1,005
Views
19
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

Not just bi the bi: the relationship between essentialist beliefs and attitudes about bisexuality

&
Pages 258-274 | Received 15 Mar 2014, Accepted 10 Nov 2014, Published online: 23 Dec 2014

References

  • Angelides, S. (2001). A history of bisexuality. London: University of Chicago Press.
  • Ansara, Y. G., & Hegarty, P. (2014). Methodologies of misgendering: Recommendations for reducing cisgenderism in psychological research. Feminism & Psychology, 24, 259–270. doi:10.1177/0959353514526217
  • Aspinal, P. J. (2009). Estimating the size and composition of the lesbian, gay and bisexual population in Britain. Manchester: Equality and Human Rights Commission.
  • Barker, M. (2004). Including the B-word: Reflections on the place of bisexuality within lesbian and gay activism and psychology. Lesbian and Gay Psychology Review, 5, 118–122.
  • Barker, M. (2007). Heteronormativity and the exclusion of bisexuality in psychology. In V. Clarke & E. Peel (Eds.), Out in psychology: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer perspectives (pp. 86–118). Chichester: Wiley.
  • Barker, M., & Langdridge, D. (2008). II. Bisexuality: Working with a silenced sexuality. Feminism & Psychology, 18, 389–394. doi:10.1177/0959353508092093
  • Barker, M., Richards, C., Jones, R., Bowes-Catton, H., & Plowman, T. (2011). The bisexuality report: Bisexual inclusion in LGBT equality and diversity. London: Centre for Citizenship, Identities and Governance and Faculty of Health and Social Care.
  • Bostwick, W. (2012). Assessing bisexual stigma and mental health status: A brief report. Journal of Bisexuality, 12, 214–222. doi:10.1080/15299716.2012.674860
  • Charlton, J. I. (1998). Nothing about us, without us. Disability oppression and empowerment. London: University of California Press.
  • De Bruin, K., & Arndt, M. (2010). Attitudes toward bisexual men and women in a university context: Relations with race, gender, knowing a bisexual man or woman and sexual orientation. Journal of Bisexuality, 10, 233–252. doi:10.1080/15299716.2010.500955
  • de Visser, R. O., Badcock, P. B., Simpson, J. M., Grulich, A. E., Smith, A. M. A., Richters, J., & Rissel, C. (2014). Attitudes toward sex and relationships: The second Australian study of health and relationships. Sexual Health, 11, 396–404.
  • Diamond, L. (2003). Was it a phase? young women’s relinquishment of lesbian/bisexual identities over a 5-year period. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 352–364. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.352
  • Diamond, L. M. (2008). Female bisexuality from adolescence to adulthood: Results from a10-year longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 44, 5–14. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.44.1.5
  • Ebin, J. (2012). Why bisexual health? Journal of Bisexuality, 12, 168–177. doi:10.1080/15299716.2012.674854
  • Eliason, M. (1997). The prevalence and nature of biphobia in heterosexual undergraduate students. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 26, 317–326. doi:10.1023/A:1024527032040
  • Eliason, M. (2000). Bi-negativity: The stigma facing bisexual men. Journal of Bisexuality, 1, 137–154. doi:10.1300/J159v01n02_05
  • Esterline, K. M., & Galupo, M. P. (2013). ‘Drunken Curiosity’ and ‘Gay Chicken’: Gender differences in same-sex performativity. Journal of Bisexuality, 13, 106–121. doi:10.1080/15299716.2013.755732
  • Fausto-Sterling, A. (2012). Sex/gender: Biology in a social world. New York, NY: Routledge.
  • Fisher, W., White, L., Byrne, D., & Kelley, K. (1988). Erotophobia-erotophilia as a dimension of personality. The Journal of Sex Research, 25, 123–151. doi:10.1080/00224498809551448
  • Fox, R. C. (1996). Bisexuality in perspective, a review of theory and research. In B. A. Firestein (Ed), Bisexuality: The psychology and politics of an invisible minority (pp. 3–50). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Garber, M. (1995). Vice versa: Bisexuality and the eroticism of everyday life. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
  • Haslam, N., & Levy, S. R. (2006). Essentialist beliefs about homosexuality: Structure and implications for prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 471–485. doi:10.1177/0146167205276516
  • Haslam, N., Rothschild, L., & Ernst, D. (2000). Essentialist beliefs about social categories. British Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 113–127. doi:10.1348/014466600164363
  • Haslam, N., Rothschild, L., & Ernst, D. (2002). Are essentialist beliefs associated with prejudice? British Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 87–100. doi:10.1348/014466602165072
  • Hayfield, N., Clarke, V., & Halliwell, E. (2014). Bisexual women’s understandings of social marginalisation: ‘The heterosexuals don’t understand us but nor do the lesbians’. Feminism & Psychology, 24, 352–372. doi:10.1177/0959353514539651
