InvIsIbIlIty Our society tends to assume everyone is het - erosexual until proven homosexual. Two people inTerneT in an other-sex relationship are assumed to be straight; two people in a same-sex relationship are assumed to be gay/lesbian. The truth is, resources however, that a person in either of these rela - Bi / P an / F luid tionships could be bisexual/pansexual, and this possibility is rarely recognized in general soci - ety. Binet usa Bi/pan/fluid people are constantly rendered in - hTTP :// www .BineTusa .org visible by the very language often used to de - 101 scribe non-heterosexual people – “gay and lesbian”. Implicit in this language is the idea that anyone attracted to members of the same sex Bisexual are either gay or lesbian. Since “gay and les - bian” is the standard term to use in mainstream resource media, bisexuals and other non-monosexuals are rendered invisible almost every time same- center sex loving (“gay”) issues are mentioned. The www .Biresource .org frequent use of the term “gay marriage” serves as an example. Bisexuals/pansexuals are frequently rendered invisible in history as well. Historical figures Bi social news known to have had same-sex intimate relation - hTTP :// www .Bisocialnews .com ships are usually portrayed as gay or lesbian, when in fact many had intimate relationships with persons of various genders. By taking the gay/straight dichotomy in which our society be - lieves and applying it to historical figures, bisex - Transcending uality has become obscured not only in the present, but in the past. Boundaries

KInsey scale introduction to The Kinsey scale attempts to describe a per - isexuality son's sexual orientation using a scale from zero B , to six, zero meaning exclusively heterosexual, Pansexuality six meaning exclusively homosexual, and one to five being bisexual to one degree or another. & r elated identities Today, many see the Kinsey scale as overly By simplistic, suggesting that sexual orientation and sexual identity are more complex and var - lisa jacoBs ied. Still, many bisexuals use the Kinsey scale to describe the idea of sexuality as a spectrum www .TranscendingBoundaries .org or continuum, rather than a set of categories . © transcending Boundaries, inc. 2010 www .TranscendingBoundaries .org what is bisexuality/pansexuality? common myths felt betrayed by bisexual women who ‘slept Bisexuality, pansexuality and other non-mono - m they are confused and can’t make up their mind. with the enemy’ and didn’t have the courage to sexual and fluid identities involve the potential m they are really gay/lesbian and can’t admit it. become real lesbians. Many gay men felt that to feel sexually attracted to and to engage in m they are really just straight people trying to bisexual men were only out for a good time sensual or sexual relationships with people of be trendy. and were not really ‘one of them’. although more than one sex or gender. a bi/pan/fluid m they can’t be monogamous. this attitude has diminished greatly due to the person may or may not be equally attracted to m they will always leave someone of the tireless work of bisexual, pansexual and allied different sexes, or may be attracted to persons same sex for a partner of the other sex. activists, biphobia amongst gay men and les - regardless of sex or gender, and the degree of m they are all promiscuous. bians does still exist. in fact, a good portion of such attractions may vary over time. m they are just going through a phase. bi/pan/fluid activism is actually still aimed at m they can’t be trusted. educating the gay and lesbian community. self-perception is the key to a bi/pan/fluid m they give aids to straight women and lesbians. identity. Many people engage in sexual activity m they can’t really be ‘queer’. examples of biphobia: m they are attracted to anyone and everyone. with people of more than one sex, yet do not m assuming that everyone one meets is either m identify as bi/pan/fluid. likewise, other people a person has to be equally attracted to heterosexual or homosexual. engage in sexual relations only with people of men and women to be bisexual. m supporting and understanding a bi/pan/fluid one sex, or do not engage in sexual activity at m Bi/pan/fluid people are always available. identity because you identified "that way" all, yet consider themselves bisexual. there is before you came to your "real" no behavioral “test” to determine whether or lesbian/gay/heterosexual identity. not one is bisexual, pansexual, or any other sexual identity. m assuming a bi/pan/fluid person would want to fulfill one’s sexual fantasies or curiosities. m using the terms "phase" or "stage" or "con- what’s the difference between bi - fused" or "fence-sitter" or "bisexual" or sexual, pansexual, and other labels? "ac/dc" or "switchhitter" as slurs or in an Good question - it depends who you ask! Bi - accusatory way. sexual, Pansexual, Fluid, omnisexual, sapio - m not confronting a biphobic remark or joke sexual, Multisexual, Queer. some people for fear of being identified as bisexual. claim multiple labels and use them inter - m thinking that bi/pan/fluid people will have changeably. others maintain that bisexuality their rights when lesbian and gay people refers only to those attracted to both men and Biphobia win theirs. women, whereas pansexuality refers to sexual Biphobia – discrimination against bisexuals, m Being gay or lesbian and asking your bisex- attraction regardless of a person’s gender. pansexuals and other non-monosexuals ual/pansexual friend about their lover only “Fluid” is sometimes used to refer to a sexual - based on fear and/or misunderstanding – is a when that lover is the same sex/gender. ity that seems to change with time. problem specific to bi/pan/fluid people, and ex - ists in both the straight and the gay/lesbian m expecting bi/pan/fluid activists and organiz- Most organizations use the word “bisexual” to communities. in the past, many of the most bi - ers to minimize their issues and to prioritize refer to all non-monosexual identities, as it is phobic people have been, in fact, gay or les - the visibility of "lesbian and/or gay" issues. the most established of all the myriad labels. bian. Because of this, bisexuals have had to m avoiding mentioning to friends that you are the most important thing to remember, how - struggle for the past thirty years to be included involved with a bisexual/pansexual or work- ever, is to respect each person’s individual with gays and lesbians in the gay rights move - ing with a bisexual group because you are self-identification, however they define it. ment and the queer community. Many lesbians afraid they will think you are a bisexual.