Celebrating Bisexual Identity: UVA Professor’s Book Reframes a Marginalized Experience

Associate professor Lisa Speidel, a sexuality educator and scholar in the Department of Women, Gender & Sexuality at UVA is the author of a new book that reframes bisexuality through the lens of resilience, authenticity and joy.

Photo: contributed, illustration by Avery Wagner, artwork by Emma Terry

Bisexuality is often misunderstood, erased and overshadowed by stigma, but UVA associate professor Lisa Speidel is helping rewrite that narrative. Her new book, Bisexuality Beyond Binaries: Celebrating Multiple Bisexual Identities in a World of Erasure, published this summer, brings together diverse voices to explore the complexity, resilience and joy of bisexual lives. Drawing from research, personal stories and activist perspectives, the book offers a powerful counterpoint to the negativity that often surrounds bisexual identity.

Exploring the idea that joy itself can be a form of resistance, Speidel and her contributors illustrate how bisexual people find empowerment through authenticity, community and self-acceptance — even in the face of exclusion and discrimination. The work builds on scholarship and lived experience to illuminate how embracing bisexuality can foster personal growth and social change.

Speidel, a certified sexuality educator and faculty member in UVA’s Department of Women, Gender & Sexuality, hopes the book will serve as a resource for educators, therapists and readers looking to better understand and support bisexual individuals.

From Bisexuality Beyond Binaries: Celebrating Multiple Bisexual Identities in a World of Erasure

It is imperative to address the harm caused by biphobia, bi-erasure and monosexism, as much of this book does, but it is equally important to discuss the joy and resilience of bisexual people. We often do not hear about the positivity of the bisexual experience, nor is there much research done about this. It is not always an easy task to embrace the positive aspects of bisexuality, given the impact of bi-negativity that results in bisexual people being treated with suspicion, invalidation and rejection.

A key component of systemic oppressions like bi-erasure, biphobia and monosexism is not only the invalidation and rejection described earlier, but also the denial of the joy and pleasure bisexuality can bring. Positive feelings about oneself are empowering and threaten dominant power structures that perpetuate subjugation and the harmful impact of oppression. adrienne marie brown (2019) describes this as pleasure activism, the work we do to “reclaim our whole, happy, and satisfiable selves from the impacts, delusions and limitations of oppression and/or supremacy” (p.13). brown also contends that pleasure activism includes “work and life lived in the realms of satisfaction, joy and erotic aliveness that bring about social and political change” (p.13). Not everyone can feel joy given the hardships of experiencing biphobia, bi-erasure and monosexism, in addition to the intersection of other forms oppression. It is important not to promote toxic positivity if some just are not feeling it, however, those who are able to celebrate their bisexuality and share their sense of joy, create a space for others to see there can be another path that may not always have to be as full of struggle. As Tania Israel (2018) states, “It is important that we unearth this internalized stigma, challenge the negativity we feel about ourselves and other bisexuals, and help others to do so. Moreover, we will need to combat the negative messages promulgated in society and encourage positive depictions of bisexuality” (p.191).

There are multiple ways researchers, writers and activists have worked to raise awareness about the importance of bisexual joy. For example, the powerful research of Rostoksy et al. (2010) discovered multiple ways that bisexual folks feel positive with their identity. This evolved into 11 main categories of positivity including:

freedom from social labels
honesty and authenticity
having a unique perspective
increased levels of insight and awareness
freedom to love without regard for sex/gender
freedom to explore relationships
freedom of sexual expression
acceptance of diversity
belonging to a community
understanding privilege and oppression
becoming an advocate/activist (p.134).

Even when facing adversity, these participants in this study found that the challenges of bi-negativity allowed for personal growth. Having access to bisexual community, positive representation in the media, family and friends who are educated about bisexuality, and psychological practitioners who understand their own biases and are well informed about the realities of bisexuality all help with this.

Another example of a study about bisexual joy conducted by Galupo, Taylor and Cole (2019), examined the positive aspects of being both bisexual and biracial. The four main categories they discovered were “(1) uniqueness of being; (2) multiplicity of experience, (3) community connections, and (4) strengths and impact” (p.158). Participants described their identities as providing “unique insight” that allowed for more openness to differences, diverse identities and “defied traditional identity categories” (p.160). They also felt joy in the intersection of their identities, which created a space for certain kinds of connections based on the shared experience of uniqueness that allowed for close friendships. In addition, the participants reported a “multiplicity of experience” because of their ability to see many sides to identity. Furthermore, this intersection provoked feelings of strength because it allowed for a self-reflection and questioning that led to increase in self-worth, self-reliance, cultural awareness and empathy for others (p.161).

Works Cited

brown, a.m. (2019). Introduction in Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good, (pp. 1-18) AK Press.
Israel, T. (2018). Concluding Remarks: A Perspective on Envisioning Bisexuality as Inclusive, Celebratory and Liberatory in Bisexuality: Theory, Research and Recommendations for the Invisible Sexuality, ed. D. Joye Swan and Shani Habibi (pp. 189-193). Springer.
Rostosky, S.S., Riggle, E. D.B., Pascale-Hague, D. and McCants, L.E. (2010). The Positive Aspects of a Bisexual Identification. Psychology and Sexuality, Vol.1, No.2, pp.131-144.
Galupo, M.P.,Taylor S. and Cole,D. (2019). ‘I Am Double the Bi:’ Positive Aspects of Being Both Bisexual and Biracial. Journal of Bisexuality, Vol.19, No.2, pp.152-168.