Little by little, it feels like some of the mysteries of the bisexual experience are starting to be unwound.
It’s been — well, not common knowledge, but well-documented with research for several years now that bisexuals are, uh, not doing so hot. Compared to monosexuals, we tend to be sicker, both physically and mentally, and poorer and with a higher likelihood of experiencing abuse and assault and suicidal thoughts.
But why those things are true has been something of a mystery, outside of a general “biphobia -> stress -> poor health?” framework that’s also known as “minority stress theory.” I’ve never really found minority stress theory to be so satisfying an answer, as it feels too unspecific; it never really seems to explain why, for instance, bisexuals specifically might be more stressed than gays and lesbians.
I’ve also heard people suggest that it might not be biphobia that’s causing this disparity, but instead the intersectional oppressions that bisexuals experience — which is to say, because bisexuals are disproportionately trans and POC, what we might be seeing within the bi community might be, not an effect of biphobia, specifically, but a spillover from the transphobia and racism that bisexuals are disproportionately likely to experience. I think there might be some merit here, but — with the caveat that I’m not a statistician and have not run the numbers — I have a sneaking suspicion that bisexuals might still be doing poorly even when race and gender identity are controlled for. (Certainly, studies that have broken out cis bisexuals from trans bisexuals tend to find that both groups fare more poorly than their monosexual peers; while I haven’t seen research that does the same for bi v mono POC, I suspect the relationship would hold.)
But.
A recent study out of Canada offers some interesting insights. Apparently, bisexual Canadians are significantly less likely to have employer-sponsored prescription drug care, and are more likely to rely on government-sponsored prescription drug care, than their monosexual peers. (Do not ask me to explain the nuances of the Canadian healthcare system, I am but a stupid American.) And the reason for that is, well — apparently in Canada, and possibly elsewhere, bisexuals are just less likely to have full-time jobs, and thus less likely to have access to that sweet, sweet employer-sponsored prescription drug care.
And what in a place like Canada becomes “must get prescription drug care from the government,” turns into “must get healthcare off a public exchange” or even “cannot get healthcare at all” in a place like the US.
I don’t think it’s difficult to understand how not having adequate healthcare access might lead to poorer health outcomes.
But where the trail goes cold for me is, you know… why are bisexuals less likely to be employed than monosexuals? The thing we always run up against here — the thing that leads so many people to believe that biphobia is not real — is that bisexuality is, ahem, easier to hide than being a monosexual queer. An employer who hates bisexuals but is fine with straights and gays (theoretically) need not know that you are bisexual, I mean not unless you’re in the habit of introducing them to every sexual partner you have so that they can see the range of genders you’re attracted to. And besides, the going assumption is that an employer who is fine with straights and gays would necessarily be fine with bisexuals as well — it is always assumed that once you’ve gotten comfortable with having people who do gay sex working for you, you’re also comfortable with having people who do gay and straight sex working for you.
And yet. The numbers are the numbers.
I don’t really have any additional insights here, other than, “Well I’ve been openly bi since I was fourteen and I feel unemployable;” something that doesn’t quite feel relevant here. In the absence of outright anti-bi hostility from employers, what would the mechanism be? Does the weight of societal biphobia just make us more likely to be mentally unstable, and thus more likely to be unfit for the office life (there goes that minority stress theory again!)? Does the fact that we’re more likely to experience sexual abuse and harassment make work feel more stressful and less appealing?
Or is it, perhaps, overt anti-bi hostility from employers?
I can only say, “more research, please.” But I’m glad that with more research, and more actual observation of bisexuals as a standalone group, we’re actually starting to paint a more complex picture of what, exactly, biphobia entails and what its impact is.
Leave a Reply