Bi any other name
It's just what bisexual people don't need - a study claiming they are non-existant. I recently read a few articles about a study conducted that found that 75% of people who self-identified as bisexual were actually gay. My first problem with this is that the sample is 101 men, 33 of which self-identified as bisexual. I'm not a statistician, but 33 doesn't sound like a very broad sample. If the sample were say 101 bisexuals, maybe that would be closer to a sample that would be more appropriate. But when 1.7% of people identify as bi, 33 representatives of a potential how-many-million doesn't quite make sense.
Bi folks are almost always included in the lgBt when people abbreviate, but the truth is that both the hetero and homo communities treat bisexuals like a part of the fringe - you know, they're not quite part of either. Both communities manage to alienate them at some point, and this study isn't going to make it easier for them. Who knows, the study could be right, but for the 25% of the 1.7% who cares. What would the reaction be from the LGBT community if a study came out that said that 75% of gays and lesbians were really straight? As Harvey Fierstein once said, wouldn't that be a kick in the rubber parts?
Really, the study is a moot point. The truth of what matters is how a person self-identifies. That's what you have to take at face value. It's not fair to person who identifies as straight for gay people to whisper how that person is really gay, any more than it's fair for people to assume everyone's straight. So what is the point of this study - that if someone says they're bi there's a 75% chance they're actually gay? There's enough to question in life; who needs something else? And who should?
If someone you know says they're bisexual, take it from them. It's their life, they live in their own shoes, and the important part is that we are all supportive - from any community.
(sources: Study raises questions about bisexual men; Is Bisexuality Self Delusion?)
I am getting really tired of all this sexual moral relativism. If there were a study claiming that 75% of gay men were really straight, then it would be time for the gay community to take a hard look at its purpose and foundations! How can we expect the religious right to respect the findings of science when we ourselves refuse to?
We SHOULD let people self-define as bisexual, just as we SHOULD let people who are conservatively religous and gay get married and live a hetroseuxal life "through Christ." All of these people, however, are CHOOSING to turn their backs on their physical attraction for a non-sexual value or belief. As such, they ARE on the fringes of the gay community, and DO NOT require the special attention of an ACTUAL SEXUAL ORIENTATION. These people choose to ignore their physical attractions in favor of what society deems acceptable; no one would EXPECT that of hetrosexuals act more bi or gay than they really are for society, and so only homosexuals really need such protections -- if you are gay and you'd like to date women, then frankly you're in much the same boat as most hetrosexual men.
If someone I know claims to be bisexual (and in fact I know a couple of guys currently), I don't argue with them or try to "convince" them to be one way or another. But I don't let myself be brow-beaten for occasionally expressing my honest, heart-felt skepticism.
We need to be more tolerant. We do not need to tolerate ourselves into ignoring reality. Sexual rights movements started not because people had different ideals about the same basic sexual drive, but because the basic sexual drives themselves were different. Now that we at least can measure the physical arousal in a scientific fashion, why can't we embrace the knowledge we find? Why must we try to force modern science into outdated 20th century post-modern conceptions of "fluid" sexuality? There are no 0s, 2s, 3s, 4s, and 6s, on the Kinsey scale -- at least not for men. Isn't it cool that we can actually know that, finally?
I'm pretty accepting of what anyone is into as long as it only involves consenting adults. I don't, however, think we should bury our heads in the sand because a study says something we don't think is politically correct. At the very least, this can help us understand a little better how sexuality is consituted as an identity and desire. I doubt that the study will make anyone any less likely to retain their "bi" identity.
Dunno about all these so-called "Bi" folks.....most sound like a cop-out from people who are embarassed by their homosexuality and choose to be only half-embarassed instead.
I do, however support necrophilia between concenting adults.
Dear Doug, you ignorant slut.....you were wrong on the "Bi" thing, but so very right about the Lay's Dill Pickle Chips thing, that all is again back to center.I'd rather have a realtionship with a fully comitted potato chip, than a half-commited, unsure part time friend of Dorothy's.