Robert Gallagher

Bi-Commitments: Understanding the Bisexual Experience as a Dual-Identity

Abstract

Recent literature concerning the study of dual-identity has focused on marginalized racial, ethnic, and religious groups. Similar to Fingerhut, Peplau, and Ghavami (2005), I am arguing that dual-identity should also be applied to sexuality studies. Due to society’s misunderstanding of the bisexual identity, combined with the discrimination that bisexual individuals face from both the broader, heteronormative society and LGBTQ+ communities, bisexual individuals exist in a precarious position. Through 14 interviews, I find that bisexual individuals experience a dual-identity by adhering to the distinct cultural norms found in both queer communities and the broader, heteronormative community in different social situations. They may adhere to cultural queer norms through clothing, speech, or queer symbols to either "prove their queerness" or as an authentic self-expression when they feel comfortable. Additionally, they may adhere to broader, heteronormative norms in society through presenting a "watered-down" version of themselves, or by actively changing parts of their self-presentation such as their clothing and speech. There are few spaces that bisexual individuals feel that they can exist authentically which include specific groups of friends, romantic partners, and family.