“The bisexual menace revisited” by Kristin Esterberg explores the concept of bisexuality as an identity or behavior and how it compares and contrasts with monosexual identities. Dr. Esterberg holds a Ph.D and is the elected president at SUNY Potsdam. It is worth noting that her spouse is a woman who works at SUNY Potsdam as well.
The first portion of her essay explores the paradox in which “bisexuality seems to be both everywhere and nowhere” (278). She expounds on this by discussing the almost ‘chic’ presence of bisexuality on college campuses and the simultaneous argument of many bisexuals themselves centered around how they have been socially erased. Bisexuality is seen as everything from the ‘natural’ state of sexuality to an entirely made-up sexuality used by those who are ‘really’ gary or straight but refuse to admit it. It is also sometimes seen as a menace - one that brings AIDs to ‘innocent’ wives and children or “pollute[s] the “purity” of the lesbian community” (278). Bisexuals, with their heathenous attraction to both sexes, is seen as greedy or raging out of control, leading to erotic relationships with “anything that moves1” and multiple people at once. …show more content…
Whether it is bisexuals and trans* individuals on one side, with gay men and lesbians - both monosexual identities - on the other, or with bisexuals paired with gay men and lesbians as a cohesive group of deviant sexualities against heterosexism, or with bisexuals grouped with all of the other identities that ‘love men’ against lesbians, or with bisexuals against all monosexuals, the understanding of their identity sheds light on the dualistic nature of Western thought. Until the idea of ‘homosexual’ and ‘heterosexual’ became widespread in the United States and Europe, bisexuality could not even be considered. Even still, the binary way Western Culture perceives most things is incongruous with
The first portion of her essay explores the paradox in which “bisexuality seems to be both everywhere and nowhere” (278). She expounds on this by discussing the almost ‘chic’ presence of bisexuality on college campuses and the simultaneous argument of many bisexuals themselves centered around how they have been socially erased. Bisexuality is seen as everything from the ‘natural’ state of sexuality to an entirely made-up sexuality used by those who are ‘really’ gary or straight but refuse to admit it. It is also sometimes seen as a menace - one that brings AIDs to ‘innocent’ wives and children or “pollute[s] the “purity” of the lesbian community” (278). Bisexuals, with their heathenous attraction to both sexes, is seen as greedy or raging out of control, leading to erotic relationships with “anything that moves1” and multiple people at once. …show more content…
Whether it is bisexuals and trans* individuals on one side, with gay men and lesbians - both monosexual identities - on the other, or with bisexuals paired with gay men and lesbians as a cohesive group of deviant sexualities against heterosexism, or with bisexuals grouped with all of the other identities that ‘love men’ against lesbians, or with bisexuals against all monosexuals, the understanding of their identity sheds light on the dualistic nature of Western thought. Until the idea of ‘homosexual’ and ‘heterosexual’ became widespread in the United States and Europe, bisexuality could not even be considered. Even still, the binary way Western Culture perceives most things is incongruous with