Bisexual

Bisexuality may be a difficult topic to comprehend for many of us are
taught to look at almost everything in the universe as a duality: male
and female, light and dark, hot an cold, moral and immoral, etc. This
is also seen with human sexual orientation, straight, gay, lesbian but generally bisexuality is not looked at at all. Most view it as existing in
two forms: heterosexuality and homosexuality. But  human sexuality is a lot more complex than that. One cannot squeeze the full range of
human sexual feelings and behaviors into only two classifications. A
minimum of three is really needed to represent human sexual attractions
and activities: heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual. Some have
suggested more than three.

The Klein Grid, first published in 1978, expanded on the "zero to six" Kinsey Bisexual scale. The Klein Grid measures actual sexual experiences, but also sexual attractions, fantasies, emotional preference, social preference, lifestyle and self-identification as they relate to a person's past, present and ideal future. Klein's research showed that these factors can change over time for an individual, and vary not just between but also within groups of straight, gay and bisexual people. He concluded that people generalize from their own experiences and feelings to assume, often wrongly especially when it comes to bisexuality, that other people must experience their own sexual orientations the same way.

As a result, Klein concluded sexual orientations and this includes bisexuals are too complex to be broken into simple, well-defined categories. Nonetheless, he was a tireless activist especially concerning bisexual issues and community. He was known all over the world for his groundbreaking research and writing, ranging from the academic publication of the Klein Grid in the Journal of Homosexuality in 1985 to popular books and articles concerning bisexuality, as well as a novel, Life, Sex and the Pursuit of Happiness published in 2005 by Harrington Park Press.

Depending upon who is writing or talking, "bisexuality" may be defined in many different ways. Some important ones are described below:

   

    * Most people use the term "sexual orientation" to refer to sexual feelings. Heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual is a part of what people are. Thus, bisexuality is sexual orientation in which an individual feels sexual attraction towards both men and women, although not necessarily to the same degree.

    * Conservative Christians and their faith groups often assign different meanings and definitions to many religious and human sexuality terms. This makes dialogue and debate very difficult. They typically refer to heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality as what people do. Thus, bisexuality becomes a "lifestyle" in which an individual engages in sexual behavior with both men and women.

    * Others restrict the term bisexual to a person who not only has feelings of attraction to both men and women, but for whom "bisexuality is [also] an important part of their experience or identity." 1

    * Still others define bisexuality as either feelings of sexual attraction, or sexual behavior towards, both men and women. 2

    * According to the Soc.bi newsgroup, some suggest "that the word 'bisexual' should be limited to describing behaviour, and the word 'bi' could be used for describing identity."

    * Some persons who are sexually attracted to both men and women feel more strongly attracted to one gender than the other. Further, they may identify themselves as homosexual or heterosexual, depending upon their prime attraction. So, a bisexual who feels more attracted to members of the same sex might identify themselves as gay or lesbian rather than bisexual. Others, attracted to members of the opposite sex might view themselves as heterosexual.

    * In an attempt to codify sexual attraction for the two genders, human sexuality researcher Alfred Kinsey developed a seven level rating scale in which "0" meant purely heterosexual and "6" meant purely homosexual. The vast majority of adults rate themselves as a "0." A gay and lesbian minority identify themselves as a "6". A small minority are bisexual (ratings 1 to 5). Of these, only a very small minority are attracted to both men and women equally and identify themselves with a "3" rating. 3

    * W.H. Masters and V.E. Johnson used the term "ambisexual" in their books Human Sexual Response and Homosexuality in Perspective, to refer to a person who is sexually attracted to both men and women to the same degree. The term does not seem to be commonly used. Most persons with equal feelings of attraction are referred to as bisexual.


Dr. Klein founded the American Institute of Bisexuality (AIB), a public benefit charity, in 1998 to encourage, support and assist research and education about bisexuality, and served as Chairman of the Board up until his death. He was known for being outspoken, controversial and compassionate, and for his love and support of theater and the arts.



Bisexual people are not necessarily attracted equally to both sexes. Because bisexuality is often an ambiguous position between homosexuality and heterosexuality, those who identify, or are identified, as bisexuals form a heterogeneous group.



Others view bisexuality as more ambiguous. Some people who might be classified by others as bisexual on the basis of their sexual behavior self-identify primarily as homosexual. Equally, otherwise heterosexual people who engage in occasional homosexual behavior could be considered bisexual, but may not identify as such. For some who believe that sexuality is a distinctly defined aspect of the character, this ambiguity is problematic. It is sometimes argued that the behavior of bisexuals may be explained by subconscious homophobia or peer pressure.[citation needed] On the other hand, some believe that the majority of people contain aspects of homosexuality and heterosexuality, but that the intensities of these can vary from person to person.[citation needed] Some people who engage in bisexual behavior may be supportive of homosexual people, but still self-identify as heterosexual; others may consider any labels irrelevant to their positions and situations. In 1995, Harvard Shakespeare professor Marjorie Garber made the academic case for bisexuality with her 600-page Vice Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life in which she argued that most people would be bisexual if not for "repression, religion, repugnance, denial...premature specialization."[6]



Bisexuality Defined: A person who is sexually attracted to and engages in sensual or sexual relationships with people of either sex. A bisexual person may not be equally attracted to both sexes, and the degree of attraction may vary over time.



Some people believe that a person is born heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual (perhaps due to prenatal hormonal influences) and that their identity is inherent and unchangeable. Others believe that sexual orientation is due to socialization (e.g. imitating or rejecting parental models) or conscious choice (e.g. choosing lesbianism as part of a political feminist identity). Others believe that it has to do with all of the above. Because biological, social, and cultural factors are different for each person, everyone's sexuality is highly individual, whether they are bisexual, gay or lesbian, heterosexual, or asexual.



The bisexual community rejects simple dichotomies that others would use to divide and oppress lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Bisexual people and their allies are united to support a broad LGBT civil rights movement.



Why It Matters:



    * Bisexual people share an inclusive vision of human rights and social justice more than a narrowly defined "gay identity politics" could hope to achieve. The struggle to establish civil rights protections for bisexual people cannot be separated from the struggle to win freedom and equality for LGBT people.

    * As those who embrace the radical notion of being able to love one another irrespective of gender, bisexual people challenge and question fundamental assumptions regarding sexuality, gender and relationships. Learn more about bisexual-related issues at BiNetUSA.

    * As more LGBT people work in coalition, the Task Force is further empowered to confront society's homophobia, sexism, racism, biphobia and gender discrimination that confront us all.

    * A real-life example of this work was our response to a controversial 2005 New York Times article titled, Straight, Gay or Lying?  We responded to that with a piece that addressed specific problems in the article and with a fact sheet called Bisexuality, Dispelling the Myths.

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