Representation and erasure of bisexual people of color: A content analysis of quantitative bisexual mental health research.

Abstract

Bisexual people of color (BPOC) live with a complex intersection of identities, facing binegativity, racism, and invisibility. These issues result in a wide range of stressors that incorporate the intersecting stigmas they face in various contexts. Sexual minority research has limited applications to bisexual people, as most of the existing theories and approaches are based on research that included only lesbian and gay populations. The present study was designed to investigate the representation of BPOC in mental health research. To satisfy this objective, we extracted race/ethnicity data from a pool of quantitative studies on depression, anxiety, smoking, substance use, and suicidality that included bisexual participants, and conducted a content analysis with the resulting 324 articles. Seventy-two percent of studies reported the racial/ethnic makeup of their total sample; however, only 40% reported the number of BPOC present in the sample, and only 7% reported outcomes for BPOC separately from White participants and other sexual minority groups. Details on racial groups included, recruitment methods utilized in studies with diverse samples, and the nature of research involving racial/ethnic minority persons are presented and discussed. Results of this investigation reveal that there is marginal emphasis on people of color in bisexual research and that this representation has not seen significant progress over the last 2 decades. Public Significance StatementThe present study provides evidence for the underrepresentation of bisexual people of color in mental health research, as well as the erasure of race/ethnicity in sexual minority research. In doing so, this article highlights a great need for diverse and intersectional research with bisexual people of color that includes underserved racial/ethnic groups and addresses the unique needs of this multiply marginalized population.

Introduction to the Special Section on Bisexual Health: Can You See Us Now?

“…To the extent that we have developed a literature around bisexual health beyond just sexual risk behaviors, the work amassed to date, whether using probability or convenience sampling, has often been racially homogenous (Ghabrial & Ross, 2018). Additionally, transgender and gender non-conforming identities and communities are still relatively unacknowledged or accounted for in research to date.…”

“…What is also often lost, or invisible, is the demographic diversity that exists under the bisexual umbrella. For instance, reported rates of behavioral and self-identified bisexuality are often higher among African-American and Latinx individuals than among White individuals (Gates, 2010; Ghabrial & Ross, 2018; Herek, Norton, Allen, & Sims, 2010), with bisexuality often reported most frequently among multiracial persons as well (Herek et al, 2010). Bisexual persons live in small cities and large, in regions throughout the U.S., and are significantly more likely than gay/lesbian counterparts to be parents (Bartelt, Bowling, Dodge, & Bostwick, 2017; Herek et al, 2010).…”

LGBTQ+ emerging adults perceptions of discrimination and exclusion within the LGBTQ+ community

“…Specifically, Flanders, Dobinson, and Logie (2015) found that many bisexual emerging adults did not feel they could be their full selves due to the lack of affirming resources within the LGBTQ+ and heterodominant cultures. Emerging adults who identify with non-binary sexual and gender identities experience invisibility and nonrepresentation of their sexual and gender identities (Farmer & Byrd, 2015;Galupo, Davis, Grynkieqicz, & Mitchell, 2014;Ghabrial & Ross, 2018).…”

Physical and Mental Health Related Quality of Life and Their Influencing Factors on Sexual Minority Women in Korea

“…Similar to what was found in other studies [ 1 , 3 , 15 , 22 , 23 ], bisexual women had poorer HRQoL than lesbians. There appear to be health disparities among Korean SMW: bisexuals may additionally experience bi-specific stress [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ]. South Korea’s LGBT community is still growing and is characterized by a well-established majority of gay and lesbian organizations.…”