by Alex Samson

Created on: January 29, 2009

Sometimes, when you pound the qwerty every night at Helium, as I've taken to doing lately, you find yourself running out of channels to explore and articles to write. So you start looking up avenues that you've never considered before. Which is why I ended up here, in an area that I never thought I contribute to, but am drawn to nonetheless by the debate.

Should bisexuals be considered homosexuals? I have to say that my initial reaction was 'what a daft question'. Surely it's simple case of word definition, in which scenario the answer is most assuredly 'no', isn't it?

I've always been given to understand that bisexual means a person is attracted to individuals of either sex, while homosexual (a term that is erroneously used a label for gay men only) means you are attracted to individuals of your own sex be you male or female. The word homos derives from Greek and means 'same'. Surely then, bisexuality and homosexuality are two distinct things, an argument that is (sort of upheld) in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary:

Homosexual A person who is sexually attracted (often exclusively) to people of his or her own sex.

Bisexual
Sexually attracted to individuals of both sexes.

Feeling somewhat let down my Oxford's vague 'often exclusively' I took my doubts online, feeling that the mighty Oxford English
Dictionary had allowed itself to be sullied by modern mis-interpretation of the language.

It's always good to have a second reference source to hand and I find that Merriam-Webster is the perfect sparring partner for Oxford:

Homosexual
Of, relating to, or characterized by a tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of the same sex.

Bisexual Of, relating to, or characterized by a tendency to direct sexual desire toward both sexes.

So, unlike Oxford, Merriam is quite clear; the two terms have very different meanings when used correctly. I suppose, though, that in the final analysis this is a debate not about word definition but individual preference.

In answering this debate question I have failed to see the bigger picture, and that is that it is not for us to decide what label to place on a person based on their sexual preferences. Why do we feel the need to do it? I don't expect to be labeled a heterosexual just because I prefer the opposite sex, why do we therefore feel the need to debate whether a bisexual is in fact a homosexual? It is a strange trait of the human species that we like to point at and dissect those that are different from ourselves. Leave definitions in the dictionary and let's start seeing each other as Homo sapiens - humans.

References:

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary published by Oxford University Press, 2002

Merriam Webster online http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary

Learn more about this author, Alex Samson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.