TY - JOUR
T1 - Internalized Binegativity, LGBQ + Community Involvement, and Definitions of Bisexuality
AU - Pollitt, Amanda M.
AU - Roberts, Tangela S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Bisexual people might see benefits when they are involved in bisexual-specific communities (Lambe et al., ); bisexual people often discuss how engaging in a community that is accepting of all genders and sexualities is a positive experience (Rostosky et al., ). However, the number and strength of bisexual communities may be overshadowed when compared to lesbian and gay-specific communities (Hartman, ; Hayfield et al., ). LGBQ + communities rely heavily on grant funding for support services, programming, and awareness. However, there exists a vast discrepancy in the amount of funding given to each sexual minority community group. For example, annual reports of LGBQ + grants by US foundations show that bisexual communities received 0% of the LGBQ + grant funding awarded from 2002 to 2010 (Funders for LGBTQ Issues, , 2011). From 2016 to 2018, the percentage of grant funding awarded for bisexual populations grew negligibly, accounting for less than 1% of the total funding awarded (Wallace et al., ). Thus, opportunities for bisexual people to engage in bisexual community, where impacts on reducing internalized binegativity might be highest, are rare.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - 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 a 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 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.
AB - 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 a 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 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.
KW - Bisexuality
KW - community participation
KW - minority stress
KW - sexual and gender minorities
KW - sexual identity
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U2 - 10.1080/15299716.2021.1984363
DO - 10.1080/15299716.2021.1984363
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85116499125
SN - 1529-9716
VL - 21
SP - 357
EP - 379
JO - Journal of Bisexuality
JF - Journal of Bisexuality
IS - 3
ER -