Search

In this paper, we offer a new theoretical framework for studying love and intimacy in the social sciences. We show that relationships which are not dyadic are often rendered invisible in scholarly accounts of love and intimacy. After reviewing the literature, we apply our new theoretical and methodological framework-the dyadic imaginary-to a case study: same-sex marriage and its relationship to bisexual and queer identities. In this section, we explore how the dyadic imaginary highlights the assumed dyadism of marriage, its relationship to sexual practices that do not rely on gender/sex binaries, and, finally, we discuss the social implications of our case study analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I critically reflect on “Overstepping the Bounds,” an essay I wrote for the Journal of Bisexuality in 2003 (Volume 3, Number 2, 2003). I conclude that, while much has changed in my own life and the wider world over the last decade, there is still work to be done at the intersection of bisexuality, gender and sociology. I consider, in this regard, the impact of same-sex marriage in Canada, the legal struggle over polygamy, and the rise of transgender, queer and intersex politics. I also ponder the concept of bisexual identity in the (post)modern-day context. While a greater awareness of non-heterosexual relationships has had a positive effect, some queer people are deemed more acceptable than others. Bisexuals continue to occupy marginalized positions and misperceptions about bisexuality thrive. I am disappointed by this lack of progress but wonder if the terminology is outmoded. Perhaps a better indicator would be number of people who embrace “queer” and “questioning,” or rejecting labels altogether. I end by reviewing the texts I investigated in the original essay for information pertaining to bisexuality. I still believe that bisexuality is about choice and, as such, has the power to denaturalize and destabilize categorization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this paper is to examine historical, empirical, and present literature on the relationship between sexual orientation, bisexuality, and creativity. Few empirical studies have been implemented since the removal of homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Stereotypes and popular beliefs still exist in society and literature without empirical evidence, indicating that gay men are more creative. Yet, the only empirical evidence, both historical and recent, indicates the opposite. More research is needed to explore creativity in sexual orientation minorities. In particular, it appears that there may be a higher empirical relationship between bisexuality and creativity, yet few studies have been implemented. Furthermore, there is a vital need to include gender and the study of women in relation to creativity and sexual orientation research. Creativity research has only begun to explore the dynamics of gender and culture. The next step is to include the dynamics of sexual orientation to creativity research. The author conducted a literature review and proposes potential research questions for further exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay is a reflection on the life and work of the late Rev. Dr. Ibrahim Farajajé, a renown scholar of religion and eminent queer theologian. Farajajé's work and vision as a bisexual theologian of color presents a radical intersectionality of race, gender, and desire. His notion of "kweers-in-intersection" speaks of both the fluidity and complexity that queers of color in particular embody. Farajajé spoke for these demonized desires, demonized spiritualities, and demonized bodies. As both a Christian and Sufi Muslim scholar and a spiritual leader, "Baba," as he was affectionately called by many, was a guide to those seeking to break the bonds and forced silences of hardened, patriarchal religious frameworks. He stood both at the frontier and the margins of many demonized communities. He pioneered a scholarship of performance which sought to reclaim the rich "darkness" of erased lives. He stood in solidarity with those whose HIV, racial, and sexual status kept them marginalized and disenfranchized in the dominant heteropatriarchy. And he was able to call out liberating ancestors and divine powers by name for the sake of those who suffered from the dominating metanarrative of a heteronormative, patriarchal "God."Introduction: how I met my Baba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I begin to rethink the position (or rather absence) of bisexuals in sociological analysis, and then go on to explore how bisexuality could be fleshed out in this context. I am particularly interested in the relationships between sexualities which upset easy dichotomization, and formulations of gender. Despite the obstacles, I believe that it is possible for bisexuality, and its implications for sex/gender/sexuality to have an impact on sociology. Indeed, it is critical that "lesbian" and "gay" not be allowed to stand as the only alternatives to heterosexuality. Just because it has been a struggle to break through the heterosexism of the discipline is no reason to stop there. As sociologists we have an imperative to exercise our imaginations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Bisexual and other non-monosexual (bi+) women are at higher risk than monosexual women for mental health problems. While being in a relationship is typically associated with better health outcomes, research suggests an inverse association for bisexual women. Despite emerging evidence of differences in bisexual women's experiences based on the gender of their partner, few studies have considered partner sexual identity. Method: To address this gap, the current study examined influences of partner gender and sexual identity on outness, discrimination, and depressive symptoms in a cross-sectional study of 608 bi + cisgender women. Results: Adjusting for other demographics, being in a relationship with a bisexual cisgender woman, a lesbian cisgender woman, or