Biphobia

Bisexual Pride Flag

Biphobia is aversion toward bisexuality and toward bisexual people as a social group or as individuals. It can take the form of denial that bisexuality is a genuine sexual orientation, or of negative stereotypes about people who are bisexual (such as the beliefs that they are promiscuous or dishonest). People of any sexual orientation can experience or perpetuate biphobia.

Etymology and usage

Biphobia is a portmanteau word patterned on the term homophobia. It derives from the English neo-classical prefix bi- (meaning "two") from bisexual and the root -phobia (from the Greek: φόβος, phóbos, "fear") found in homophobia. Along with transphobia and homophobia, it is one of a family of terms used to describe intolerance and discrimination against LGBT people. The adjectival form biphobic describes things or qualities related to biphobia, and the less-common noun biphobe is a label for people thought to harbor biphobia.[1]

Biphobia need not be a phobia as defined in clinical psychology (i.e., an anxiety disorder). Its meaning and use typically parallel those of xenophobia.

Forms

Denial and erasure

Biphobia can lead people to deny that bisexuality is "real", asserting that people who identify as bisexual are not genuinely bisexual, or that the phenomenon is far less common than they claim. One form of this denial is based on the heterosexist view that heterosexuality is the only true or natural sexual orientation. Thus anything that deviates from that is instead either a psychological pathology or an example of anti-social behavior. In these instances, homophobia and biphobia are largely the same.

Another form of denial stems from binary views of sexuality: that people are assumed monosexual, i.e. exclusively homosexual (gay/lesbian) or heterosexual (straight). Throughout the 1980s, modern research on sexuality was dominated by the idea that heterosexuality and homosexuality were the only legitimate orientations, dismissing bisexuality as "secondary homosexuality".[2] In that model, bisexuals are presumed to be either closeted lesbian/gay people wishing to appear heterosexual,[3] or individuals (of "either" orientation) experimenting with sexuality outside of their "normal" interest.[4][5][6] Maxims such as "people are either gay, straight, or lying" embody this dichotomous view of sexual orientation.[7]

Some people accept the theoretical existence of bisexuality but define it narrowly, as being only the equal attraction towards both men and women.[7] Thus the many bisexual individuals with unequal attractions are instead categorized as either homosexual or heterosexual. Others acknowledge the existence of bisexuality in women, but deny that men can be bisexual.[8]

Some denial asserts that bisexual behavior or identity is merely a social trend – as exemplified by "bisexual chic" or gender bending – and not an intrinsic personality trait.[9] Same-gender sexual activity is dismissed as merely a substitute for sex with members of the opposite sex, or as a more accessible source of sexual gratification. Situational homosexuality in sex-segregated environments is presented as an example of this behavior.

Biphobia is common from the heterosexual community, but is frequently exhibited by gay and lesbian people as well, usually with the notion that bisexuals are able to escape oppression from heterosexuals by conforming to social expectations of opposite-gender sex and romance. This leaves some that identify as bisexual to be perceived as "not enough of either" or "not real."[10] An Australian study conducted by Roffee and Waling in 2016 established that bisexual people faced microaggressions, bullying, and other anti-social behaviors from people within the lesbian and gay community.[11]

Bisexual erasure (also referred to as bisexual invisibility) is a phenomenon that tends to omit, falsify, or re-explain evidence of bisexuality in history, academia, the news media, and other primary sources,[12][13] sometimes to the point of denying that bisexuality exists.[14][15]

Allegations that bisexual men are homophobic

One cause of biphobia in the gay male community is that there is an identity political tradition to assume that acceptance of male homosexuality is linked to the belief that men's sexuality is specialized. This causes many members of the gay male community to assume that the very idea that men can be bisexual is homophobic to gay men. A number of bisexual men feel that such attitudes force them to keep their bisexuality in the closet and that it is even more oppressive than traditional heteronormativity. These men argue that the gay male community have something to learn about respect for the individual from the lesbian community, in which there is not a strong tradition to assume links between notions about the origins of sexual preferences and the acceptance thereof. These views are also supported by some gay men who do not like anal sex (sides, as opposed to both tops and bottoms) and report that they feel bullied by other gay men's assumption that their dislike for anal sex is "homophobic" and want more respect for the individuality in which a gay man who does not hate himself may simply not like anal sex and instead prefer other sex acts such as mutual fellatio and mutual male masturbation.[16][17]

Negative stereotypes

Many stereotypes about people who identify as bisexual stem from denial or bisexual erasure. Because their orientation is not recognized as valid, they are stereotyped as confused, indecisive, insecure, experimenting, or "just going through a phase".[18]

