Examining Differences in Identity Disclosure Between Monosexuals and Bisexuals

ABSTRACT

Sociological research has uncovered many ways social factors and locations influence identity disclosure decisions and strategies among sexual minorities. However, most research has examined only monosexual sexual minorities (i.e., lesbian and gay identified respondents) or lumped various sexual minorities together as one despite similarities and differences in experience and social recognition. In this article, we drew on insights from Queer Theory to compare and contrast social factors that influence identity disclosure among monosexual and bisexual sexual minorities,respectively. Utilizing data from the 2013 Pew Research Center Survey of LGBT adults, we demonstrate ways bisexual identity disclosure experiences both confirm aspects of existing research on monosexual sexual minorities, and reveal nuances and variations typically missing from such literature. In conclusion, we draw out implications for (1) understanding similarities and differences between monosexual and bisexual identity disclosure experiences, and (2) the usefulness of expanding sociological analyses beyond monosexual issues, concerns, and populations.

Notes

¹In the rest of this article, we refer to these populations as bisexual and LG, lesbian/gay, monosexual minorities. We further note that we do not include transgender people in this analysis because there were too few cases in the overall data set for statistical use. That said, it is important to note that transgender people are often bisexual, lesbian, and/or gay themselves and that these findings among cisgender respondents may vary in many ways among transgender respondents. We would echo recent calls for greater incorporation of transgender people in quantitative survey designs (Sumerau et al. 2016), and suggest another missing piece of this literature would involve comparisons between cisgender, nonbinary, and transgender bisexual, lesbian, and gay identity disclosure processes and experiences.

²For detailed information regarding the survey weighting, see the Pew Research Center 2013 Survey of LGBT Adults Codebook.

³Respondents in this data set were asked only whether they identify as male or female and not given a third sex/gender option. A separate question asks respondents whether they “consider themselves to be transgender.” If yes, respondents were then asked if they are (1) transgender, male to female; (2) transgender, female to male; (3) transgender, gender nonconforming; or (4) no, not transgender. The final sample size resulted in 43 transgender adults. Thus, the small sample size prohibits us from conducting a separate analysis of transgender adults, and the absence of an option in the survey precludes any recognition of whether intersex adults are captured by the sample.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

M. N. Barringer

M. N. Barringer is a visiting assistant professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. Her current research focuses on sexualities, gender, and applied sociology.

J. E. Sumerau

J. E. Sumerau is an assistant professor of sociology and Director of Applied Sociology at the University of Tampa. Zir research, teaching, and public scholarship focuses on the intersections of sexualities, gender, religion, and health in the historical and interpersonal experiences of sexual, gender, and religious minorities. For more information, please visit www.jsumerau.com.

David A. Gay

David A. Gay is associate professor of sociology at the University of Central Florida. His current research focuses on the impact of cohort, religiosity, race, and ethnicity on a number of social and political attitudes and behaviors. He is currently working on perceptions of religious institutions as agents of social change.