I wanted to expand on my thoughts after last month’s bisexual mental health discussion.
Different Needs for Bisexual Folks Who Are Trans, Bisexual Cis Men, and Bisexual Cis Women
For trans bisexual folks, or gender-expansive people generally (who might prefer to use
and/or prefer that others use “pansexual” as a label), finding a partner who won’t
prescribe gendered scripts onto you can be difficult. Trans people are also at greater
risk of violence, especially trans women.
When cis women partner with cis women, or AFAB(1) folks with AFAB folks, sexually, this
is lower-risk in terms of spreading sexually transmitted infection when compared to
other combinations of sexual partnerships, at least when there is penetration involved.
Bisexual women often experience serious mental health issues, but I believe that men
still aren’t generally permitted the same sexual and gender fluidity that women are--
there is more violence directed at men who partner with men, and more generally at
AMAB(2) folks who don’t present as traditionally masculine. Homophobia might be an
exacerbated threat to the mental and physical health of bisexual men who partner with
men.
"Bi Erasure"
Speaking to the above, there are divergent narratives about bisexual men and bisexual
women--equally problematic, but different--that contribute to this phenomenon of bi
erasure. Bisexual or bicurious women are often distrusted by lesbian women, and
bisexual men are often assumed to be “transitioning to gay.” One common theme
here is withholding agency from bisexual people to identify themselves for their own
sake.
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There’s loads more to say on these topics--I’d love to hear your own thoughts, experiences, and what you’d like to see covered in greater depth!
(1) Assigned Female (sex) At Birth
(2) Assigned Male (sex) At Birth