Society is ruled by binary identities--heterosexual or homosexual, female or male, womanorman. Let's be real. We don't deal exceptionally well with concepts that challenge our binary schemas.
What is a schema, you ask?
It is psychologically proven that we get confused and anxious when we come across something that doesn’t fit into a preexisting category in our mental framework. We freak out internally and compare these conceptual challenges to what is familiar, effectively trying to squish these new ideas into our schematic boxes. Unfortunately, this means we tend to ignore and question the validity of important identities (e.g. agender, trans, intersex, multiracial, asexual, aromantic, bisexual) that do not fall into the socially prescribed binary categories we have been taught to value, much to the detriment of people who identify as such.
While many might say that LGBT representation in the media is on the rise, I say:
Yes, overall we have more LGBT characters on shows than the 90’s, and even the early 2000’s, but the media lacks in an accurate representation of the entire LGBT community. We can totally celebrate this; however, it is imperative that we analyze what needs improvement. We definitely lack depth in portraying intersectional LGBT identities on television. The importance of the intersection of racial, sexual, and gender diversity, and how they coincide to build a character's identity is often overlooked in the media. Additionally, the media reinforces/perpetuates the noxious habit of playing up stereotypes, most likely to help people deal with their schematic conflicts while keeping ratings up.
Let's focus on how we still don’t like saying the *B word* on television, not because this is the only group that suffers from large-scale identity erasure (it surely is not), but especially because this is an issue I struggle with as a bisexual woman of color who avidly binge-watches television.
On Oct. 27, 2015 GLAAD released its annual 2015 Where We Are on TV report; an in-depth review of LGBT characters that appeared on primetime television. Here are some important points and statistics from this report:
Surprise! The media severely lacks bisexual representation. Of the 271 regular and recurring LGBT characters on scripted broadcast, cable, and streaming programming, 76 (28 percent) are counted as bisexual. 53 of these bisexual characters are women and 23 are men, playing into the fetishization and sexual objectification of girl-on-girl action on television.
When television does include a bisexual character, it propagates bi negativity. The report notes that despite the increase in bisexual male representation, “it is important to note some of the tropes that we still see playing out in regards to treatment of those characters.”
The report lists the most problematic portrayals of bisexual people on television:
• bisexual characters who are depicted as untrustworthy, prone to infidelity, and/or lacking a sense of morality
• characters who use sex as a means of manipulation or who are lacking the ability to form genuine relationships
• associations with self-destructive behavior
• treating a character’s attraction to more than one gender as a temporary plot device that is rarely addressed again
The propagation of these stereotypes leads to the internalization of these ideals. Meyer's Minority Stress Model (pictured below) shows us how prejudice and stigma directed toward LGBT individuals bring about unique stressors, which further mediate negative health outcomes including mental disorders. It looks super confusing, right? The listed inaccurate and stereotypical portrayals of bisexual individuals contribute to the informal prejudice bisexuals face, and furthermore, contributes to the reasons bisexuals internalize homophobia. 
These harmful stereotypes are the reason why the straight community and gay community both express disapproval of dating a bisexual individual. You've probably heard someone say, "bisexuals are confused: they're either slutty heterosexuals or homosexuals that are too scared to come out as gay/lesbian" or "you're dating a bisexual? aren't you afraid they'll cheat on you or end up leaving you for a person of your opposite sex?"
Many bisexual individuals, after seeing these media depictions and hearing this talk, begin to internalize this negativity and take on these stereotypes as expectations.
Television lacks portrayals of the intersectionality between racial and sexual identities. All three programming platforms need to include more racially diverse LGBT characters. Overall racial diversity is moving in the right direction with 33 percent (287) of 881 regular characters counted on broadcast programming being people of color. Bisexuality is not just a "white people thing."
Bisexual privilege is not a thing. Alexandra Bolles, a GLAAD media strategist and bisexual advocate, makes a powerful point about this in the annual report,
"There are real-life consequences to what we see portrayed on TV as ‘bisexuality.’ Though bisexual people make up the majority of the LGBT community, they are less likely than their gay and lesbian peers to be out to the people they love, because their identity is constantly misconstrued as either a form of confusion, a lie or a contrived and hypersexualized means to an end. Perpetuating these tropes undermines the truth that bisexuality is real and that bi people deserve to be treated equally and fairly."
Bisexuals actually have to deal with a pretty unique stressor: constantly coming out. Often, bisexuals are grouped into one of the binary sexual orientations (heterosexual or homosexual) based on who they are currently involved with. When a bisexual person dates a member of the same-sex, others classify them as homosexual. When a bisexual person dates a member of the opposite sex, others classify them as heterosexual. While a lesbian or gay person can come out and permanently be viewed as such, bisexuality does not have the same permanence.
Bisexual people receive pushback not only from the straight community but also from the gay/lesbian community. Some people consider it a privilege to be able to be viewed as straight, without the consideration of the harm done by effectively erasing someone's sexual orientation.
