The LGBTQ+ community, particularly the bisexual community, have been underrepresented for decades within the film and media world, as shown by the annual report GLAAD publishes called "Where We Are on TV".
Not all representation is good representation. Even though a character might be openly LGBTQ+, there are still harmful and dangerous tropes and stereotypes written into media that contribute to harmful representations that may negatively influence how an audience views LGBTQ+ people. "A survey by Johnson (2016) found that the majority of bisexual participants expressed feeling that most media portrayals of bisexuality are negative. Additionally, 38.9% of bisexual participants who had been diagnosed with a mental illness felt that their disorder was somewhat affected by media representation of bisexuality (Johnson, 2016)," (Carolina de Barros 105).
There are also stereotypes and specific depictions for bisexual characters that are heavily influenced by gender. "Historically, women are more likely to be depicted as bisexual than men (Johnson, 2016), with GLAAD (2018) reporting 88 bisexual women to 33 bisexual men on television in the 2018–2019 season. The content of depictions of bisexuality also vary by gender, as bisexual women tend to be depicted using their same-gender attraction as a ‘tool’ to get what they want, or the depiction is done in an oversexualized manner meant to draw male attention (Johnson, 2016). Thus, examining representations of bisexual women allows us to focus specifically on the ways in which these overlapping minority identities intersect and inform each other," (Carolina de Barros 106).
Terminology and Definitions
Bisexuality: Defined by the Human Rights Campaign as "someone who can be attracted to more than one gender", which has evolved from the previous definition of being attracted to only men and women.
Biphobia: According to dictionary.com, biphobia is the, “dislike of or prejudice against bisexual people”.
Bisexual/bi erasure: According to GLAAD.org, bisexual erasure is, "a pervasive problem in which the existence or legitimacy of bisexuality (either in general or in regard to an individual) is questioned or denied outright".
Straight passing: This is the idea that a couple where one or more of the partners are LGBTQ+ appear as a heterosexual couple, and/or when someone's identify that is being perceived by others is different than how they actually identify (a bisexual man dating a straight woman will look like two heterosexual people dating, thus erasing his bisexual identity)
Dead Lesbian Syndrome: Also known as "bury your gays", this trope contributes to the idea that LGBTQ+ characters are more expendable than their straight counterparts, and that an LGBTQ+ person is more likely to be killed off in a show filled with straight characters, specifically due to their identity as LGBTQ+
As a bisexual/queer person, growing up without good representation deeply affected how I saw myself and my sexuality. The television and film industries portrayed bisexuality as a choice, a phase, and even a fetish for other people's enjoyment. Not only did this create feelings of being invalid within myself, but it also hurt how people reacted to me when I came out. Even now, being out for 5 years, because I am in a long term relationship with a man, I face biphobic comments in virtual world as well.
"The erasure of bisexuality within media has significant real-world consequences. Bisexual people are consistently found to have poorer mental health outcomes than both heterosexual people and lesbian/gay people (Bostwick, Boyd, Hughes, & McCabe, 2010; Johnson, 2016; Taylor, 2018). The lack of representation of bisexual people in media can contribute to these outcomes by isolating bisexual people from positive role models," (Carolina de Barros 105).
Bi-erasure from within and outside the LGTQ+ community: How this harms the bisexual community
Bisexual people can also face biphobia from within the LGTQ+ community. Bisexual people who are in a "straight-passing" relationship can be excluded or left out of queer spaces. This contributes to erasure because by saying they are a "straight couple", the bisexual identity of one or more partners is completely erased.
"As bisexual people, we face skepticism and stereotypes about our sexuality, we are ignored and excluded from LGBTQ spaces, and we are often invisible to each other - challenges that can make coming out a complicated process," (Human Rights Campaign).
Kat Edison, The Bold Type
Kat is the Social Media Manager at Scarlett Magazine and one of the three main characters on Freeform's show The Bold Type. Kat explores her sexuality throughout the show, starting off identifying as straight, then bisexual, lesbian, and deciding she feels most confident identifying as bisexual by the end of the recent season.
Kat's first female partner is a woman named Adena, a muslim photographer who identifies as lesbian. The two of them share a long, on-camera relationship before eventually breaking up and working on remaining friends.
This video of Kat and her coworker Oliver shows bi-erasure sometimes comes from within the LGBTQ+ community as well as outside of it. For Oliver, it was other people using harmful stereotypes of bisexuality to define his personal journey with his sexuality. For Kat, it's members of the LGBTQ+ community denying her queer identity if she's dating a man and therefore in a 'straight-passing' relationship.
Publicly Identifying as Bisexual and How Crucial this is for LGBTQ+ Youth
Specifically with being bisexual, many television characters will have partners of multiple genders, but never state out loud or on the show that they are bisexual. This can also contribute to bi-erasure... Having characters that share their identity publicly positively contributes to LGBTQ+ youth and those who are questioning, which can be crucial to their mental health.
"Sexually curious adolescents rarely have firsthand contact with real-life LGB role models with whom they can garner information (Savin-Williams, 1995), nor do many teens have families, peers, schools, or communities that outwardly express their support for sexual exploration (Bond, 2011). The absence of interpersonal sexual socialization agents increases the importance of the media for sexually questioning teens (Fejes & Petrich, 1993). A handful of studies using samples of LGB individuals have demonstrated that exposure to LGB sexualities in the media is associated with higher levels of self-esteem and emotional well-being (Bond, Hefner, & Drogos, 2009; Evans, 2007; McKee, 2000). Depictions of LGB individuals in the media can assist sexually questioning youth, sending teens implicit messages of support and acceptance (McKee, 2000)," (Bond 99).
