{"id":2637,"date":"2015-06-04T18:29:56","date_gmt":"2015-06-04T17:29:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/happybisexual.com\/?p=112"},"modified":"2015-06-04T18:29:56","modified_gmt":"2015-06-04T17:29:56","slug":"3-reasons-why-identifying-as-bisexual-will-make-your-life-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bimedia.org\/blogs\/2015\/06\/3-reasons-why-identifying-as-bisexual-will-make-your-life-better\/","title":{"rendered":"3 reasons why identifying as bisexual will make your life better"},"content":{"rendered":"

Somewhere between 0.5% and 5%<\/a> of the population self-identify as bisexual.\u00a0 Many more<\/a> people are attracted to both men and women, but choose not to identify themselves as bisexual. Why?<\/p>\n

The primary cause is social stigma and prejudice.\u00a0 Our culture doesn\u2019t generally recognise bisexuality as a legitimate\u00a0sexual orientation. \u00a0Bisexual people receive messages from society that bisexuality doesn\u2019t exist, and that they are lying or confused<\/a> gay or straight people.\u00a0 We are told that bisexuality is a transitional phase, and\u00a0that bisexuals are promiscuous and require simultaneous relationships with members of both sexes. Bisexual people rarely meet openly bisexual people in their social circles, or see them depicted in TV or film drama.<\/p>\n

Society\u2019s negative view of bisexuality undermines our confidence in our bisexual identity and often leads us to hide in the closet.\u00a0 It\u2019s common for bisexual people to identify falsely as straight or gay to avoid prejudice and ridicule.\u00a0 I used to.<\/p>\n

When I first came out as bisexual aged 19, my girlfriend told me that bisexuality didn\u2019t exist and that I was just a confused and attention-seeking straight person.\u00a0 When I came out to a friend, he told me that men who said they were bisexual were really gay.\u00a0 My self-esteem plummeted. Instead of receiving support and acceptance, I was told that I didn\u2019t know my own mind.\u00a0 I decided that coming out as bisexual was a bad idea.<\/p>\n

After that, I chose to hide my bisexuality.\u00a0 I alternated between straight or gay identities depending on who I was with at the time.\u00a0 This never felt right though, and not being able to be openly bisexual knocked my confidence.\u00a0 I often felt unhappy.<\/p>\n

In my late 20s, I realised that I would never feel comfortable if I couldn\u2019t be honest about who I really was.\u00a0 I finally began coming out as bisexual to everyone.\u00a0 A weight was lifted, and my life got so much better.<\/p>\n

So why exactly did identifying as bisexual make such a positive difference? For me it boils down to three things:<\/p>\n

1) It Boosts Your Self-Esteem and Confidence<\/strong><\/p>\n

Assertively identifying as bisexual enhances your confidence and makes you feel better about yourself.\u00a0 It\u2019s true that if you hide your bisexuality, then you\u2019ll avoid some of the prejudice and stigma directed at bisexual people. But there\u2019s a cost.\u00a0 You\u2019ll never feel known and accepted by others.<\/p>\n

We all want to be loved and accepted.\u00a0 When we don\u2019t receive enough love and acceptance, especially from the important people in our lives, then our confidence and self-image can be low.\u00a0 If you choose not to identify as bisexual, then a major part of who you are will never be known and accepted, even by your closest friends and family.<\/p>\n

In addition, if we don\u2019t identify as bisexual because<\/em> society doesn\u2019t like it, then we validate society\u2019s view that bisexuality is something to be ashamed of, or something illegitimate.\u00a0 This can contribute to internalised biphobia, where we feel that there really is something wrong with our bisexual orientation and identity.<\/p>\n

2) You Become Part of a Community<\/strong><\/p>\n

Identifying as bisexual connects you to a community of other bisexual people.\u00a0 You can interact\u00a0with bisexual people online via forums, blogs and vlogs<\/a>, or in person at bisexual social and support groups.<\/p>\n

It’s hugely empowering to engage with the experience of other bisexual people. \u00a0It helps relieve the sense of isolation that we commonly feel, and enables us to\u00a0develop our understanding of our own sexuality.<\/p>\n

Building relationships with other bisexual people will also reinforce your sense of bisexual identity. \u00a0Witnessing others confidently identifying as bisexual\u00a0is a great confidence booster!<\/p>\n

3) You Change Society<\/strong><\/p>\n

Identifying as bisexual challenges society\u2019s prejudice and faulty beliefs about bisexuality.\u00a0 Society says we don\u2019t exist? Well, here I am, bisexual and proud! Society says this is just a phase? Well, I\u2019m still bisexual<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Every person that identifies as bisexual and tells others about it changes perceptions, even if you only tell one person! The more people identify openly as bisexual, the harder it will be for myths and negative messages about bisexuality to survive. Identifying as bisexual, therefore, doesn’t just improve your life, but also the lives of others.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

So, if you’re lacking confidence in identifying as bisexual, consider the benefits. It really can change your life!<\/p>\n

I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you don’t yet identify as bisexual, what\u00a0are the main barriers\u00a0holding you back? \u00a0If you do identify as bisexual, how did it change your life?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Somewhere between 0.5% and 5% of the population self-identify as bisexual.  Many more people are attracted to both men and women, but choose not to identify themselves as bisexual. Why? The primary cause is social stigma and prejudice.  Our culture doesn’t generally recognise bisexuality as a legitimate sexual orientation.  Bisexual people receive messages from society that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":1211,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[109,325,408],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-identity","category-society","category-wellbeing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bimedia.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bimedia.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bimedia.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bimedia.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bimedia.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bimedia.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bimedia.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bimedia.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bimedia.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bimedia.org\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}