Media portrayals of bisexuality

The portrayal of bisexuality in the media reflects societal attitudes towards bisexuality.

Literature

Virginia Woolf's Orlando: A Biography (1928) is one of the earliest examples of bisexuality in literature. The story about a man who changes into a woman without a second thought, was based on the life of Woolf's then bisexual lover Vita Sackville-West. Woolf's used the gender switch to avoid the book being banned for homosexual content, and was successful for it. Following Sackille-West's death, her son Nigel Nicolson would publish Portrait of a Marriage, one of her diaries recounting her affair with a woman during her marriage to Harold Nicolson. Other early examples include works of D.H. Lawrence, such as Women in Love (1920), and Colette's Claudine (1900–1903) series.

In more recent years, following a more socially liberal perspective of sexuality, bisexuality has become more common in literature. This includes the work of Bret Easton Ellis, Anne Rice, and Alice Walker.

Comic books

X-Men franchise

In 1981, X-Men writer Chris Claremont intended the character Destiny to be the lover of Brotherhood of Mutants team-mate Mystique, a shape shifter, and had originally intended for Destiny and Mystique to be Nightcrawler's biological parents, with Mystique taking the form of a man for the conception; however, Marvel editors did not allow gay or bisexual characters at that time.^[1]

In 2007, the series Wolverine: Origins introduced a son for popular superhero Wolverine in the form of Daken, his psychopathic bisexual son. In 2010, it was commented on by a writer for the character that for him all sexual conquest is about "control"; Daken regularly seduces male and females to suit his own ends.^[2]

In 2009, Peter David outed X-Men and X-Factor characters Rictor and Shatterstar as both bisexual, in a portrayal of their on-panel kiss. Under Jeff Loeb's run of X-Force in the 1990s, the two characters had been hinted at as being more than friends. In X-Factor in 2010, David writes of the two bisexual men in a monogamous gay relationship as two characters with very different needs; Rictor wanting a monogamous loving relationship, and Shatterstar wanting to explore his new world of sexual potential for the first time.^[3]

Film

The British film Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) portrayed a bisexual male named Bob with a lover of each gender. This was one of the earliest portrayals to be explicit on the subject of bisexuality, though a film versions of several novels involving bisexuality, such as Women in Love (1969) and Goldfinger (1964), had been released earlier.^[4] The film is told from the perspectives of the homosexual partner and the heterosexual partner. Critics of the time described Bob as "shallow", "callous", and "selfish".^[5] The following year, the American musical Cabaret was released as a film, featuring a bisexual protagonist.

1975 saw the release of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a musical about a bisexual anti-hero. Memorable films involving bisexuality from the 1980s include the film adaptation of The Color Purple (1985) and The Hunger (1983).

In the early nineties, independent film Go Fish (1994), which portrays a lesbian love story, had a bisexual moment in which a lesbian-identified character has sex with a man and on her way home is challenged by a "jury," who question whether a woman who has sex with a man can call herself a lesbian. She contrasts how a gay man who has sex with a woman is characterized as being "bored, drunk [or] lonely" but if a lesbian has sex with a man "her whole life choice becomes suspect." In 1997, Kevin Smith's Chasing Amy took on the question of sexual identity in a story about a lesbian-identified woman who falls in love with a man.

Bisexuality in film has become increasingly common in the last few decades, seen in popular mainstream films such as Brokeback Mountain (2005), Rent (2005), Kinsey (2004), Y tu mamá también (2001), Alexander (2004) and Wild Things (1998). In 2007, the musical Love Songs was released in France to considerable success and a Golden Palm nomination.

1992's Basic Instinct received controversy from the bisexual community for portraying a bisexual as a psychopathic killer.^[6]

It's not uncommon for film adaptations of bisexual-themed novels or plays to remove the bisexual content, as well as later revisions of original screenplays.^[6] This is apparent in films such as Less Than Zero (1987), Hair (1979), Midnight Express (1974) (affair between prisoners becomes fictionalized rape) and The Dreamers (2003).

2008 saw the release of a documentary called Bi the Way, which attempts to portray common lives of bisexual people in the United States.

Television

Bisexual characters appear in television series such as Karen Walker in the US situation comedy Will & Grace (1998), and All My Children (1970). In a 1988 episode of NBC drama TV series Midnight Caller, "After It Happened", a bisexual man is depicted as an AIDS carrier who deliberately infects straight women. This episode proved highly controversial in the bisexual community.

In 1990, a BBC mini-series adaptation of Portrait of a Marriage aired. In 2001, another bisexual-themed miniseries aired called Bob and Rose, written by Queer as Folk creator Russell T Davies. The mini-series is about a gay man who falls in love with a straight woman, and is based on the experience of a friend of Davies.^[7]

The main character in Strangers With Candy, Jerry Blank is bisexual.

Brittany S. Pierce and Santana Lopez on Glee are depicted as bisexual cheerleaders who sleep with many guys and each other, and eventually fall in love.It is later revealed that Santana is a lesbian. It is possible, however that Brittany is pansexual.

