Bisexual people make up the largest single group within the LGBTQ community, yet they often find themselves caught in a strange position: too gay for heterosexual spaces, too straight for queer ones. This is not an accident. It is the result of a persistent pattern known as bisexual erasure.
Bisexual erasure is the tendency to ignore, deny, invalidate, or render invisible the experiences and identities of bisexual people. It operates in public discourse, media representation, healthcare settings, workplaces, and even within LGBTQ communities themselves. Understanding bisexual erasure is essential for anyone who wants to build genuinely inclusive environments and support bisexual people effectively.
What is bisexual erasure?
Bisexual erasure takes many forms, but at its core it is the refusal to recognize bisexuality as a legitimate identity. This can manifest as:
- Assuming bisexual people are actually gay or straight
- Describing bisexuality as a phase
- Claiming bisexuality does not exist
- Invisibility of bisexual issues in LGBTQ advocacy
- Media underrepresentation or stereotypical representation
- Erasure of bisexual history and historical figures
The term itself gained wider circulation in the 1990s and 2000s, though the phenomenon it describes has existed for much longer. Bisexual erasure is sometimes also called bisexual invisibility or biphobia, though the three terms are not perfectly synonymous.
How bisexual erasure manifests
In public discourse and politics
Bisexual people often disappear from public conversations about LGBTQ rights. Marriage equality debates frequently framed the issue as a choice between straight and gay, erasing the existence of bisexuals who might benefit from or be affected by those policies. In political contexts, bisexual voters are often lumped into either the heterosexual or gay/lesbian category in polling and demographic analysis.
Some bisexual people report feeling pressure to identify as either gay or straight depending on who they are dating or which community they are in. This pressure itself is a form of erasure.
In media representation
Bisexual characters in television, film, and literature have historically been rare, and when they do appear, they are often portrayed through harmful stereotypes or have their bisexuality erased through narrative choices.
Common patterns include:
- The bisexual character who “really” ends up with one gender, making their bisexuality a plot point that disappears in the end
- Bisexual as a synonym for promiscuous or untrustworthy, reinforcing harmful tropes
- Killing off bisexual characters at disproportionately high rates in television and film
- Reducing bisexual identity to a phase before characters settle into heterosexuality or homosexuality
These patterns send a message that bisexuality is not a stable or legitimate identity. They also contribute to the real mental health disparities and feelings of isolation that bisexual people often experience.
In LGBTQ communities
Perhaps most painfully, bisexual erasure is not limited to heterosexual society. Many bisexual people report feeling unwelcome or invalidated within LGBTQ spaces. This can include:
- Being told they are not “queer enough” to participate in LGBTQ organizations
- Being questioned about whether they are “really” bisexual
- Facing skepticism about their identity from gay and lesbian people
- Being excluded from community events or resources that assume everyone is gay or lesbian
This dual erasure — from both heterosexual and LGBTQ communities — can leave bisexual people feeling isolated from all sides.
In healthcare and research
Medical and mental health research has often treated bisexuality as invisible or conflated it with homosexuality. Studies on LGBTQ health disparities have sometimes excluded bisexual participants or grouped them with gay and lesbian participants, masking the specific health outcomes of bisexual people.
What research does exist shows concerning patterns:
- Bisexual people often experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation than both heterosexual and gay/lesbian people
- Bisexual people face unique healthcare barriers, including providers who are unfamiliar with bisexual-specific health needs
- Bisexual women face elevated rates of intimate partner violence and sexual violence
When bisexuality is erased from research, these disparities remain invisible and unaddressed.
In relationships
Bisexual people in opposite-gender relationships often report that their identity is dismissed because they appear to be in a straight relationship. Bisexual people in same-gender relationships sometimes face the assumption that they are gay or lesbian. Neither experience is less legitimate than the other, but the pressure to choose a side — or the invisibility that comes from not being visibly queer — is a real consequence of erasure.
Why bisexual erasure matters
Erasure is not merely symbolic. It has tangible consequences for the wellbeing of bisexual people.
Mental health impact
Studies consistently show that bisexual people experience higher rates of poor mental health than both heterosexual and gay/lesbian populations. Research published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology found that bisexual adults reported significantly higher rates of past-year mood and anxiety disorders compared to heterosexual adults, gay men, and lesbian women.
While these disparities have multiple causes, bisexual erasure is likely a significant factor. When your identity is denied or invalidated by both mainstream society and your own community, the psychological toll can be substantial.
