Visible Lesbians and Invisible Bisexuals: Appearance and Visual Identities among Bisexual Women Visible Lesbians and Invisible Bisexuals: Appearance and Visual Identities among Bisexual Women Nikki Hayfield*, Victoria Clarke, Emma Halliwell, and Helen Malson Word count: 10,386 *Corresponding author: Email:
[email protected] Telephone: +44(0)117 3282139 Department of Psychology, University of the West of England (UWE), Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1QY, UK. Nikki Hayfield is a Lecturer in Social Psychology, Victoria Clarke is an Associate Professor in Sexuality Studies, Emma Halliwell is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology, and Helen Malson is an Associate Professor in Social Psychology. They are all members of the Centre for Appearance Research and based in the Department of Psychology at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Acknowledgement This research was funded by a University of the West of England (UWE) PhD bursary (H38A1154). The authors would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments on an earlier version of this paper. The first author would also particularly like to thank the women who participated in this research, and Nicky Rumsey and the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR). 1 Visible Lesbians and Invisible Bisexuals: Appearance and Visual Identities among Bisexual Women Visible Lesbians and Invisible Bisexuals: Appearance and Visual Identities among Bisexual Women Abstract A number of feminist scholars have argued that dress and appearance can be used to critique the dominant culture and explore alternative subjectivities. Research on non- heterosexual visual identities has explored the role that appearance and clothing practices can play in the construction of individual identities and collective communities.