The association of bisexuality with promiscuity stems from a variety of negative stereotypes targeting bisexuals as mentally or socially unstable people for whom sexual relations only with men, only with women, or only with one person at a time is not enough. These stereotypes may result from cultural assumptions that "men and women are so different that desire for one is an entirely different beast from desire for the other" ("a defining feature of heterosexism"), and that "verbalizing a sexual desire inevitably leads to attempts to satisfy that desire."[19]

As a result, bisexuals bear a social stigma from accusations of cheating on or betraying their partners, leading a double life, being "on the down-low", and spreading sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS. This presumed behavior is further generalized as dishonesty, secrecy, and deception. Bisexuals can be characterized as being "slutty", "easy", indiscriminate, and nymphomaniacs. Furthermore, they are strongly associated with polyamory, swinging, and polygamy,[20] the last being an established heterosexual tradition sanctioned by some religions and legal in several countries. This is despite the fact that bisexual people are as capable of monogamy or serial monogamy as homosexuals or heterosexuals.[21]

Effects

The mental and sexual health effects of biphobia on bisexual people are numerous. Studies show that bisexuals are often trapped in between the binaries of heterosexuality and homosexuality, creating a form of invalidation around their sexual identity. This often leads to recognized indicators of mental health issues such as low self-esteem and self-worth. These indicators and pressures to "choose" a sexual identity can, in many cases, lead to depression as they may feel they live in a culture that does not recognize their existence.[22]

While doing research on women at high-risk of HIV infection, one study, from the Journal of Bisexuality, concluded that bisexual women in the high-risk cohort studied were more likely to engage in various high risk behaviors and were at a higher risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.[23] These behaviors have been attributed to the unlikeliness of bisexuals to discuss their sexuality and proper protection with health professionals for fear of judgement or discrimination, leaving them uneducated.[24]

Bisexual-identified people may face disparities in harsher degrees than their gay and lesbian peers. In the U.S. in particular, for example, they may face:

  • Lower success rates for refugee applications; may also be the case in Canada and Australia[25]
  • Higher levels of intimate partner violence[26]
  • Higher likelihood of youth risk behaviour amongst high school students[27]
  • Higher likelihood of anxiety and mood disorders amongst bisexual women and men who report having sex with both sexes[28]
  • Higher likelihood of living on less than $30,000 a year[29]
  • Lower levels of reporting feeling "very accepted" in the workplace[29]
  • Lower likelihood of being out to the important people in their lives[29]

Intersectional perspectives

Feminism

Feminist positions on bisexuality range greatly, from acceptance of bisexuality as a feminist issue to rejection of bisexuality as reactionary and anti-feminist backlash to lesbian feminism.[30]

A bisexual woman filed a lawsuit against the lesbian feminist magazine Common Lives/Lesbian Lives, alleging discrimination against bisexuals when her submission was not published.[31]

A number of women who were at one time involved in lesbian-feminist activism have since come out as bisexual after realizing their attractions to men. A widely studied example of lesbian-bisexual conflict within feminism was the Northampton Pride March during the years between 1989 and 1993, where many feminists involved debated over whether bisexuals should be included and whether or not bisexuality was compatible with feminism. Common lesbian-feminist critiques leveled at bisexuality were that bisexuality was anti-feminist, that bisexuality was a form of false consciousness, and that bisexual women who pursue relationships with men were "deluded and desperate." However, tensions between bisexual feminists and lesbian feminists have eased since the 1990s, as bisexual women have become more accepted within the feminist community.[32]

Nevertheless, some lesbian feminists such as Julie Bindel are still critical of bisexuality. Bindel has described female bisexuality as a "fashionable trend" being promoted due to "sexual hedonism" and broached the question of whether bisexuality even exists.[33] She has also made tongue-in-cheek comparisons of bisexuals to cat fanciers and devil worshippers.[34]

Lesbian feminist Sheila Jeffreys writes in The Lesbian Heresy (1993) that while many feminists are comfortable working alongside gay men, they are uncomfortable interacting with bisexual men. Jeffreys states that while gay men are unlikely to sexually harass women, bisexual men are just as likely to be bothersome to women as heterosexual men.[35]

