Bisexuals still invisible

Bisexuals still invisible

A study by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission has found bisexuals remain largely invisible despite making up the largest part of the GLBT community.

“Bisexuals experience high rates of being ignored, discriminated against, demonised, or rendered invisible by both the heterosexual world and the lesbian and gay communities,” the report found.

“Despite years of activism and [being] the largest population within the LGBT community, the needs of bisexuals still go unaddressed and their very existence is still called into question.

“This erasure has serious consequences on bisexuals’ health, economic wellbeing, and funding for bi organisations and programs.”

The report concluded that many assumptions underlie bisexual invisibility.

“Assumptions about a person’s sexual orientation based on her/his partner’s gender; about bisexual people’s reliability, honesty, or commitment to the LGBT movement; about bisexuals’ health concerns and needs; and about the world as an ‘either/or’ place rather than one of infinite variety.

“Any long-term solutions must dispel these assumptions to make room for those whose lives exist beyond binaries.”

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One response to “Bisexuals still invisible”

  1. I know a guy that considers himself bi, but lives a straight life and a very closeted wishful gay life. I feel very sorry for him in that he knows that he wants to explore his gay side, but due due family pressures got married 10 years ago. He has 2 children and seems happily married, all except for one thing – he wants to be with a man and experiment with that avenue and now only thinks about seeking another guy. He lives a double life and fears that he will get discovered by his wife. He has not had any sex with a man and just surfs social media sites as well as grindr & scruff on his phone. He is a very frustrated guy.

    I have been lucky to help this guy with his very curious questions and I must admit that some of them have been very funny and unusual and some quetsions very uninformed. I am really his only source of info and the only gay person that he knows. I do fear that due to lack of information and education, that this guy will go out and possibly have unprotected sex with another guy and I have been doing my best to educate him of these issues. Whether he ventures out and finds sex or not, he is one of these people that you are talking about. I feel he is one that lives outside the binaries…

    What I fear most is that his wife will find out about his other secret life and he will besically be out on his own. I imagine that he will get disowned by his family and friends. Where does he go from there? Who knows? I am sure that we could find some place, but if funding is lacking, then I guess it would be difficult to find help.

    I certainly don’t feel he would be discriminated by the gay world, but certainly by the straight world in which he lives.