Gael Martinez, Good Trouble
Gael lives in the same building as the show's main characters Callie and Mariana. Callie and Gael have an on and off relationship throughout the show, and early on the two girls accidentally see Gael with a guy he was dating through his bedroom window. Gael is open about his sexuality, but it is not the forefront of his character.
Gael is also shown throughout the show with his sister, a transgender woman who has been disowned by their parents since she transitioned. Due to their homophobic viewpoints, which are heavily embedded into their religious practices, Gael was not out as bisexual to his family for many years. Gael frequently hears them misgender his sister and share transphobic rhetoric, but when his father refuses to give her the dog-tags from her time in military service, Gael decides to come out to them.
This clip of Gael was an influential moment because it shows Gael explicitly identifying himself as bisexual. Many shows do NOT have characters actually say they are bisexual (a lot are implied). This is a crucial scene in breaking down harmful stereotypes about coming out within the bisexual community and specifically for LGBTQ+ people of color, as Gael and his sister are Hispanic and face cultural pressures as well.
Characters who are clearly Bisexual but never say it: Is this Bi-Erasure?
Petra Solano, Jane The Virgin
Petra Solano is the ex-wife of Jane's partner Rafael. Petra was supposed to be artificially inseminated to have Rafael's children while they were married, and the doctor made a mistake and performed that procedure on Jane, making her pregnant by a man she's never met. Petra and Rafael have an incredibly toxic relationship, and the two ultimately end the marriage.
Jane ends up with a woman named JR by the end of the show, however she never addresses her sexuality to any other character.
The only LGBTQ+ character on the show to address his sexuality was a temporary boyfriend of Jane named Adam, played by Tyler Posey. In Season 4 when they begin dating, Jane reacts poorly to the fact that he is bisexual. Adam also mentions how he has faced biphobia from his previous partners and he was hesitant to tell Jane.
While Petra is an example of an LGBTQ+ character who has more to their story than their sexuality, it can actually be harmful to have characters avoid coming out or actively identifying as LGBTQ+. Petra's character busts the harmful trope that LGBTQ+ people's biggest storyline's being about sexuality or them coming out.
No Queer Happy Endings: How "Bury Your Gays" Also Hurts Bisexual Characters
Clarke Griffin, The 100
Clarke Griffin is the protagonist of the show The 100, where humans now live on space ships due to destroying the planet. The laws are strict and harsh, and in order to save resources and time, 100 teenagers under the age of 18 are sent down to Earth to see if it's safe for humans to return.
Clarke is another character where she never specifies her sexuality, it is implied through her partners on the show. This is also seen in other secondary characters on the show who clearly are LGBTQ+ based on their relationships, but it's never discussed between the characters.
This video shows the beginning of Clarke's first on screen romance with a woman, despite her initial rejection of her attraction to Lexa. Lexa is poorly written off the show by being killed in the scene immediately following the two being together, which enraged many fans and made her an example of Dead Lesbian Syndrome.
While the outcry started on Twitter, reactions quickly went beyond the virtual world. The Trevor Project raised tens of thousands of dollars to provide support for LGBTQ+ youth and billboards demanding better treatment of LGBTQ+ characters went up around Los Angeles.
Show writers and creators defended Lexa's death by saying the actress had no choice but to leave the show due to a different filming commitment. However, they also acknowledged how they played into a harmful trope, and they could have written Lexa off in a less painful fashion.
Even though Clarke was not the character who was killed, her same-sex relationship contributes to the narrative that LGBTQ+ couples and characters are expendable and are denied happy endings, instead their character arc is filled with misery and trauma.
Even though these shows have LGBTQ+ representation, does that carry off screen? Good Trouble has a prominent internet name as a writer, Ashly Perez, who used to be on Buzzfeed and is lesbian. Good Trouble's portrayal of LGBTQ+ characters shows that they were not exclusively written by straight writers, in comparison to Kat on The Bold Type. In season four, there was public backlash over unsafe and homophobic situations Kat was put in, and put in alone without the support of her straight counterparts.
How does the audience consume these characters?
Media and television can sometimes be the only interaction audience members have with those of different communities. Youth can be influenced by what they watch, and in the case of LGBTQ+ youth, the way that LGBTQ+ people are portrayed can deeply influence their feelings of self worth, mental health and internal validation.
"Sexually curious adolescents rarely have firsthand contact with real-life LGB role models with whom they can garner information (Savin-Williams, 1995), nor do many teens have families, peers, schools, or communities that outwardly express their support for sexual exploration (Bond, 2011). The absence of interpersonal sexual socialization agents increases the importance of the media for sexually questioning teens (Fejes & Petrich, 1993). A handful of studies using samples of LGB individuals have demonstrated that exposure to LGB sexualities in the media is associated with higher levels of self-esteem and emotional well-being (Bond, Hefner, & Drogos, 2009; Evans, 2007; McKee, 2000). Depictions of LGB individuals in the media can assist sexually questioning youth, sending teens implicit messages of support and acceptance (McKee, 2000)," (Bond 99).
Head photo by Paula Campos on Unsplash, terminology & definitions photo by Ian Taylor on Unsplash, rainbow photo by Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash, Kat Edison image via BoldTypeStyle on Tumblr , Gael Martinez Image via TVFanatic, Petra Solano image via Jane the Virgin Wiki, Clarke Griffin Image via Wallpaper Cave. resources photo by Denin Lawley on Unsplash