{"id":30798,"date":"2025-10-31T12:31:28","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T06:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/?p=30798"},"modified":"2025-10-31T12:32:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T06:47:17","slug":"are-you-more-jealous-of-emotional-or-sexual-infidelity-it-may-depend-on-your-sexual-orientation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/are-you-more-jealous-of-emotional-or-sexual-infidelity-it-may-depend-on-your-sexual-orientation\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you more jealous of emotional or sexual infidelity? It may depend on your sexual orientation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steinar Brandslet\/NTNU<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

\"\"
aigenerated<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Recent research shows that only the most heterosexual men are primarily jealous of sexual infidelity. Homosexual and bisexual men are more jealous of emotional infidelity, in the same way that women are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professors Mons Bendixen and Leif Edvard Ottesen Kennair at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have spent many years studying infidelity and jealousy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a long time, the researchers interpreted their findings as saying that men are more often most jealous of sexual infidelity, while women are more jealous of emotional infidelity \u2013 and that was pretty much that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it turns out it is not that simple after all; sexual orientation can also affect jealousy. Kennair and Bendixen collaborated with Professor David Schmitt from Kansas State University on an article recently published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior<\/a><\/em> journal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homosexual and bisexual men are jealous in the same way as women<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is still the case that the most heterosexual men are most jealous of sexual infidelity. But this is not true for bisexual or homosexual men. They are most jealous of the feelings their partner might have for someone else,\u201d said Kennair, from NTNU\u2019s Department of Psychology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is more often the case that homosexual and bisexual men become jealous for reasons other than those of heterosexual men. When it comes to jealousy, they bear a closer resemblance to women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis exception to the general rule is not found in lesbian and bisexual women. Lesbian and bisexual women are most jealous of emotional infidelity, in the same way that heterosexual women are,\u201d said Bendixen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is important to point out here that our research did not primarily focus on categorical sexual orientation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We investigated the degree to which individuals are attracted to men (androphilia) and to women (gynephilia) in both sexes,\u201d emphasized Kennair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biological explanation of jealousy<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps there is more logic to this than might at first meet the eye. After all, there is a strong biological explanation behind jealousy. Jealousy is an emotional response to a threat against a valued relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Infidelity is an example of this type of threat, either in the form of a partner falling in love with or having sex with someone else. The way jealousy works is that you react emotionally to signs of infidelity in your partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can in turn trigger a series of actions to protect the relationship. Examples include everything from confrontations, monitoring and restricting the partner\u2019s social contact with other people, to ingratiation, flattery and increased sexual activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In homosexual relationships, regardless of gender, mutually hidden sexual infidelity is less relevant. Your partner is unlikely to have a secret child with someone else \u2013 a child you believe is yours and therefore invest time and resources in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, the fear of a partner leaving becomes much more important for homosexual individuals \u2013 the jealousy is more centred around the emotions involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Predicting sexuality based on questions<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Nearly 4500 participants aged 16 to 80 participated in the study. They were recruited partly through Facebook and partly through the Gaysir website and other forums for queer individuals. The way in which the researchers recruited people ensured that sexual minorities were well represented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe also developed a method that could more or less predict the participants\u2019 sexual orientation,\u201d said Kennair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The questions covered personality, childhood interests, career preferences and how the participants experience their own gender role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answers could be used to predict the participants\u2019 sexual preference with high certainty, ranked by how strongly they were attracted to men or to women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shades of grey<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Of course, there are no clear-cut boundaries when it comes to sexual orientation. It is safe to say that some of us are more masculine or feminine than others, regardless of biological sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBiological sex is fixed and strongly linked to the production of sex cells. However, with regards to sexual orientation and how we perceive our own gender and sexuality, there are no clear-cut boundaries,\u201d said Kennair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He likens it to different volume controls that are balanced in relation to each other. Some people are more attracted to one gender or the other, while others are less so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe degree of masculinity and femininity varies greatly from one person to the next and over time, regardless of biological sex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This challenges the assumption that gender expression is static and inseparably linked to sex. Instead, the expressions are fluid, dependent on context, and shaped by social, cultural and personal factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that masculinity and femininity are not opposites on a linear scale, but can coexist side by side within an individual to varying degrees over time,\u201d said Professor David Schmitt from Kansas State University. The extent to which this variation is related to sexual jealousy was one of the main focuses of this study<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testosterone levels play an important role, meaning jealousy also varies among individuals, even within the same sex. Therefore, jealousy can be seen as one of the possible evolutionary mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost humans are chimeras; they are not strictly one thing or another. Everyone has parts that are masculine and parts that are feminine,\u201d explained Kennair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mystery of bisexual men with female partners<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Note that we constantly assume that jealousy actually serves a purpose. Jealousy is meant to help you keep your partner \u2013 or your partner\u2019s resources \u2013 for yourself. In doing so, you maximize the chances of passing on your genes to the next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But one great mystery still remains \u2013 bisexual men who are partners with women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBisexual men with female partners are different from heterosexual men with female partners. These bisexual men are also more jealous of emotional infidelity and less jealous of sexual infidelity,\u201d explained Bendixen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This, however, does not fit the pattern. Bisexual men with female partners face the same risk as heterosexual men of investing resources in another man\u2019s child if their partner is unfaithful. Therefore, the picture remains unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe still don\u2019t know why this is. One possibility is that the jealousy response is easily feminized. As a result, only the most masculine men display typical masculine sexual jealousy,\u201d said Kennair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may also help explain why bisexual men are far less common than bisexual women. In the United States, up to 6 per cent of women identify as bisexual, compared with only up to 2 per cent of men. If bisexual men are more often tricked into raising another man\u2019s child, their genes are not passed on to the next generation to the same extent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This, however, is just a theory, and not something the researchers know or have studied \u2013 and is an area that definitely requires more research.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recent research shows that only the most heterosexual men are primarily jealous of sexual infidelity. Homosexual and bisexual men are more jealous of emotional infidelity, in the same way that women are.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sex"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion.webp",768,576,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion-200x200.webp",200,200,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion-675x506.webp",675,506,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion.webp",750,563,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion.webp",750,563,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion.webp",768,576,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion.webp",768,576,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion.webp",768,576,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion-768x570.webp",768,570,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion-600x576.webp",600,576,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion-600x576.webp",600,576,true],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion-760x490.webp",760,490,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion-550x360.webp",550,360,true],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion-95x65.webp",95,65,true],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion-640x576.webp",640,576,true],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion-96x96.webp",96,96,true],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sexual-orintaion-150x113.webp",150,113,true]},"author_info":{"info":["Steinar Brandslet\/NTNU"]},"category_info":"Sex<\/a>","tag_info":"Sex","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30798"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30803,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30798\/revisions\/30803"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}