Heteroflexibility one of the fastest-growing sexualities: Study

They like a taste of the rainbow.

We’ve come more than a half-century away from the sexual revolution — and well beyond gay, straight or bisexual orientations, individuals continue to explore the scope of their sexuality,

Since then, one niche, yet increasingly mainstream section of the sex spectrum has emerged: heteroflexibility. Not to be confused with bisexuality, in which people are equally attracted to men and women, heterflexible folks predominantly identify as straight, but sometimes engage in whoopee with members, according to Verywell Mind.

Feeld, a dating app for seeking alternative relationship structures, recently released its annual Raw Report, providing a look at the preferences that shape contemporary intimacy. According to the findings, heteroflexibility is the fastest-growing sexuality in the UK, with the number of practitioners skyrocketing by 193%over the last year.

Meanwhile, it is estimated that a staggering 15% of the US population — that’s approximately 50 to 55 million Americans — now identifies as heteroflexible.

“We’re seeing a surge in people exploring connection and playfulness in authentic, fluid ways, redefining what it means to be seen and to connect in 2025,” said Dina Mohammad-Laity, Feeld’s VP of Data.

Of the heteroflexibles, two-thirds are Millennials (those born between the early 1980s and 1996), 18 percent are Gen Z (people born between 1997 and 2012), and 15.5% are Gen X (individuals born between 1965 and 1980).

Meanwhile, Berlin was the most heteroflexible city in the world, per the study, while New York City had the fastest-growing bisexual population with an increase of 161 percent.

Perhaps the one caveat, per sexperts, is that the terminology is a tad subjective, and for lack of a better word, flexible.

For instance, the category encompasses a wide variety of people, including people who are straight but have enjoyed being with someone of the same sex, heterosexuals who’ve felt same-sex attraction on occasion and people who are bi-curious.

It can even apply to a woman who was in a relationship with a man but was open to a threesome that involved another woman.

In fact, some have accused heteroflexibles of treading on bisexual and pansexual territory and even contributing to their erasure.

Dr. Luke Brunning, Lecturer in Applied Ethics at the University of Leeds, UK, explained that evolving identities illuminated by the study “speak to the growing awareness that sexuality is complex.”

“If anything, it would be surprising if people were never sexually curious about people of their own sex or gender, or if attraction worked in neat and predictable ways,” he said.