High rates of bullying of bisexual youth
Bisexual young people are more likely to experience bullying (canva)
Young bi people are more likely than many other groups to face bullying at school, research has found.
Bisexual Awareness Week, which runs until Monday (23 September), culminating in Celebrate Bisexuality Day, seeks to “accelerate the acceptance of the bi+ (bisexual, pansexual, fluid, no label, queer) community”, the event’s co-founders GLAAD said.
“BiWeek draws attention to the experiences, while celebrating the resiliency of, the bisexual+ community. Throughout BiWeek, allies and bi+ people learn about the history, culture, community and current policy priorities of bi+ communities,” the group adds.
To mark the event, LGBTQ+ young people’s charity Just Like Us re-shared its Positive Futures report from 2023, which revealed that 73 per cent of the bisexual/ pansexual young people surveyed had experienced bullying. 39 per cent “rarely” or “never” feel good about themselves, while an average of four in every five said they had experienced suicidal thoughts.
The only queer identities more likely to have experienced bullying at school were trans and non-binary young people (78 per cent and 79 per cent, respectively).
Bisexual Just Like Us ambassador Alice said the awareness week was important because “our sexuality is valid and we don’t need to prove that we are part of this community by dating someone of a certain gender.”
She went on to say: “I wish more people understood that our bisexuality doesn’t go away when we date someone of a certain gender. We are bisexual regardless of who we date, and our love deserves to be seen and celebrated as much as anyone else’s.”
Another ambassador for the charity, Sophie, said going into schools as a volunteer to tell her story gives pupils the representation she never had.
“I’ve learnt that we as bisexual folks have this strength as a group, as long as we keep talking to each other and sharing that strength. I feel proud to say I am bisexual but I also feel proud to say that I am part of a group who have found their voices and are unapologetically embracing their identities.”
Just Like Us chief executive Laura Mackay described Bisexual Awareness Week as a “crucial time” to shine a light on bi lives and experiences “both by celebrating them and by raising awareness of, and committing to combatting, biphobia”.
She continued: “Some of the bisexual young people we work with tell us that they can feel excluded, even within the LGBT+ community, because of bi-erasure, and this can have a significant impact on their wellbeing. Our research shows that bisexual and pansexual young people are among the most likely to have experienced bullying at school, and are also among the most likely to have experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings.
“It is absolutely essential that we use this week to raise awareness, listen to bisexual voices, challenge stigmas, and ensure that bisexual young people feel fully seen, supported and celebrated every week of the year.”
The 2021 census, which included questions about sexuality and gender for the first time, estimated that there were 624,000 bisexual people in England and Wales.
The research showed there are as there are as many bisexual and pansexual people as there are gay men and lesbians, highlighting how bi experiences are often erased within the LGBTQ+ community.
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