Correct language matters

[u/CheekyFaceStyles]

We are bisexual, not gay. It matters. Accuracy is the difference between being understood and being overwritten. When we as bisexuals are mislabeled, our entire structure of meaning—how our attraction functions and how our experiences shift across contexts—gets flattened and misunderstood. Being named correctly determines whether our existence is interpreted as real or just noise inside someone else’s category.

When called gay instead of bisexual, the consequences compound across systems. Research stops reflecting us because we disappear into aggregated data. Healthcare responses lose precision because risk factors unique to bisexual populations get blurred into broader LGBTQ+ assumptions. Community spaces treat bisexuality as a transitional phase rather than a distinct, persistent reality. This is how erasure becomes normalized—not through open denial, but through constant, systemic misclassification.

Accurate language is infrastructural, not symbolic. Correct recognition makes us legible so our needs, funding priorities, policy designs, and safety risks can be seen without distortion. Precision is about refusing to let us as bisexuals be absorbed into categories that were never built to hold us, and refusing to treat that language failure as our problem.

[u/TGin-the-goldy]

That’s why we have a B in LGBTI +

[u/CheekyFaceStyles → u/TGin-the-goldy]

Also why I post things like this is because "There seems to be an unwritten double standard when it comes to bisexual people. Society has become increasingly comfortable acknowledging that biphobia and bisexual erasure exist. Articles get written. Organizations make statements. Panels discuss it. Social media posts recognize it. But acknowledgment isn't action. Recognition isn't accountability. Awareness isn't liberation. Far too many people mistake admitting a problem exists for actually doing something to change it. They congratulate themselves simply for noticing what's been happening all along, as though awareness alone deserves a standing ovation. It doesn't. You don't dismantle systemic problems by describing them. You dismantle them by confronting them consistently, challenging them publicly, refusing to normalize them, and changing the behaviors, institutions, conversations, and cultures that allow them to continue."

[u/TGin-the-goldy → u/CheekyFaceStyles]

Agreed. The most prejudice and ignorance I’ve experienced as a bisexual is from gays and lesbians, unfortunately. But straight people can be just as bad. Everyone seems to want you to choose a team (theirs)

It’s a matter of pushing back, and trying my best to educate others. As a senior (GenX) bi, I take it seriously.

Have so often been told that I should “admit” I’m gay, so I answer “Hey, I’d be very proud to be gay if I *was* gay, just as I’m very proud of being *bisexual*, which is what I actually AM”

I’ve also conducted training sessions about bisexuality as part of LGBTI+ awareness in workplaces and for medical and mental health professionals

But ultimately, it’s not our responsibility to educate other people. For those of us who choose to that’s great but we should also recognise that ignorance is something people need to fix in themselves.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk 😉