Are Bisexuals Being Freed From Purgatory?

by Allison Hope · 2010-09-22 11:30:00 UTC
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Historically considered by many to be the "confused" sexual identity, bisexuals have had to reconcile their own identities with the unflattering stereotypes imposed on them. Straight lovers are afraid that they'll leave them for that undeniably better same-sex lovin', while same-sex lovers claim bisexuals have just not braved up enough to come entirely out of the closet.

For bisexuals though, navigating the currents of their own desires can be challenging enough without all the crap they have to deal with from lovers and society at large. That being said, have the Lindsay Lohans of the world cleared the way for increased tolerance of a more legitimized bisexual existence?

We see more and more young people, particularly women, dabbling or diving in to sexual experimentation with same and opposite sex partners. Granted, we know it's still easier for a femme female to be open about her bisexuality than it is for a butch woman or a man, but from the star-studded arenas of pop culture to the grassy knolls of high school recess, bisexuality is more visible than ever before.

Harvard Professor Marjorie Garber argued in a 600-page paper on the topic several years ago that most people would be bisexual if the current climate allowed for it. Are gays and lesbians just as guilty as heterosexuals when it comes to "locking in" our sexual identities to the exclusion of all else? Perhaps bisexuals more accurately have their finger on the pulse (pun unintended).

As we get closer to acceptance of our pansexual appetites, are we moving further away from bisexuality as a taboo? Maybe we haven't opened the door just yet to total acceptance of our own individual spectrums of desire, but perhaps bisexuals have helped to crack the window open. And with the exposure that we've been privy to, are bisexuals as a result closer to being freed from purgatory?

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Allison Hope is a writer and multimedia artist living in New York City.
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