you are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

[–]MezozoicGayoldschool gay 23 insightful - 6 fun23 insightful - 5 fun24 insightful - 6 fun -  (2 children)

Logically homophobia is about same-sex attraction. Bisexual person is not hated with homophobia, when they are in heterosexual relationship, but they would be hated with homophobia if they will be on homosexual relationship. While there are cases when bisexual people are hated for being bisexual, which is more rare, and it is called biphobia.

[–]PenseePansyBio-Sex or Bust 17 insightful - 1 fun17 insightful - 0 fun18 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

While there are cases when bisexual people are hated for being bisexual, which is more rare, and it is called biphobia.

I wouldn't say that biphobia is rarer; more that, because it tends to operate in a rather different way than homophobia, it's often less noticeable.

Biphobia is rooted in the notion that bisexuality doesn't really exist: that it's not actually a sexual orientation at all. Which causes bisexuals to be largely ignored/invisible (since, hey, we don't exist!), or-- when we do register-- treated dismissively (as defective straight/gay people, basically: phonies, weaklings, traitors, degenerates, etc.).

Homosexuality, by contrast, is generally perceived as a sexual orientation; unfortunately, in all too many people's eyes, it's a BAD one. So while LG people have the benefit of being seen as actually existing, this also means that they're targeted for discrimination and persecution in a way bisexuals typically are not, at least as bisexuals (in order to be targeted, you really must exist first).

Another way biphobia differs from homophobia is that it doesn't just come from heterosexuals; there's quite a bit of it among gay people, too. So (unlike the LG) we can't find refuge from it in LGB spaces.

The other main distinction is that (again, unlike gay people) we're often expected to be sexually-available to EVERYBODY. Cuz we aren't a sexual orientation, you know; we're just attracted to all and sundry, indifferent to people's sex, or mega-slutty. This also leads to the sense that, since we are attracted to the opposite sex, there's "no excuse" for us acting on our same-sex attraction; after all, we could refrain without having to be celibate, so why don't we? Or, in other words, while gay people "can't help it", bisexuals can... and so we SHOULD (at least according to those with a horror of homoeroticism).

Which isn't to say that we "have it worse" or anything. Just that biphobia has its own special ways of being shitty.

[–]reluctant_commenter[S] 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

This also leads to the sense that, since we are attracted to the opposite sex, there's "no excuse" for us acting on our same-sex attraction; after all, we could refrain without having to be celibate, so why don't we? Or, in other words, while gay people "can't help it", bisexuals can... and so we SHOULD (at least according to those with a horror of homoeroticism).

Wow, I didn't even think of that one.

That all makes sense to me!