Bisexual Visibility Week | History and Pride

This flag is a part of my Patchwork Pride flag collection, which can be found by clicking on this photo.

What is Bisexuality?

The term Bisexual has changed considerably in its meaning since its inception. “in 1859, anatomist Robert Bentley Todd first used the term ‘bisexuality' to refer to the possession of ‘male’ and ‘female’ physical characteristics in the same body – today, we might understand this as being intersex” (Robinson Rhodes, 2022), not at all relating to romantic attraction. 

Robinson Rhodes explains that “[b]y the beginning of the twentieth century, this meaning had shifted to focus on a combination of ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ gendered characteristics – what today we would describe as androgyny. The modern meaning of bisexuality, which describes sexual and/or romantic attraction rather than sexed or gendered characteristics, only developed in the 1910s. However, for many years the different meanings of bisexuality were used at the same time and sometimes in the same texts” (2022).

In the mid to late 1900s the term Bisexuality began to gain traction and widespread use, particularly in the United Kingdom (Robinson Rhodes, 2022). At this point the understood definition of Bisexuality was 

The definition given for bisexuality below is one that has been prevalent since the 1990s, eradicating the myth that bisexuality is an identity that is exclusively related to the gender binary. It was promoted by Robyn Ochs, the editor of Bi Women Quarterly, who credits the Bay Area activists for teaching her this more expansive definition of the term (Berg, 2020). 

Bi: A shorthand abbreviation, usually for Bisexual, but could also stand for Bigender or Biromantic.

Biromantic: “an individual who acknowledges in themselves the potential to be romantically attracted to people of more than one gender, not necessarily at the same time, in the same way, or to the same degree. Individuals who identify as biromantic aren't necessarily sexually attracted to the same people to whom they're romantically attracted” (PFLAG).

Bi+: A abbreviation used as an umbrella term, “encompassing people who recognize and honor their potential for sexual and emotional attraction to more than one gender (bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, fluid, queer, asexual, and other free identifiers)” (BRC).

Bigender: “A term used to identify a person whose gender identity encompasses two genders, (often man and woman, but not exclusively) or is moving between being two genders”

Biphobia: “Animosity, hatred, or dislike of bisexual people which may manifest in the form of prejudice or bias” (PFLAG).

Bisexual: “a person who acknowledges in themselves the potential to be attracted–romantically, emotionally and/or sexually–to people of more than one gender, not necessarily at the same time, in the same way, or to the same degree” (Ochs via PLFAG). ​

Kinsey Scale: “Drs. Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy, and Clyde Martin developed the Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale—more commonly known as “The Kinsey Scale.” First published in Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948), the scale accounted for research findings that showed people did not fit into exclusive heterosexual or homosexual categories” (Indiana University).

Monosexual: “a term used to describe individuals exclusively attracted to one gender or sex” (Fuller, Donnelly, 2023). 

History and Observance

Bisexual Visibility Week is a yearly event that is held on September 16th through the 23rd, with the final day being ‘Celebrate Bisexuality+ Day’ (glaad.org). This celebration doesn’t change dates yearly, like some do (for instance Gay Uncles Day is the second sunday in August, leading to slight date changes wach year), and instead is always the same dates, even if this week of visibility doesn’t necessarily start on a Monday. 

According to Glaad “[i]n 2014, GLAAD co-founded and co-led the first #BiWeek with BiNet USA to draw attention to the issues faced by the bi+ community, including erasure and visibility”.

The Goal of Bisexual Visibility Week (often shortened to #BiWeek) is to “accelerate the acceptance of the bi+ (bisexual, pansexual, fluid, no label, queer, etc.) community. [As well as call] attention to the experiences, while also celebrating the resiliency of, the bisexual+ community. [This is an opportunity for] allies and bi+ people learn about the history, culture, community, and current policy priorities of bi+ communities (Glaad).

Symbols for & Stereotypes about Bisexual Pride

Bi vs Pan: There is a prevalent and pervasive myth that bisexual and pansexual identities are the same thing. This is not true, although, the Bi+ umbrella does include pansexuality within it. Pansexuality is defined as “a person whose emotional, romantic and/or physical attraction is to people inclusive of all genders” (PFLAG) whereas, Bisexuality is described as the attraction to two or more genders, to put it briefly. I discuss this stereotype in more depth in the Pansexual Awareness Week blog post

Bisexual People are Confused Another harmful stereotype about Bi people is that we are all confused about our sexuality. This comes from a monosexual-normative point of view. Bisexual individuals are also encouraged to ‘pick a side’ as a result of this mindset. While an individual may not always identify as bisexual, that does not mean that they are confused. We are all human, and sexuality is fluid and can change.

We’re all a little bi This misconception comes, most likely, from the Kinsey Scale. This research popularized the idea that sexual attraction is a scale, going from heterosexual to homosexual, with bisexual in the middle (Indiana University). While this is not necessarily what the researchers were trying to say with their findings, the popular understanding stuck, and this myth persists to this day.

