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Bisexual Identities and Theories
In the twentieth century, our society has defined two mutually exclusive types of sexuality, heterosexuality and homosexuality. This polarized understanding has made bisexuality - a form of sexuality that includes both of the other possibilities rather than simply one or the other - largely invisible. When it has been recognized, bisexuality has often been viewed with suspicion by both the heterosexual and homosexual communities.
In recent years, however, bisexuality has gained visibility in society through the efforts of bisexuals within the bisexual and the gay and lesbian movements and the writings of academics and activists. The two collections of essays reviewed here make important contributions to scholarship on bisexuality in the social sciences and the humanities. Although they are rooted in different disciplines and take different approaches, both books show us how bisexuality allows a new, less restrictive way of looking at sexuality and gender. The books share a number of concerns, including examination of how bisexuality has been constructed and erased by our traditional, binary ways of viewing sexuality, the development of new ways to think about bisexual identities without using these old, binary ideas, and the complex relationships between gay/lesbian and bisexual theories and movements.
Bisexuality: The Psychology and Politics of an Invisible Minority presents social science research on bisexuality in a clear, accessible way to assist counselors and clinicians working with bisexual clients. The first essay, Ronald C. Fox's "Bisexuality in Perspective: A Review of Theory and Research," presents a concise overview of past and present work on bisexuality that provides an excellent introduction for newcomers to the topic. Other essays, such as Robyn Ochs'...