a bisexual cisgender man was positively associated with outness and discrimination compared to being in a relationship with a heterosexual cisgender man. Conclusion: Findings highlight the importance of accounting for partner gender and sexual identity in order to understand bi + women's experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although coming out is considered a crucial part of minority sexual identity development, research concerning bisexual women's coming out experiences is limited. Nevertheless, bisexual women encounter unique stigma and challenges that warrant specific attention. Seventeen young adult women participated in individual, open-ended qualitative interviews about their bisexual identity development. Our inductive thematic analysis of participants' coming out experiences and perspectives revealed important themes related to the unique aspects of coming out as young bisexual women. Themes included 1) the presence of both homophobia and biphobia, 2) the use of alternate identity terms to combat biphobia, 3) the preference to approach coming out in a casual manner, 4) the ability to pass as heterosexual or lesbian when it fits the situation, and 5) the resolute rejection of the disclosure imperative, among others. We discuss these findings in the context of gender, homophobia, biphobia, and heteronormativity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 2001, a case could be made that though the development of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT) and the leather/BDSM communities (BDSM being an acronym standing for bondage and discipline, domination and submission, and sadism and masochism) had been somewhat parallel, the pansexual leather/BDSM community had in many ways become the cutting edge in its acceptance of bisexuals. Ten years later, this article looks at recent developments (especially but not exclusively among younger people) concerning gender, sexual orientation and interest in kink as a form of alternative sexual expression. The author predicts a soon-to-arrive post-GLBT world in which the terms gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender will have faded into irrelevance and in which there will be increased openness to and acceptance of BDSM/fetish/kink activities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Employing the concept of gender as a situated performance, this research explores negotiations of gender performances by bisexuals in interpersonal relationships and how such performances may alter due to the sex/gender of their partner. Theoretical works on gender performance have primarily focused on drag performers, transgenders, and heterosexual women and men. Also, the limited existing research on bisexuality and gender has largely concentrated on the gender of bisexuals' relationship partners. Focusing on the gender performances of bisexuals themselves, this research contributes to the academic literature on bisexuality as well as the sociological study of gender. I examine how bisexuals utilize conventional scripts of femininity and masculinity in their relationships with women and men. Due to the dichotomization of homosexuality/heterosexuality, female/male, and feminine/masculine categories, bisexuals also negotiate an alteration of traditional performances of gender and sexuality in romantic relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The locatedness of this article falls lightly on such "places" as geography, nationality, and local politics; although it is written in Western Australia it is less especially Australian than it is especially queer. The article is located within the privileged space of queer theory making, and it privileges real and abstract locations. If a physical Western Australian location offers regional specificities to an analysis of bisexuality - for example, how Western Australian and Australian Federal Law regulates legal issues of sexuality - the author does not aim to catalogue them. Instead, the author illuminates an epistemology of bisexuality that theorizes "the interstitial." It is the in-between knowledge spaces of sexuality that are drawn on to inform the analysis, gesturing towards the conceptual ground of nonnormative sex, gender, and queer lived experience. Foremost, this article is about queerness, about the "thinking space" that queerness provides. It is from this conceptual location ("mildly flavored" as West Australian) that a spotlight on bisexuality is cast. The word queer in this article refers to a specific conceptualisation of nonnormativity that is to do with a political and social sensibility; here, it is not a substitute for the words gay or lesbian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jennifer Ailles examines the limitations imposed by the strict binary gender system and the attempt to subvert that system through pomosexual play. Using Kate Bornstein, a transgendered transsexual pomosexual, as a case study, she argues that pomosexual play is a theoretical oxymoron that is not sufficient to re-write the cultural construction of gender. Ultimately, pomosexual play relies on the same artificial binary alignment that normative gender relies on. Instead, it is the material existence of pomosexual bodies, particularly the bodies of the intersex, individuals who are genetically distinct from male and female, and the multiplicity of ethical positions that they inhabit, who present a real challenge to the binaristic limits of gender. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This introduction to the collection Bisexuality and Transgenderism: InterSEXions of the Others provides an overview of how considering bisexuality and transgenderism (each broadly defined) can inform and challenge larger cultural understandings of sexuality and gender. The authors provide an overview of extant literature on the subject, propose some of their own productive "intersections" between bisexuality and transgenderism, and introduce the pieces contained in the collection. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]