Bisexual adults perceive and respond to microaggressions
Bisexual individuals experience discrimination, prejudice, and marginalization within both LGBTQ+ and heteronormative communities. Microaggressions are subtle forms of discrimination that often go unnoticed but have a significant impact on the wellbeing of bisexual people. These include misgendering, biphobic jokes, dismissing their identity, invalidating their experiences, assuming they are attracted to everyone, and asking personal questions about their sexuality. Bisexuals also face social erasure, where their identity is ignored or minimized, leading to feelings of isolation, exclusion, and dehumanization. Their responses to these acts vary, from educating others to creating safe spaces for themselves, but it can be challenging to overcome them without support.
Microaggressions against bisexual individuals
Microaggressions can harm bisexual individuals' mental health and sense of belonging. They can lead to self-doubt, confusion, anxiety, depression, and even suicidal ideation. These comments can be especially hurtful when coming from members of the LGBTQ+ community who should understand and support their identities.
Many bisexuals report feeling invisible in LGBTQ+ spaces due to assumptions that their relationships don't count as same-sex or that they aren't 'gay enough.' This can make them feel like outsiders in their own community. In heteronormative settings, microaggressions can manifest as biphobia, such as being called greedy or promiscuous. These words reinforce negative stereotypes about bisexuality and perpetuate misunderstandings about bisexual people.
Invalidating behavior towards bisexuals
Invalidating behaviors are actions that deny a person's experience or identity.
Someone may tell a bisexual individual they're just going through a phase or that their attractions are merely experimental. This invalidates their sexuality and makes them question themselves. Bisexuals also face discrimination based on their gender presentation, where they are assumed to be straight or gay based on how they look or act. This can cause feelings of pressure to fit into binary gender roles and conform to societal expectations.
Social erasure of bisexual individuals
Social erasure occurs when an individual is ignored or minimized based on their identity. It can take various forms, such as not including them in LGBTQ+ events or assuming they identify as either gay or straight. It leaves bisexuals feeling isolated and alone and can lead to internalized homophobia or biphobia. They may doubt their own worthiness or begin to believe the myths and misconceptions surrounding their identities. Creating safe spaces for bisexuals, such as bi-specific groups and support networks, can help combat social erasure by providing a sense of belonging and validation.
How do bisexual adults perceive and respond to microaggressions, subtle invalidation, and social erasure within both LGBTQ+ and heteronormative spaces?
Bisexuals experience microaggressions that come from the heterosexual majority as well as those from members of other sexual minorities such as lesbians and gay men who assume they are "confused" or still attracted to the opposite sex. These experiences include being told by a stranger, "You're just confused," having to explain their identity repeatedly, and being told, "It's only a phase.