Here are a few examples of bisexual identity erasure in the media:
Orange Is the New Black: Piper Chapman
Yes, I know... we all love OITNB. However, there is some serious fear of mentioning the "B word." According to the Artifice, the word "bi" has only been mentioned once in the first 26 episodes of the series. Why? Piper's character is written as bisexual. In fact, Piper Chapman, and furthermore OITNB, are based on the real-life experiences of Piper Kerman, who identifies as bisexual. One of the major subplots of this series regards Piper's ex-fiancé Larry, who refers to Piper as a "former lesbian" as well as Piper's lady lover, Alex Vause, who refers to her as "a straight girl." This is a prime example of how bisexuality is viewed as a transient phase. Piper clearly had very strong feelings for Larry if she was going to marry him, and Alex as well if she called her the love of her life. Having other characters incorrectly define Piper's sexuality takes away her agency in identifying differently. Piper is obviously not confused about her sexuality. In one episode she says, "I like hot girls. I like hot guys. I like hot people. What can I say, I’m shallow." So, if Piper is written as bisexual, why does she not use the term bisexual on screen to validate her sexuality and support the visibility of other bisexuals?
How to Get Away with Murder: Annalise Keating
If you keep up with HTGAWM, you know that the Season 2 premiere featured Annalise Keating, a powerful, smart, and bold criminal defense attorney, hooking up with her ex-boo thing from law school! It is undeniable that Annalise Keating and Eve Rothwell had a strong emotional connection in the past. Eve frustratedly tells Annalise, "You don't get to do this anymore! You don't get to use people and expect them to stick around!" It is later revealed that Annalise left Eve for her then-therapist, now-deceased husband, Sam Keating. Stereotype alert--bisexuals are constantly portrayed using sex to manipulate others. Given that Annalise also was married to Sam and had an affair with Nate, this is a classic depiction of the bisexual stereotype of bisexuality meaning merely experimenting with the same sex, being promiscuous, incapable of fidelity, and flip-flopping between being with men and women. This leads to another harmful stereotype: fearing that bisexuals will leave their partner for a member of their partner's opposite sex. I was extremely proud of this show for breaking the mold and depicting the sexual fluidity of an African American woman; however, so far, the portrayal of her bisexuality has been quite stereotypical.
Orphan Black: Cosima Niehaus and Delphine Cormier
This show does have a lot of great portrayals of bisexuality; however, you can definitely sense the apprehension in saying the "B word." It's hard to talk about these two characters separately since they are such intricate parts of each other's story in the show. After all, they are romantically involved throughout the series. While the show does a great job of designing LGBT characters, not for the male gaze, it does have a few issues with explicit bisexuality. Prior to Cosima, Delphine had only been with men and was also hooking up with her boss, Dr. Aldous Leekie. Delphine admits that she had "never considered bisexuality for herself" right before she kisses Cosima. On the other hand, Cosima has only been portrayed as interested in women. Cosima's sexuality is written as bisexual, but this has not been acknowledged on screen. Other characters incorrectly refer to Cosima and Delphine as lesbians. In an interview with After Ellen, Tatiana Maslany, the actress that plays Cosima, even said,
"John and Graeme had mentioned to me early on that Cosima was bisexual, and I could feel it in the writing even when it wasn’t explicit. I feel like she identifies as bisexual, and very much understands her sexuality as a spectrum from a scientific viewpoint."
Though it is important not to force people to identify until they are ready, bi-visibility is important! Knowing whether a character identifies as bisexual (or doesn't identify yet at all) is vital to validating the bisexual identity in society.
So...why do we need increased and accurate bisexual visibility in the media?
Challenging what we believe to be significant (our schemas) often results in panic-overload, but there’s an upside to the disorder, I promise. In addition to stressfully trying to fit a non-binary identity into a binary box by coming up with mediocre explanations such as, "they're just confused, it's only a phase until they decide if they're gay or straight," challenges to our schemas help us learn.
Psychological literature tells us that through new experiences, our schemas are modified and new information is learned. This is where the media's inaccurate and stereotypical portrayal of bisexual comes in. We can't just be satisfied with more bisexual characters on television--we must ensure that these portrayals are accurate and innocuous. Being bombarded with stereotypes about bisexuals being mostly white women who are promiscuous, sexually manipulating, incapable of fidelity, self-destructive, temporary, shapes the large-scale societal view of bisexuality.
To bisexuals, this kind of media says: your sexuality is not valid, you will never be functional, you will never settle down, and you are expected to fulfill these stereotypes. To non-bisexuals, this media says: it's okay to tell them it's just a phase, it's okay to question the moral fibers of bisexual individuals, it's normal to not accept bisexuality as a valid sexual orientation. This all contributes to the negative effects outlined in the Minority Stress Model: increased incidences of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, risky behavior, suicide, HIV and other STDs, and substance abuse.
We don't just need any kind of bisexual visibility--we need accurate bisexual visibility. Changing portrayals of non-binary sexualities in the media will challenge people's schemas, and hopefully help people learn to accept and value these sexualities.
