Two-thirds of straight women and one-third of straight men are unwilling to date a bisexual person of the opposite sex, according to a YouGov poll published today, during Bisexuality Visibility Week. The poll illustrates how lingering stereotypes negatively affect people’s impressions of bisexual individuals.

The poll — which surveyed 5,983 Britons during late March, including 2,031 straight women and 1,517 straight men — found that 48% of all respondents had positive views of bisexual people and only 8% had negative views. The remaining percentage had neither a positive nor a negative view of bisexuals.

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When the survey asked straight women and men why they were unwilling to date a bisexual person of the opposite sex, most (16% and 19%, respectively) said they “just don’t” or claimed, “It’s just a preference.”

A nearly similar portion, 17% of straight women and 16% of straight men, said they felt like bi people are more inclined to cheat, or that they themselves would feel insecure that they’d be unable to provide a bi partner whatever they get from a same-sex partner.

Interestingly, 9% of straight women said they feel disgust or discomfort towards men with same-sex experiences, 8% worried about possible sexual health risks, and 10% of straight men said they considered bisexuality to be either religiously or morally “wrong.” Approximately 12-13% of all straight respondents said they just wanted their dating partner to be heterosexual.

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[–] 6 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (18 children)

When does a use different from the most ancient one stop being called a "misuse"? Especially talking about not a word, but its etymology?

Pretty sure a significant quantity of the words you use were at some point described as "misuses", "mistakes", or something similar.

I say that as someone who hates seeing/hearing scandals be called "something-gate" in reference to Nixon's Watergate scandal. Same with "something-ception" in reference to the movie Inception. So I understand the feeling, but this kind of take mostly contribute to elitism.

What matters most in any language is the ability to communicate, not the conformity to a (potentially idealised) static snapshot of the language rules.

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  • [–] -1 points 6 days ago (17 children)

    Well, in this case we already have a word with a prefectly appropriate meaning. Misuing a different word is kinda dumb but ok.

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  • [–] 6 points 6 days ago (6 children)

    "Well, in this case we already have a word with a prefectly appropriate meaning."

    For the common meaning of "biphobia"? Which preexisting word is perfectly appropriate to describe the exact same concept that the word "biphobia" was coined for?

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  • [–] -1 points 6 days ago (5 children)

    No, not really. But hey, who am I to teach you reading comprehension. Use whatever word you prefer.

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 6 days ago (4 children)

    Bi-phobia encompasses negative attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours towards bisexual individuals. It manifests in various forms, including erasure of bisexuality, stereotyping, harassment, and exclusion. This prejudice often stems from misconceptions and societal stigmas surrounding non-monosexual orientations.

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  • [–] -2 points 6 days ago (3 children)

    Again, emphasis on the "negative".

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 6 days ago (2 children)

    Emphasis on the beliefs and behaviors towards bisexual individuals as well as stereotyping bisexual individuals.

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  • [–] -2 points 6 days ago (1 child)

    Still missing the forest, I see.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 days ago

    Well, you're each focused a bit much on your own tree, but the one who is also seeing the forest is velma, not you.

    Your tree: "negative" applies to the entire sentence, including "beliefs" and "behaviors", not just "attitudes". Correct.

    velma's tree: the definition also includes stereotyping and prejudice stemming from misconceptions. Correct.

    The forest: that you don't consider an attitude or belief "negative" is immaterial when it has a negative effect on bi folks' well being or safety.

    Also, initiating a sexual relationship with a bi person because you wrongly believe based on your incorrect stereotype of bi people that this will lead to threesomes is something I would classify as negative behavior. Especially when the threesomes predictably don't materialize.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 6 days ago (9 children)
  • [–] 1 point 6 days ago (8 children)
  • [–] [S] 1 point 6 days ago* (7 children)

    Here's another definition for you:

    Bi-phobia encompasses negative attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours towards bisexual individuals. It manifests in various forms, including erasure of bisexuality, stereotyping, harassment, and exclusion. This prejudice often stems from misconceptions and societal stigmas surrounding non-monosexual orientations.

    Stereotyping bisexual women as all wanting threesomes falls under the definition of biphobia.

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  • [–] -2 points 6 days ago (6 children)

    Well, it oretty clearly says "negative attitudes" there. Why would liking threesomes be negative? Or being promiscuous for that matter. Sounds like you're being pretty prejudicial of that type of person.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 6 days ago (5 children)

    It's pretty clear you didn't read the entire definition.

    I wouldn't classify people dating bisexual women with the express interest of more threesomes as a "positive attitude".

    Why do you think it's a positive for people to date bisexuals primarily for the type of sex they can provide?

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  • [–] 0 points 6 days ago (4 children)

    Never said that. Neither did anyone. Maybe it's just a fantasy for some people. I'm not one to define if that's a good or a bad thing.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 6 days ago (3 children)

    Why would liking threesomes be negative? Or being promiscuous for that matter. Sounds like you’re being pretty prejudicial of that type of person.

    You pretty clearly did say that.

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  • [–] 0 points 6 days ago (2 children)

    Nope, did not. My entire point this whole time is that assuming that someone likes threesomes is not a bad thing at all. Having that belief is simply prejudice and that is not necessarily negative.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 6 days ago (1 child)

    We're not talking about someone enjoying threesomes. We're talking about people who specifically date bisexual individuals because they think bisexual individuals are more likely to give them threesomes.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 days ago

    Well, if you read carefully you'll see that the original comment was not about people exclusively and specifically dating bi women. It was about men having that fantasy if they dated one. Is it kinda prejudicial? Yeah. A phobia though? Nah.

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