BISEXUALS FACE WORST MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS
A new report looking at bisexual inclusion and equality issues has found that bisexual people face more mental health issues compared to other groups in the lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) community.
These includes higher rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide.
The report said that this has been found in the U.K. and internationally, and is linked to experiences of ‘biphobia’ and bisexual invisibility.
The report, led by Dr Meg Barker, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at The Open University in the U.K., said that attitudes towards bisexual people were found to be more negative than those towards other minority groups, with bisexuals often being stereotyped as promiscuous, incapable of monogamy, a threat to relationships and spreaders of disease.
“Government policy and equalities agendas generally consider lesbian, gay and bisexual issues together. However bisexual people often face prejudice from within lesbian and gay groups as well as heterosexual communities,” said Dr Barker.
“They are invisible – not represented in mainstream media, policy, legislation or within lesbian and gay communities. Government and communities need to single out bisexual people as a separate group in order to address this equality gap.”
Although the attitudes and behaviours of others, and exclusionary structures, cause issues for bisexual people, the report found that there are many positive aspects to bisexual peoples’ experiences.
These include the ability to develop identities and relationships without restrictions, linked to a sense of independence, self-awareness and authenticity.
“Bisexual people also speak of their acceptance and appreciation of others’ differences and feel well-placed to notice and challenge social biases and assumptions beyond sexuality,” said the authors.
Alice Ashworth from British LGBT rights group Stonewall welcomed the report.
“Bi people will be pleased to know that researchers really do understand their needs. Now it’s important for service providers, the media and employers to take those needs seriously – we hope this important work helps them to do that,” she said.
Bisexuality. I am pleased that people are actually addressing the issues surrounding bisexuality. Bisexuals are generally treated with twice the disdain from both hetero- and homosexuals alike. This disdain arises from a bisexual’s frame of sexual reference being entirely different to that of either extreme. Members of either extreme cannot understand how both genders can be appreciated concurrently. This is due to the different modus of appreciation exhibited by members of each orientation group. Bisexuals do not base their appreciation exclusively on physical gender. Thus members of other orientations need to allow for this paradigm shift. A lack of willingness to shift one’s paradigm fosters resentment which then exhibits as a threat. Hence the biphobia and associated stigmata. It is far easier to ignore bisexuality or worse, to view a Bisexual as a baser psyche through promiscuity than perhaps a more evolved psyche that transcends physical gender and sees a human being.
In the end, that is what we all are.
Human beings.
I don’t doubt bi’s go through a lot of shit. Im gay n I can admit that Im not a huge fan of bi guys. To be honest I gotta tell you it’s because of this site. Most of the bi guys on this site are married or just looking for sex. Thus feeding the stereotype. I think it’s fair to say most of us gay guys have had bad experiences with bi guys so the source of disdaine isn’t coming from some religious rhetoric but from painful personal experieces of being used n dumped for some chick another guy, or falling helplessly for the ‘bad boy’ (sound familar to anyone) these aren’t excuses or justifications just wanna put a percpective on this. Lets face it generally bi guys are very desirable in every way to a judgment impairing point that’s thier nature*smiley* so If ur still hung up over that ‘asshole bi guy’ get over it!! It could’ve easily been that ‘asshole gay guy’. I don’t doubt that there are good bi’s out there. I just doubt you’ll find any good ones on dates sites that promote hook ups instead of quality relationships… Oh wait that will have to include gay guys too after all we have to start being fair now that we outted as hypocrits*smiley* Moral of the story, next Time u go on a ‘bi rant’ pls recall how many guys Have chowed on this site or gaydar, camp david the rec room, adultworld the gym steam room… Than add ur name where u said bi’s n see if th shoe fits. In the end we are all guys
P.S. I still feel there are less bi guys around in this country (n the rest of Africa) than we are led to believe. There is still negative stigma around being gay n bi seems more rescpectable or easier to deal with cause u can show the world u still like chicks. Until the day we don’t have to hide in our closets n live life in the open as whatever the hell, we will always need to tackle these issues I for one am willing to adopt a new percpective on bisexual. Are u?