Bisexuality and the Challenge to Lesbian Politics. Paula C Rust
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reason! (Laura)
Not all lesbians who believe that most or all people are bisexual used concepts like “potential” or “ideal” to explain this belief. Many asserted that bisexuality is universal or widespread here and now. Among these lesbians, references to a continuum of sexuality or to “degrees” of sexuality/bisexuality were frequent. For example, June feels that “most people, women and men, are to a certain extent bisexual—but this constitutes a continuous scale, not clear distinctions between straight, bisexual, or gay.” Although there are differences of opinion over whether and where to draw the lines that distinguish bisexuality from lesbianism and heterosexuality on this continuum, many of these women see bisexuality as overlapping lesbianism and heterosexuality. These respondents typically argued that although most or all people are “bisexual to a degree,” most lean toward one direction or the other and are therefore “really” lesbian or heterosexual and should identify themselves as such. Apparently, on the sexual scale conceived by these lesbians, bisexuality encompasses the entire continuum with the presumed exception of the extreme endpoints, whereas lesbianism and heterosexuality encompass the entire continuum with the exception of the area immediately surrounding the midpoint. This conception of sexuality allowed these women to state that most or all people are bisexual while also asserting that women who call themselves bisexual are sometimes or frequently denying their own lesbianism. For example,
I think everyone is bisexual to some degree. It is difficult for me to believe someone could be equally satisfied in a relationship with a man or woman. Some people hide behind this label because it’s more acceptable than being gay. (Nel)
Thus, the concept of a sexual continuum, like the concepts of an ideal society or an unrealized sexual “potential,” enables lesbians to reconcile beliefs about the universality of bisexuality with beliefs about the political undesirability of bisexuality or the suspicious quality of those who call themselves bisexual in this society.
Summary
The issue of whether or not bisexuality exists is a salient one among lesbians. Although the question “What is your opinion of bisexuality?” made no explicit reference to the issue of bisexual existence, more than half of lesbian respondents chose to address this issue more or less directly in their answers. This finding is all the more remarkable because many of those who addressed the issue believe that bisexuality exists. Within the context of a question that presumed bisexual existence, statements affirming bisexual existence were unnecessary. Apparently, the minority that does not believe in bisexuality is vocal enough to create a climate in which other lesbians feel compelled to assert their belief that bisexuality does exist.
In fact, the lesbians who participated in this study are as likely to believe that everyone or almost everyone is potentially bisexual as they are to believe that bisexuality does not exist. But the fact that no one except the proponents of the idea of a universal bisexual potential mentioned it indicates that this idea is less salient in discourse about bisexuality among lesbians. Apparently the idea of universal bisexuality, despite its popularity, has less impact on lesbian symbolic culture than the idea that bisexuality does not exist; the idea of universal bisexuality does not “hang in the air” as an idea to be reckoned with.
The finding that the question of bisexual existence is so important to lesbians is a bit surprising, given that the existence of bisexuality was not constructed as an issue in any of the lesbian and/or gay publications I examined in chapter 1. In The Lesbian and Gay Press, the issue is not whether bisexuality does exist, but whether bisexuality should exist, what its political implications are, and whether it belongs in The Lesbian and Gay Movement. The “issue of bisexuality” as it is presented in The Lesbian and Gay Press does not accurately reflect the issue as it is seen by the “lesbian-on-the-street.” However, by overlooking the issue of bisexual existence and focusing on the implications of bisexuality, The Press accurately, albeit implicitly, reflects the fact that most lesbians believe that there is something called bisexuality.
WHAT IS BISEXUALITY? OR, WILL THE REAL LESBIAN PLEASE STAND UP?
If bisexuality does exist, then what is it? Is it a feeling or is it a lifestyle? Is it a preference or a choice? Is it sexual nondiscrimination or sexual indiscriminacy? Although most lesbian respondents believe bisexuality exists, for many this is the only point on which they agree; there are almost as many conceptions of bisexuality among lesbians as there are lesbians who believe it exists.
The question of what constitutes bisexuality is inextricably entwined with the question of what is lesbianism. By defining the boundaries of bisexuality, we define the boundaries of lesbianism, and vice versa. Sometimes the distinction between bisexuality and lesbianism is clear; a woman whose lovers have all been women and whose romantic and sexual feelings are exclusively same-sex is a lesbian, and a woman who has had equal numbers of female and male partners and feels equally attracted to women and men is a bisexual. But few of us fit either of these ideal images. Most of us have had some combination of female and male sexual partners, and many of us have some degree of sexual attraction toward men. Where, then, do we draw the line between lesbianism and bisexuality? How do we decide who is the real lesbian—indeed, whether we ourselves are real lesbians—and who is bisexual?
Nearly half of the lesbians who participated in this study provided definitions of bisexuality when they answered the question “What is your opinion of bisexuality?” Analysis of these definitions showed that there are a small number of criteria, which, like building blocks, are applied and combined in unique ways by each individual. The most commonly used criteria are behavior, used by nearly two-fifths of lesbian respondents, and feelings, used by one-quarter. Other criteria include identity, preferences, choices, and the importance of gender.
Bisexuality as a Matter of Behavior
Many lesbians define bisexuality in terms of behavior. In the opinions of these women, one is bisexual if one behaves bisexually. But what is bisexual behavior? Lesbians who define bisexuality in terms of behavior concur that the bisexual lifestyle involves some form of sexual contact with both women and men, but beyond this basic point, agreement breaks down. What kind of sexual contact is necessary to qualify one as bisexual? Is casual sexual contact sufficient, or must sexual contact occur within the framework of a serious romantic relationship? How much sexual contact with each sex is necessary—is a single experience with one or the other sex sufficient, or must a person have considerable sexual experience with both sexes in order to be considered bisexual? Must one enjoy these sexual contacts? Must one have exactly equal amounts of homosexual and heterosexual experience? Can homosexual and heterosexual experiences occur serially, or does bisexuality imply that homosexual and heterosexual relationships occur simultaneously? Differences of opinion exist on all these questions.
Compare, for example, the following two definitions of bisexuality:
A person who has sex with both women and men. (Jill)
To be bisexual would mean that a person were simultaneously involved in an intimate sexual relationship with a man and a woman. (Marlene)
Both of these women define a bisexual person as one who has sexual relations with both women and men, but they have very different ideas about the kinds of sexual relations that constitute bisexuality. In Jill’s opinion, merely having both homosexual and heterosexual physical relations is sufficient to qualify one as bisexual. The context, quantity, and quality of these sexual relations are irrelevant. Marlene has a much narrower definition of bisexuality. According to her, to be bisexual one must not only engage in both homosexual and heterosexual physical relations; one must also be involved in intimate ongoing relationships with both sexes, and these relationships must be simultaneous. In other words, merely engaging in both homosexual and heterosexual physical activity does not constitute bisexuality; this activity must take place in sufficient quantity and within the right context in order to be defined as bisexuality.
Other lesbians are more concerned about the quality