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

close friends, former students, and acquaintances who are members of the LGBTQ+ communities, including bisexual women of color. As a team, we were aware that our experiences and perceptions may differ from those of the participants. b) Sample and Recruitment A purposive sample of self-identified bisexual racial/ethnic minority women was sought. Inclusion criteria consisted of identifying as: (1) a woman, (2) a person of color, (3) having a bisexual orientation, and (4) being between the ages of 18 and 35. Women of these ages were selected because they had likely self-identified as bisexual and disclosed their sexual orientation to others (Pew Research Center, 2013). We posted announcements seeking “racial/ethnic minority women who identified as bisexual and were between the ages of 18 and 35” through university online listservs and student organizations. Interested persons were instructed to email the first author, and of the 20 who responded, 12 were interviewed. The others did not respond to follow up emails (n = 4), declined after receiving more information (n = 1), could not be scheduled for an interview (n = 1), and volunteered after data analysis was completed (n = 2). All were unknown to research team members. All participants identified as cisgender women and used the label bisexual to describe their sexual orientation and gender attraction. Participants received a $10 gift code for each interview. Table 1: Sample Description Name Age Race/Ethnicity Religious Affiliation Student Status Out to Family* Out to Others Emma 28 Biracial (Black, White) Raised Christian N-S ✔ ✔ Felicia 33 Biracial (Black, White) Raised Christian N-S ✔ ✔ Cassie 20 Black Christian UGS ✔ Tara † 21 Biracial (Black, White) Christian UGS ✔ Sue 20 Indian American Raised Hindu UGS ✔ Tori 25 Black Raised Christian N-S ✔ ✔ Yvonne 26 Black Raised Christian GS ✔ Amy 23 Chinese American Never Religious N-S ✔ Ashley 22 Indian American Muslim UGS ✔ Julie 23 Chinese American Never Religious N-S ✔ Nina 19 Black Raised Christian UGS ✔ ✔ Jackie 18 Multi-racial (Black, White, Asian) ^ Raised Catholic UGS ✔ ✔ Note. N-S = Non-Student, UGS = Undergraduate Student, and GS = Graduate Student. *Category indicates being out to at least one family member. † At the time of data collection this woman was not out to family, but during perception checking (interview 3) mentioned that she had come out to family after our data collection interviews had been completed. ^ Participant’s mother identified as Black, father identified as White and Asian. In reporting her identity, the participant says, “preferably I do mixed or other, but I guess mainly I go by African American” c) Data Collection The first author conducted all semi-structured face-to-face interviews, including two perception- checking interviews (i.e., post-data collection interviews where we shared results and asked for feedback). One participant was interviewed four times, one was interviewed three times, and the rest were interviewed twice. Multiple interviews allowed for increased rapport, a deeper exploration of topics, and greater clarity. During the first interview, a genogram was generated to describe who was in their family as they defined it. After genogram construction, several questions were asked about their experiences as a bisexual woman of color. The primary interview question was, “Can you describe, © 2023 Global Journals Volume XXIII Issue III Version I 17 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 C “The In-Between Spaces of Those Labels”: Exploring the Challenges and Positives of Being a Bisexual Woman of Color The final sample of 12 bisexual women of color ranged in ages from 18 to 33 (M = 23.17). Four participants were Black, four were multiracial, and four were Asian Americans. Five participants were employed, six were undergraduate students, and one was a graduate student. At the time of data collection, all had come out to one friend or more, and five had come out to at least one family member. Participants were from various religious backgrounds (see Table 1).