“I’m not half straight, not half gay, but 100% bisexual” Identity Formation of Bisexual Young Adults

• In Event: 40254 - Student Forum Open Topic Paper Session

Abstract

Recent cohorts are more likely to identify as bisexual than ever before, surpassing those identifying as gay or lesbian. Moreover, bisexual people make up nearly 50 percent of the sexual minority population and are the fastest growing sexual minority group in the U.S. today. Despite the growing population of bisexual people, there are significant gaps in our understanding of bisexual people’s identity formation and development. Drawing on a queer theory approach and in-depth interview data from 25 bisexual-identified young adults, I ask the following research questions: 1) How do bisexual young adults gain an understanding of their sexuality? And 2) How do bisexual young adults understand their sexuality in the context of other identities such as race/ ethnicity and gender identity? Results suggest that for the participants in my study, seeing and interacting with queer people, spaces, and media, provided them representation to draw from. Queer people, spaces, and media all served as exposing mechanisms for the bisexual people I spoke with, allowing them to discover and form their own sexual identity based on the representation provided. Through examining sexual identity within the context of intersecting dimensions of identity such as race/ ethnicity, gender identity, and relationship context, this thesis informs discussions surrounding identity for bisexual young adults, highlighting the distinctive experiences of bisexual young adults.

Author

• Meagan Brooke Pendleton, Ohio State University