Les4les is SO valid but I also wanted to gently remind folks that there is actually a system of oppression called monosexism that specifically targets anyone that is under the multisexual (ie bi+) umbrella and is attracted to more than âoneâ gender. This results in it being a documented fact that bi+ people have higher rates of:
identity suppression (The most alarming iteration of this is when a questioning bi personâs long-term partner begins to suspect they are bi and starts taunting them about it so that the bi person is never able to come to terms with their own sexuality and forcibly identifies as straight forever, which is awful for their mental health. Another version is that I would be in more danger of conversion therapy or having my WLW relationship sabotaged if I came out to my family as bi since everyone would think Iâm as âeasyâ case.)
domestic and intimate partner violence (These rates are higher than that of lesbians who have dated men, specifically because toxic partners feel extra threatened by bisexuality and will falsely accuse you of cheatingâI have seen this happen in real life, even in cases where someone is not out to their partner and the partner suspects it.)
poverty and homelessness (This is understood to be because while gay people seek out found family if their bio family kicks them out, once a bi person is kicked out of their bio family, queer found family often adopts them conditionally on the basis of whom theyâre dating and whether they present as queer âenoughâ.)
being denied asylum (Because bi people are seen as ânot gay enoughâ to be in danger of life-threatening homophobiaâAs a bi4bi WLW trying desperately to escape my home country in the global south I can tell you that firsthand how difficult that is. đ„Č)
poor mental health and suicide
This is compared to all monosexual peers (straight people, gay men, and lesbians). As you can see, the statistical existence monosexism obviously doesnât imply that we are necessarily âmoreâ marginalised than any other group. Obviously, the patriarchy is the highest perpetuator of bigotry towards us, not other queer peopleâas is the case with all other LGBTQ+ groups. (ie Bisexuals are a minority group within the patriarchy and are obviously not the âbiggestâ perpetuator of any bigotry towards other queer groups.) However, bisexuals are uniquely marginalised, just like heterosexism and cissexism are also both unique systems of power that oppress gay and trans people. Biphobia and bimisogyny arenât just âannoyingâ, it feeds into monosexist rhetoric that is genuinely life-threatening to the most vulnerable bisexualsâlike BIPOC bisexuals, trans bisexuals, and bisexual WLW who present as lesbians to the rest of society. This is similar to how lesbophobia or transphobia might only be mildly annoying to a very rich, white queer person, but we canât call lesbophobia or transphobia as a whole harmless or allow it to be hurled against even controversial figures, let alone assholes in our personal lives.
As a bi4bi WLW I do wholeheartedly support les4les and its deep cultural importance. đđ„° Bi sapphics should respect that, and call out ignorant lesbophobia in the discourseâOf course, lesbians should also be on the lookout for whether anyone claiming to be les4les is actually being exclusionary on the basis biphobia rather than the prioritisation of lesbian solidarity. I understand the instinctive worry that bisexual sapphics have whenever they think they see a queer person trying to exclude bisexuals in some way, just like I understand the various anxieties of lesbians. Itâs easy to be triggered these days and misunderstand each other, especially over the internet. Monosexism isnât very well known so people donât call out biphobia enough, meanwhile my WLW community (that includes bisexuals, lesbians and trans sapphics as well as bi4les couples) is very directly affected by biphobia as well as lesbophobia and transphobia.
blakekathryn
germansingergirl
pixelskylines
areudirty
jimmyeatworldofficial
