describe themselves; honor that linguistic self-determination.
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