Bi-te Size Bits are short(ish) explainers on film theory or history, written in a (hopefully) fun and accessible way so that you can take the film bro in your life down a peg.
Content note: this post discusses and includes examples of biphobia.
Any intro I could write for this post would not come close to being as good as something Alan Cumming has already said about bi erasure, so I’ll let him take the reins:
"I think bisexuals, out of all the acronyms of LGBTQ+, are the ones that have had, not the hardest time, but it's never really changed…This sort of thing of, 'Oh, it doesn't really exist' or 'It's just a sort of stopgap before you go fully gay.' All that stuff is still prevalent.
What is bi erasure?
Bi erasure is when the existence or legitimacy of being bi is questioned or intentionally made invisible. It can range from refusing to use bi terminology to outright denying that being bi is real. Bi erasure is both a media stereotype and a form of biphobia you might encounter in the real world.
In films and TV, bi erasure may look like:
Explicitly denying that being bi exists
This often comes with the assumption that being bi is just someone lying about being completely gay or just a ‘phase’. A film might also indicate that being bi is some kind of internal conflict that someone needs to solve and suggest that not ‘picking a side’ leads to some form of distress or feeling of wrongness.
Some people in the real world may legitimately identify as bi for a time before later identifying as gay or lesbian. Some may also use it while exploring their sexuality or as part of a wider process of coming out. This is absolutely valid, but movies aren’t often trying to depict that kind of an experience. They are just denying bisexuality exists at all.
Not using any bi-related terminology
This seems to be something films are particularly allergic to doing, with characters often not using any words to describe themselves. While this can be common in reality and not everyone feels they need a label (and labels themselves are often imperfect, oversimplified encapsulations of what are very varied experiences), media disproportionately minimises the use of bi terminology and descriptions compared to their use in the real world1.
Further to this, films, as well as reviews and other external media around a film, will often use other queer terminology or place certain identities above others instead.
For example, take the rom-com Imagine Me and You (Ol Parker, 2005)2. It’s about a married woman (Piper Perabo) who starts to develop feelings for a lesbian florist played by Lena Headey (who wouldn’t). Despite still having love for her husband played by Matthew Goode (who wouldn’t) and never declaring that she had never felt attracted to men, the word ‘bi’ is never said in the film. It is also absent from a large majority of professional and layman reviews, which instead refer to it as a ‘lesbian film’3. Both in the film and in surrounding media, ‘lesbian’ is used almost exclusively, despite that being the identity of only one of the characters.
Downplaying a character’s previous history
If it is acknowledged that a character has been with people of a different gender in the past, this is often downplayed. Again being dismissed as a ‘phase’ or unimportant entanglement.
Bi erasure does have an impact. Visibility in media matters. A movie or TV show might be the first time someone hears about being bi or pan or queer, etc. It might be the first or only time they have a chance to ‘get to know’ a bi person. Seeing this representation in media may be a first step in giving a name to feelings we might have ourselves or help us be more accepting of bi people in our lives. But we can’t name or accept what we can’t see, and if the dominant trend in media is to not acknowledge that being bi is real or worth being named, it makes acceptance and understanding a lot more difficult for bi folks in the real world.
Why does bi erasure happen?
In real life, bi erasure might happen through ignorance or through intent, influenced by either lack of knowledge or outright bigotry. These factors impact film too, but there is always complexity in the reasons why certain sexualities might not be named or reflected well.
In terms of using terminology, there are many reasons this might not be reflected in a film. It might be that the film was made or set in a time before ‘bi’ terminology was common use4, or created under conditions of censorship. This doesn’t mean that these sexualities didn’t exist, but the way they were talked about may have been more limited. A more contemporary film might not use the term because it does not properly fit within the narrative for someone to explicitly say their sexuality to another character (see my essay on Challengers for more on that). These more understandable cases, though, can have their erasure effect compounded when external media around a film—such as reviews, promotional materials, or criticism—also refuse to engage with the terminology.
It’s not about reducing the quality of queer representation down to just the language we use. As mentioned previously, that language is imperfect and we are often forced to conflate a lot of experiences into one overarching banner that we might not always feel reflects us. Rather than making one word absolute, it’s more about bringing visibility to these different identities with the language we have, and adapting that as we go. Not every film needs to use the word ‘bi’, and there are legitimate reasons not to, but we equally need to make sure that it’s not the case that no one is saying ‘bi’ at all.
Films and their creators can also reflect more the discriminatory views of the society they are creating in, deciding to make jokes or dismiss bi identities offhandedly because they either agree with those sentiments or at least know the world they are making content for agrees enough for these jokes or plot lines to land.
Bye, Bye, Bi in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(I’m doubling down on the NSYNC reference)
An example of elements of bi erasure and their contributing factors can be seen in the discussion around Willow (Alyson Hannigan) in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)—a show praised for its landmark representation of lesbianism after Willow starts dating Tara (Amber Benson) in college midway through the series. While there are very valid arguments that Willow should be regarded as a lesbian (this is the terminology she uses herself), extra textual elements indicate that the construction of her identity by the creators was not fuelled by much intentionality or awareness, and potentially influenced by tropes surrounding bi erasure.