The Unicorn  The unicorn shows up time and again in the queer symbolism, but in this case, it relates to the fact that bisexual individuals often feel like they are invisible, or are treated as if they don’t exist by both the queer and straight communities, rather like a mythical creature.

Unlabeled trope A common trope within media is to insist that any and all characters that experience non-monosexual attraction, hate labels. Now there’s nothing wrong with refusing to label oneself, but the continual insistence that labeling a character ‘bisexual’ is somehow a bad thing, is harmful to bisexual individuals who want and would benefit from seeing themselves in the media. 

In the mid 2010s, the CW show Arrow had the character Sara Lance, in a relationship with another female character. In an interview, it was stated that they “made it a point not to use the word ‘bisexual’ when talking about Sara. ‘We really wanted to approach it like not be salacious and be sensitive and be realistic. We actually specifically avoid using the term bisexual. We didn't want to label her at all. Let her be her own person’ (Bricker, 2014). The reasoning shared in this article is almost such an obvious example of how and why characters are left unlabeled, as opposed to identifying as bisexual that it feels fake.

Thankfully, this is becoming less and less common. In a similar article published only three years after the one quoted above, Dan Snierson interviewed Stephanie Beatriz about her character’s recent coming out as bisexual on the show Brooklyn 99. Beatriz explains that the show’s writers asked her for input surrounding Diaz’s (her character’s) coming out (2017). 

She also says towards the end of the interview “I suggested that that word [bisexual] was really important to Rosa and that it also would be really important to the bi community to have that word said aloud on TV. Not just a suggestion that she dates girls now, but a clarity on this character: This is who I am, and I’d like you to know it — and accept it” (Beatriz, Snierson, 2017) This quote suggests an awareness that Beatriz has about the reluctance show writers have had about letting characters label themselves as bisexual.

The Bi Pride Flag The bisexual pride flag is a three-strip flag that is, from top to bottom, a medium blue, a thinner purple stripe, and a darker pink on the bottom. “Created in 1998 by Michael Page… The pink represents attraction toward the same sex, and the royal blue stands for attraction toward the opposite sex. The purple band symbolizes attraction to all genders” (Outright International).

This Bisexual Pride flag is a part of the Patchwork Pride Collection by Stet Studio and can be found in my shop by clicking the photo.

Biangles  One of the oldest symbols of bi pride is the Bi triangles, or ‘biangles’ “The exact origin of the bi angles symbol is unknown, but there are theories suggesting that the colors may represent masculine, feminine, and non-binary attractions…. The lavender color where the pink and blue overlap may also be a reference to queerness, as the color lavender has long been associated with the LGBT+ community. According to Michael Page, the colors used in the bi angle’s symbol were the inspiration behind the bi pride flag” (Wilber, 2023).

Another theory  in regards to the origin of the design of the Biangles is that “[t]he overlapping pink and blue triangles are likely inspired by the pink triangle symbol sometimes used to represent the LGBT+ community, primarily gay men….  its origin [being the same deisgn] as a concentration camp badge forced upon gay men in World War II” (Wilber, 2023).

The Bisexual Double Moon The mirrored moons are back-to-back and are both colored with a gradient of same blue, purple, and pink colors as the biangles and the bi pride flag. It “was created in 1998 by Vivian Wagner specifically as an alternative to the bi angles symbol, which incorporates the pink triangle symbol associated with concentration camps” (Wilber, 2023).

Books with Bisexual Representation

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School*, by Sonora Reyes was a book I recently completed, and was a wonderful read. Given the title, this book might seem like an odd choice, but one of the characters in this book is bi (no spoilers), and they specifically declare it as their identity. There is also some great bi-gay solidarity between the main character and this character. CW: homo/biphobia, self-harm, suicide, bullying, parental alienation, Catholic beliefs.

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Bibliography

#biweek: Celebrate bisexuality+. GLAAD. (2023, September 11). https://glaad.org/biweek/

Berg, A. (2020, September 23). The evolution of the word “bisexual” - and why it’s still misunderstood. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/evolution-word-bisexual-why-it-s-still-misunderstood-n1240832

Bi+ info: What it means to be a b(ee). Bisexual Resource Center. (n.d.). https://biresource.org/bi-info/

Bricker, T. (2014, February 6). Arrow’s gay reveal: Bosses sound off on same-sex relationship, Tease Felicity’s backstory and more. E! Online. https://www.eonline.com/news/507826/arrow-s-gay-reveal-bosses-sound-off-on-decision-to-make-spoiler-bisexual-tease-felicity-s-backstory-and-more

Donnelly, A., & Fuller, K. (2023, July 12). What does it mean to be monosexual?. ChoosingTherapy.com. https://www.choosingtherapy.com/monosexual/

Flags of the LGBTIQ community. Outright International. (n.d.). https://outrightinternational.org/insights/flags-lgbtiq-community#:~:text=Created%20in%201998%20by%20Michael,symbolizes%20attraction%20to%20all%20genders.

Indiana University. (n.d.).  The Kinsey Scale. Kinsey Institute. https://kinseyinstitute.org/research/publications/kinsey-scale.php