The bisexual pride flag
Today, September 23rd, marks Bi Visibility Day, an occasion to recognise and celebrate bisexual people and the bisexual community. First acknowledged in 1999, the celebration expanded in 2014 to Bisexual Awareness week to enable an expanded focus on education and awareness, as well as recognising the contributions of bisexual people. It marks a significant opportunity for allies to add to their knowledge of the achievements of, and issues facing, the bisexual community.
So what is bisexuality? Definitions can vary but generally a bisexual person is someone who is romantically, emotionally, and/or sexually attracted to people of the same gender, and people of different genders as themselves. There remains a perception that bisexuality is attraction to only men and women, however this is likely based on the fact that the prefix “bi” means 2, and the fact that many used to think that there are only 2 genders (man and woman). In reality, bisexuality does not exclude non-binary genders in its definition, and the umbrella term bi+ can be used to cover additional identities such as pansexual and omnisexual.
Here in the UK, there has been an increase in the proportion of the population identifying as bisexual, increasing from 1.1% in 2019 to 1.6% in 2024 according to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), and this is still likely to underestimate the true number of people who identify this way. The data also shows a difference by gender with women more likely to be bisexual than men (2.0% vs 1.1%), and by age, with younger people being more likely to identify as bi than older people.
However even with more people identifying as bi than ever before, the bi+ community continues to face unique challenges when it comes to biphobia. One of the key reasons why Bi Visibility Day is so important is bi erasure, whereby bisexual identity is minimised or invalidated on the basis of their current partner, for example being seen as ‘straight’ when in a partnership with someone of the opposite gender, or homosexual when with a same-gender partner. This can manifest as dismissing bisexuality as a "phase" or seeing it as a stepping stone to being gay or lesbian, leading to negative impacts like isolation and mental health issues for bisexual individuals. Bisexual identity is valid regardless of current relationship or none, and an individual is not required to have previously experienced relationships with multiple genders to be considered bisexual!
There is also evidence that bisexual people face dual discrimination, dealing with discrimination and misunderstanding from both heterosexual society and from within the LGBTQ+ community. So on Bi Visibility day, let’s all take a moment to celebrate the fantastic bisexual people in our lives and call out biphobia when we see it. Out Making Games will always be a safe space for the bisexual members of our community; we see you and we celebrate you. For more information, follow any of the links below, get in touch with us at leadership@outmaking.games, or join us over on our Discord - we’d love to hear from you!
Jasmin Fox - Out Making Games
Resources
Stonewall Bi Hub - https://www.stonewall.org.uk/resources/lgbtq-hubs/bi-hub
Glaad - https://glaad.org/biweek/
BiCon - https://bicon.org.uk/
Bi Pride UK - https://biprideuk.org/
Bi Community News - https://bicommunitynews.co.uk/
