Bisexuality Visibility Day: Why I am comfortable being me
- Posted on September 22, 2022
- Estimated reading time 2 minutes
Coming out as bisexual is often strange, even in 2022. Reactions like “You just don’t know yet” or “You just have not found the right person” (for the people in the back: bisexual individuals remain bisexual no matter whom they end up with!) are still so common. Look up David Bowie’s interview on Afternoon Plus from 1979. Agreed, this was over 40 years ago, but not much has changed. Now, we have a term for that: bisexual erasure.
Let me clarify a couple of points here: I do not believe everybody doubts bisexuality and I absolutely agree that the situation has evolved since the ’70s but, bi erasure is still oh so present. I count myself among the lucky ones who only experienced those responses a few times, but a few times is still too many times. Therefore, Bisexuality Visibility Day is still very relevant today.
I am so thankful for the public figures that have paved the road, the movies that have lit up the way, and the television series (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s” Rosa is a favorite of mine as both the actor and character are bisexual) that helped so many understand what they were feeling. I am grateful that the representation of bisexuality is more and more common in media now than it has ever been before.
There is one myth that seems to stick. That bisexuality is solely the attraction to only two sexes. This is wrong. Bisexuality is fluid. It includes non-binary individuals, trans individuals, cis men, cis women, gender fluid folks, and those that prefer not to use labels. I understand that the prefix “bi” signifies “two,” which could be confusing. Therefore, we now use the bi+ umbrella. This umbrella includes queer, pan, bi-curious and so many more. Essentially, bisexuality is a beautiful spectrum. Not everyone experiences the same attraction equally to the different sexes. The community is full of diversity and is so important. Especially when we’re told we’re not gay enough or not straight enough still to this day.
Sept. 23 is Bi Visibility Day – a day to raise bi awareness and challenges bisexual and biromantic erasure. I wanted to take this opportunity to use my voice in my community to educate and share my story. Thanks to Avanade’s Inclusion & Diversity initiatives, as well as our LGBTQ+ Employee Network Prism community, I feel comfortable being who I am at work. It’s important to highlight that things have gotten better. But we still need to carry on the good fight as part of the LGBTQ+ community or as an ally. Bisexuals are so often forgotten, written off as undecided, greedy or made to believe their sexuality is just a phase.
To all the Bi+ folks out there: We are here, we are important, and we are VALID. Keep educating and keep being true to yourself.
Comments