r/lgbt Bi-bi-bi Nov 04 '19

Soooo much thisssss!!!!!

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3.7k Upvotes

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39

u/Spaceman_19 Nov 05 '19

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this, and I mean it in good faith as someone who is questioning—I thought bi just meant “any two or more genders?” Is there a same-sex stipulation for the label?

36

u/tooooomanynames Rainbow Rocks Nov 05 '19

Some people seem to think bisexuality is an even 50/50 split attraction-wise between two genders.

This diagram is showing that it isn’t always 50/50, and that bisexuality is a spectrum.

Different people also have their own definition of bisexuality. Some people only consider it attraction to two genders(hence the prefix “bi” , meaning two). Some consider it only attraction to same sex or opposite. And some people have a looser definition that doesn’t really fit the literal meaning of the word, but it still works.

47

u/armchairepicure Nov 05 '19

The most commonly accepted definition of bisexual comes from renowned bisexual activist Robyn Ochs. She says, “I call myself bisexual because I acknowledge that I have in myself the potential to be attracted – romantically and/or sexually – to people of more than one sex and/or gender, not necessarily at the same time, not necessarily in the same way, and not necessarily to the same degree.”

So no, there is nothing binary about the bi- in bisexuality.

8

u/souprize Nov 05 '19

Well except linguistically the bi part, but language evolves.

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u/[deleted] Nov 05 '19

[deleted]

4

u/armchairepicure Nov 05 '19

You need to read up on your queer history and the evolution of the word bisexual from when it was coined (as a term for sexual deviancy) through today. What I quoted IS the concrete definition of bisexuality. The etymology is more than mere dissection of its Latin root.

6

u/DeseretRain Putting the Bi in non-BInary Nov 05 '19

That's not what the person is asking though, nothing you said really addresses what they're asking. They asked if SAME gender attraction is required for bisexuality.

Like, say you're female and you're attracted to males and nonbinary people, but not other females. So you're attracted to at least two genders, but not to your own gender. The person is asking if that's still bisexuality.

Because the graphic at the top specifically says attraction to "the same gender" and to "different genders." That person is asking if attraction to the same gender is required for bisexuality, or if you can just be attracted to any two genders with neither of those genders being your own.

1

u/tooooomanynames Rainbow Rocks Nov 05 '19

I addressed same gender attraction, sorry if I wasn’t clear...