Bisexuality In The Media

654 Words3 Pages
The LGBT community annually gains more and more support across the globe, but each letter does not receive equal attention. In the media, especially TV shows, writers design their shows avoiding the subject of bisexuality. There are attempts at creating bisexual characters, but representation only matters if it is accurate. In the 2013-2014 broadcast television season, 46 LGBT characters graced the silver screen. Out of that miniscule number, only 10 characters identified as bisexual, and 2 of those were men. With only a sparse amount of bisexual characters, the media should portray them correctly, but that does not occur often. The media rarely depicts bisexuals properly, but instead feeds into stereotypes and misconceptions of bisexuality.…show more content…
In Glee, a show known for its acknowledgement of diversity, a female character labeled herself as “bi-corn, bi-curious, and bilingual.” The Glee writers were actually making up words to prevent addressing bisexuality. Later on in the show, the character’s own girlfriend addresses her as a lesbian despite being clearly attracted to both boys and girls. Her sexuality became an ongoing joke, and only further emphasized the inaccurate assumption that bisexuality is a myth. Even an outed gay male on the show mentioned bisexuality as “a term that gay guys use when they wanna hold hands with girls and feel like a normal persona.” This nonchalant dismissal of a sexual orientation falls under a term known as bi-erasure, defined by Alexandra Bolles, a Strategist, Global and US South, at GLAAD as “when the existence or legitimacy of bisexuality is questioned or denied outright.” The media actively participates in bi-erasure through its depictions of…show more content…
The media regards bisexauls as nothing but confused homosexuals or curious heterosexuals. In Orange Is The New Black, a character’s ex-husband and ex-girlfriend allude to her as a “straight girl” or a “lesbian”, never once considering the possibility of her being a bisexual. Her spectrum of sexuality remains limited to gay when she has a girlfriend, and straight when she has a husband; the show completely disregards bissexuality as even an option. Not acknowledging bisexuality makes it much easier for people to deny its existence. The common misconception among biphobic people is how once a person starts a relationship with a certain gender, they automatically go back to being just straight or just gay. A gray area doesn’t exist to them, nor does the possibility of someone genuinely being attracted to more than one gender. Bisexuals often succumb to shaming from their own partners due to the skepticism in their sexuality. In Faking It, a male homosexual admits to have dated a bisexual and claims it was “a lesson in insecurity.” Since bisexuals have attraction to two genders instead of one, their partners believe they have a larger chance of being unfaithful. If other people don’t cheat with every person they find attractive, why would bisexuals? Inaccurate media portrayals only accents the myth that bisexuals cannot be
Show More
Related

  • Essay About Queer Culture

    1692 Words  | 7 Pages

    the heterosexual individuals. This is reflected on how little the research on this culture is, most probably because participants are reluctant to disclose information about their gender orientation. Until now, some still regard homosexuality and bisexuality as “stigmatized identities”. (Nicholas, 2004). However, it is safe to say that there is an increasing rate of acceptance for these gender orientations because the awareness of the public about these genders are slowly increasing. Lastly, the recent

    Read More

More about Bisexuality In The Media

Open Document