Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor
It is nearly common knowledge in the psychological community that the LGBTQ+ community experiences a disparate amount of mental health issues when compared to their straight counterparts. According to the Bisexual Resource Center, 40% of bisexual people report considering or attempting suicide, compared to roughly 25% of gay and lesbian folks.
Studies from the Williams Institute have discovered that people who identify as bisexual make up approximately half of the LGBTQ+ population, but only 28% of those people are out to their loved ones. Why these disparities? Biphobia has been posited as a cause.
The term âbiphobiaâ is defined by the BRC as âmislabeling bi+ people as lesbian, gay or straight, even when they come out as bi+.â What does âbi+â mean? Iâll come back to that.
A lot of biphobia isnât blatant. Instead, it is often buried deep within subtle actions, or microaggressions.
In his book, âMicroaggressions in Everyday Life,â Derald Wing Sue defines microaggressions as the âconstant and continuing reality of slights, insults, invalidations and indignities visited upon marginalized groups by well-intentioned, moral and decent family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, students, teachers, clerks, waiters and waitresses, employers, health care professionals and educators.â
Biphobia is really more common than many people, straight and LGBTQ+ alike, think. For example, phrases are often uttered such as, âyouâre just confusedâ; âbisexual people just want to sleep with everyoneâ; âbi people are more likely to cheatâ; âcanât you just pick one?â; âyou arenât really bi if youâre dating (opposite gender)â; âyou arenât really straight if youâre dating (same gender)â; I could really go on.
Ignorance toward bisexuality and the erasure of bisexual identities is rampant in the LGBTQ+ community as well. Many gay or lesbian folks just assume that identifying as bisexual is only a baby step toward âactuallyâ coming out as gay. Many people simply donât understand what bisexuality means.
Now back to that word: âbi+.â This term simply acknowledges that different people interpret the label âbisexualâ in different ways. Some people define bisexuality as being attracted to multiple genders, or more than one gender. Some people explain the term in the most stereotypically understood way: being attracted to men and women, or masculine and feminine people.
Sometimes people hear the word âbisexualâ and they get stuck in that mindset that I just explained: bisexual people are only attracted to men and women, and it turns into a whole mess of âwell does that mean bisexual people are just obsessed with someoneâs genitals?â The answer? No. Bisexuality does not inherently mean that someone doesnât acknowledge the complexities of gender. What the issue really comes down to is that some people donât even want to get to know someone and what their bisexual identity means to them before they go and jump to all sorts of different conclusions.
I have experienced a lot of biphobia in my life, and Iâve watched my loved ones struggle with it as well. Experiencing biphobia from my own community has hindered me from truly accepting my identity, and in some cases, it has stopped me from coming out. Iâve been told Iâm not gay enough to be Queer, and not straight enough to be straight. Iâve had friends question the validity of my identity. Iâve been called transphobic. Iâve been interrogated with âoh, youâre bi? But have you âtriedâ both? Have you had sex with men and women?â This essentially says that if I hadnât âtried bothâ I wouldnât be a legitimate bisexual and Iâd have my membership card revoked.
I think the LGBTQ+ community needs to be better. Writing off biphobia as simply a âstraightâ issue is ignoring a big part of the problem. How can we expect straight people to be accepting of our community if we arenât even accepting of each other? There is no excuse to be this oblivious anymore. Bisexual people exist and we need your support too.
Contact the author at cweedon16@wou.edu
Photo by Ashlynn Norton
