Internalized Binegativity, LGBQ + Community Involvement, and Definitions of Bisexuality

Bibliographic Data

ID12759193
AuthorsA M Pollitt (0000-0001-5428-2283, The University of Texas at Austin, corresponding author), Tangela S Roberts (0000-0002-7603-7550, Western Michigan University)
Year2021
Volume21
Issue3
Pages357-379
Publication date2021-07-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Bisexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1529-9716 • E-ISSN: 1529-9724
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15299716.2021.1984363
PMID35185393
OpenAlexW3207101544
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited67

Bisexual people can internalize stigma from both heterosexual and gay/lesbian communities, which often occurs in the form of monosexism, the belief that people should only be attracted to one gender. Although community involvement is protective for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer+ (LGBQ+) people, bisexual people may benefit more from bisexual-specific communities than LGBQ+ communities because of monosexism. Further, how bisexual people define their identity may be related to internalized binegativity, especially given the historical invisibility of bisexuality in mainstream media and recent debates about the definition of bisexuality within LGBQ+ communities. We examined LGBQ+ and bisexual-specific community involvement, definitions of bisexuality, and internalized binegativity among an online sample of 816 bisexual adults. Multivariate regression analyses showed that those with spectrum definitions, which acknowledged the nuanced understanding of sex, gender, and sexuality, reported lower internalized binegativity than those with binary definitions, which described sexuality as consistent with mainstream norms. Involvement in LGBQ+ communities, but not bisexual communities, was associated with lower internalized binegativity. There was no interaction between the type of definition and type of community involvement. Our results suggest that broad community involvement may be protective for internalized binegativity, but findings should be considered in light of a lack of well-funded, local bisexual communities. The current study adds to a growing literature on sexual minority stressors among bisexual people, a population that continues to be understudied

Heterosexism · Homosexuality · Human sexuality · Lesbian · Mainstream · Minority stress · Political science · Population · Queer · Sexual identity · Sexual minority · Sexual orientation · Sociology · Transgender · Demography · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology

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