The Naked Truth | Being bisexual: what people misunderstand about it, how to tell a partner you are bi, and how to react if your loved one has a thing for both sexes
- In an era of sexual enlightenment there is still a stigma attached to bisexuality. But it’s real, and there’s nothing to be afraid of, says relationships coach
- She explains how to determine if you are bisexual, and suggests ways to break the news to a loved one that you are bi, and how to receive such news
We may be living in an era of wider sexual acceptance, but there is still a lot of stigma surrounding bisexuality.
Biphobia – an aversion to bisexual people – is mostly born of misinformation and fuelled by myths and biases perpetuated by people unfamiliar with bisexuality. As a result, many bisexuals choose to remain in the closet.
Among the common misconceptions about bisexuals is that they need to have relationships with both females and males in order to be truly bisexual; that they are promiscuous, which leads some to assume they cannot be monogamous and will stray “the other way”; and that bi people are sexual deviants who frequently engage in threesomes and orgies.
Some people deny bisexuality is a genuine sexual orientation, seeing it as just a phase; in their eyes, bi people are indecisive and are therefore using bisexuality as an excuse to explore their sexuality. Expressions such as “bi now, gay later” encourage this mindset.
Some detractors say bi women are not truly bi, as their ulterior motive is to get the attention of heterosexual men; some even go as far as to accuse bi people of flaunting their bisexual status to appear trendy.