User:MaxW2002/Bisexual erasure

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Bisexual erasure may include the assertion all bisexual individuals are in a phase and will soon choose a side, either heterosexual or homosexual. One reason for this is the belief that bisexual individuals are distinctively indecisive. Another reason for bisexual erasure is the external invalidation from people saying "it's just a phase". Gross misrepresentations of bisexual individuals as hypersexual erases the sexual agency of bisexuals, leading to the fetishization of a polyamorous sexual relationship with someone who is bisexual, effectively erasing their true identities as well. Bisexual erasure is also often a manifestation of biphobia, although it does not necessarily involve overt antagonism. Bisexual erasure often results in bisexual-identifying individuals' experiencing a variety of adverse social encounters, as they not only have to struggle with finding acceptance within society but also within the LGBT community. Bisexual erasure is a form of stigma and leads to adverse mental health consequences for people who identify as bisexual.

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Bisexual erasure from lesbian communities-

Often times, the bisexual label is regarded as a "cop-out" for those who don't want to fully commit to being a lesbian. In the early days of lesbian politics, bisexuality was seen as anti-feminist because of it's implications of an inherent desire for penetration and other sexual acts where a man had to be involved. This led to a stigma around bisexuality from a group that would be expected to be accepting. The understandable assumption would be that because both lesbians and bisexuals are members of the LGBTQ+ community, lesbian communities would be accepting of bisexuals, but it was almost entirely the opposite. Because lesbians were fighting in the political arena to gain respect and fair treatment, they viewed bisexuals as a threat to their work, because they were still in favor of men. This set a historical precedence for the LGBTQ+ to be exclusive towards bisexuals. This expanded into the assumption that bisexual people are transphobic, because they are "attracted to both men and women", which excludes non-binary, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming folk. This is untrue, as the prefix bi in bisexual is meant to signify being attracted to people who are the same gender as oneself and people who are not the same gender as oneself.

Intersectional bisexual representation-

Samantha Newsom discusses the importance of bisexual representation in media because it affirms reassurance in one's identity that even though their sexuality deters from the societal default of heterosexual, it still is normal and valid. This is especially important to those who identify as bisexual because, although far and between, the presence of homosexuality in media is almost entirely that of gay men or lesbians, with little to no bisexual representation. This can lead to an even stronger sense of otherization for bisexual individuals who don't fit comfortably into strictly heterosexual or strictly homosexual identities, leaving them to feel even more disconnected from the general LGBTQ+ community.

Intersectionality as a central priority in queer media, especially that of which is explicitly bisexual, is extremely important. This is because there is no single bisexual experience, so it is impossible to only depict a single experience in media. Intersectionality takes into account all the different crossroads of identification one has outside of their sexuality, including race, gender, class, nationality, religion, etc. Often times, intersectional identities are written out of characters, leaving the story to only focus on a singular asset of their identity. An example of this was in the film, Bohemian Rhapsody, where the depiction of real-life musician Freddie Mercury boiled down his intersectional identity to solely focus on his sexuality and musical capabilities. Freddie was born Farrokh Bulsara to Indian Parsi parents, whom then moved to the UK, and were members of the working class. Freddie Mercury was openly bisexual and regarded for being very androgenous and non-conforming to societal fashion standards for men. These specific aspects of his identity that were extremely important to his life experiences were almost entirely written out of the film. In the film, he was portrayed as a white man who struggled with his romantic partner because he comes to realize he is gay. The specific intersectional aspects of his identity that were extremely important to his life experiences were almost entirely written out of the film, boiling him down to being another gay white male represented in media.