Gay author and commentator Andrew Sullivan suggested a new poll was ‘rigged for PC purposes to inflate the number of bisexuals and lesbians.’ (Photo by Nam Y. Huh/AP)
A national poll showing that bisexuals account for half the number of people who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual is drawing mixed reactions.
Many bisexual men and women told the Blade that the findings, part of a poll funded by Human Rights Campaign and controlled by City University of New York’s Hunter College, are enlightening.
“I think it definitely holds some truths about the gay community that most members would rather ignore,” said Nicole Kristal, co-author of “The Bisexual’s Guide to the Universe.”
“There are plenty of lesbians in the gay community who occasionally sleep with men and still call themselves lesbians and vice versa. People need to start being honest in their daily lives about their actual behaviors rather than hiding behind convenient black-and-white labels that breed acceptance from their gay and lesbian peers who often condemn bisexuality.”
The poll of 768 people, conducted last month, shows in its adjusted final tally that 15.4 percent of respondents are bisexual men and 33.5 percent are bisexual women. Gay men accounted for 33.4 percent of the poll’s respondents and lesbians accounted for 17.8 percent. The poll asked respondents to assign their own sexual orientation.
Amy Andre, a sexuality studies expert who helped write a bisexual health issues report this year for the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, said the poll’s findings are not without precedent.
The U.S. government’s National Survey of Family Growth found in 2002 that 56 percent of men and women who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual were bisexual.
“So the findings at Hunter come as no surprise to me,” she said. “Neither do the reactions to the Hunter study. Bi-phobia is unfortunately alive and well in the LGBT community, as is ignorance about the lives of bisexual people within the community.”
The poll attracted several critics, including gay author and commentator Andrew Sullivan, who suggested the poll was “rigged for PC purposes to inflate the number of bisexuals and lesbians.”
Other critics said the poll erred and that bisexuals represent a small minority among those who are gay, lesbian or bisexual.
Many bisexuals, however, suggested that Sullivan maintains a narrow view.
“He surrounds himself with gay friends and is involved in social circles that are predominantly gay,” said James Fenter, a 46-year-old bisexual man from Boston. “So he doesn’t meet many bisexuals and then he just makes the extrapolation that since he doesn’t know many bisexuals, they don’t exist.”
Some bisexuals told the Blade they tire of such attitudes, shared by gays and straights alike. Loraine Hutchins, a 59-year-old bisexual woman from Takoma Park, Md., said she has “often been made to feel that bisexuality is rare and inconsequential.”
Wendy Curry, a 42-year-old bisexual woman from Weare, N.H., agreed.
“At times it seems we’ve wasted years trying to prove our existence,” she said. “And why? The Andrew Sullivans of the world will never see us.”
‘In this together’
But many bisexuals said they were encouraged by the Hunter College poll, and noted it’s now up to individual bisexuals to affirm the finding.
“When we don’t identify ourselves, we only lend to the impression that we aren’t even there,” said Erynn Rowan Laurie, a 46-year-old bisexual woman from Everett, Wash. “We create our own invisibility.”
She said the Hunter College poll, which “demonstrates we actually exist,” could help bisexuals find new acceptance among their gay and lesbian peers.
And with that acceptance, said Mimi Hoang, a 30-year-old bisexual woman from Los Angeles, could come benefits for all.
“It’s sad to me that gays and lesbians have such a hard time standing by their bi brothers and sisters,” she said, “because we are really in this fight together, about having our love lives and families validated and respected, no matter what gender we love.”
Joshua Lynsen can be reached at jlynsen@washblade.com.
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Slamrock on 1/1/083:59 PM:
Hello Scraly. I would say that people are capable of personal evolution in their understanding of themselves, and in what aspects of their person they embrace. In my case, I was sexually attraced to both sexes ever since I was a child, but had only acted on my attraction to women up until my 30's. When I had my first gay relationship, I started thinking of myself as gay. Now I understand that both aspects of attraction are who I am sexually. Therefore I identify as bisexual. I desire both.
JessicaMur on 1/1/0811:52 AM:
Of course, bi men exist. I am bi and my boyfriend is bi. The fact that we are both dating each other will never effect our sexuality. However, my boyfriend often says to me, (to my great disdain) that he is essentially straight. He means that because we intend to be together for years to come that he no longer practices his bisexuality. Perhaps this is a trait of many bi men? When dating a man they view themselves as gay and when dating a woman they view themselves as straight? Just a theory.
mykill on 12/27/076:41 PM:
Henriette - that NY Times article refers to a study that has no scientific value. Before swallowing Bailey's "study" unquestioned, you might want to read more about it:
http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/Bailey/Bisexuality/Bisexuality-NYT%207-05-05.html#Intro
BTW, i am physically and emotionally attracted to men and women, i have loved men and women, i am currently in a relationship with a man and a woman. I am a bi man and i exist. What does it benefit you to try to diminish me?
scraly on 12/27/0712:48 AM:
checked a bi site http://www.findbilover.com. there are also many gays, lesbians. Can a gay person turn bisexual? can a straight person turn bisexual?
Henriette on 12/25/073:29 PM:
I believe this: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/05/health/05sex.html
And this topic is too silly for words. If not for discrimination and low approval, gay men wouldn't feel the need to say they're bi. Like Saddam's weapons, there is no evidence that bi men exist unless you swallow things unquestioned. Happy Holidays to all.
