LGBT Stereotypes - Bisexual People

Bisexual People

Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical and/or romantic attraction to both males and females. "A bisexual individual may experience conflict with a homophobic society; however, such conflict is not a symptom of dysfunction in the individual. The American Psychological Association (APA) Board recognized that a significant portion of homosexual and bisexual people were clearly satisfied with their sexual orientation and showed no signs of psychopathology." Pansexuality is subsumed under bisexuality, although some pansexuals contest this. People who have a distinct but not exclusive preference for one sex over the other may also identify themselves as bisexual, Bisexuality has been observed in various human societies and elsewhere in the animal kingdom throughout recorded history. The term bisexuality like the terms hetero- and homosexuality, was coined in the 19th century.

Woody Allen is quoted saying, "Being bisexual doubles your chance of a date on Saturday night." Stereotypes exist for bisexuals about an inability to maintain a steady relationship on the assumption they are promiscuous because of their attraction for both genders. Another stereotype is that they cannot decide between being gay or straight, which assumes a binary either/or spectrum of sexuality. Over a person's life their sexual desires and activities may vary greatly including being in mostly gay, straight or combined relationships. In 1995, Harvard Shakespeare professor Marjorie Garber made the academic case for bisexuality with her Vice Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life, in which she argued that most people would be bisexual if not for repression, religion, repugnance, denial, laziness, shyness, lack of opportunity, premature specialization, a failure of imagination, or a life already full to the brim with erotic experiences, albeit with only one person, or only one gender."

Rock musician David Bowie famously declared himself bisexual in an interview with Melody Maker in January 1972, a move coinciding with the first shots in his campaign for stardom as Ziggy Stardust. In a September 1976 interview with Playboy, Bowie said, "It's true, I am a bisexual. But I can't deny that I've used that fact very well. I suppose it's the best thing that ever happened to me." In a 1983 interview he said it's "the biggest mistake I ever made", elaborating in 2002 he explained, "I don’t think it was a mistake in Europe, but it was a lot tougher in America. I had no problem with people knowing I was bisexual. But I had no inclination to hold any banners or be a representative of any group of people. I knew what I wanted to be, which was a songwriter and a performer America is a very puritanical place, and I think it stood in the way of so much I wanted to do."