There is a new sexuality: “Symbiosexual” people are attracted to the energy that couples share, according to a study

From Zendaya in “Challengers” to Shakespeare’s plays, love triangles in various constellations have long been an integral part of romance.

But scientists now believe that some of these famous three-way relationships may actually represent a completely new form of sexual attraction.

A new study by researchers at the University of Seattle suggests that “symbiosexual” people are more attracted to the energy between existing couples than to the individuals themselves.

Numerous study participants reported feeling sexual and romantic attraction to a “third force” or “synergy” between existing partners in a relationship.

Dr. Sally Johnston, associate professor of anthropology and sociology who conducted the study, says, “We need to rethink the nature of human attraction and desire as exclusively one-on-one experiences.”

It might seem like sexual and romantic attraction is something that happens between two individual people – whoever you are attracted to.

However, in research published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, Dr. Johnston argues that this is not necessarily the case.

She first encountered this phenomenon while researching the treatment of “unicorns” in polyamorous communities.

A “unicorn” is usually a bisexual woman who is willing to enter into a relationship with a heterosexual couple.

While Dr. Johnston found that so-called “unicorns” are often mistreated, objectified and excluded, she also noticed an interesting peculiarity in their relationships.

Researchers say that some people are more attracted to the “energy” or “third force” between the members of an existing relationship than to the individual members themselves (symbolic image)

One of the most famous three-way relationships was that of “Tiger King” Joseph Allen Maldonado, who married John Finlay and Travis Maldonado in a three-way ceremony in 2014.

Dr. Johnston told PsyPost, “As part of the polyamorous community, I have heard people talk openly about being attracted to existing couples.”

“I wanted to learn more about this little-explored attraction.”

In this study, Dr. Johnston used data from the Pleasure Study, which surveyed 373 participants about aspects of their sexual and gender identity.

Of these participants, 145 reported feeling attracted to two people and their relationship.

Although this number seems high, it must be taken into account that this is a small sample and the survey participants are not representative of the general population.

The sample is heavily dominated by white, middle-class and college-educated individuals; more than 90 percent identify as queer and 87.5 percent say they are polyamorous.

The researchers say they first encountered this phenomenon while studying bisexual people who enter into relationships with heterosexual couples, such as Kate Micucci's (pictured) character in the Netflix series Easy, starring Orlando Bloom and Malin Åkerman.

Nevertheless, in interviews with 34 of these participants, Dr. Johnston claims to have found consistent evidence of a previously unexplored sexuality.

She says, “There is a diverse population that experiences symbiosexual attraction, an attraction through the energy, multidimensionality and power that people share in relationships.”

This is a more pronounced form of attraction than the interpersonal attraction that exists in some polyamorous relationships.

In the films “Challengers” or “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women”, for example, it is the mutual attraction between all three individuals that forms the basis of the relationship.

However, many respondents said they were more attracted to the energy and dynamics between members of a committed relationship than to the individual.

Thirty-five percent of respondents said they felt this attraction sometimes or often, and 51 percent said they had felt this attraction a few times.

Of these, 35 percent said they felt attracted to a steady partner sometimes or often, and more than half said they had felt this attraction “a few times.”

This is a special form of attraction in polyamorous relationships, where all partners are attracted to each other, as is the case in the 2017 film Professor Marston and the Wonder Women.

One participant named Hayden said in an interview that she was attracted to couples because of “their togetherness.”

Haden added: “You feed off their energy, their attraction to each other… there's an interplay between the couple.”

Another participant, identified only as Sage, said, “I also just want to be in the middle of this relationship. I also want to be included in this relationship… I really think my ideal dynamic would be myself and a couple.”

When asked which character traits could explain their attraction, symbiosexual people answered that they were extroverted, desired a lot of intimacy, care or attention and were less prone to jealousy.

Films such as Cabaret (pictured) have popularised the idea of ​​three-way relationships, but Dr Johnston says symbiosexual attraction has been under-researched.

One participant named Eden said, “I have this desire to be desired, and I look for a lot of validation, a lot of validation, and when there are several people like that, I think, oh yes, yes, I'm doing everything right.”

In addition, some participants explained their attraction with their “sexual openness and queerness” and reported feeling more attracted to queer and non-heterosexual couples.

Dr. Johnston believes that more research is needed in the future to examine the prevalence of this sexual orientation in the population.

In addition, further research is needed to determine how symbiosexual attraction affects people's mental health and relationship satisfaction.

Dr. Johnston says, “I am currently reviewing a follow-up study examining the sexual and romantic experiences of couples who experience symbiosexual attraction.”

“I hope this work will reduce stigma in both monogamous and non-monogamous communities and expand the conceptualization of desire in sex research.”