A new poll released by Britain’s YouGov has found that two-thirds of heterosexual British women would be unwilling to date a bisexual man.
The polling data, released during Bisexual Awareness Week, suggests that bisexual people are broadly accepted within British society, with favourability ratings similar to those recorded for gay and lesbian people. Attitudes towards transgender people were less positive overall.
The survey found that 48% of Britons hold a positive opinion of bisexual people, while only 8% report a negative opinion. Most of the remaining respondents said they viewed bisexual people neither positively nor negatively.
These figures closely mirror attitudes towards gay and lesbian people. By comparison, views of transgender people were more divided, with 36% expressing positive views, 34% neutral views, and 26% negative views.
However, this acceptance does not appear to extend fully to dating preferences. The findings suggest that stigma towards bisexual people may persist in some relationship contexts.
The survey was conducted in March 2026 and involved 2,031 straight women and 1,517 straight men from a representative sample of the general population; 824 gay men, 349 lesbian women, 396 bisexual men, 866 bisexual women from a representative sample of the LGBTQ+ community.
According to the survey, 66% of heterosexual women said they would be unwilling to date a bisexual man, while 19% said they would be willing to do so.
This figure was significantly higher than the proportion of heterosexual men who said they would be unwilling to date a bisexual woman (35%). A majority of heterosexual men (53%) said they would be willing to do so.
Age was also associated with people’s views. Among heterosexual women aged 18 to 34, 47% said they would be unwilling to date a bisexual man. This figure increased to 77% among women aged 55 and over.
Among heterosexual men aged 18 to 34, 19% said they would be unwilling to date a bisexual woman. That proportion rose to 47% among those aged 55 and over.
The survey also found some reluctance to date bisexual people within LGBTQIA+ communities. Some gay, lesbian and bisexual respondents reported that they would be unwilling to date a bisexual partner.
One in five lesbian women (20%) said they would be unwilling to date a bisexual woman. This compared with 3% of bisexual women and 9% of bisexual men who said the same.
Among gay men, 11% said they would be unwilling to date a bisexual man. This did not differ greatly from the proportion of bisexual respondents (10% to 15%) who reported the same view.
The survey also asked respondents why they might be reluctant to date a bisexual person. Many participants who expressed hesitation were unable to clearly explain their reasons.
Among those who did provide an explanation, some cited concerns about trust or feared that a bisexual partner might feel they were “missing out” on experiences. Very few respondents referred to feelings of discomfort about a partner’s previous same-sex relationships.
YouGov’s Head of Data Journalism Matthew Smith said some of the respondents offered less common answers an explanations for their views, including beliefs that bisexuality was akin to polyamory, and views that bisexual people are “actually gay”.
