It's no surprise to what the acronym LGBT means: lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. Of course, not everyone fits into these categories. Today more labels are available for these gender and sexual minorities. If society can now comprehend that homosexual and transgender people exist, why is it that bisexuality is the hardest to understand? Bisexuality refers to the sexual attraction of two genders, usually referring to cisgender men and women. For years, bisexual individuals have faced discrimination in both the queer and straight community. Many of the reasons why, is because it doesn't fit the criteria to love simply one type of individual. For some reason, our society is fixated on the idea of having a single choice. This is visible in monogamy, as it is an acceptable standard of living. Bisexual individuals have been viewed as greedy, selfish, confused, and even disgusting. Many people believe they are more prevalent to STD's and cheating on their partners. While there are polyamorous bisexuals, there are also polyamorous heterosexuals and homosexuals. A heterosexual man who is dating a woman does not stop having interest in other women; similarly, a bisexual man does not lose interest in other men or women when he dates a man or woman. In the same way, gays and heterosexuals do not choose who they love, bisexual individuals don't either. The only difference is that they fall for more people, and if not more complicated than loving a single sex.
For bisexual people, it's not so simple to come out as bisexual because people don't want to accept that it exists. People in the LGBT community think bisexuals are closeted gays, and the straight community think bisexual people are greedy straight people. Religious parents tend to believe that their children can still be straightened out or can't make up their minds. The presence of the letter B is present in the famous acronym, but is almost blurred out in its actual representation.
The problem with believing these myths causes bisexual individuals to hide within the queer community and the straight community. When this occurs, they may misidentify themselves in order to fit in. If a bisexual woman identifies as a lesbian but then decides to date a man, her sexuality will be deemed a lie since she lied about her sexuality from the start. Another problem is that they find themselves coming out more than once, since people insinuate that they will swap to either gay or straight depending on who their partner is. They may even avoid dating someone of either the same or different gender, in order to conform to either gay or straight.
A way to write bisexuality back in would be to accept, support, and defend their identity when needed. Do not insinuate that they have changed their sexuality unless the individual has announced it. Dating a woman as a bisexual man does not make them straight. When they identify themselves to you, do not debate it. Accept their identity. If the idea seems unorthodox, recall that this is not a matter of choice, but a matter of interest. If they don't fit in the LGBTQ community or the straight community, then where can they?
