March is Bisexual Health Awareness Month

March is Bi+ (bisexual, pansexual, queer, etc.) Health Awareness month, bringing attention to the unique social, economic, and health disparities the community faces. Bisexuals represent more than half of the LGBTQ community, yet they experience significantly worse physical mental, and social health than their gay, lesbian, and straight counterparts.

A Gallup poll conducted in 2020 and later published the following year looked at 15,000 Americans aged 18 and older. The identity questions in Gallup’s most recent poll provided more information than that of previous years. Respondents could now identify whether they were part of the LGBTQ community, as well as provided specific information regarding their sexual orientation and gender identity. Most interestingly, the poll found that a majority (54.6%) of LGBTQ Americans identified as bisexual. Rebasing these percentages to represent their share of the U.S. adult population finds 3.1% of Americans identify as bisexual.

Though bisexuals make up a majority of the community, representation, and research within the bi+ population are far behind the rest of the LGBTQ community. According to the HRC, bisexuals face striking rates of poor health outcomes ranging from cancer and obesity to sexually transmitted infections to mental health problems. Moreover, research showed that transgender and people of color make up large portions of the bisexual community, with 40% of queer POC identifying as bi+ and about half of transgender people identifying as queer.

Research about bisexual adults has shown that they are more likely than heterosexual adults to have general medical problems like high cholesterol and asthma, as well as elevated rates of smoking and alcohol use, which can heighten the risk for other health problems. These can be attributed to fears of facing biphobia, transphobia, or racism within the healthcare system. A recent survey of bisexuals in the United Kingdom found that only 33% of respondents felt comfortable telling their general practitioner about their sexual orientation, and nearly half had experienced biphobia when accessing health services.

Biphobia can also contribute to behavior that can compromise sexual health, highlighting the need for increased education and advocacy that specifically addresses both the sexual behaviors of bisexual people, as well as the ways in which biphobia creates barriers to healthcare. The Colorado Health Department reports that bisexual and gay men defined as the at-risk population for Monkeypox contraction. Studies suggest that bi invisibility and erasure contribute to the scarcity of bi-inclusive resources on sexual health and demonstrate a serious need for more bi-specific outreach and education by sexual health advocates.

Numerous studies in recent years have shown that bisexual people are at heightened risk for mental health problems that experts argue can be attributed to stigma and minority stress in particular, according to an assessment of recent psychological literature on bisexuality and mental health.

“It has been argued that bisexuality has been delegitimized by negative stereotypes, such as ‘bisexuality doesn’t exist as a sexual orientation,’ ‘bisexuals are sexually promiscuous,’ and ‘bisexuals are confused.’ Several studies have found that heterosexual, gay, and lesbian individuals may all have negative attitudes toward bisexuality, indicating that bisexual individuals face double discrimination,” reads the HRC’s Bi Health Brief.

These stereotypes directly influence bi+ mental health and can lead to increased feelings of depression and isolation. When compared to heterosexual adults, bisexual adults reported double the rate of depression and higher rates of binge drinking. Bisexual adults were also more likely to engage in self-harming behaviors, attempt suicide, or think about suicide than heterosexuals, lesbians, or gay men.

Bisexual Health Awareness Month acts as a time to highlight these disparities in hopes of making healthcare more equitable for all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation.