Bisexuality

by

Ski Hunter

• LAST REVIEWED: 24 July 2013
• LAST MODIFIED: 24 July 2013
• DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0187

Introduction

Bisexual women and men are often overlooked in many arenas including therapy and research. What is presented here, however, is research on bisexual women, men, youth, and various other topics related to bisexuals. This shows that some researchers do focus on bisexual persons and want to learn more about them. Not enough is known, however, and considerably more research needs to be done to get a more complete picture of bisexual persons.

General Overviews

The articles in this section focus on the marginalized position of bisexuals, the 21st-century bisexual movement, queer theory, types of relationships, internalized biphobia, and numbers of sex partners for bisexual men. Anderlini-D’Onofrio 2011 provides an overview of the bisexual movement, institutions, society, and how positioned in LGBT communities. Burrill 2009 offers thoughts on whether queer theory is bi-friendly. Oswalt 2009 (cited under Public Schools and Colleges) discovered that a college health center staff overlooks bisexual students. Erickson-Schroth and Mitchell 2009 looks at the erasure of bisexuality. Jeffries 2011 discusses how neither bisexual identity nor attraction predicts the number of recent partners. McLean 2011 discusses the arrangement of intimate partners in Australia. Owen 2011 discusses the marginalization of bisexuals. See and Hunt 2011 discusses the invisibility of bisexuals in Britain. Ripley, et al. 2011 discusses the stigma of bisexual men in the United Kingdom.

• Anderlini-D’Onofrio, S. 2011. Bisexuality, gaia, eros: Portals to the arts of loving. Journal of Bisexuality 11.2–3: 176–194.

  DOI: 10.1080/15299716.2011.571984

  Discusses the current bisexual movement and how bisexuals are positioned in LGBT communities and their institutions and in mainstream society.

• Burrill, K. G. 2009. Queering bisexuality. Journal of Bisexuality 9.3–4: 491–499.

  DOI: 10.1080/15299710903316737

  Theorists are divided over queer theory and whether it is bi-friendly. But most bisexual theorists and advocates think bisexuality should be included in queer theory and could benefit from this inclusion. The article examines why inclusion in queer theory is advantageous for bisexuals.

• Erickson-Schroth, L., and J. Mitchell. 2009. Queering queer theory, or why bisexuality matters. Journal of Bisexuality 9.3–4: 297–315.

  DOI: 10.1080/15299710903316596

  The binary system of heterosexual/LG is disrupted by bisexuality. This article discusses bisexual erasure in terms of historical context, contemporary media, and literary representations.

• Jeffries, W. L. 2011. The number of recent sex partners among bisexual men in the United States. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 43.3: 151–157.

  DOI: 10.1363/4315111

  A study of 3,875 bisexually attracted men, aged fifteen to forty-four, after controlling for sexual identity and behavior. Bisexually attracted men have 0.7 fewer partners than gay-attracted men. Neither bisexual identity nor bisexual attraction independently predicted the number of recent partners. Interventions to reduce the number of partners of bisexual men will likely lessen their risk for HIV and other STDs.

• McLean, K. 2011. Bisexuality and nonmonogamy: A reflection. Journal of Bisexuality 11.4: 513–517.

  DOI: 10.1080/15299716.2011.620857

  Looks at how bisexual participants in Australia arrange their intimate relationships. Some are monogamous; others have some level of openness in their relationships. Those in open relationships dealt with jealousy, setting boundaries, and communicating needs to their partners. They worked to overcome these issues through honesty and communication.

• Owen, M. 2011. Still sitting on fences: Reflections on “Overstepping the bounds: Bisexuality, gender, and sociology.” Journal of Bisexuality 11.4: 493–497.

  DOI: 10.1080/15299716.2011.620844

  About how bisexuals continue to be in marginalized positions. Many misperceptions of them are still around, according to this study.

• Ripley, M., E. Anderson, M. McCormack, A. Adams, and R. Pitts. 2011. The decreasing significance of stigma in the lives of bisexual men: Keynote address, Bisexual Research Convention, London. Journal of Bisexuality 11.2–3: 195–206.

  DOI: 10.1080/15299716.2011.571985

  Draws from multiple studies of bisexual men in the United States and the United Kingdom. The keynote address shows a declining significance of biphobia and heterosexism in men’s lives today.

• See, H., and R. Hunt. 2011. Bisexuality and identity: The double-edged sword: Stonewall research into bisexual experience. Journal of Bisexuality 11.2–3: 290–299.

  DOI: 10.1080/15299716.2011.571995

  Study finds that bisexuality is basically invisible in Britain today due to a high degree of biphobia and the ambivalence some bisexual persons feel about bisexuality as an identity.