BiTalks 15
How, if at all, does people’s behaviour to you change when they find out you’re bi? How do you feel about it?
Generally I am treated the same, I went to an all girls school when I first came out so I was a bit worried about being out in school but aside from being asked if I fancy this girl or this one or this one, the other girls, in my year at least, just accepted it and asked questions, however there have been times where a guy will find out and instantly start going on about threesomes and how lucky whichever guy I am dating is.
I have had a few times where my older brothers girlfriends have been really interested in knowing about bisexuality and how I knew. He didn't find it as funny as I did.
How do people at your school/work/other social space view bisexuality? How does it affect they act around you and your behaviour towards them?
Like I said when I was at school, I was accepted with minimal fuss. As I've grown up, a majority of my friends are queer, mostly bisexuals. This just happened, none of us looked for bisexual friends we just met and got on. At various jobs, I've either not come out because I feel there is no need for me to be out or when I have came out usually had a good reaction, though I did once have a woman, who I was becoming pretty good friends with, become really distant so I stopped behaving as a friend and just responded as a co-worker. I'm not going to treat people better than they treat me.
How do you think bisexuality in general is viewed in your country/hometown/place where you currently live?
I live in England, so generally bisexuals are pretty much accepted. Obviously we have the issues of over sexualisation and stereotypes. But a majority of what I have seen, bisexuals are fairly well treated and viewed as a more or less normal thing, as it should be.
How do you wish people viewed bi people? What do you think could be done achieve it?
I feel that bisexuality needs to be seen as a normal orientation, not seen as a excuse for media promiscuity. I'm not saying bisexuals can't be promiscuous, but I feel that various medias need to show that bisexuals aren't sex-mad people who sleep with everyone with a pulse. Bisexuals on tv and in movies are often shown as cheaters or people who can't commit to relationships and those who aren't often 'don't do labels' and as such people begin to accept that the bisexual on the screen is the only 'real' bisexual so I feel media needs to show real bisexual relationships and then to drop this 'no labels' bull.
Bonus: do you know anything about how different societies used to view bisexuality in the past? Share it with us!
Well, I know that in Ancient Greece and Japan, older men and younger men were usually expected to become lovers during training then later marry women, in Japan an ideal was once to have both a wife and a younger male partner and it was considered perfectly normal.
