Bisexual

Bisexuality is an orientation in which the person experiences sexual attraction to more than one gender  , sometimes worded as "two or more genders". There is some overlap with other mspec labels like pansexual, omnisexual, polysexual, etc. All mspec people have the right to use whatever label(s) they like when defining their orientation.

Some have defined bisexuality as attraction to one's same gender as well as different genders. However, this is not true for all bisexuals. For example, a maverique person who experiences attraction to women and to men but not to other maverique people could be bisexual without same-gender attraction. The same would apply to a woman who is attracted to men and some or all nonbinary genders, but not other women; this woman is not same-gender attracted but could still use the bisexual label.

Bisexual people may also be biromantic or they may have a different romantic orientation.

History


The earliest usage of "bisexual" in English dates to 1824; at this time it meant "having the organs of both sexes in one being" - i.e. intersex in modern terminology.

"Bisexual" as an adjective meaning that a person has attraction to "both sexes" dates to 1914. This was first used as a noun in 1922.

The "bi-angles" symbol for bisexuality was designed by Boston activist Liz Nania in the mid-1980s.

In 1998, the American Institute of Bisexuality was founded by Dr. Fritz Klein.

The bisexual pride flag was created by Michael Page, taking inspiration from the bi-angles symbol, and was first unveiled on 5 December 1998.

Misconceptions
It is often erroneously believed that bisexual people cannot be attracted to nonbinary genders. However, this is not the case. While some bisexuals may only be attracted to binary men and binary women, other bisexuals experience attraction to all genders. This means that the definition and usage of "bisexual" has a lot of overlap with other mspec terms such as pansexual, polysexual, omnisexual, etc. All mspec people choose their label according to what feels right for them.

A related misconception about bisexuality is the belief that bisexuals only like cis people, and/or that bisexual communities are not welcoming of trans/nonbinary people. This is again false. Trans-exclusionary bisexual people undoubtedly do exist, as can be said of any community, but this is not an inherent "feature" of bisexual people.

Yet another misconception is that bisexual people are inherently promiscuous and/or inherently non-monogamous. This belief is inaccurate and biphobic.

Some people claim that bisexuals have access to straight privilege or straight-passing privilege. However, many bisexuals have rebutted these claims, saying that in order to "pass as straight", they must censor/repress who they really are, which causes emotional distress. Some have even argued that if straight-passing privilege were real, then many other categories of non-straight people would have access to it, not just bisexual people.

Studies have found that straight people often think bisexual men are actually gay, while thinking bisexual women are actually straight. This denial that bisexuality exists as a legitimate orientation is a major component of biphobia.

Activists

 * Brenda Howard
 * Robyn Ochs
 * ABilly Jones-Hennin

Musicians

 * Amanda Palmer, of the musical duo The Dresden Dolls, said in a 2007 interview with After Ellen: "I'm bisexual, but it's not the sort of thing I spent a lot of time thinking about. I've slept with girls; I've slept with guys, so I guess that's what they call it!"
 * Lauren Jauregui, of the musical group Fifth Harmony, came out as bisexual in 2016.

Fictional bisexual characters
''Not a complete list. See the page Confirmed mspec characters in fiction for more.''
 * In the science fiction podcast series The Bright Sessions, Mark Bryant is bisexual.
 * In the 2004 film Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Kate is thought by the other characters to be a lesbian, but she clarifies that she's bisexual.
 * In the medical drama Grey's Anatomy, Callie Torres is bisexual. In season 11 episode 5, she says, "So I'm bisexual! So what? It's a thing, and it's real. I mean it's called LGBTQ for a reason. There's a 'B' in there, and it doesn't mean 'badass'. Okay, it kind of does, but it also means bi."
 * Jacob Frye, one of the protagonists of Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, was declared to be bisexual by the official Assassin's Creed Tumblr, in a reblog that stated "Jacob Frye is bisexual. This is canon. The end."

Flags and symbols
The official bi pride flag is comprised of three stripes which are magenta, lavender, and royal blue, with the middle (lavender) stripe being narrower than the other two stripes. This flag was posted online by Michael Page on 5 December 1998.

Since then, some variant bi flag designs have also been proposed, but Page's design remains almost universal.