The amount of Americans having same-sex experiences has doubled in 25 years, according to a new study.

The research, which was published this week in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, analysed data from around 30,000 US citizens between 1973 and 2014. It found that people’s sexual habits have changed dramatically in the last quarter of a century, with more Americans than ever now open to the idea of a LGB experience. 

According to the results, 8.2 per cent of men had tried gay sex at least once in 2014, compared to just 4.5 per cent in 1990. For women, though, the difference was slightly larger; showing a jump from 3.6 per cent to 8.7 per cent in the same period. The study also found that the largest increases in same-sex hookups where among people in the Midwest and the South, while cities on the coast remained relatively steady.

“What we’re seeing is this movement toward more sexual freedom,” said researcher Jean Twenge. “There’s more freedom for people to do what they want without following the traditional, often now seen as outdated, social rules about who you’re supposed to have sex with and when.”

The San Diego University professor explained that the shift was partially to blame on America’s growing culture of “individualism”, which has seen people become more “focused on the self” and equality. “Without the strict social rules common in the past, Americans now feel more free to have sexual experiences they desire,” she added.

Researchers also surveyed general opinion toward bisexual behaviour. While the 1973 attitudes were (unsurprisingly) totally terrible – only 11 per cent of Americans believed that same-sex experimentation was “not wrong at all” – the levels of acceptances soared to 49 per cent in 2014. Among millennials, this number rose to 63 per cent. Not great, but definitely more hopeful than all those shocking new anti-LGBT legislations would have you believe.

“Overall, (the study) suggests that our sexuality has become much more free and open, that Americans feel much more freedom to express themselves sexually in a way that they see fit,” Twenge summarised. “These more traditional rules around same-sex behavior have faded away... That’s why it comes down to this individualistic viewpoint: do what’s right for you.”