Donna Haraway was the inspiration and genesis for cyberfeminism with her 1985 essay "A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century" which was reprinted in Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature (1991). Haraway's essay states that the cyborg "has no truck with bisexuality, pre-oedipal symbiosis, unalienated labor, or other seductions to organic wholeness through a final appropriation of all powers of the parts into a higher unity."[36] However, the book Feminist Essays (2017) by Nancy Quinn Collins states that in the opinion of its author this "is wrong because bisexuality is a sexual orientation, a harmless attraction some people simply have, not something they try to have or do in order to create organic wholeness through a final appropriation of all powers of the parts into a higher unity. Therefore, I [the author] would say that cyborgs can be bisexual, and cyberfeminism can and should be accepting of bisexuality."[37]

Race

While the general bisexual population as a whole faces biphobia, this oppression is also aggravated by other factors such as race. In his examination of the bisexual male perspective, Managing Heterosexism and Biphobia: A Revealing Black Bisexual Male Perspective, Grady L. Garner delves into the oppression that he faces as both a black and bisexual male. He explains that the internalization of negative sociocultural messages, reactions, and attitudes can be incredibly distressing as bisexual black males attempted to translate or transform these negative experiences into positive bisexual identity sustaining ones.[38] The experience of bisexual black males is different from that of bisexual white males. As the demands and tribulations of black bisexual males appear to be comparatively more distressing than those that black and white, homo- and heterosexual individual's encounter, this acknowledgement is important and vital to the understanding of biphobia from an intersectional perspective.[38]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Eliason, MJ (1997). "The prevalence and nature of biphobia in heterosexual undergraduate students". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 26 (3): 317–26. doi:10.1023/A:1024527032040. PMID 9146816.
  2. ↑ Managing Heterosexism and Biphobia: A Revealing Black Bisexual Male Perspective. ProQuest. 2008-01-01. ISBN 9780549622482.
  3. ↑ Michael Musto, April 7, 2009. Ever Meet a Real Bisexual? Archived April 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine., The Village Voice
  4. ↑ Yoshino, Kenji (January 2000). "The Epistemic Contract of Bisexual Erasure" (PDF). Stanford Law Review. Stanford Law School. 52 (2): 353–461. doi:10.2307/1229482. JSTOR 1229482.
  5. ↑ "Why Do Lesbians Hate Bisexuals?". lesbilicious.co.uk. April 11, 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  6. ↑ Geen, Jessica (October 28, 2009). "Bisexual workers 'excluded by lesbian and gay colleagues'". Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  7. 1 2 Dworkin, SH (2001). "Treating the bisexual client". Journal of Clinical Psychology. 57 (5): 671–80. doi:10.1002/jclp.1036. PMID 11304706.
  8. ↑ "Do Bisexual Men Really Exist?". Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  9. ↑ Ka'ahumanu, Lani; Yaeger, Rob. "Biphobia". LGBT Resource Center UC San Diego. UC San Diego. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  10. ↑ Fahs, Breanne (2009-11-13). "Compulsory Bisexuality?: The Challenges of Modern Sexual Fluidity". Journal of Bisexuality. 9 (3–4): 431–449. doi:10.1080/15299710903316661. ISSN 1529-9716.
  11. ↑ Roffee, James A.; Waling, Andrea (2016-10-10). "Rethinking microaggressions and anti-social behaviour against LGBTIQ+ youth". Safer Communities. 15 (4): 190–201. doi:10.1108/SC-02-2016-0004.
  12. ↑ Word Of The Gay: BisexualErasure May 16, 2008 "Queers United"
  13. ↑ The B Word Suresha, Ron. "The B Word," Options (Rhode Island), November 2004
  14. ↑ Hutchins, Loraine (2005). "Sexual Prejudice: The erasure of bisexuals in academia and the media". American Sexuality. 3 (4). National Sexuality Resource Center. Archived from the original on 2007-12-16.
  15. ↑ Hutchins, Loraine. "Sexual Prejudice - The erasure of bisexuals in academia and the media". American Sexuality Magazine. San Francisco, CA 94103, United States: National Sexuality Resource Center, San Francisco State University. Archived from the original on 2007-12-16. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  16. ↑ Bi Men: Coming Out Every Which Way, Ron Jackson Suresha, Pete Chvany - 2013
  17. ↑ Social Work Practice with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People, Gerald P. Mallon - 2017
  18. ↑ "It's Just A Phase" Is Just A Phrase, The Bisexual Index
