Global Journal of Human Social Science, C: Sociology and Culture, Volume 23 Issue 3

“The In-Between Spaces of Those Labels”: Exploring the Challenges and Positives of Being a Bisexual Woman of Color Sarah N. Mitchell α , Lawrence Ganong σ & Marilyn Coleman ρ Keywords: bisexual, women of color, phenomenology, identity. I. I ntroduction isexual individuals are the largest and fastest growing sexual minoritized group (Bridges & Moore, 2018; Laughlin, 2016). In a 2013 survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans, 40% of respondents were bisexual (Pew Research Center, 2013). Similarly, a 2015 survey of youth indicated that 35% of those aged 13-20 identified as bisexual (Laughlin, 2016), and women identified as bisexual more than did men (Bridges & Moore, 2018; England et al., 2016). Increases in bisexual identity and behavior have been reported across age cohorts of U.S. Black and Hispanic women, a trend not evident for men (England et al., 2016). Growing identification of bisexuality – especially among communities of color – does not solely justify exploration of this group’s experiences. Individuals who identity as bisexual women of color experience marginalization around the intersections of their sexual orientation, gender, and racial/ethnic identities. A better understanding of the ways in which these identities influence the navigation of day-to-day experiences is warranted, thus the purpose of this study was to explore the challenges and positives of being a bisexual woman of color. More specifically, this study utilizes a resilience perspective examination of how bisexual women of color experience the challenges of holding multiple minoritized identities and how they manage those challenges in their day-to-day lives. a) Considering the Uniqueness of Bisexual Individuals’ Experiences Although similarities exist among bisexual individuals and other sexual minoritized groups in facing societal homophobia and stigma and managing uncertainty about their sexual orientations (Bates, 2010; Fuller et al., 2009), research has indicated that bisexual individuals’ experiences differ from those of lesbian and gay individuals in many ways, including sexual orientation identity formation processes, experienced stigma, disclosure decisions and the ability to pass as straight, and health disparities (Bates, 2010; Brooks et al., 2008; Todd et al., 2016; Ross et al., 2018). First, the process of forming a plurisexual attraction like bisexuality (e.g., an attraction to more than one gender) may be more complicated than same-sex attraction. For example, being sexually attracted to other women may initially as challenging to process for both lesbian and bisexual women (Bates, 2010), but the development of a sexual orientation identity is more complex for bisexual women because they also are attracted to men and/or other genders. Second, stigma associated with plurisexual attractions may impact an already complex process, as others may prescribe to biphobic (i.e., aversions toward and/or biases against bisexual individuals) or monosexist ideologies (i.e., privileging attractions to one gender and discriminating against those with attractions to more than one gender; see Roberts et al., 2015). There is evidence that straight individuals, as well as other members of the LGBTQ+ community (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other groups who are minoritized based on gender or sexual identity), hold biases against those who identify as bisexual (Mulick & Wright, 2002; Todd et al., 2016). Bisexual people perceive these biases and have reported experiencing bierasure. Bierasure happens when others B © 2023 Global Journals Volume XXIII Issue III Version I 13 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 C Abstract- Researchers on LGBTQ+ individuals have largely focused on lesbians or gay men; bisexual individuals often are included in those samples, but they are seldom differentiated in reporting. Little is known, therefore, about the lived experience of bisexual individuals, especially women of color who represent three marginalized groups (i.e., LGBTQ+, women, racial/ethnic minoritized individuals). In this phenomenological study we explored the lives of 12 self- identified bisexual women of color aged 18 to 33. Three phenomena described the essence of their experiences: (a) forming sexual identity, (b) making decisions about how to share personal information, and (c) acknowledging the positive consequences of identities. Findings highlight the simultaneous interpretation of experiences as challenges and positives for bisexual women of color. The ambiguity and ambivalence associated with being a member of multiple minoritized groups and implications for better serving and understanding individuals with multiple marginalized identities are discussed. Author α : Ph.D., CFLE, Department of Human Development, Family Science, and Counseling, 1664 N. Virginia St. University of Nevada, United States. e-mail: sarahmitchell@unr.edu