Bisexual

Emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attraction to more than one gender - not necessarily equally, simultaneously, in the same way, or to the same degree. Bisexuality does not reinforce a gender binary and explicitly includes non-binary people as potential partners.

Latin bi- (two) + sexualis. Appeared in Kertbeny's 1869 pamphlet as Doppelsexualität; in its modern English sense in 1892 (Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis).

• Ancient Greece and Rome treated multi-gender attraction as normative for many people
• 1868–1869 - Karl-Maria Kertbeny coined Doppelsexualität while arguing against anti-sodomy laws
• 1948 - Kinsey's scale demonstrated statistically that most people fall between exclusively heterosexual and homosexual
• 1970 - Brenda Howard, a bisexual activist, organized the first Gay Pride march; coined the word "Pride" for the annual event - called the "Mother of Pride"
• 1976 - San Francisco Bisexual Center founded
• 1990 - Lani Ka'ahumanu and Naomi Tucker led a highly visible bisexual contingent at the National March on Washington, demanding inclusion in LGBT organizations
• 1998 - Michael Page designs the bisexual pride flag
• 1999 - International Bisexuality Visibility Day established (September 23)
• Bi erasure - the persistent tendency to consider bisexual people "really gay" or "really straight" depending on their current partner - has been a defining community challenge

• "Bisexuality is just a phase." Bisexuality is a valid, stable orientation for most bisexual people.
• "Bisexual people are greedy or can't be monogamous." Orientation describes attraction, not behavior. Bisexual people are no more likely to cheat than anyone else.
• "Bisexual people are 50/50." Bisexuality means attraction to more than one gender - the proportion varies enormously and can shift.
• "Being in a relationship changes your orientation." It does not.
• "Bisexuality excludes non-binary people." The bisexual community has explicitly stated that bisexuality includes all genders.
• See the full comparison: Bisexual vs Pansexual.

• Brenda Howard (1946–2005) - "Mother of Pride"; organized first Gay Pride march
• Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) - British novelist (retrospectively identified)
• Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) - Mexican artist (retrospectively identified)
• David Bowie (1947–2016) - Openly discussed bisexuality
• Lady Gaga (1986–) - Publicly identifies as bisexual