Earlier in the series, Willow has a very deep crush on her friend Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and embarks on a fan-favourite relationship with Oz (Seth Green). These same-sex attractions are played down in later seasons once Willow started dating Tara, with Oz rarely mentioned and her feelings for Xander played off jokingly. No kind of ‘bi’ terminology is ever used, and it is instead often reinforced that Willow is ‘gay now’5 despite some occasional episodes still playing with the idea of her attraction to men. While the relationship between Willow and Tara became so iconic, it was also initially conceptualised as part of the ‘gay college phase’6 trope. When speaking on the idea and the struggle of following up the much-loved relationship between Willow and Oz, creator Joss Whedon stated:
“Well she’s in college, so maybe she finds a girlfriend.”7
While in the real world, bi erasure may happen accidentally (though no less harmfully) when someone meeting you for the first time makes an incorrect assumption about your sexuality based on who you may be dating or express affection towards, in media we often have a much wider understanding of a character’s history. We have a deeper understanding of their thoughts and have seen how their attraction plays out. This means when bisexuality is erased in media, it is done much more intentionally, ignoring or reframing the history that is written into a character.
The intentions of a creator can be reinterpreted by audiences freely8, and Whedon’s words don’t have to minimise the importance this relationship had to many viewers, whether they want to view it as lesbian or bi representation. When looking at this example, it’s important not to get too bogged down in the specifics of what Willow’s sexuality really was (she’s not a real person, so we aren’t gonna pin that one down, folks), but instead learn to accept what was impactful and important about the representation while at the same time acknowledging there are:
Other ways to interpret that representation
Social factors, including biphobia, that impact what dominant interpretations are
I adore Buffy and also spend a lot of time thinking about these trickier elements when I rewatch episodes religiously over Halloween. You can hold it all together. Absolutism doesn’t help anyone.
What can be done about it?
The good news is that we can do something about bi erasure, even if you’re not a big-time director with the money to make a blockbuster hit called ‘Bi as Hell’9 or something.
Even if a movie doesn’t use the term ‘bi’, you are allowed to. If you talk or write about films, you can apply that terminology where it is appropriate. Whether your audience is one of thousands or just friends and family, it still matters. Similarly, you can challenge10 others when they might be erasing bi identities or not considering the bi potential in a film.
You can also challenge your own assumptions. Check yourself in real life and when watching media to see if you are making assumptions about sexuality, and correct yourself when you are wrong. Any mind you can change helps, including your own.
To take us away, I hand this post over once again to Alan Cumming:
“I used to be married to a woman. Before that I had had a relationship with a man. I then had another relationship with a woman, and I since then have had relationships with men. I still would define myself as bisexual partly because that's how I feel but also because I think it's important to — I think sexuality in this country especially is seen as a very black and white thing, and I think we should encourage the gray. You know?”
Further reading
Want more than a bi-te size bit of knowledge? Some recommended reads:
Something short: The art of being Alan Cumming: The Traitors host on bisexual pride and season 3 being Peacock hit's queerest from Entertainment Weekly. Source of the opening quote for this post and a great insight into bi erasure and the US version of The Traitors.
Something academic: I really enjoyed reading “Gay Now”: Bisexual Erasure in Supernatural Media from 1983 to 2003 by Ana Carolina de Barros for research on this post. It is a much more thorough bisexual bisection of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the 1983 movie The Hunger (Tony Scott).
Some more from Trial Bi Media: check out the follow up article on how attempts to combat bi erasure can come with their own stumbling blocks- Bi Erasure Part II
Let’s do this together
I would love to get your comments and insights on my work so we can grow this place together. Please like and share and comment and all that other stuff. It’s much appreciated.
Read the GLAAD, Where We Are on TV report 2023-2024 for more info on this
Check out my Imagine Me and You film essay for more info
RogerEbert.com referred to it as a ‘Lesbian sitcom’ and the AV club have referred to it as a ‘lesbian love story’. In the 182 reviews of the film on IMDb there are 106 uses of the word ‘lesbian’ and only 2 uses of the word ‘bisexual’.
A Short History of the Term Bisexuality is a great little read, showing that ‘bisexual’ didn’t really come into common use until the 1970s and ‘pansexuality’ became more prominent in the 90s.
‘Gay’ has more recently come to be used as a term akin to ‘queer’, encapsulating a wider range of attractions, but this was not how the term was being used in the context of the show.
A common trope in media that implies sexual experimentation as a common part of University experiences but often indicating this this is just a phase or something to get out of the system before settling down into a heterosexual lifestyle.
Interview with People in 2017. Note this interview is before the allegations made against Whedon for his behaviour on sets, including those made by the Buffy cast. So the bit where he talks about the importance of feminism is a bit hard to swallow if you give it a watch.
Alternate titles: Can’t Bi Me Love and Bi-O-Pic
I say ‘challenge’ rather than ‘correct’, as interpreting sexuality in media can often be an inexact science. I find it is better to challenge others to see a different perspective rather than insist that the one you have is the correct one. It’s an easier way to have a conversation.