Bisexuality and the Challenge to Lesbian Politics. Paula C Rust
to identity in their answers to the question “What is your opinion of bisexuality?” 25 referred to it for other reasons. Nine lesbians stated or implied that they accept other women’s bisexual identities at face value, i.e., that they assume other women’s identities are authentic reflections of their sexual essences. For example, Thelma expressed no suspicion whatsoever that bisexual-identified women might not be bisexual, which, according to her own definition, means that they are attracted to both women and men,
I feel accepting of my friends who identify themselves as bisexual. I don’t understand their ability to feel sexually attracted to and satisfied by both men and women. (Thelma)
and Samantha believes that a woman’s sexual identity should be respected and taken as the primary indicator of her sexuality:
It seems to be a viable lifestyle for some individuals. I support individual choice in defining ourselves. I, therefore, support individuals who choose bisexuality. (Samantha)
Five other lesbians went one step farther in authenticating bisexuality; so far, in fact, that they questioned the authenticity of lesbian identity. In contrast to the 57 lesbians who cast doubt on bisexual identity by stating or inferring that women who call themselves bisexual are sometimes or always really lesbians, Mae cast doubt on non-bisexual identity by implying not only that women who call them selves bisexual are authentically bisexual, but that many women who don’t call themselves bisexual are also bisexual. She thinks that bisexuality is “the most common sexual orientation, if only people would admit it.”
Despite their disagreements over the authenticity of various sexual identities, all 71 of the women discussed above—those who doubt the authenticity of bisexual identity, those who doubt the authenticity of non-bisexual identity, and those who believe in the authenticity of all identities—do agree on one point. They share the underlying opinion that sexual identity should reflect sexual essence. There are also lesbians who believe that sexual identity should not necessarily reflect sexual essence, especially when that essence is bisexual. In fact, some believe that essence should not be the determining factor in identity at all. Loretta, for example, believes that although women might be essentially bisexual, they make choices regarding which sex or sexes they will become sexually involved with, and their identities reflect, or should reflect, these behavioral choices:
I think that almost everyone is bisexual but some choose to place their emphasis on one end of the scale . . . I think that many lesbians could be involved with a man and straight women with other women if they allowed themselves to. I see people who call themselves bisexuals as those who do not wish to choose. (Loretta)
Other lesbians believe that identity reflects, or should reflect, a woman’s political commitments. Gilda, for example, believes that it is woman-identification, not sexual behavior, that distinguishes lesbians from bisexual women. In other words, lesbians and bisexual women might have identical sexual behaviors and feelings; the difference lies in their political orientation, not their sexuality:
I know many lesbians (including myself) who relate romantically I sexually with men and women yet identify strongly as lesbians. To me a bisexual is someone who goes either way sexually but is not particularly woman identified. (Gilda)
Rebecca would approve of Gilda’s decision to identify herself as a lesbian:
I think bisexual women while they may practice bisexuality ought to identify as lesbians to strengthen the lesbian movement. I believe the old line about identify with the oppressed group and not the more privileged one. (Rebecca)
In summary, the majority of lesbians who mentioned bisexual identity did so to discredit it. In general, lesbians tend not to accept other women’s bisexual identities at face value; usually, they suspect that women who call themselves bisexual are really lesbians. Very few lesbians spoke up to defend the authenticity of bisexual identity and express their respect for women who choose to identify as bisexual, but a few of those who did went so far as to cast doubt on lesbian identity instead. Finally, some lesbians do not believe that identity should reflect essence at all; they feel that identity should reflect a woman’s political convictions, not her sexual behaviors or feelings. To them, the issue is not authenticity, but politics.
Bisexuality as a Matter of Preferences or Choices
Some lesbians simply referred to bisexuality, or sexuality in general, as a matter of “preference” or “choice” without specifying what is preferred or chosen. Among those who referred to unspecified preferences, eleven consider bisexuality a sexual preference, whereas four conceptualize it as a lack of preference. For example, SueAnne called bisexuality “one kind of sexual preference,” and Helen thinks it “must be difficult not to have a definite preference one way or the other.” The ten lesbians who referred to sexuality as a matter of choice were evenly divided between those who consider bisexuality a choice and those who consider bisexuality to be the absence of choice, or a failure to choose.
Lesbians who consider bisexuality to be a positive sexual preference or choice generally expressed empathic and tolerant attitudes toward bisexuality. Many took the liberal stance, “if that’s what a person is happy being, go for it,” or explicitly stated that the bisexual preference is as valid or legitimate as the homosexual and heterosexual preferences are. In contrast, lesbians who define bisexuality as a lack of preference or choice are inclined to accuse women who call themselves bisexual of cowardice. At the very least, they are uneasy around women whose loyalties are not clear. Madeline, for example, is “more comfortable with people who have made definite choices for one sex over the other.”
Bisexuality as a Matter of Gender Blindness
The foregoing discussion demonstrates one point very clearly. Lesbians define bisexuality in a variety of different ways. Despite this great variety, however, all of the definitions examined so far have one thing in common. They all describe bisexuality in terms of the gender(s) of one’s sexual partner(s) or potential partner(s). Defined by behavior, bisexuals are people who engage in sex with both women and men. Defined by feelings, bisexuals are people who are attracted to or capable of loving both women and men. Defined by preferences, bisexuals are either people who have preferences for both women and men or people who lack a preference for one over the other. These definitions of bisexuality retain the emphasis on the gender(s) of one’s partner(s), an emphasis derived from the gender-specific definitions of homosexuality and heterosexuality.
A very small number of lesbian respondents—fewer than one in twenty—have a very different type of definition of bisexuality. Rather than conceptualizing bisexuality as a combination of homosexuality and heterosexuality, thus emphasizing gender, these women choose to deemphasize gender by conceptualizing bisexuality as the ability to love people regardless of their gender. Bisexuals are, by this definition, people who love people rather than people who love women and men. For example, Prudence defines bisexuals as “people who love people regardless of sex.”
These women harbor some of the same reservations about bisexuality that other lesbians do:
I don’t understand it because I can’t relate to men the way I do to women (any more than I can understand heterosexuality). It’s possible that it is the ideal—relating to people regardless of gender, but I tend to think (perhaps wrongly) of the bisexual as sexually oriented instead of emotionally oriented. (Willa)
Most, however, believe that bisexuality is the most natural or ideal form of sexuality, arguing that it reflects an openness toward people and experiences or a more humanist way of relating to people. This ideal is achieved by a few healthy and untraumatized people in this world and could be achieved by all people in a less sexist, more humane world. In effect, bisexuality is the sexual equivalent of equal opportunity; as Esther put it, “One way to look at it is they give all people equal footing.” Once gender discrimination is eradicated, perhaps we will all be able to look past each others’ genitals and genders to the human beings inside.