Media portrayals of bisexuality

[4] This report praised the films Flirting With Disaster (1996), My Own Private Idaho (1991), The Color Purple (1985), French Twist (1995), Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and Henry & June (1990) for being "fair, accurate and inclusive" when it came to bisexual characters.

However, the film Basic Instinct (1992) was described as "one of the worst examples of biphobia ever put on a screen" while Inside Daisy Clover (1965) and Spartacus (1960) were criticized for their removal of scenes with "bisexual content."

The same year, Ariel Sobel, in an article in The Advocate, praised Rooney Mara in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011) for portraying "the ultimate queer superhero" and called her character, Lisbeth Salander, "a testament to the brilliance of bisexual women.

"[8] Sobel also pointed to Tully (2018) as a film about "a woman who happens to be queer" and argued that it "showcases how LGBTQ people go through all sorts of milestones," then experiencing them.

In February 2020, Pride.com said that while corporations "seem content to live in their heteronormative worlds," sources reported that Sony was creating a live-action movie with Spider-Man as bisexual and having a boyfriend.

[13] Another selection, Chasing Amy (1997), was praised by The Advocate for its "exploration of sexual politics" and the troubles that bisexual women encounter when taking "on straight partners.

"[4] The report cited Steven Carrington in the soap opera, Dynasty (1981–1989) who "had a long term love affair with Luke" but got married, had a child, and later lived with his former lover, Bart, as the first example.

In 2015, Eliel Cruz, in Slate, praised American Horror Story for its bisexual representation with Ramona Royale falling for The Countess and a man, a trans female bartender of the Blue Parrot Lounge named Liz Taylor who was married to a woman before coming out as transgender but falls in love with a male model, and Will Drake, buyer and new owner of the Hotel Cortez, called himself bisexual in one episode.

She said the effect of this is that "bisexuals are severely underrepresented in the culture" and are often badly represented, with Drake's character as an "example of what can happen with television producers and writers get our community right."

In 2018, The Advocate pointed to five TV shows as having positive bisexual representation: The Good Wife (Kalinda Sharma), Game of Thrones (Oberyn Martell), Grey's Anatomy (Callie Torres), House of Cards (Frank Underwood), and How to Get Away with Murder (Annalise Keating).

"[17] As such, Lennon listed relatable representations of bisexuality in TV, apart from one mentioned by The Advocate in 2018: Max in Black Sails, Nico Minoru in Runaways, Clarke Griffin in The 100, Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine,[18] Ilana Wexler in Broad City, Sara Lance in Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, Magnus Bane in Shadowhunters, Lucifer Morningstar in Lucifer, and Miles Hollingsworth III in Degrassi: The Next Generation.

During the HBO special Home Videos stand-up comedian and director Jerrod Carmichael talked about his sexuality, revealing that he has had relationships with both men and women.

This included Utena Tenjou in Revolutionary Girl Utena (1997), Honoka Maki in Kiznaiver (2016), Ranka in Ouran High School Host Club (2006), Yukari Sendou in Rosario + Vampire (2008), Suruga Kanbaru in Monogatari (2009-2012), Pitohui in Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online (2018), Miku Izayoi in Date A Live II (2014), Apollo in Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

However, Megan Peters of Comic Book stated in 2018 that "Pitohui has never acknowledged her sexual preference," meaning that the canon is "wide open"[22] and some argued that Ertegun is a "massive jerk" and is self-serving.

"[25][26] Some characters are lesbian, like Juri Arisugawa, and others are bisexual, like Utena Tenjou, a crossdressing prince and her friend (and love) "Rose Bride" Anthy Himemiya.

Goulene noted that Ranka is a crossdresser who performs as a drag queen, is accepted by his mother, and is shown as a "completely normal parent," who cares about his own daughter.

[46] This included Jacob Frye in Assassin's Creed Syndicate (2015), Kelly Chambers in Mass Effect 2 (2011), Axton in Borderlands 2 (2012), Trevor Philips in Grand Theft Auto V (2013), Vamp in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001), Javier Garcia in The Walking Dead (2012), Tatsuya Suou in the Persona 2 duology (1999 and 2000), Kanji Tatsumi in Persona 4 (2008), Rhajat in Fire Emblem Fates (2015), Max Caulfield in Life Is Strange (2015), and Mae in Night in the Woods (2017).

Bisexuali-tea, hosted by Rin Ryan and Sasha Fernandez, and produced by AWOL at American University, is a bi-weekly podcast, discussing "various topics related to LGBTQ+ life in college.

[4] Their report noted that in the 1990s "more bisexual men and women in the industry" came out of the closet, including artists such as Ani DiFranco, Tom Robinson, Jill Sobule, Joan Osborne, Sophie B. Hawkins, and Me'Shell Ndgeocello.

[64] Hall aimed to counter this trend, first highlighting specific theories of bisexuality posed by Sigmund Freud, Wilhelm Stekel, and Fred Klein, then noting that bisexuality existed among ancient Greeks and Romans, with mention in works by "Homer, Anacreon...Pindar...Plutarch, Cicero, and Catullus," along with vaue references in Satyricon by Petronius and in the "life and work of Sappho".

The project also pointed to bisexual themes in sonnets by William Shakespeare and Marlowe, in the activities by French writer Madame de La Fayette and English poet Katherine Philips, and the writings of Lord Byron.

Furthermore, the short stories of Paul Bowles, Ancient Evenings (1983), The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon (1991), the "works of David Leavitt and the poet Gavin Dillard" for their positive bisexual representation.

Finally, Hall concluded with a call for action: ...the discourse on sexuality has rewidened since the mid-twentieth century so that validation for bisexuals is no longer impossible to locate in literature and social movements.

Conceptualizations in the 1990s of a broad notion of a "queer" identity...have been welcomed by many in the subsumed communities, even as others have resisted any revision in the narrower, binarized notions of identity...But simplistic designations of all human beings as fundamentally heterosexual or homosexual are clearly as oppressive toward some people as institutionalized homophobia has been toward gays and lesbians...in recognizing the unique interests of the bisexual community, as well as the numerous ways such interests intersect with those of the gay and lesbian communities, we can come to a better understanding of social history and the rich heritage of literary traditions and representations that counter heterosexism and challenge the narrow, tradition-bound, and oppressive categories through which society identifies and thereby judges people.

[78] In the same article, ScreenRant notes that some fans consider Peter Parker, Sam Wilson, Carol Danvers, Bucky Barnes, and Steve Rogers to be bisexual, but this is not canon.