Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality

by Julia Shaw

We center heterosexuality as the sun of our sexual solar system, blinding our exploration of other sexualities.

The first use of the word bisexual in English, in the sense of being sexually attracted to people of multiple genders, was probably in 1892 when American neurologist Charles Gilbert Chaddock translated Psychopathia Sexualis, an influential book by the German psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing in which he detailed what he considered to be sexual disorders in male prisoners.

Bisexuality is] the potential to be attracted, romantically and/or sexually, to people of more than one [gender], not necessarily at the same time, not necessarily in the same way, and not necessarily to the same degree.”

One reason was probably because, as a bisexual person, it always felt like Pride, and identity flags, and fabulous queer communities weren’t for me. I had always felt like an ally, not a community member.

“Those persons who are attracted to both sexes are now usually termed ‘bisexual,’ a more convenient term than ‘psycho-sexual hermaphrodite,’ which was formerly used.”

BiPOL was started in 1983 as the first US bisexual political action group to fight for the lives of bi people.

Sociosexuality is thought to strengthen relationships, to help establish dominance, to make amends after fighting, and overall to reduce tension.

Honing in on bisexuality specifically, in the UK the LGBT+ charity Stonewall published its Bi Report in 2020 to summarize their research findings on the experience of thousands of people who are bi in Britain. They found that 80 percent of bisexual people in their sample were not out to all of their family members, and 64 percent were not out to their friends.

Haus found that there was a large gender disparity in their sample, with bisexual dads five times more likely than bisexual moms to say that they would never come out to their children.

“My parents think my sexuality is because of my Asperger’s, and when I came out they just said it is something we can work together on. They say the same about autism, ‘It’ll be OK, they are doing amazing medical things now.’

61 percent of bisexual women, 44 percent of lesbian women, and 35 percent of heterosexual women experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. · 37 percent of bisexual men, 29 percent of heterosexual men, and 26 percent of gay men experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime. · Approximately 1 in 5 bisexual women (22 percent) and nearly 1 in 10 heterosexual women (9 percent) have been raped by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

Homophily is the tendency for people to seek out, or be attracted to, people who are similar to themselves. The thing with homophily is that it is a social perception.