Slamrock on 12/25/073:07 PM:
Poor Henriette, you might be uncertain about your gender, but questioning whether you are a mammal or not is foolishness. So is denying someone else's own understanding of themselves because it doesn't fit your preconceptions.
Henriette on 12/25/071:04 AM:
So true. All these boxes are so artificial and unnecessary. In fact, why should I even call myself a female? Or for that matter, a mammal?
Slamrock on 12/24/079:05 PM:
It's time to move past the concept of "a box for everyone". Sexual attraction is more like a spectrum. I identify as gay when I talk about my current relationship, but as bi when I talk about my desire. And when are we going to accept the polyamory community into our fold? Bi-sexuals can only find sexual fulfillment in open or poly relationships. GLBTP!!! For that matter, why doesn't HRC take a stand for polygamy? Equal marriage rights, huh!
Henriette on 12/23/076:44 PM:
Listen, I am so old that when I was a girl, the Dead Sea was just sick. And I've never met a bisexual male. Women, lots of them, but not one male. They either do not exist, or are as rare as those WW2 Japanese soldiers-- you know, they find one every twenty years, they are hiding in the jungle because they don't know the war is over. Now, I have met some men who CLAIMED to be bisexual, and believe me, it was always because they thought it was a promotion from being gay... which they were.
Captain Oblivious on 12/23/073:58 AM:
Oh my god. I still don't get this. What is the point of throwing off the shackles of the heteronormative paradigm if you're just going to weld yourself a new set in a more fabulous colour!?
I mean, seriously. The very FIRST lesson one should take from the whole closet experience is that enclosed spaces are no fun. Stop putting people in boxes!
Ye Olde Fart on 12/22/075:38 PM:
It is my experience that the study is quite credible. As a Catholic priest who has heard confessions for over 20 years, and from many gay persons who came to me, it is my estimation that bisexual men outnumber the gay-only in our community by three to one.
This is my estimation. No individual facts were recorded because of confidentiality concerns.
beergoggles on 12/22/071:49 PM:
At least the polls conducted within the LGBT community give a slightly less biased breakdown of bisexuality. I've always been suspicious that the homosexuality obsessed anti-gay bigots who claim being gay is a choice are actually bisexuals and the oppression of gays is a result of these bisexuals attempting to suppress that part of themselves that gays celebrate. Judging by their number, there are a lot of bisexuals who identify as straight.
Curtis on 12/22/0711:40 AM:
It is nice to see the Blade really is a LGBT publication. I often see LGBT in the name of publications or organizations and then discover the inside is only about gays and lesbians. I'm willing to debate about the number of bisexual people in our world, but I don't understand how people can say we don't exist. The numbers don't really matter; equality and acceptance should be there for everyone because our enemies us lump us all in the same category anyway.
MissRed on 12/22/079:56 AM:
I'm not cure why people are surprised by this. The truest irony of all is that discrimination is the standard in the LGBT community - and not just for me and my bi brothers and sisters. Let's not forget that African-Americans are also slighted. Fact is, our community will never truly succeed until we can figure out how to heal the divisions that exist among those who should support each other most.
kusumlko on 12/22/074:34 AM:
two things are very surprining true intellectuals should ponder on these issues. (1) gays complain about discrimination but they themselves discriminate about bi people. (2) people give so much importance to the views of celebrities, poll surveys demographic statistics. these are not the creteria for assessing an issue. basic point is what CHRIST, or Prophet MoHammad views are on these issues. very strange and pathetic that people give more importance to ordinary people and ignore the teachings
Rob Barton on 12/21/079:25 PM:
This helps us with visibility because it provides academic support for what we have been saying all along. We have to maintain our visibility as a group and as individuals. Good story.
TheBellyBionic on 12/21/076:37 PM:
I find it amazing that so many of the people in the GLBT community who insist that bisexuality doesn't exist, or is very rare, are the same people who argue with me when I tell them that I'm bisexual. I've had more people than I care to count tell me that I'm not really bi, that I'm just trying to cling to heterosexual privilege, or "not ready to come out yet". If you've already convinced yourself that bi people aren't real, of course you won't believe a study that shows you you're wrong.
sapphie on 12/21/076:34 PM:
Recognition and acceptance of bisexuality is a cultural issue, and varies from place to place just as it does for mainstream gays. It's quite common where I grew up, so I was surprised at attitudes in other places, where we're denied, shunned, and forced into closets -- not by straights, who only find us interesting, but by other queers, who find us threatening. But after so many years, I'm not sure how much I care anymore about getting past this insular, denigrating culture of denial.
Beachgal on 12/21/074:33 PM:
As a bi woman, it was genuinely refreshing to see the results of this poll. The more I read and talk to others in the LGBT community, the more I hear that the label we give ourselves is rarely black and white. As the article mentioned, there are all sorts of people who call themselves "lesbian" or "gay" but do, at times, have sex with someone of the opposite sex. I look forward to a day when bisexuality is considered a valuable option in the spectrum of sexual orientation.
Ladybug on 12/21/072:11 PM:
Also:Maybe instead of complaining that there were too many bisexual people in the poll, everyone should just be happy that, according to the poll, all us bis are voting for LGBT rights.
Ladybug on 12/21/072:06 PM:
Put on your gay-colored glasses and all you see is gay. There are plenty of bisexual people in the LGBT community and out in the world, as well.
Thanks to Joshua Lynsen for pointing that out in this article.
