-- __^ Travis Heying/DN
UNL students Lisa Taylor and Lise Johnston share an intimate moment
Sexual opinions
Bisexual coming out carries risk of ostracism from homosexuals
Bisexuality — Caught in the
Crossfire of Sexual Identity
When 1 was 16 1 sal shaking in
a mud-splattered school bus, lis
tening to my peers jeer and laugh at
homosexuality.
They had just been formally in
troduced, via a poorly taught hu
man sexuality class, to “the words
'‘homosexual" and “lesbian." The
words “gay" and “bisexual" were
not part of the lexicon of the class.
Taunlinglhegay lifestyle wasn’t
new to my classmate??..It was a
behavior taught to them by com
munity standards, family valuesand
church doctrine.
The human sexuality class fur
ther endorsed my classmates’
homophobia by labeling homo
sexuality a “deviance."
I, a bisexual, was terrified. I was
sure that I would be found out and
raped. 1 was young. It was 1974.
The Gay Rights Movement had
only been alive and kicking for
approximatc4ystxyears. There was
no mention of bisexuals in the
movement — 1 was sure 1 was
alone.,
I came out of the closet five years
ago. Before then, my social life
pretty much revolved around lht£
gay lifestyle. I was afraid that if I
came out as a bisexual, I would be
ostracized by the gay community. I
didn’t much care what heterosexu
als thought.
I leleroscxuals were, andstill are,
the enforcers of a hypocritical mo
rality that often tacitly condones
incest and molestation of children,
rape of women and general brutal
ity among men. I didn’t feel I needed
theirbrand of ethics. I did care what
the gay community thought of me.
-«
/ came out of the
closet five years ago.
Before then, my so
cial life pretty much
revolved around the
gay lifestyle. / was
afraid that if / came
out as a bisexual /
7 would be ostracized
by the gay commu
nity. / didn't much
care what hetero
sexuals thought.
-99
A lot of myths abound, be
within the gay community and l
hclerexsexual majority, conccrni
bisexuality.
Many lesbians and gays hold l
view that bisexuality is a stage
— the dcvelopmcnl of a true homo
sexual identity.
Heterosexuals often view bisexu -
als as oversexed individuals who
don’t discriminate in their sexual
liaisons.
Heterosexual men frequently
think that bisexual (and lesbian)
women just need a "real man" to
show them that heterosexual is the
only way to be.
The Kinsey Report, a compre
hensive study conducted in the
l<>lOsinvcstigaiingthesexualprac
liccsof Americans, stated thatsexu
alily is rarely an all-or-nothing is
~* sue.
>th
he Few people are purely hetcro
ng sexual or homosexual. In fact, only
10 percent of the population is
he strictly one or the other. So bisexu
in alily existson a continuum ofexpe
riencc. Most people are bisexual in
some way.
My need for a sense of balance
within my sexual and social expe
rience has led me to be an open
bisexual. I love my female partner
as well as my male partner. I believe
love is something a person cel
ebrates, not hides.
I have found that the gay com
munity still lives under the illusion
that sexuality is bounded by abso
lutes. Hut the gay community is, by
and large, tolerant and willing to
learn abou 11 he differences between
people.
I wish I could say the same about
heterosexuals.
— Barbara A. Baler write* for the
Women’* Journal Advocate and is a Di
version* contributor.