Torchwood (2006), created by Russell T Davies, is a spin-off of long-running British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The show is based in Cardiff, Wales, and deals with several LGBT themes, specifically bisexuality. Each of the main characters in Torchwood has same-sex encounters at some point in the first season,^[8] with The Sun describing all of the characters on Torchwood as bisexual.^[9] Davies has said that he hopes to defy audience expectations of monosexual characters:

“

Without making it political or dull, this is going to be a very bisexual programme. I want to knock down the barriers so we can't define which of the characters is gay. We need to start mixing things up, rather than thinking, 'This is a gay character and he'll only ever go off with men.[8]

”

The lead male in the series, Captain Jack Harkness originated in parent series Doctor Who, which is considered a family show, as opposed to Torchwood's adult orientation. Davies has also described Jack as omnisexual. Other bisexual characters in Torchwood are Jack's lovers Ianto and Captain John, and Jack's colleague Toshiko.

The high rated MTV series, A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila (2007), is a bisexual reality show. Tila Tequila, is the bisexual bachelorette, trying to find love from 16 straight males and 16 lesbians, as well as its spin off A Double Shot at Love with the Ikki Twins.

The Showcase series Lost Girl features a bisexual succubus as the main character and there are several bisexual characters and themes throughout the show including a bisexual love triangle. In a 2008 New York Times interview, actor Sean Hayes revealed he is working on a television project called Bi-Coastal about "a guy with a wife and kids in California and a boyfriend in New York."^[10]

MTV's The Real World

On December 30, 2009, MTV premiered their 23rd season of the show The Real World.^[11] The series took place in Washington DC, and featured two bisexual characters,^[12][13] Emily Schromm,^[14] and Mike Manning.^[15] Manning's sexuality appears to have generated some controversy, with both bloggers and many comments on blogs saying that he is really gay,^[16][17] although he himself identifies as bisexual, and has dated both genders.^[15] A behind the scenes MTV Aftershow and subsequent interview also revealed that both Manning and Schromm had encounters with both men and women while on the show, but when the show was edited, both were made to appear as if they had been with only men on the show.^[18][19]

Radio

In 2011,presenter and singer-songwriter Tom Robinson on BBC Radio 4 explored the issue of bisexuality ^[20]

Music

David Bowie's androgynous appearance and open bisexuality was reflected in a some of his songs, in particular "John, I'm Only Dancing" (1972). The original video directed by Mick Rock, featuring androgynous dancers from Lindsay Kemp's mime troupe, was banned by Top of the Pops.^[21] The single was not released in America, being judged too risqué by RCA.^[22]

In 1995, Jill Sobule's song "I Kissed a Girl" was met with considerable success. The song told the story of flirtation between two suburban female friends, both with male partners.

In 2003, Britney Spears staged a kiss with Madonna (who also kissed Christina Aguilera in the same performance) on an MTV Video Music Awards performance that would continue to fuel bisexual chic, and at the time many news and tabloid outsources referred to it as "lesbian chic", [1] [2] since it was clear from her impending marriage to Kevin Federline that Spears was certainly not a monosexual lesbian. The kiss is seen as a publicity stunt but helped to fuel the ever-growing trend. In November 2006, Paris Hilton appeared in public with her hand on Spears' left breast.^[23]

In 2004, the popular alternative punk band My Chemical Romance released their album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. In the album, one of the songs, "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison," touches on bisexual relationships and prison rape. Gerard Way stated that the song was mainly focused on a game of truth or dare, where he was dared to kiss Bert McCracken of The Used. At many of the band's live shows though, a kiss is often shared between Gerard Way and Frank Iero. Both members have stated that they are not gay and "just like to play around." Also, in the music video for, "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)," Iero is seen kissing Way on the cheek, where he says "Trust me." But there are some rumours that the two may be bisexual and were dating for a few years.

In 2008, Katy Perry released a song called "I Kissed a Girl", though it is unrelated to the Jill Sobule version. It was by received Billboard Top 40 success. The song is about a girl's curiosity about kissing another girl, though she has a boyfriend.

In 2008, the widely popular, openly bisexual Lady GaGa released her second single Poker Face, which was about fantasizing about women while in bed with a man. It received both critical and commercial success as well as vast praise from the bisexual community.^{[citation needed]}

Video games

The 1995 game Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh was the first to establish a playable bisexual character.^{[citation needed]} Several video games including The Sims, Fallout 2, Fable, Mass Effect, and Bully allow potential bisexual romantic or sexual behavior.

In the video game series Metal Gear Solid, the villain Vamp is known to be bisexual, and is revealed in dialogue to have adopted the name as an indication of this. Another bisexual villain appears in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater named Colonel Volgin.

Persona 4 also deals with the character Kanji struggling with his sexual identity. As the player plays through the characters Social Link it is not revealed what Kanji's sexual orientation is or even if he has it figured out. It is left up to the player to interpret his sexual orientation.

