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Abstract
Although homophobia seems to be on the decline in North America, there seems to be somewhat conflicting academic data on the acceptance of bisexuality as a legitimate form of sexuality and identity. This article explores how bisexuality is represented in emerging adults' discourses about sexuality. More specifically, the authors highlight four mechanisms through which their participants invisibilize bisexuality: (1) ignoring bisexuality, (2) depicting bisexuality as temporary, (3) making it almost impossible to be a ‘real' bisexual, and (4) devaluing bisexuality. The authors argue that although their participants acknowledge bisexual practices, feelings, or desires in others and/or themselves, bisexuality as a legitimate life-long identity and lifestyle is often forgotten or denied as a possibility. In addition, the authors argue that gender shapes the way bisexuality is perceived, and they highlight how it affects the paradoxical recognition/invisibilization relationship that their participants maintain with bisexuality.
Acknowledgments
This article was written with the support of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The authors are grateful to Elaine Weiner, Kathleen M. Fallon, anonymous reviewers, and the editors for suggestions.
Notes
1. For instance, Québec, a predominantly French-speaking Canadian province, was one of the first provinces to recognize same-sex marriage and to recognize, by extension, the right to adoption for same-sex couples. Furthermore, more than in any other Canadian province, a large proportion of couples, although being in a serious relationship and often living together, do not live in legally recognized unions. In 2006, more than one third of couples in Québec were not married (Belleau & Vézina, in press).