Happy Pride! It's that time of year again, where rainbows and glitter are the new black and we gather to support and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. Things are far (far, far, far) from perfect in the community, but that doesn't mean we all shouldn't celebrate. Yes, ALL of us. Whether you do that by attending a Pride parade yourself, donating what you can to a good cause, reaching out to your loved ones in the community, or feeling a little bit prouder when you look in the mirror and see your queer self looking back at you, one thing is for sure — it's time to celebrate, honor, and fight.
Of course, some of the more nuanced problems in society and within the LGBTQ+ community itself don't just go away once we flip our calendars to June. In fact, sometimes the celebration of so many identities can make the stigmatization of some identities glaringly obvious — for example, non-mono sexualities like bisexuality and pansexuality.
Bisexual erasure and biphobia are certainly not new concepts. From the super ignorant "She's dating a guy now, so she's straight" to the outright offensive "You're just being greedy" with a little bit of "It's just a phase, everyone's bisexual at some point" thrown in for flavor, there's no shortage of harmful stereotypes to go around. Even during Pride. It's one of the many reasons that now more than ever, we need some powerful bicons (bi icons, get it?) to give a little extra love to and hold onto when the sneaky whispers of biphobia creep into our lives. Here are some of my favs.
Quick note: for the purpose of collecting all the non-mono support we can get, I've included those who identify both as bisexual and pansexual in this list. The two are, of course, different and deserve their own recognition as two separate identities. Hopefully, someday we'll have enough role models of both identities so we won't have to combine the lists. Learn more here.
Demi Lovato
What started as speculation after the release of her song "Cool For The Summer," it was just a couple of days ago that Demi posted on her Instagram story with a cute little "Bi Pride" sticker dancing around on top of a photo of her fresh rainbow pedicure.
Halsey
Halsey's been outspoken about her sexuality since she first entered the public eye, breaking ground with her hit single "Bad At Love" with a verse starting with "Got a boy back home in Michigan" before the next verse starts with "Got a girl with California eyes." A song that normalizes bisexuality this much making rounds on all the top radios is huge.
Kesha
"I don't love just men. I love people. It's not about a gender. It's just about the spirit that exudes from that other person you're with."
Lady Gaga
Unsurprisingly, Lady Gaga makes the list. Her single "Born This Way" is the anthem of all anthems for the LGBTQ+ community. Gaga told her fans, "It's not a lie that I am bisexual and I like women."
Miley Cyrus
Miley's stance is very similar to Kesha's, saying, "What I preach is: People fall in love with people, not gender, not looks, not whatever. What I'm in love with exists on almost a spiritual level. It has nothing to do with sexuality." Earlier this year, she interviewed with "Vanity Fair" in which she explained how being married to a man doesn't change her queer identity as pansexual.
Sarah Paulson
The woman we know and love from some of the grittiest scenes of "American Horror Story," Sarah Paulson doesn't define her sexuality as gay, straight, or anything in between. What she says is this: "I can meet a man tomorrow and fall in love with him and marry him and I wouldn't discount any of the experiences that I've had with women, or vice versa."
Brendon Urie
Panic! At The Disco's frontman, who's behind another non-mono sexuality anthem, "Girls/Girls/Boys," came out around this time last year, saying, "I guess this is me coming out as pansexual."
Lauren Jauregui
Former Fifth Harmony member came out as bisexual a few years ago in the most badass way possible: in a letter to Trump supporters calling them out on their bigotry. Fun fact: Lauren and Halsey have a song together about a relationship between two women.
Cara Delevingne
It was just this week that Cara Delevingne posted a video of her and rumored girlfriend Ashley Benson on her Instagram story with the caption #Pride.
Janelle Monae
"Being a black queer woman in America...Someone who has been in relationships with both men and women...I consider myself to be a free-ass motherfucker."