  • Hegarty, P. (2002). ‘It’s not a choice, it’s the way we’re built’: Symbolic beliefs about sexual orientation in the US and Britain. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 12, 153–166. doi:10.1002/casp.669
  • Hegarty, P. (2010). A stone in the soup? Changes in sexual prejudice and essentialist beliefs among British students in a class on LGBT psychology. Psychology & Sexuality, 1, 3–20. doi:10.1080/19419891003634356
  • Hegarty, P., & Pratto, F. (2001). Sexual orientation beliefs: Their relationship to anti-gay attitudes and biological determinist arguments. Journal of Homosexuality, 41, 121–135. doi:10.1300/J082v41n01_04
  • Hegarty, P., & Pratto, F. (2004). The differences that norms make: Empiricism, social constructionism and the interpretation of group differences. Sex Roles, 50, 445–453. doi:10.1023/B:SERS.0000023065.56633.cb
  • Hegarty, P., Pratto, F., & Lemieux, A. F. (2004). Heterosexist ambivalence and heterocentric norms: Drinking in intergroup discomfort. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 7, 119–130. doi:10.1177/1368430204041399
  • Herek, G. (2002). Heterosexuals’ attitudes toward bisexual men and women in the United States. The Journal of Sex Research, 39, 264–274. doi:10.1080/00224490209552150
  • Herek, G., Kimmel, D., Amaro, H., & Melton, G. (1991). Avoiding heterosexist bias in psychological research. American Psychologist, 46, 957–963. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.46.9.957
  • Hubbard, K., & Hegarty, P. (2014). Why is the history of heterosexuality essential? Beliefs about the history of sexuality and their relationship to sexual prejudice. Journal of Homosexuality, 61, 471–490. doi:10.1080/00918369.2014.865448
  • Hutchins, L., & Kaahumanu, L. (1983). Bi any other name: Bisexual people speak out. Boston, MA: Alyson.
  • Israel, T., & Mohr, J. (2004). Attitudes toward bisexual women and men. Journal of Bisexuality, 4, 117–134. doi:10.1300/J159v04n01_09
  • Jorm, A., Korten, A., Rodgers, B., Jacomb, P., & Christensen, H. (2002). Sexual orientation and mental health: Results from a community survey of young and middle-aged adults. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 180, 423–427. doi:10.1192/bjp.180.5.423
  • Kahn, K., & Fingerhut, A. (2011). Essentialist beliefs and sexual prejudice against gay men: Divergence at the levels of categories versus traits. Psychology and Sexuality, 2, 137–146. doi:10.1080/19419899.2010.536562
  • Kertzner, R. M., Meyer, I. H., Frost, D. M., & Stirratt, M. J. (2009). Social and psychological well-being in lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals: The effects of race, gender, age and sexual identity. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 79, 500–510. doi:10.1037/a0016848
  • King, M., & McKeown, E. (2003). Mental health and well-being of gay men, lesbians and bisexuals in England and Wales. London: Mind.
  • King, M., Semlyen, J., Tai, S. S., Killaspy, H., Osborn, D., Popelyuk, D., & Nazareth, I. (2008). A systematic review of mental disorder, suicide, and deliberate self harm in lesbian, gay and bisexual people. BMC Psychiatry, 8, 70. doi:10.1186/1471-244X-8-70
  • Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. R., & Martin, C. E. (1948). Sexual behaviour in the human male. Philadelphia, PA: W.B. Saunders and Company.
  • Klesse, C. (2005). Bisexual women, non-monogamy and differentialist anti-promiscuity discourses. Sexualities, 8, 445–464. doi:10.1177/1363460705056620
  • Klesse, C. (2011). Shady characters, untrustworthy partners, and promiscuous sluts: Creating bisexual intimacies in the face of heteronormativity and biphobia. Journal of Bisexuality, 11, 227–244. doi:10.1080/15299716.2011.571987
  • Lee, I., & Crawford, M. (2007). Lesbians and bisexual women in the eyes of scientific psychology. Feminism & Psychology, 17, 109–127. doi:10.1177/0959353507073096
  • MacDonald, A. P. (1983). A little bit of lavender goes a long way: A critique of research on sexual orientation. The Journal of Sex Research, 19, 94–100. doi:10.1080/00224498309551171
  • McDermott, D. T., & Blair, K. L. (2012). ‘What’s it like on your side of the pond?’: A cross-cultural comparison of modern and old-fashioned homonegativity between North American and European samples. Psychology & Sexuality, 3, 277–296. doi:10.1080/19419899.2012.700032
  • Meyer, I. (2010). Identity, stress, and resilience in lesbians, gay men and bisexuals of color. The Counseling Psychologist, 38, 442–454. doi:10.1177/0011000009351601
  • Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 674–697. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674
  • Mohr, J., Israel, T., & Sedlacek, W. E. (2001). Counselors’ attitudes regarding bisexuality as predictors of counselors’ clinical responses: An analogue study of a female bisexual client. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 48, 212–222. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.48.2.212
