Bisexuality
What exactly is bisexuality and why is it threatening to so many straight people as well as many gay men and lesbians? Some believe that bisexuality is a third kind of sexual identity, between or beyond homosexuality and heterosexuality. Is this the case, or is bisexuality something that puts in question the very concept of sexual identity in the first place? Are bisexuals "just gay and lesbian people who are afraid to admit they are gay" (Eliason 1997), or are they people who have "sexual attraction towards or sexual behavior with persons of both genders"? (Fox 1996) The fact is that public perception of bisexuals is based largely on a series of stereotypes that seem to challenge our cultural norms and beliefs related to sexuality, relationships, intimacy, and gender. Some of these stereotypes may include that bisexuals: don't exist, are confused, need to date a man and woman, have the best of both worlds, and spread AIDS. In general, many of these stereotypes can be fact!ual, based on fact, or completely inaccurate. Bisexuality is simply defined as having sexual desire for people of the same and opposite gender. (Patrick, 417) In the Boswell article, it is said "People consider themselves 'homosexual' or 'heterosexual' b
The result is that bisexuals are largely invisible to both straight and gay communities, except in generally negative connotations. Some in lesbian and gay communities accuse bisexuals of messing with category definitions. (Eliason 1997) Therefore, bisexuals are viewed as being: incapable of having a committed relationship, disease carriers, promiscuous, !obsessed with sex (Eliason 1997), disloyal, and often bed hopping (Ault 1996). In reality, there are many ways that people are bisexual, and for many people it is the healthiest, happiest, and most comfortable way for them to live. Caught between two monosexual worlds, closeted in both, bisexuals often act straight to the heterosexual world and gay to the gay community (Ault 1996). (Garber, 423) Some gays and lesbians also stereotype bisexuals as self-indulgent, undecided, "fence-sitters" who dally with the affections of same-sex partners, breaking their hearts when they move on to heterosexual relationships. For some, biphobia emerges from the belief in the Dichotomy of gay and straight, with no in-between. Others will perceive them as the orientation that matches the relationship. The fact is that most bisexuals are monogamous. (Lecture) In conclusion, there are many ways that bisexuality can be threatening to members of the straight and gay communities. Whether humans are "homosexual" or "heterosexual" or "bisexual" by birth, by training, by choice, or at all is still an open question. (Patrick, 417) In Garber's article, "Vice Versa," he refers to this problem as "biphobia" (Garber, 423). (Lecture) Monogamy has the social advantage of being accepted almost worldwide as the desirable norm, and this fact may influence many people (of all orientations) to practice monogamy in spite of a personal preference for other arrangements. In Gay communities bisexuals often feel a need to prove t!hey are "queer enough" to counter being told they have too many heterosexual privileges or are just not strong enough to identify as gay (Ault 1996).
Common topics in this essay:
America Online,
,
Lecture Monogamy,
Vice Versa,
Seventies Nineties,
gay communities,
patrick 417,
cultural norms,
ault 1996,
garber 423,
et al,
related sexuality,
straight gay,
deacon et al,
beliefs related sexuality,
gays lesbians,
gay community,
related sexuality relationships,
straight gay communities,
sexuality relationships intimacy,
|
Acceptance Essays
