“Heteroflexible” didn’t take long to go from niche label to casual reference. Over the past year, it’s crept out of dating apps and into regular conversation, and the numbers suggest it’s expanding faster than nearly any other sexual identity right now.
Heteroflexible typically describes people who identify as mostly straight but remain open to sexual or romantic experiences with someone of the same sex. As Verywell Mind explains, the emphasis is on primary heterosexual attraction with occasional flexibility, curiosity, or exceptions.
According to Feeld’s 2025 Raw Report, heteroflexibility is the fastest-growing sexuality in the UK, with a reported increase of 193 percent over the past year. The dating app, which caters to nontraditional relationship structures, also estimates that roughly 15 percent of the US population now identifies as heteroflexible. That translates to tens of millions of people, many of whom don’t feel fully captured by older categories.
More People Are Calling Themselves Heteroflexible. Here’s Why.
“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 vice president of data, in the company’s report.
The growth skews heavily millennial. About two-thirds of heteroflexible users fall into that age group, with Gen Z and Gen X following behind. Geography plays a role, too. Berlin ranked as the most heteroflexible city in the world, while New York City saw rapid growth in identifying as bisexual, according to Feeld’s data.
Part of the momentum comes from how broad the label is. Heteroflexibility can include straight people who’ve had a same-sex experience and liked it, people who occasionally feel same-sex attraction, those who consider themselves bi-curious, or someone in a straight relationship who’s open to experiences that don’t follow a strict script. That openness also fuels criticism.
Critics within bisexual and pansexual communities say heteroflexibility risks watering down identities that have long struggled for visibility. Others read it as a sign that rigid definitions are losing their grip.
Dr. Luke Brunning, a lecturer in applied ethics at the University of Leeds, told Verywell Mind that evolving identities like heteroflexibility reflect growing comfort with complexity. “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.
That framing helps explain the rise. Heteroflexibility doesn’t demand a declaration or a lifelong commitment to a label. It leaves room for curiosity, context, and change.
For a generation raised on rigid boxes and later handed infinite choices, it makes sense.
The post Heteroflexible, Explained: The Sexual Identity More People Are Choosing appeared first on VICE.