Web Series

A Rose By Any Other Name Webseries

As of October 2009, there is a bisexual "webisode" series known as "A Rose By Any Other Name" ^[24] being released on YouTube that was directed by Independent film director and bisexual rights advocate Kyle Schickner of Fencesitter Films.^[25] The plot of the series revolves around a lesbian identified woman who falls in love with a straight man, and goes on to realize she is actually bisexual, and the reaction of both her friends and her boyfriend's friends.^[26]

Concession

A furry webcomic focusing on anthropomorphic animals working at a cinema concession stand and their external lives. The majority of the main cast are bisexual/homosexual. One heterosexual male character has three homo/bisexual encounters, however one was due to another character influencing him mentally, another was spiritual symbolism for victory and the third was during a foursome with two women. A story arc focuses on a devout Christian character coming to terms with his repressed bisexuality, his trouble at home caused by this and how his beliefs lost him his friends (due to him insulting a gay friend.) The author, who is bisexual, has stated it's not a 'gay/bi webcomic' and is a webcomic with LGBT characters.

See also

LGBT portal

• Bisexual Community
• Bisexual Erasure
• Bisexual chic
• Bisexuality
• Biphobia
• List of American television episodes with LGBT themes
• List of media portrayals of bisexuality
• List of television shows with LGBT characters
• Media and sexual orientation
• Media portrayal of lesbianism

References

1. ^ "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed". http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2005/09/01/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-14/. Retrieved 2006-07-24. 
2. ^ http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=22198
3. ^ Mckenzie, Chaos (2010-02-25). "Peter David's "X-Factor": Earth Moving, Star Shattering". Comic Book Resources. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24992. Retrieved 2010-09-19. 
4. ^ "Sunday, Bloody Sunday Review". http://www.emanuellevy.com/article.php?articleID=2834. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
5. ^ Klein, Fritz (1993). The Bisexual Option. New York: Harrington Park Press. ISBN 1560230339. OCLC 27187013. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Bisexual Representations". http://www.glaad.org/programs/cim/birepresentations.php?PHPSESSID=8f0d8d7de0c08b2986df9e94a1b6aa41. Retrieved 2008-08-13. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ Davies, Russell (2001-09-02). "A Rose by any other name". The Guardian (London). http://observer.guardian.co.uk/screen/story/0,6903,545464,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-13. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Martin, Daniel (October 2006). "Jack of Hearts". Gay Times (337). 
9. ^ Sarah Nathan (September 2006). "Dr Ooh gets four gay pals". The Sun. http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2001320029-2006430699,00.html. Retrieved 2006-10-06. "GAY Doctor Who star John Barrowman gets four BISEXUAL assistants in raunchy BBC3 spin-off Torchwood." 
10. ^ Mcgee, Celia (2008-07-06). "New York Times Interview". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/theater/06mcge.html?8dpc=&_r=3&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1218596404-GpRhqaBreKmsEu7JVLJb1Q. Retrieved 2008-08-14. 
11. ^ "Real World DC". http://www.mtv.com/shows/real_world/Washingtondc/series.jhtml. 
12. ^ "Real World Bisexuals". http://www.queerty.com/forget-the-token-gay-tonights-real-world-dc-premiere-has-2-bisexuals-20091230/. 
13. ^ "Show me your bisexuals". http://www.autostraddle.com/real-world-washington-dc-recap-26581. 
14. ^ "Emily Schromm talks". http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2009/12/28/real_world_d_c_star_emily_schromm_talks_. 
15. ^ ^{a b} "Mike Manning Metro Weekly". http://www.metroweekly.com/feature/?ak=4765. 
16. ^ "Mike Manning Bi history and controversy". http://www.queerty.com/the-entire-bi-sexual-history-of-real-world-d-c-s-mike-manning-20091231/. 
17. ^ "Bi Now, Gay Later". http://artwingny.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/bi-now-gay-later-real-world-d-c-s-mike-manning/. 
18. ^ "Emily Schromm AfterEllen interview". http://www.afterellen.com/people/2010/3/emily-schromm-interview/. 
19. ^ "Aftershow Real World Episode 8". http://www.mtv.com/videos/real-world-washington-dc-ep-8-aftershow/1632075/playlist.jhtml. 
20. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b014pw7d/Its_My_Story_Getting_Bi/
21. ^ David Buckley (1999). Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story: pp.169-170
22. ^ Nicholas Pegg - The Complete David Bowie: pp.112-113
23. ^ Playfuls.com - Play your life!
24. ^ "Rose By Any Other Name". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKZoCaVZu3c. 
25. ^ "Fencesitter Films". http://www.fencesitterfilms.com. 
26. ^ "From Out Bi Director Kyle Schickner". http://binetusa.blogspot.com/2009/10/from-out-bi-director-kyle-schickner.html. 

External links

• GLAAD: Bisexuality in Movies, Television and Music
• Bryant, Wayne M.. Bisexual Characters in Film: From Anais to Zee. Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies, 1997. ISBN 1-56023-894-1
• Thomas Geller's Bisexuality: A Reader and Sourcebook (1990)
• The Bisexual Option - Fritz Klein's psychological exploration of the bisexual.
• Out Films: Top 10 bisexual films
• Bisexual Literature
• AfterElton.com about gay and bisexual men in entertainment
• AfterEllen.com about lesbian and bisexual women in entertainment
• Lee Wind's blogsite, "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?," lists, summarizes, and offers reader reviews of 4 books with Bisexual Teen Characters and Themes