by Alexandra Pollard

Created on: April 06, 2009

With the gay rights movement in full swing, homosexuality is getting a lot of attention these days. Ever since gay marriage became a hot button issue in the 2004 elections interest in the community has soared, and issues affecting gay, lesbian, and bisexual couples are being scrutinized more than ever. But in the midst of this debate is an underlying current of confusion, are bisexuals part of the homosexual community?

The answer is really a mixed bag of semantics, depending on how the term homosexual is being used and by whom. Undoubtedly, when a group is speaking about gay rights, homosexuality is an issue that absolutely must include bisexuality. To not include bisexuals would be understating their presence and arguing that the bisexual and homosexual communities are not facing many of the same issues in marriage and discrimination.

But on the other hand, bisexuals are not, and can not be referred to as homosexuals. Homosexuality refers specifically to those in the LGBT community that excluively engage in same sex relations, and while some may argue that bisexuals are homosexual because of their involvement with the same sex this ignores a great part of who they are as a person. Their sexual attraction to both sexes is something unique to them and deserves to be recognized as such, and the term bisexual allows them to express this.

Even without the semantic arguments, one can clearly see that bisexual is a term that must remain separate from homosexual. It is simply too engrained in the collective mind to be erased. When someone identifies themselves as bisexual, there is not mystery as to what their orientation is. They are known at that moment to be attracted to both sexes. On the other hand, a bisexual person calling themself homosexual would almost certainly signal to their conversational counterpart that they are either gay or a lesbian. In short, bisexual provides a clarity and ease of use that the term homosexual cannot deliver.

Finally, one may add that there are some people who are more attracted to the same sex than the opposite sex. Shouldn't these people be called homosexual since their attraction is predominately homosexual in nature? In this case, it seems that the choice of a label is best left to the individual. Predominately could mean anything from wanting a same sex partner little more than half the time, or almost exclusively. Only the person in question could truly identify what is the best term for them to use. Perhaps another word will arise in time that would better identify those that find themselves in this situation. Only time will tell.

Overall, the English language is a very complex organism. We can dissect words, putting people into categories, but the only real purpose of this is to better identify us as people. In the end how we identify ourselves will come down to what we think is the best fit. But in that quest for inner clarity we can not hack and slash terms from the dictionary. The term bisexual is vital to some individuals' identity, and that can not be erased, perhaps it will be modified or changed, but until then it stands as a clear and concise way to identify a huge part of who we are as human beings.

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