Bi+ intersectionality
When asked about other forms of discrimination and harassment outside of biphobia, results were similar to the 2013 survey. There were increases in felt discrimination and harassment across services around disability, race, age, gender, and trans/non-binary status.
“There is infantilisation for my neurodiverse identity that makes it almost impossible to be understood as both neurodiverse and bisexual in many people’s eyes.”
“I experience racism more as I am an immigrant.”
Discrimination on the basis of gender identity was one of the largest increases: 39% of respondents reported experiencing discrimination or harassment due to their gender identity while accessing services (a 17% increase from 2013). This unfortunately follows a recent trend in wider media that damages the community’s trust in services, such as a recent YouGov survey that reported that 25% of the British public has a negative view of transgender people[22].
“In the past I have had my sexuality used to dismiss my gender identity and vice versa, including by services specifically in place for trans patients, so [I] tend to avoid informing people since past experience has made me always anticipate biphobic reactions.”
“The people who discriminate because I’m nonbinary don’t get told that I’m omnisexual because they’d definitely say I was making stuff up so I suppose it prevents biphobia in a way.”
In other words when people hide part of themselves, they ‘prevent’ overt discrimination on those grounds, at the cost of not being able to be their authentic selves.
Similar percentages can be found concerning disability, where nearly 35% of respondents reported experiencing discrimination or harassment (up 17% in comparison to 2013). Considering that the majority of respondents considered themselves to have a disability or long-term health condition (57%), this means that three out of five disabled bi+ people have also been discriminated against because of their disability[23].
The high incidence of discrimination against such a large part of the bi+ community has two main implications for access to service provision. The first is that it reduces people’s ability to seek out new services due not just to fear of discrimination, but also due to not having the energy or mental ability to do so[24].
“It makes it too exhausting and defeating to even speak up about it, because one of the other minority groups I am a part of will just be made another reason to attack and dismiss me.”
“Disability discrimination makes me really hesitant to try new things as I have chronic fatigue and queer spaces can be so often inaccessible, loud or centred around alcohol.”
The second is that, when people do seek out services, they might then encounter discrimination against other marginalised parts of their identity that are not the “main focus” of the service. Thus, even in a “safe space”, bi+ people might not feel truly safe and able to share all aspects of their identity. This can be a difficult thing for people to bring up as many of them may be concerned about losing access to a service they rely on.
“It makes my experiences of biphobia feel worse when it happens in a space that is meant to be a safe space for another form of discrimination, e.g. ableism. It feels like I have been rejected by my community.”
“I have anxiety caused by biphobia in the church and I’ve worried about saying I’m Christian in queer spaces because of the negative associations between the church and homophobia.”
“[I] get grief as a fat woman with a mental health diagnosis.”
Service providers who only provide safe spaces for single aspects of people’s identities without considering other aspects of their service users’ lives are ultimately letting people down. Service providers can feel they are trying hard to be inclusive, but without an intersectional approach, they are inadvertently alienating many potential service users.
Footnotes
- Smith, M. (2023) ‘What do lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Britons think the British public thinks of them?’ (Return to reference [22])
- Estimates based on 178 respondents answering “yes” to having a disability or long-term health condition and 109 respondents saying they have been discriminated against because of their disability. (Return to reference [23])
- Pugle, M. (2022) ‘What Is Spoon Theory? A Way of Understanding What It’s Like Living With Chronic Illness’ (Return to reference [24])
