sorry to ruin yalls fun but dismantling biphobic stereotypes (specifically those targeting women) shouldn’t be considered “low priority” on your list of issues facing the lgbt community.
in the CDC’s report on ipv and sexual violence by sexual orientation, the top two key findings stated:
1. “Bisexual women had significantly higher lifetime prevalence of rape and sexual violence other than rape by any perpetrator when compared to both lesbian and heterosexual women.”
2. “Bisexual women had significantly higher lifetime prevalence of rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner when compared to both lesbian and heterosexual women.”
The two most common stereotypes facing bisexuals are:
* Bisexuals are unfaithful. They cannot commit to one gender/one person/one relationship *
• 1/3 bisexual women have reported stalking victimization at some point in their life, compared to 1/6 heterosexual women.
• 61.1% of bisexual women report physical intimate partner violence (compared to 43.8% of lesbians and 35% of heterosexual women),with 49.3% reporting severe physical violence (compared to 29.4% of lesbians and 23.6% of heterosexual women.)
37.3% of bisexual men report physical intimate partner violence (compared to 26% of gay men and 29% of heterosexual men)
Stereotypes surrounding bisexuals ability to remain loyal to their partner results in toxic and abusive relationships. Bisexuals in relationships are met with possessiveness, jealousy, distrust, stalking, and abuse.
* Bisexuals are promiscuous/slutty/down for anything *
• 46.1% of bisexual women have experienced rape (compared to 13.1% of lesbians and 17.4% of heterosexual women)
• The lifetime prevalence of sexual violence other than rape for bisexual women was reported at 74.9% (compared to 46.4% of lesbians and 43.3% of heterosexual women)
• 47.4% of bisexual men report sexual violence other than rape (compared to 40.2% of gay men and 20.8% of heterosexual men)
Enforcing the idea that bisexuals are inherently “down to fuck” promotes the idea that we do not have sexual boundaries and therefore consent is not necessary. This stereotype works to deny bisexuality as an identity and promote bisexuality as a “behavior.”
Simply writing these statistics off as misogyny or homophobia erases the real effects biphobic stereotypes and stigma has on people, and prevents us from addressing the root cause of this culture of violence.
The stereotypes we joke about, the stereotypes we do little to effectively combat are directly linked to the violence we face.
jacobvanloon
blakekathryn
theartofmadeline
