I came across this article buried at the bottom of the Google News home page (which, incidentally, am I the only one that really dislikes the new layout?) Given Heidi's and my interest in gay issues, it caught my attention.
The Last Person Out of the Closet: The Bisexual Male
The article made think of two things - one addressed and one, oddly, not.
1) If the struggle for gay rights really is the civil rights issue of our time, the parallels between being bisexual and multiracial really are appropriate and one I had not thought of before. While I feel that the stigma of being multiracial has lessened since the early to mid 20th century if not evaporated altogether, I think it will be a while before those people who identify as bisexual are not perceived by society at large as being on a train - next stop, Gayville. I think human sexuality is so much more complicated and bigger than our paltry labels.
2) I maintain that the biggest objections to homosexuality in our society stem from how it has turned the traditional concept of masculinity on its ear. How a guy like me that is not interested in sports or cars or many of the "traditional" guy things can be straight yet a big burly trucker interested in those things can be gay messes with our collective heads. This is ultimately a good thing as it causes us to see things through a different lens. The fact that the article does not mention bisexual women only solidifies this in my head. That is not to say that bisexual women don't face similar hardships, but rather that the underlying masculinity issue as it pertains to gay rights is the rather large elephant in the room.
2 comments:
"The fact that the article does not mention bisexual women only solidifies this in my head."
Good point...I think we have a societal perception that women are more 'pliable' sexually and that a woman attracted to another woman isn't 'gay' in the traditional sense.
Generally speaking, people think about this shit too much. Like who you like.
I would agree that people worry about labels too much, although I find it endlessly fascinating, especially as it pertains to men's issues and masculinity.
And isn't it kind of implicit that a bisexual woman is every straight guy's dream come true? Not saying that's right, just that the idea DOES exist.
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