With the final hours of 2025 still on the calendar, it seems a new term is being added to the British social vocabulary: heteroflexible.
According to a dating app, it is the fastest growing sexual orientation in the UK. The term is used to describe people who identify as heterosexual but are open to sexual experiences with people of the same sex.
“Heteroflexible” is an umbrella term that covers a wide spectrum of preferences: from those who do not rule out a possible experience with the same sex, to people who see themselves as almost bisexual. Some may have sexual relations or contact with people of the same sex, others only accept this possibility in theory, while there are those who are open to group sex but not to one-on-one relationships with the same sex.
The Feeld app – which targets users exploring ethical non-monogamy, polyamory and kink – does not disclose the exact number of its users, but claims that identifying as “heteroflexible” has increased by almost 200 percent this year alone, more than any other sexual identity on the platform.
Of people who identify as heteroflexible:
about two-thirds are Millennials (born from the early 80s to 1996),
18 percent belong to Generation Z (1997–2012),
while 15.5 percent are from Generation X (1965–1980).
This shows that the phenomenon is not limited to young people.
Dr. Luke Brunning, a lecturer at the University of Leeds and a specialist in the philosophy of love, sex and relationships, who has collaborated on the app, says the rapid rise of heteroflexibility indicates a significant cultural shift.
“This explosion suggests that curiosity is becoming more socially acceptable, especially among younger generations,” he explains. “For some people, ‘heteroflexible’ accurately describes how they experience attraction or how they typically behave. For others, it may be more of a promise to themselves—something they want to explore later.”
According to Feeld, the term has no clear origin, but was first noted in university jargon in the US around 2022.
Dr. Brunning adds that identifying as heteroflexible may give some people more personal freedom, but it is not without social costs.
“For some, any form of flexibility is seen as a deviation from the heterosexual norm and is judged negatively – especially for men, who often experience 'bisexual erasure,'” he says.
On the other hand, within queer communities, heteroflexibility can be viewed with suspicion, as a reluctance to openly admit to full bisexuality or as a sign of internalized homophobia.
The app also highlights the existence of the term homoflexible, which describes people who are primarily attracted to the same sex but remain open to attraction to the opposite sex.
In a society increasingly fluid in identities and experiences, experts say these terms reflect more of a process of exploration than rigid labels – and that the debate around them has only just begun. /GazetaExpress/
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