#still bisexual

[robynochs]

"People say, 'Are you STILL bisexual?'...it's an identity that has to be constantly reinforced, and I believe it is important to do so."

Wishing a happy #BiVisibilityMonth to all.

[bi-trans-alliance]

#StillBisexual/#StillPansexual at WeHo Pride, 2022

[bidotorg]

Ask A Bi Dad: I don’t feel bi enough dating a man

Sometimes our bi identity is hidden and we struggle to find the best outlet for it

How do I remain visible as a bi woman when I’m dating a man?

[omarfor-orchestra]

!

[sincenewyorks]

watched the movie again and yeah [redacted] is still bi

[hellomynameisbisexual]

Decades after coming out as bisexual, Rawlings-Fein said he and other advocates still face the misconception that the term bisexual means their attraction is restricted to the gender binary — meaning those who identify as exclusively male or female. Amid this year’s Bisexual Awareness Week, which culminates with Bi Visibility Day on Sept. 23, activists and bisexual-identified people told NBC News that this is a pervasive stereotype, despite published documents dating to the 1990s that clarify the term’s expansive meaning and Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s update to its definition this past spring.

Beyond attraction to ‘both men and women’

The first known use of the word "bisexual" was in 1793, though it meant "possessing characters of both sexes” at the time, according to its Merriam-Webster entry. The definition has changed and expanded many times over the centuries — including this year.

Bisexual+ advocate Robyn Ochs, 61, said she accidentally noticed that Merriam-Webster changed its definition of “bisexual” during a recent Google search. After the 200-year-old dictionary company named the nonbinary pronoun “they” its 2019 Word of the Year, Ochs said she wrote a letter in collaboration with the LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD asking for an update to the word “bisexual,” because the expanded definition of “they” created “a contradiction in your binary definition of bisexuality.”

Prior to the change, Merriam-Webster defined bisexuality as “attraction to both men and women.” In April, a more inclusive definition was added: “of, relating to, or characterized by sexual or romantic attraction to people of one's own gender identity and of other gender identities.” The change was due to a regularly scheduled update, according to Peter Sokolowski, an editor-at-large for Merriam-Webster.com.

Since the 1990s, however, Ochs, the editor of Bi Women Quarterly, has defined bisexuality as “the potential to be attracted — romantically and/or sexually — to people of more than one gender, not necessarily at the same time, not necessarily in the same way, and not necessarily to the same degree.” She credits the work of Bay Area activists for helping introduce her to this expansive understanding.

From the Kinsey Scale to the ‘Bisexual Manifesto’

As “a child of the ‘40s,” activist ABilly Jones-Hennin, 78, said he first encountered ideas about bisexuality in a book he found in his father’s library that contained information about the Kinsey Scale, a measure of an individual’s sexuality published in 1948 by the sex researcher Alfred Kinsey. Growing up, he said he seldom heard the term “homosexual” and doesn’t remember ever seeing or hearing the word “bisexual” until becoming involved in activism the 1970s.

Jones-Hennin said he believes misconceptions about bisexuality arise from assumptions placed on bisexual people from those outside the community.

“People don’t believe I’m bisexual because I’m in a same gender-loving relationship, and I have been in one for 43 years,” he said. “People define you as they see you at that moment."

As different terms continue to emerge that describe the “gray area” and bisexual activists look to the future of the movement, Ochs said people can use as many words as they want to describe their identities.

“These are all different words. These are all beautiful words,” Ochs said. “We can make a space for all of us.”

[missmamibee]

the whole concept of a “bi lesbian” or whatever stems from people thinking bisexual is somehow lesser than gay/lesbian or an exact 50-50 attraction split

[eevee-like-the-pokemon]

I THINK IM NONBINARY???????

But I'm still (mostly) gender conforming. Thats fine right?????