Biphobia's Internalized Form: Understanding, illustrations, supportive actions, and additional insights
In a world where everyone deserves support and understanding, it's crucial to address the challenges faced by bisexual individuals. This article sheds light on the impact of monosexism and biphobia on the mental health and well-being of this community.
Help is available for individuals in crisis and considering suicide or self-harm. Resources such as the 988 Lifeline, Crisis Text Line, and Befrienders Worldwide are here to provide support. For those seeking resources specific to the LGBTQIA+ community, GLAAD offers an extensive directory, including resources dedicated to supporting bisexual people.
Monosexism, a systemic bias that privileges attraction to only one gender, can manifest in various ways. It can lead to the invalidation or erasure of identities involving attraction to more than one gender, such as bisexuality. This systemic bias underlies bi erasure, which then fosters biphobia, resulting in social marginalization and invisibility that negatively impact bisexual individuals’ mental health and well-being.
Biphobia, the specific discrimination, stigma, and negative attitudes directed toward bisexual individuals, contributes directly to significantly higher health risks such as mental health challenges and non-suicidal self-injury among bisexual people. Alcohol use disorder is more prevalent among bisexual women compared to their monosexual counterparts, and bisexual people may be more likely to experience substance use issues.
Internalized monosexism, the fear and self-hate of one's own bisexual identity, can result from being exposed to negative ideas about bissexuality from a young age. This fear and self-hate can lead to internalized oppression, which can limit identity recognition and acceptance, intensifying feelings of isolation and minority stress.
However, anyone who experiences monosexism can find dedicated resources for education and advocacy from a range of organizations. Some of these organizations are specifically dedicated to supporting bisexual people, such as the American Institute of Bisexuality, Bisexual Resource Center, and Boston Bisexual Women's Network.
It's essential to remember that a person does not need to disclose their sexual orientation for it to be valid, and no one ever has to prove their sexual identity. The Trevor Project affirms this, reminding people that who a bisexual person dates or has relationships with does not make them more or less bisexual than others, and that bisexuality is valid and real.
By combatting monosexism, individuals can be allies to the bisexual community. This includes identifying individuals correctly, identifying relationships correctly, understanding that bisexuality is not a phase, understanding that bisexuality does not equate with promiscuity, and identifying terms correctly.
In conclusion, while biphobia is the direct prejudice experienced by bisexual individuals, monosexism is the underlying structural ideology that validates monosexual identities and delegitimizes bisexuality. Together, they exert a compounded negative effect on bisexual individuals’ mental health and overall well-being. It's crucial to raise awareness about these issues and provide support to those who need it.
Science can play a significant role in furthering our understanding of gender and sexual identity, particularly in relation to mental health and well-being within the bisexual community. Addressing the systemic issue of monosexism, a bias privileging attraction to only one gender, is crucial for health-and-wellness and reducing mental-health challenges faced by bisexual individuals.