  • Mohr, J., & Rochlen, A. (1999). Measuring attitudes regarding bisexuality in lesbian, gay male, and heterosexual populations. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 46, 353–369. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.46.3.353
  • Moradi, B., Wiseman, M. C., DeBlaere, C., Goodman, M. B., Sarkees, A., Brewster, M., & Huang, Y. (2010). LGB of color and white individuals’ perceptions of heterosexist stigma, internalized homophobia, and outness: Comparisons of levels and links. The Counseling Psychologist, 38, 397–424. doi:10.1177/0011000009335263
  • Morales Knight, L. F., & Hope, D. A. (2012). Correlates of same-sex attractions and behaviors among self-identified heterosexual university students. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41, 1199–1208. doi:10.1007/s10508-012-9927-5
  • Morrison, T. G., Harrington, R., & McDermott, D. T. (2010). Bi now, gay later: Implicit and explicit binegativity among Irish university students. Journal of Bisexuality, 10, 211–232. doi:10.1080/15299716.2010.500952
  • Morton, T. A., Postmes, T., Haslam, S. A., & Hornsey, M. J. (2009). Theorizing gender in the face of social change: Is there anything essential about essentialism? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 653–664. doi:10.1037/a0012966
  • Mulick, P., & Wright, L. (2011). The biphobia scale a decade later: Reflections and additions. Journal of Bisexuality, 11, 453–457. doi:10.1080/15299716.2011.620486
  • Mulick, P. S., & Wright Jr, L. W. (2002). Examining the existence of biphobia in the heterosexual and homosexual populations. Journal of Bisexuality, 2(4), 45–64. doi:10.1300/J159v02n04_03
  • Obradors-Campos, M. (2011). Deconstructing biphobia. Journal of Bisexuality, 11(2–3), 207–226. doi:10.1080/15299716.2011.571986
  • Ochs, R., & Deihl, M. (1992). Moving beyond binary thinking. In W. Bloomenfeld (Ed.), Homophobia. How we all pay the price (pp. 67–75). Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
  • Petford, B. (2003). Power in the darkness: Some thoughts on the marginalisation of bisexuality in the psychological literature. Lesbian & Gay Psychology Review, 4, 5–13.
  • Richters, J., Altman, D., Badcock, P. B., Smith, A. M. A., de Visser, R. O., Grulich, A. E., & Simpson, J. (2014). Sexual identity, sexual attraction and sexual experience: The second Australian study of health and relationships. Sexual Health, 11, 450–459.
  • Rust, P. (2000). Bisexuality: A contemporary paradox for women. Journal of Social Sciences, 56, 205–221.
  • Schmookler, T., & Bursik, K. (2007). The value of monogamy in emerging adulthood: A gendered perspective. Journal of Social & Personal Relationships, 24, 819–835. doi:10.1177/0265407507084185
  • Sheets Jr, R. L., & Mohr, J. (2009). Perceived social support from friends and family and psychosocial functioning in bisexual young adult college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56, 152–163. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.56.1.152
  • Smith, A. M. A., Rissel, C. E., Richters, J., Grulich, A. E., & de Visser, R. O. (2003). Sex in Australia: Sexual identity, sexual attraction and sexual experience among a representative sample of adults. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 27, 138–145. doi:10.1111/j.1467-842X.2003.tb00801.x
  • Spalding, L., & Peplau, L. (1997). The unfaithful lover. heterosexuals’ perceptions of bisexuals and their relationships. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 611–625. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00134.x
  • Tannahill, R. (1992). Sex in history (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Scarborough.
  • Warner, J. (1993). Fear of a queer planet: Queer politics and social theory. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
  • Warner, J., McKeown, E., Griffin, M., Johnson, K., Ramsay, A., Cort, C., & King, M. (2004). Rates and predictors of mental illness in gay men, lesbians and bisexual men and women: Results from a survey based in England and Wales. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 185, 479–485. doi:10.1192/bjp.185.6.479
  • Weiss, J. (2011). Reflective paper: GL versus BT: The archaeology of biphobia and transphobia within the U.S. gay and lesbian community. Journal of Bisexuality, 11, 498–502. doi:10.1080/15299716.2011.620848
  • Weiss, J. T. (2003). GL vs. BT: The archaeology of biphobia and transphobia within the US gay and lesbian community. Journal of Bisexuality, 3(3–4), 25–55. doi:10.1300/J159v03n03_02
  • Welzer-Lang, D. (2008). Speaking out loud about bisexuality: Biphobia in the gay and lesbian community. Journal of Bisexuality, 8, 81–95. doi:10.1080/15299710802142259
  • Wilkinson, S. (1996). Bisexuality ‘a la mode’. Women’s Studies International Forum, 19, 293–301. doi:10.1016/0277-5395(96)00016-7
  • Yost, M. R., & Hunter, L. E. (2012). BDSM practitioners’ understandings of their initial attraction to BDSM sexuality: Essentialist and constructionist narratives. Psychology & Sexuality, 3, 244–259. doi:10.1080/19419899.2012.700028

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.