Physical health disparities
Bisexual people face unique health challenges that are often overlooked. For example:
- Bisexual women have higher rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity compared to heterosexual women
- Bisexual people are less likely to have health insurance or a regular healthcare provider
- Substance use rates, including tobacco and alcohol, tend to be elevated among bisexual populations
These disparities require targeted research and culturally competent care. Erasure makes both harder to achieve.
Political and social representation
When bisexual people are erased from public discourse, their specific needs and concerns are also erased from policy discussions. This can affect:
- Healthcare legislation
- Anti-discrimination protections
- Mental health services
- Education and awareness programs
- Representation in media and culture
Bisexual erasure also undermines the broader goal of LGBTQ solidarity. When one group within the community is marginalized or dismissed, it weakens the collective effort for equality and justice.
The origins of bisexual erasure
Understanding where bisexual erasure comes from helps explain why it is so persistent.
Historical context
Bisexuality has a complex relationship with both heterosexual and homosexual communities. In the early decades of organized LGBTQ activism in the United States, bisexual activists were present but sometimes faced skepticism from gay and lesbian leaders who worried that association with bisexuality might undermine the argument that homosexuality was not a choice.
Some early gay and lesbian organizations explicitly excluded bisexual people or created separate groups that were less prominent. This history has echoes in contemporary dynamics.
The binary thinking problem
Much of bisexual erasure stems from a deeply ingrained tendency to think in binaries: straight or gay, male or female, normal or abnormal. Bisexuality challenges these neat categories. Because bisexuality does not fit neatly into either side of the binary, it is often dismissed or rendered invisible.
Compulsory sexuality frameworks
Some scholars argue that compulsory sexuality — the assumption that everyone is heterosexual unless they have a specific reason not to be — also operates in reverse within LGBTQ spaces, where there is an assumption that everyone is monosexual (exclusively attracted to one gender) unless they have a specific reason not to be.
What can be done about bisexual erasure
Addressing bisexual erasure requires action at multiple levels.
Individual actions
- Validate bisexual identity when you encounter it. Believing someone when they tell you their identity is one of the simplest and most powerful forms of support.
- Avoid assumptions about someone’s sexuality based on their current partner’s gender.
- Educate yourself about bisexual experiences and history. There are many books, articles, and documentaries that can help.
- Use inclusive language in your own speech and writing. For example, instead of “gay and straight,” consider “queer and straight” or “same-gender and different-gender attractions.”
- Speak up when you witness bisexual erasure or biphobia, whether in casual conversation or in organizational settings.
Community and organizational actions
- Include bisexual people in leadership and decision-making positions within LGBTQ organizations.
- Create bisexual-specific resources and programming, not just events that focus on gay and lesbian issues.
- Train staff and volunteers on bisexual identity and experiences.
- Collect bisexual-specific data in surveys and needs assessments.
- Challenge biphobic language and behavior within community spaces.
Institutional and policy actions
- Fund bisexual-specific research on health disparities, community needs, and effective interventions.
- Include bisexuals in anti-discrimination protections explicitly, not just under the general umbrella of sexual orientation.
- Ensure healthcare providers are trained to address bisexual health needs.
- Support bisexual organizations and leaders with funding and visibility.
Bisexuality and the broader LGBTQ movement
Bisexual erasure weakens the LGBTQ movement in several ways. When bisexual people feel unwelcome or invalidated within their own communities, they may disengage from advocacy efforts. When policy discussions ignore bisexual experiences, laws and programs fail to address real needs.
True LGBTQ solidarity requires recognizing that bisexual people are not an appendage or a subset of the gay and lesbian community. They are a distinct group with their own experiences, needs, and contributions. Working toward bisexual visibility and inclusion is not just the right thing to do for bisexual people — it strengthens the entire movement for equality and justice.
Moving forward
Bisexual erasure is persistent, but it is not unchangeable. Each time a bisexual person’s identity is validated, each time a media portrayal treats bisexuality as legitimate, each time an organization creates space for bisexual voices, the erasure weakens.
For bisexual people themselves, knowing that erasure exists and has a name can be both validating and frustrating. For allies and advocates, understanding bisexual erasure is a foundation for more effective support.
The goal is not merely visibility for its own sake, though that matters. The goal is a world where bisexual people — like all people — can live openly, authentically, and without having to justify or explain their identity to anyone.
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