A Trip Back in Time: How People Talked About Bisexuality 20 Years Ago
By: Caiti Galwey
Tags: Bisexual, Queer, LGBTQ, Bi, History

This article is not meant to be comprehensive in its analysis by any means. I wish to provide a swift introduction to bisexual history and an overview of its place in contemporary society.

It’s always easy to take your current privileges for granted and remain ignorant of how things got to be so good. For instance, last night my partner and I were able to collectively obsess over our waitress, a beautiful woman with dark eyes and curly hair. Open conversation. Free feelings. No prosecution. No persecution. How did we get here?

A swift history of bisexuality

The word bisexual was first used to describe attraction to males and females in 1892. However, limited representation in the media means the word bisexual wasn’t really mentioned in widely-accessible mediums until the late 60s. The taboo lingered, but that didn’t stop a dialogue from starting. In a September 1976 interview with Playboy, David Bowie openly discussed his bisexuality. Whilst the bisexual movement enjoyed some momentous ‘firsts’ during the ’80s, the ’90s was an era of progressive literature, initiatives and advocacy.

Alex Kingsley — Pexels

The Bisexual Pride flag was designed by Michael Page and was unveiled on Dec 5th, 1998. In 1999, the first Celebrate Bisexuality Day was organized and it is now observed every September 23rd. In 2001, the American Psychological Association’s “Guidelines on psychotherapy with lesbian, gay and bisexual clients” stated “homosexuality and bisexuality are not a mental illness”. If this isn’t tangible progress, I don’t know what is .

Bisexuality in the 21st century

Modern bisexuality is a complex notion. It often bears negative connotations. Gross misrepresentations of bisexuals as overly sexual and lacking sexual agency within mainstream media has also contributed to a warped perception of bisexuality as ‘undecided’ and ‘invalid’.

From Sia to Fergie, Jason Mraz, Ezra Miller, Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga, Missy Higgens, Billie Joe Armstrong; this is a non-exhaustive list of well-known celebrities who are openly bisexual. This is great for visibility, however bisexual erasure is an issue prevalent in the media’s representation of such icons. Madonna for example is often ‘written-up’ to be a straight woman who engages with lesbians for ‘shock-value’. Similarly, Freddie Mercury, possibly one of the most famously bisexual humans in known history, is often depicted as gay in mainstream media.

It is worth noting that the above examples seek to demonstrate the reception of celebrities and their respective sexuality, and is not an attempt to indicate the way in which bisexual people are received by the wider community. Nonetheless, the concept of a person being attracted to another person regardless of their gender is still deeply controversial to a lot of people. It tends to challenge people’s fundamental assumptions regarding sexuality, gender and relationships and the “bialogue” that follows can be uncomfortable for some.

It is also worth noting that the tendency to ignore, remove, falsify, or reexplain sexuality is not an issue constrained to the mystical realm of bisexuality.

The “bialogue” continues

The entire point of advocacy for sexual rights is inclusivity. Not exclusion. Sexuality is fluid and ever-changing. You can do your own research of the rampant biphobia that has existed in gay and feminist spaces. As recently as 2005 a New York Times article was published titled, Straight, Gay or Lying? Blatant biphobia is still very real.

Delia Giandeini — Unsplash

A similar issue is the derogatory allegation that bisexuals are ‘attention-seekers’ or are people who purport to be seen as bisexual ‘chic’. The term bisexual ‘chic’ describes the ‘faddish’ role bisexuality has allegedly played in various sexual reformations, first in the 1920s (the birth of drag balls), 1970s (free love, baby) and again in the early to mid-2000s (I kissed a girl, anyone?).

Such allegations contribute to the commonality of dysphoria and imposter syndrome often experienced by bisexual people. Bisexual women and men contribute to higher rates of suicide compared to homosexual and heterosexual men and women. In Canada and Australia, they also endure lower success rates for refugee applications.

However, compared to the pace of change 20 years ago, I’d say we are collectively making swift and definite progress in the LGBTQI+ rights space. This year the LGBTQI+ community relished in some major wins to prove that 2020 was not all bad. This is something to be optimistic about and I hope the thought brings some joy to the end of this year. Moving forward, let the dialogue continue. Let it be open and inclusive to all.