The American Institute of Bisexuality defines bisexuals as people with the innate capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions to those of the same gender and those of different genders/gender presentations from themselves (AIB, 2015). Among the members of the LGBT community living within the United States, 40% identify as bisexual, making it the largest subgroup in comparison to the 36% who identify as gay, 19% as lesbian, and 5% as transgender. However despite making up almost half of the sexual minority, they are overlooked by the predominant monosexual population who deny the existence of bisexuality. Negative attitudes stem from common misconceptions and stereotypes about bisexual culture and identity, and
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A study conducted by Nikki Hayfield and her colleagues involves interviews of bisexual women who described their experiences with these false stereotypes associated with bisexuality. One of the popular misrepresentations of bisexual women is that they are represented as ‘really heterosexual’ and as kissing other women in order to titillate and seek attention of heterosexual men (Hayfield, Clarke, & Halliwell, 2014). This claim falls in hand with the reassertion of society being surrounded and driven by masculinity. Heterosexual men increasingly fetishize bisexual women because media, specifically pornography, exposes men to girl-on-girl action and heightens their fantasies of engaging in a threesome with bisexual women. In this way, bisexuality is seen as a deplorable approach of gaining the attention of heterosexual men and acting solely for their entertainment. Furthermore, because bisexuality challenges the traditional heteronormative ideas of relationships—that is, only attraction to one gender, opposite of one’s own, is possible—it is seen as an approach of seeking attention by the means of establishing a trendy and rebellious …show more content…
By declaring that bisexuality is a temporary phase and labelling bisexuals as attention-seeking, confused, cowardly, greedy, promiscuous, and untrustworthy invalidates their sexual identity and promotes bisexual erasure, a form of discrimination that attempts to hide, eliminate, or make invisible the reality of bisexuality (Hall, 2014). The blatant discrimination is apparent in the ‘barely-there’ representation in contemporary society and culture, as in because bisexuality is often construed by negative connotations, society will either reflect and reinforce these unfavorable attitudes or will not acknowledge bisexuality at all. For example, the representation of bisexual characters in 20 of the most popular TV shows only provides for 5 minutes out of over 126 hours of TV programming. (Dyar et al, 2015). Cinematic representation is even rarer, and when it does occur, the relationships are characterized as indecisive, promiscuous, and objectifying. Representation in mass media frequently highlight bisexual characters as threatening, insatiable, and excessive, which further reinforces the negative connotations about bisexuality. (Dyar et al, 2015). In regards to celebrities, many are erased of their bisexual history. Angelina Jolie has had previous relationships with women and even self-identified as a bisexual, however many people assume she is heterosexual because of
A study conducted by Nikki Hayfield and her colleagues involves interviews of bisexual women who described their experiences with these false stereotypes associated with bisexuality. One of the popular misrepresentations of bisexual women is that they are represented as ‘really heterosexual’ and as kissing other women in order to titillate and seek attention of heterosexual men (Hayfield, Clarke, & Halliwell, 2014). This claim falls in hand with the reassertion of society being surrounded and driven by masculinity. Heterosexual men increasingly fetishize bisexual women because media, specifically pornography, exposes men to girl-on-girl action and heightens their fantasies of engaging in a threesome with bisexual women. In this way, bisexuality is seen as a deplorable approach of gaining the attention of heterosexual men and acting solely for their entertainment. Furthermore, because bisexuality challenges the traditional heteronormative ideas of relationships—that is, only attraction to one gender, opposite of one’s own, is possible—it is seen as an approach of seeking attention by the means of establishing a trendy and rebellious …show more content…
By declaring that bisexuality is a temporary phase and labelling bisexuals as attention-seeking, confused, cowardly, greedy, promiscuous, and untrustworthy invalidates their sexual identity and promotes bisexual erasure, a form of discrimination that attempts to hide, eliminate, or make invisible the reality of bisexuality (Hall, 2014). The blatant discrimination is apparent in the ‘barely-there’ representation in contemporary society and culture, as in because bisexuality is often construed by negative connotations, society will either reflect and reinforce these unfavorable attitudes or will not acknowledge bisexuality at all. For example, the representation of bisexual characters in 20 of the most popular TV shows only provides for 5 minutes out of over 126 hours of TV programming. (Dyar et al, 2015). Cinematic representation is even rarer, and when it does occur, the relationships are characterized as indecisive, promiscuous, and objectifying. Representation in mass media frequently highlight bisexual characters as threatening, insatiable, and excessive, which further reinforces the negative connotations about bisexuality. (Dyar et al, 2015). In regards to celebrities, many are erased of their bisexual history. Angelina Jolie has had previous relationships with women and even self-identified as a bisexual, however many people assume she is heterosexual because of