Is it so difficult to accept that a person can be truly bisexual? Society seems to think so. When somebody feels love and sexual attraction to more than one gender, then we assume that the person is not in the right state of mind. We feel it is too greedy for people to feel equal desire for both men and women. But, can we really talk about greed when we talk about love?
I believe the reason why we’ve grown used to rejecting bisexuality is because we’ve built a moral ideology around repressing our own right to feel pleasure. Seeing people try to live according to their true physical desires, makes something stir inside ourselves. Maybe deep inside ourselves we covet the world of possibilities that their sexuality entails. Perhaps, our rejection stems from our own insecurities because we see them as a potential threat to every relationship. Yet, the clearest reason I can see is that we’ve heard so many myths and misconceptions around bisexuality that we’ve grown used to believing them. However, these narratives, we keep perpetuating, also have an effect on the people that they judge. Because of this, bisexuals have become more prone to develop more mental health diseases than gay and straight communities. This produces a vulnerable process of self-doubt in the minds of bisexuals, which may lead them to an identity crisis, feelings of self-loathing, and even suicidal tendencies.
Judging another person’s sexual preference or gender identity —regardless of yours— is something that may have longer and unexpected effects than you’d ever imagined. Ditch your misconceptions around bisexuality and share the love.
1. Bisexuality Is a Gateway Sexuality
Mostly in the gay and lesbian communities, there is constant harassment towards bisexuals because they’re seen as people who have one foot inside the closet and the other on the outside. If we believe that sexuality is fluid then we can allow people room to grow through experience. However, several people might come out of their discovery knowing themselves to be attracted to both men and women alike. You shouldn’t judge if a friend of yours just knows themselves well enough to say they like both sexes.
2. Bisexuals Are More Likely to Cheat
There’s no correlation between being attracted to men and women with being more prone to promiscuity. Like every other sexual orientation, sex drive and personal values are the things that determine how our sex lives unfold. The problem, then, is not that bisexuals are cheaters, but that we consider them to be promiscuous because their dating choices are twice as much compared to gay and straight populations.
3. Bisexual Women Are Straight Women Who Haven’t Settled for a Man
This is the most heinous of these myths around bisexuality because it undermines the experience into “just a phase”. This type of mindset leads to resentment towards bi women, making them look as unreliable partners who don’t know their true feelings.
4. Bisexuals Are Not Looking for Love
People don’t tend to take into account the fact that bisexuals see both men and women as potential partners, besides feeling attracted to them. Because of this, they’re defined as selfish people who are looking only to fulfill their own bodily pleasures. However, many of them are just looking for a stable relationship as much anybody with other sexual orientation.
5. Bisexuality Doesn’t Exist
Beyond all the other myths, this is by far the worst. Believing bisexuality is an invention from people who want to experiment is a very dangerous and toxic belief. Disregarding a person’s identity just because it appears too “ambitious” to your mindset is just an act of prejudice that can inflict lots of psychological harm to people at their most vulnerable.
Bisexuals are not confused about who they are or what they like. They’re only harmed by prejudice.
If you enjoyed reading this list against the misconceptions of bisexuality, you may be interested in enjoying your sexuality to the fullest. For this, get acquainted with the terminology of sex that you need to know right now and read about the 4 unique traits of pansexual people.
Photos by @jesseherzog