  19. ↑ "Bisexuals and the Slut Myth", presented at the 9th International Conference on Bisexuality
  20. ↑ GLAAD: Cultural Interest Media Archived April 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  21. ↑ "Are Bisexuals Really Less Monogamous Than Everyone Else?". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  22. ↑ Dodge, Brian; Schnarrs, Phillip W.; Reece, Michael; Martinez, Omar; Goncalves, Gabriel; Malebranche, David; Van Der Pol, Barbara; Nix, Ryan; Fortenberry, J. Dennis (2012-01-01). "Individual and Social Factors Related to Mental Health Concerns among Bisexual Men in the Midwestern United States". Journal of Bisexuality. 12 (2): 223–245. doi:10.1080/15299716.2012.674862. ISSN 1529-9716. PMC 3383005. PMID 22745591.
  23. ↑ Gonzales, V; Washienko, K M; Krone, M R; Chapman, L I; Arredondo, E M; Huckeba, H J; Downer, A. "Sexual and drug-use risk factors for HIV and STDs: a comparison of women with and without bisexual experiences". American Journal of Public Health. 89 (12): 1841–1846. doi:10.2105/ajph.89.12.1841. PMC 1509027.
  24. ↑ Makadon MD, Harvey J; Ard MD, MPH, Kevin L (2012-07-09). "Improving the Health Care of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People: Understanding and Eliminating Health Disparities" (PDF). Fenway Institute. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  25. ↑ Rehaag, Sean (2009). "Bisexuals need not apply: a comparative appraisal of refugee law and policy in Canada, the United States, and Australia". The International Journal of Human Rights. 13 (2–3): 415–436. doi:10.1080/13642980902758226.
  26. ↑ Mikel L. Walters, Jieru Chen, and Matthew J. Breiding, “The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation” (Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, January 2013).
  27. ↑ Kann, Laura; Olsen, Emily O’Malley; McManus, Tim; Harris, William A.; Shanklin, Shari L.; Flint, Katherine H.; Queen, Barbara; Lowry, Richard; Chyen, David; Whittle, Lisa; Thornton, Jemekia; Lim, Connie; Yamakawa, Yoshimi; Brener, Nancy; Zaza, Stephanie (2016). "Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Related Behaviors Among Students in Grades 9–12 — United States and Selected Sites, 2015". MMWR Surveillance Summaries. 65 (9): 1–202. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6509a1.
  28. ↑ Bostwick, Wendy B.; Boyd, Carol J.; Hughes, Tonda L.; McCabe, Sean Esteban (2010). "Dimensions of Sexual Orientation and the Prevalence of Mood and Anxiety Disorders in the United States". American Journal of Public Health. 100 (3): 468–475. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.152942. PMC 2820045.
  29. 1 2 3 "A Survey of LGBT Americans: The LGBT Population and Its Sub-Groups” (Pew Research Center, June 13, 2013).
  30. ↑ Wilkinson, Sue (1996). "Bisexuality as Backlash". In Harne, Lynne. All the Rage: Reasserting Radical Lesbian Feminism. Elaine Miller. New York City: Teacher's College Press. pp. 75–89. ISBN 0-807-76285-7. OCLC 35202923.
  31. ↑ Common Lives/Lesbian Lives Records, Iowa Women's Archives, University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, Iowa Archived 2015-08-21 at the Wayback Machine.
  32. ↑ Gerstner, David A. (2006). Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture. United Kingdom: Routledge. pp. 82–3. ISBN 978-0-415-30651-5. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  33. ↑ Bindel, Julie (June 12, 2012). "Where's the Politics in Sex?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
  34. ↑ Bindel, Julie (November 8, 2008). "It's not me. It's you". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
  35. ↑ Jeffreys, Sheila (1993). The Lesbian Heresy. Melbourne, Australia: Spinifex Press Pty Ltf. p. 124. ISBN 1-875559-17-5. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  36. ↑ "Donna Haraway - A Cyborg Manifesto". Egs.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-09-22. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  37. ↑ Nancy Quinn Collins (15 February 2017). Feminist Essays. Lulu.com. pp. 14–. ISBN 978-1-365-75994-9.
  38. 1 2 Rust, Paula C. (2000-01-01). Bisexuality in the United States: A Social Science Reader. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231102278.

Further reading

  • Garber, Marjorie (1995). Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life, pp. 20–21, 28, 39.
  • Fraser, M., Identity Without Selfhood: Simone de Beauvoir and Bisexuality, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press 1999. p. 124–140.
  • Rankin, Sam; Morton, James; Bell, Matthew (May 2015). "Complicated? Bisexual people's experiences of and ideas for improving services" (PDF). Equality Network.
  • The fencesitters? Suspicions still haunt the bi/homo divide - article in Xtra, Gay & Lesbian news site, 2006]
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