Bisexual Invisibility

Bisexual invisibility, or bisexual erasure, refers to the history of bisexuals being excluded or erased, both within the queer community and within heteronormative society. Bisexual invisibility often takes the form of believing that bisexuals will eventually "choose a side" and become gay or straight, or even that bisexuality does not exist. Bisexual erasure is also often different for bisexual women and bisexual men, with a common biphobic belief being that bisexual women are straight women who want attention, and that bisexual men are gay men who are just in the closet.

History

In General

Like many other queer individuals, bisexuals are often overlooked or labeled as straight in history. Modern biographers of Lord Byron, a Romantic poet and volunteer for the Greek War of Independence, generally agree that he was bisexual. This aspect of him was, however, long suppressed by his publishing firm John Murray. In May 1824, one month after Byron's death, the publisher burned his memoirs to conceal evidence of his bisexuality, and continued to deny it into the 1950s. Helena Molony, an Irish feminist and a participant in the 1916 Easter Uprising, is also considered to have been bisexual. Marie Mulholland, author of the book The Politics and Relationships of Kathleen Lynn, said that after O'Brien died, "her family ensured that all [of] her personal papers were destroyed, which is always an indication that something is being hidden."

Bisexual relationships with the opposite gender are often labeled as "heterosexual", whereas bisexual relationships with the similar gender are often labeled as "homosexual", erasing the sexuality of one or both people in the relationship.

Bisexuality is occasionally erased and demonized at the same time due to the Depraved Bisexual stereotype. This stereotype spreads the idea that bisexuals are actually just perverts, predators, or cheaters.

Bimisogyny, the intersection of biphobia and misogyny, often overlaps with bi erasure. For example, bi women are often labeled as actually straight women who just want attention. Stereotypes like the bihet and BWWAB spread this idea that straight women pretend to be bisexual in order to get attention.

Particularly bisexual youth are often forcibly labeled as bicurious or "going through a phase".

Within the Queer Community

Historically, bisexual women have had their sexuality labeled by lesbian feminist circles as an "apolitical cop-out". Bisexual women have been seen as "not radical enough" because of their attraction to men. Rodriguez asserts bisexuality was regarded as anti-feminist by many lesbians because of the implied "desires for penetration, sexual dominance, and submission", and similar lines of thinking about bisexual women continue to result in exclusion and erasure in the present day.

Another biphobic belief within queer spaces is that bisexuals possess "straight-passing privilege". This is, of course, ignoring the fact that bisexuals only gain access to this privilege if they suppress their bisexuality. Those that believe bisexuals have the same privileges as heterosexuals may also believe that this excludes them from being queer, as they haven't faced the same struggles as gay men and lesbians.

A lot of bi erasure also stems from queer separatism, as both gay men separatists and lesbian separatists have historically excluded bisexuals, often labeling them as too connected to heterosexuality.

Resources

Wikipedia contributors. "Bisexual erasure." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 17 Aug. 2024. Web. 21 Aug. 2024.