Bi the way I’m not a commitment-phobe
Shantanu is a freelance journalist
The stupidest misconception people have about bisexuals is that we can never be in a monogamous relationship. I’ve been single for the past two years and even some of my close friends think it’s because I’m bi. They think I can’t commit to anyone because every time I’m with a man I’ll be thinking of a woman and every time I’m with a woman I’ll be thinking of a man.
I want stability and loyalty in a relationship. Being bi doesn't mean I’m any more likely to cheating on my partner than a straight person. And it definitely doesn't mean that I can only be happy in an open relationship.
Bi the way I’m not oversexed
Smitha is an MPhil student
Some people actually think that being bi is kind of like being greedy for sex – so greedy that we don't care who we have sex with. Apart from people who look down on me because they think that my sexual appetite is so voracious that I’m not satisfied with sex with men, there are also some idiots who think that being bi means I’m easy.
And it doesn't just stop with that, not only do they think I’ll randomly have sex with them they also think I’ll get a ‘girlfriend’ along for a three-way. Sometimes it gets so frustrating that I want to tell the whole world that being bi doesn't mean I’m always having sex. For all you know I could bi and be totally celibate.
Bi the way I’m not ‘confused’
Revant is a research assistant
Let’s get some basic facts out of the way. I’m not ‘confused’. I’m attracted to men and women. I have always been attracted to both. I can’t change this just like someone who is heterosexual can’t stop being straight. No, being bisexual is not a temporary condition. No, I will not wake up one day and stop being attracted to men. No, I’m not ‘almost gay’ or ‘almost straight’.
Bi the way I’m not having Hollywood-style threesomes all the time
Yasmeen is a dancer and a movement artist
Some of my otherwise sane straight friends think that because I’m bi I have steamy threesomes with hot tattooed people all the time. Despite that fact that they know me quite well they completely overlook some very important details when imagining my exciting sex life: I don't have casual sex EVER, I have never dated two people at the same time and tattoos are a big turn off for me.
I have a feeling that they’re just projecting their ridiculous fantasies on my life. I blame bad Hollywood films for this particular stereotype.
Bi the way I’m not a hermaphrodite
Ashley is a graphic designer
Sometimes I find it hard to understand that with television and movies and the internet people can still be so ignorant about bisexuality. I recently told my younger sister that I’m bi and my sister being the loudmouth that she is told her ‘cool’ best friend about it. From that day onwards I noticed that her friend would look at me in a weird way whenever she was over.
A week later I discovered that her friend was so curious about my ‘condition’ that she asked my sister if surgery could change things for me. She was under the impression that being bi meant that apart from a penis I also had some kind of deformed vagina down there and I could stop being bi if I got rid of the vagina surgically! How a 21-year-old college going girl living in a metro can confuse bisexuality with hermaphroditism is beyond me.
Shantanu, Smitha, Revant, Yasmeen and Ashley’s names have been changed
Bi the way I’m not a commitment-phobe
Shantanu is a freelance journalist
The stupidest misconception people have about bisexuals is that we can never be in a monogamous relationship. I’ve been single for the past two years and even some of my close friends think it’s because I’m bi. They think I can’t commit to anyone because every time I’m with a man I’ll be thinking of a woman and every time I’m with a woman I’ll be thinking of a man.
I want stability and loyalty in a relationship. Being bi doesn't mean I’m any more likely to cheating on my partner than a straight person. And it definitely doesn't mean that I can only be happy in an open relationship.
Bi the way I’m not oversexed
Smitha is an MPhil student
Some people actually think that being bi is kind of like being greedy for sex – so greedy that we don't care who we have sex with. Apart from people who look down on me because they think that my sexual appetite is so voracious that I’m not satisfied with sex with men, there are also some idiots who think that being bi means I’m easy.
And it doesn't just stop with that, not only do they think I’ll randomly have sex with them they also think I’ll get a ‘girlfriend’ along for a three-way. Sometimes it gets so frustrating that I want to tell the whole world that being bi doesn't mean I’m always having sex. For all you know I could bi and be totally celibate.
Bi the way I’m not ‘confused’
Revant is a research assistant
Let’s get some basic facts out of the way. I’m not ‘confused’. I’m attracted to men and women. I have always been attracted to both. I can’t change this just like someone who is heterosexual can’t stop being straight. No, being bisexual is not a temporary condition. No, I will not wake up one day and stop being attracted to men. No, I’m not ‘almost gay’ or ‘almost straight’.
Bi the way I’m not having Hollywood-style threesomes all the time
Yasmeen is a dancer and a movement artist
Some of my otherwise sane straight friends think that because I’m bi I have steamy threesomes with hot tattooed people all the time. Despite that fact that they know me quite well they completely overlook some very important details when imagining my exciting sex life: I don't have casual sex EVER, I have never dated two people at the same time and tattoos are a big turn off for me.
I have a feeling that they’re just projecting their ridiculous fantasies on my life. I blame bad Hollywood films for this particular stereotype.
Bi the way I’m not a hermaphrodite
Ashley is a graphic designer
Sometimes I find it hard to understand that with television and movies and the internet people can still be so ignorant about bisexuality. I recently told my younger sister that I’m bi and my sister being the loudmouth that she is told her ‘cool’ best friend about it. From that day onwards I noticed that her friend would look at me in a weird way whenever she was over.
A week later I discovered that her friend was so curious about my ‘condition’ that she asked my sister if surgery could change things for me. She was under the impression that being bi meant that apart from a penis I also had some kind of deformed vagina down there and I could stop being bi if I got rid of the vagina surgically! How a 21-year-old college going girl living in a metro can confuse bisexuality with hermaphroditism is beyond me.
Shantanu, Smitha, Revant, Yasmeen and Ashley’s names have been changed