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Bisexual
Also written: Bisexual, Bi, Bisexual people
self-id-requiredadjective-preferredevolving-usage
At a glance
Source-by-source
“Do not assume heterosexual orientation. Where appropriate, use examples of same-sex partners and families, and LGBQQTIA2-S (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, questioning, transgender, intersex, asexual, two-spirit) people's lives and experiences. … Avoid defaulting to umbrella terms like gay or homosexual.”
SumOfUs treats bisexual as a specific identity term to use when describing bisexual people, and explicitly cautions against defaulting to umbrella terms like 'gay' or 'homosexual' that erase bisexual identity. The guide's accepted-terms list pairs bisexual with the LGBQQTIA2-S acronym and the broader rule to use specific identity terms (bisexual woman, gay man) rather than umbrella collapses.
“Terms like bisexual, pansexual, and asexual (an umbrella term for people who do not experience sexual attraction) are appropriate if requested or used by the person you are referring to. LGBTQI stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex.”
Sierra Club treats bisexual as one of the specific identity terms a person may self-describe with, and operationalizes it as a self-identification-keyed term: appropriate when requested or used by the subject. The guide defaults to 'LGBTQI' as the umbrella, with bisexual reserved for individuals or communities that name themselves that way.
“People may experience this attraction in differing ways and degrees over their lifetime. Bisexual people need not have had specific sexual experiences to be bisexual; in fact, they need not have had any sexual experience at all to identify as bisexual.”
DSG defines bisexual as the capacity for attraction across genders, and pairs the definition with two precision rules: experience can vary over a person's lifetime, and specific sexual experience is not required to identify as bisexual. The construction uses bisexual primarily as an adjective ('bisexual people').
“A person emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to more than one gender, though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree …”
HRC defines bisexual as attraction to more than one gender, and notes the attraction can vary in form and degree — same person, different periods of life, different intensities. The companion Biphobia entry names 'the fear and hatred of, or discomfort with, people who love and are sexually attracted to more than one gender,' framing bisexual erasure as its own form of prejudice distinct from homophobia.
“bisexual (noun, adj.) No hyphen. As a noun, a person attracted to one's own gender and an additional one or more genders. As an adjective, of or relating to attraction to one's own gender and an additional one or more genders. Does not presume nonmonogamy.”
NLGJA's 2025 stylebook defines bisexual as attraction to one's own gender plus one or more additional genders, accepts both noun and adjective forms, and notes a specific precision rule: bisexual does not imply nonmonogamy. The companion entry treats biphobia as a parallel category to homophobia and notes bisexuals may also identify as pansexual.
Synthesis
Definitions converge on attraction to more than one gender: HRC (“emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to more than one gender”), NLGJA (“attracted to one’s own gender and an additional one or more genders”), and DSG (“capacity to form enduring attractions to those of the same gender or to those of another gender”) all land in the same place. The frame has shifted from the older “both sexes” formulation toward “more than one gender,” which accommodates both nonbinary people who are attracted to multiple genders and bisexual people whose attractions extend beyond a male/female binary.
The corpus adds two precision rules that show up across multiple guides. First: bisexual identity doesn’t require specific sexual experience. DSG is explicit (“Bisexual people need not have had specific sexual experiences to be bisexual”); HRC reinforces with “not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree.” A person can be bisexual without ever having dated more than one gender. Second: bisexual doesn’t imply nonmonogamy, which NLGJA names directly. A bisexual person in a monogamous relationship is still bisexual; orientation describes attraction, not relationship structure.
SumOfUs’s framing on bisexual erasure is the strongest activist-side claim in the corpus: defaulting to “gay” or “homosexual” as umbrellas erases bisexual identity, and writers should use specific identity terms (“bisexual woman,” “bisexual man”) rather than collapsing into umbrellas. HRC’s biphobia entry parallels the homophobia entry in structure, the same “fear and hatred of, or discomfort with” construction, with the object shifted to people attracted to more than one gender, and treats biphobia as a distinct prejudice rather than a subset of homophobia. The rule is operational: don’t write “gay rights” when “LGBTQ+ rights” is what’s being described; don’t describe a bisexual person who is currently in a same-sex relationship as “gay.”
Audience notes
- Journalists. Don’t switch between “gay” and “bisexual” based on a subject’s current relationship. A bisexual woman in a relationship with a woman is bisexual, not lesbian; a bisexual man in a relationship with a woman is bisexual, not straight. Use the term the subject uses for themselves. Apply NLGJA’s “no hyphen” rule consistently — “bisexual,” not “bi-sexual.”
- Movement writing and coalition language. Bisexual erasure is the specific framing the corpus offers: when LGBTQ+ communities are described in coalition-style language, ensure “B” isn’t dropped from acronyms or collapsed into “gay.” SumOfUs’s rule extends across coalition writing — name the specific identities being referred to rather than the umbrella when the specifics matter.
- Adjective default; “bi” is acceptable shorthand. NLGJA accepts both noun and adjective forms; DSG uses adjective primarily (“bisexual people”). “Bi” as a self-description is widely accepted in the corpus and in current usage. Don’t expand “bi” to “bisexual” inside a direct quote without preserving the original.
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