User:Roxlindy/Bisexual erasure

Bisexual Erasure and the Imposter Syndrome
As of 2021, bisexual individuals make up 56.8% of the LGBTQ+ community. Though bisexual people make up little over 50 percent of the LGBTQ+ community, it is very common for these individuals to feel invisible or that they do not belong. This idea can take form in feeling that you are just “confused” or “have not figured it out yet”. Simply, this is the imposter syndrome. The imposter syndrome can be defined as feeling like you are a fraud and/or that you do not belong. There are a multitude of factors that contribute to these feelings and though it can differ from person to person, research shows that the two most common reasons for these feelings are biophilia and bisexual erasure or invisibility. Biphobia is the idea of backlash toward bisexual individuals from media and within the LGBTQ+ community. This can be examined through negative stereotypes of the community such as bisexual individuals being “hypersexual” and “unfaithful”. Bisexual invisibility or erasure is essentially the idea of ignoring, or removing the evidence of bisexuality. These biases will then combine with interpersonal and legal discrimination to create negative outcomes that are specific to the bisexual community. Commonly, this is seen through denying that bisexuality is a real sexual orientation, being LGBTQ+ inclusive but not oﬀering bi-specific resources, mislabeling bisexual individuals as gay/lesbian, and so much more. It is evident that bisexual people face biases on many fronts: from the media, friends, family, service providers, employers, heterosexual people, but most commonly from people who identify with the LGBTQ+ community. One example of this is when a bisexual youth shows higher incidents of risk and risky behavior due to the discrimination they face from family and friends.

Within the bisexual community, it is found that bisexual women are more likely and feel safer coming out as bisexual than men, 33% vs. 12%. Ultimately, across the LBGTQ+ population, it is seen that bisexual women and lesbians are more accepted by society than gay men, bisexual men or transgender people. Within the bisexual community, perceived acceptance is 33% for women while about 8% for men and 3% of those who are transgender and non-binary. Additionally, the queer imposter syndrome is fueled largely by the media and community. Research suggests that bisexual individuals suffer worse mental health than cisgender, heterosexual, lesbian, and gay individuals. Some of these negative outcomes from queer imposter syndrome and poor mental health are higher rates of anxiety and depression, higher levels of reported self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts, lack of social support, being less likely to be comfortable with their sexuality, and higher rates of substance abuse. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is even further amplified for men, non-binary people, and those in the BIPOC communities.

So how do we help eradicate the imposter syndrome within the queer communities? There are four main ways to help reduce and eventually eliminate the imposter syndrome: 1) Skepticism 2) Humility 3) Grounding 4) Self Compassion. It is crucial for bisexual individuals who are experiencing queer imposter syndrome to be skeptical of the comments they hear, to acknowledge that they are on a path to becoming the best version of themselves and it is okay to have self doubt, to have something to remind them of their identity, and to realize other people are snuggling with the same thing- you are not alone. It is also crucial to practice health self-care. Celebrate bisexuality through movies, books, and culture, find others in the bi+ community, take mindful walks and take on journaling, practice positively daily affirmations, and maintain healthy eating and exercising.

To best remedy this on a larger scale, there need to be laws in place to prohibit discrimination and trainings for educators to be more aware of the biases against bisexual people. LGBTQ+ service providers must also understand the risk factors of bisexual individuals in order to best serve their clients. As first mentioned, the bisexual community makes up more than 50% of the LGBTQ+ community. Therefore, the LGBTQ+ service providers must also provide programs, legal and mental health assistance to bisexual individuals as well. A large portion of the bisexual community is afraid to be open about their sexual orientation and when they are open about their sexuality, they face great biases and a lack of support. If we are to fully serve and support the LGBTQ+ community, then we must also fully support the bisexual community.