Combatting Bisexuality Erasure

Last month, I wrote about the importance of ensuring that our advocacy is trans inclusive, however, trans individuals are not the only people who are commonly erased in larger conversations about LGBT rights. Often times, the ‘B’ in LGBT is also overlooked, leading to the erasure and, at times, even rejection of bisexual identities. UCLA’s Williams Institute found in 2011 that approximately 1.8% of adults identify as bisexual—slightly more than the 1.7% who identify as gay or lesbian—with women more likely to identify as bisexual than men. In addition to these labels, 8.2% of adults surveyed reported that they had engaged in same-sex sexual behavior with 11% acknowledging that they at least had some same-sex sexual attraction. Yet, despite these statistics, many people question whether bisexual individuals really exist. I am shocked by the number of times I’ve heard friends who are strong allies to or identify within the LG community question if someone was truly bisexual, and I’ve even heard people outright deny that bisexuality exists. And this is not an issue just among my friends. Publications, like the Advocate, have featured articles highlighting the erasure and dismissal of bisexual individuals. In addition, biphobia does not just manifest in the denial of bisexuality, it also manifest in the common trope that bisexual individuals are more sexually promiscuous than other people, despite research that points to the contrary. Bisexuality erasure can have tangible negative impacts on the lives of bisexuals. A report by the Movement Advancement Project, BiNEtUSA and the Bisexual Resource Center found that bisexuals face higher rates of poverty, poor physical and mental health and violence than their gay, lesbian and straight counterparts. The report recommends that organizations offer culturally competent services to bisexual individuals, make bi-specific programming and resources more visible, and increase data collection efforts that specially collect data on bisexual individuals, as opposed to sorting all LGBT people into one category. As Jews, we believe that all people are created b’tzelem Elohim, in the divine image (Genesis 1:27), and therefore are deserving of equality and respect.  This equality and respect must include bisexual individuals, and as Jews, a people who have historically been oppressed, we have an obligation to advocate for the rights of visibility of all oppressed individuals. To learn more about the intersection of LGBT rights and Judaism, visit the RAC’s LGBT Rights webpage.