Bisexuality

Bi Pride Flag

Bisexuality, often shortened as Bi, is a fluid identity that encompasses the sexual attraction between two genders and all genders, with or without preferences to gender. Bisexuality is often seen as an umbrella term because its attractions are also well known with labels like pansexuality, polysexuality, and omnisexuality, but all four of these labels are their own sexualities. Bisexuals can be attracted to two, three or more, multiple, or all genders, it's up to the person. However, bisexuality could be considered "too broad" or "too general" because of this, so many may prefer the aforementioned labels instead. Regardless of how one identifies, bisexuality is historically known to include more than two genders, despite its prefix. Many activists have been known to express inclusion beyond two genders in their attraction, most notably Lani Ka'ahumanu. They've also made it known that it is possible to be bisexual and experience attraction regardless of gender.

Any choice in labels is based on preference.My roblox is bigrigsjimmy hmu

The romantic equivalent is Biromantic.

The Flag

Revealed on December 5th 1998, the bisexual flag was designed by Michael Page to represent and validate bisexuals in the LGBT community and wider society. The flag depicts three coloured horizontal stripes with the middle slightly narrower. The original flag was not three stripes however, but a gradient. Sadly, this was almost impossible to replicate at home due to the limits of technology and therefore became the three stripes more common today.

Page describes the meaning of the three colours as follows: "The pink color represents sexual attraction to the same sex, blue represents sexual attraction to the opposite sex, and the resultant overlap color purple represents sexual attraction across the gender spectrum." He also describes the flag's meaning in deeper terms, stating "The key to understanding the symbolism of the Bisexual pride flag is to know that the purple pixels of color blend unnoticeably into both the pink and blue, just as in the 'real world,' where bi people blend unnoticeably into both the gay/lesbian and straight communities."

Misconceptions

Like other LGBT identities, there are multiple misconceptions about bisexuality, including (but not limited to):

• Bisexuality being conflated with promiscuity or polyamory
• Bisexuality being called "half gay" and "half straight"
• Bisexuals being seen as greedy, or not able to pick a side
• Bisexuals being seen as unfaithful to their partner/s because of their sexuality
• Bisexuals being seen as sexually confused or frustrated
• Bisexuals being seen as transphobic
• Bisexuals only being attracted to binary genders, or being exclusive of non-binary identities.
• Bisexuals care about their partner's looks and gender, and don't date based on personality.
• Bisexuals have preferences to gender and are not genderblind.

These misconceptions often lead to the practices of biphobia, where evidence of bisexuality is ignored, removed, falsified or reexplained within cultural, historical or media sources. In its most extreme form, bisexual erasure includes denying that bisexuality exists. Despite this, there is increasing inclusion and visibility of bisexuals, particularly in the LGBT community.

History

There is a lot of bisexual history that can be viewed in both ancient cultures and modern history. The modern definition of bisexuality first took form in the 19th century. The first usage of the word "bisexual", in the sense of being sexually attracted to both women and men, was by Charles Gilbert Chaddock in his translation of Krafft-Ebing's work Psychopathia Sexualis in 1892. Prior to Krafft-Ebing, "bisexual" was usually used to mean having both female and male parts as in hermaphroditic or monoicous plants, or to mean inclusive of both males and females as in the sense of mixed-sex education.

Beginning from the 1970s, bisexuality as a distinct sexuality gained visibility in Western literature, academia, and activism. Although there is a surge of research and activism in bisexuality, many scholars and activists state that bisexuals have often been marginalized in literature, films, and research works.

Major bisexual activists such as Lani Ka'ahumanu have expressed the difficulties in solidifying bisexuality and its attraction. In this excerpt from the 1987 Article "Are We Visible Yet?" Lani adds these two important tidbits:

"Bisexuals, both in and out of the closet have given time, energy and money, and have been putting our lives on the line for the basic right of sexual freedom of expression without regard for gender since the beginning of the gay rights movement."

"I am bisexual because I am drawn to particular people regardless of gender. It doesn’t make me wishy-washy, confused, untrustworthy, or more sexually liberated. It makes me a bisexual."

This article served as an important factor of bisexual history, and while it isn't the only article to do so, it's the most recognized and acknowledged in the community. Lani's work as an activist demonstrated that these kinds of attractions were not only possible, but it made her who she was and not a promiscuous, confused, misguided, or sexually wild individual. In this description of her sexuality, tied with many other articles, including the 1990 Bisexual Manifesto that supports both bisexuality being fluid and open to more than two genders and people being free to use labels like pansexual and polysexual because bisexuality just may not be accurate enough, she simultaneously shuts down stereotypes that commonly plagued bisexuality and paved way to more people being able to express their bisexuality the same way.

Days of Recognition

The following days of the year officially recognize Bisexual and Biromantic folks.

March: Bisexual Health Awareness Month.

September: Bisexual Awareness Month.

September 16th - September 22nd: Bisexual Awareness Week.

September 23rd: Bisexual Awareness and Pride Day.