Teaching about bisexuality 1

Teaching About Bisexuality: Stimulating Discourse and

Critical Analysis of Sexual Orientation

Travis Sky Ingersoll

 Teaching about bisexuality 2

I. Introduction

Sexual orientation is a sensitive topic for many, since it is an area of human sexuality

often clouded by confusion, myth, and misunderstanding (Stumper, 1997). This may be

partly due to the fact that a universally accepted definition of sexual orientation has yet to

materialize (Kauth, 2005; Knous, 2005; Leiblum & Rosen, 2000; Rust, 2000; Stombler,

Baunach, Burgess, Donnelly, & Simonds, 2007; Stumper, 1997). American culture has

been, and remains, relatively intolerant of sexual diversity, so discussions of sexual

orientation are often met with suspicion, condemnation, or even hostility. Generally,

within our culture, topics of diversity tend to lean toward dichotomization (i.e., black vs.

white, man vs. woman, gay vs. straight). For example, when someone hears the words

“sexual orientation” they automatically think of gay men and lesbian women, and not

bisexuals, since sexual orientation is all about being “straight” or “gay;” a mentality

mirrored by the focus of media and public attention regarding the legal, political and

social issues surrounding homosexuality (Allen, 1995).

Although bringing up the topic of sexual orientation in a classroom can be

challenging, it is necessary. The role of educators, in teaching about family structure and

interpersonal dynamics, is to present information representative of the world in which we

live. Drawing students’ attention to the life experiences of persons whose sexual

orientations are different from their own is important for many reasons. First, it is of

primary importance for educators to emphasize the overall diversity of human

experience. Variations in sexual orientation should be regarded as tantamount in

broadening students’ understanding of human development, as variations in ethnicity,

race, social class, or family structure already are. It is highly unlikely that anyone will go
 Teaching about bisexuality 3

throughout their life span, and never interact with a bisexual, transgender, gay, or lesbian

person. It is therefore our responsibility as educators, to ensure that our students receive

accurate, research-based information regarding the experiences of these often

misrepresented, misunderstood and ignored demographic groups (Allen, 1995; Fletcher

& Russell, 2001).

Reacting to the tendency for Americans to dichotomize everything, I feel that an

appropriate way to open the discussion about sexual orientation, is to begin by focusing

on bisexuality. By using bisexuality as a starting point, we bypass the typical route of

heterosexual vs. homosexual in addressing sexual orientation. In this way, we directly

challenge the pseudo-axiom of dichotomous sexual orientation (Namaste, 1994; Rust,

2000). Just as there is a great deal of homophobia in our society, there is also a good

amount of bi-phobia. Whereas homophobia is usually expressed by self-identified

heterosexuals, bi-phobia is common in gay and lesbian communities as well (Hartman,

2005; Knous, 2005; Leiblum & Rosen, 2000; Namaste, 1994; Rust, 2000; Stombler,

2007; Strong, DeVault, Sayad, & Yarber, 2005).

Our society’s pathological overemphasis on putting human experience into

dichotomous boxes has created a situation in which bisexuality is questioned as a

legitimate sexual orientation. As far as most heterosexually identified people are

concerned, bisexuals are really just gay men or lesbian women that have yet to “come out

of the closet” (Leiblum & Rosen, 2000; Rust, 2000). In gay and lesbian communities,

bisexuals are often perceived as being confused, as being in transition from heterosexual

to homosexual, or as being “fence sitters” due to their unwillingness to give up their

hetero-privileges (Hartman, 2005; Stombler, Baunach, & Burgess, 2007). Bisexuality

 Teaching about bisexuality 4

remains relatively invisible in academic and social discourse (Hartman, 2005; Knous,

2005), and many bisexuals feel pressured to conform to one side or the other of the

politically-charged realms of homosexuality and heterosexuality (Goldberg, 1985; Knous,

2005; Stombler, Baunach, Burgess, Donnelly, & Simonds, 2007).

What the following educational intervention hopes to accomplish, is to encourage

students to apply critical thinking to their assumptions regarding sexual orientation. By

educating students about the actual statistics related to sexual orientation, providing a

variety of sexual orientation models to examine, and having them engage in thought

provoking activities, a greater degree of knowledge and understanding may be achieved.

People fear what they do not understand. Providing accurate and meaningful education

on sexual orientation may not only decrease students’ sensitivities regarding the topic

(Fletcher & Russell, 2001), but may help combat homophobia and biphobia as well

(Adams, Wright, & Lohr, 1996; Hays & Samuels, 1989; Stewart, 1999).

II. Educational Intervention

The following lesson uses activities presented by Stewart’s (1999) awareness training

manual on reducing heterosexism and homophobia, and Fletcher and Russell’s (2001)

article on incorporating issues of sexual orientation in the classroom. In addition, this

lesson draws from various theoretical models of sexual orientation as developed by the

likes of pioneers such as Kinsey (1948) and Storms (1980). This lesson was designed for

use with working adults of all ages, college students, or even to high school students if

possible.

After a brief ice-breaker activity, students will be directed to notice posters on each
 Teaching about bisexuality 5

side of the room that state either “fact” or “myth.” Students will then be asked to get out

of their chairs and stand in the middle of the room. The class will be instructed to listen

to the declaration presented, and then choose to stand on either side of the room,

according to their belief. They will not be able to stand in the middle, making this a

“forced choice” activity (Hedgepeth & Helmich, 1996). Examples of statements would

include: “Bisexual persons are confused about their sexuality, bisexual people are

denying their lesbianism or gayness, bisexual people are in transition, being bisexual

means having concurrent lovers of both sexes, and bisexual persons can hide in the

heterosexual community when the ‘going gets tough’ (Stumper, 1997).” After the

exercise is finished, students will be asked to return to their seats. Each statement will

then be identified as either a fact or a myth, followed by thorough explanations.

Following the “forced-choice” exercise, an information sheet of sexual orientation-

related terms and definitions will be passed out. It should be emphasized at this point,

that the lesson underway is about questioning the culturally enforced dichotomization of

sexual orientation through critical analysis, and not an invitation to explore one’s

opinions as to whether any sexual orientation is morally right or wrong. A visual

presentation/lecture regarding the various theoretical models concerned with sexual

orientation, and society’s tendency to dichotomize all issues of diversity will then be

presented. Visuals of the dichotomous, psychoanalytic model (Strong, DeVault, Sayad,

& Yarber, 2005), the Unidimensional-Bipolar model (Kinsey, 1948), and the Two-

Dimensional – Orthogonal model (Storms, 1980) will be showcased and succinctly

described.

Various statistical prevalence studies, regarding sexual orientations will be reviewed,

 Teaching about bisexuality 6

followed by a synopsis of the research indicating that homophobia may be linked to

homosexual arousal (Adams, Wright, & Lohr, 1996), and proposing that biphobia may be

similarly related to suppressed heterosexual arousal. With the high prevalence of

homophobia in American culture in mind, the questions will be posed: “With research

indicating a link between homophobia and homosexual arousal, and the high rates of

homophobia in our culture, could it be possible that bisexuality is much more prevalent

than we think? Depending upon the way in which we define bisexuality, could it even be

more prevalent than true heterosexuality?”

Following the presentation the class will be divided into small groups, and instructed

to apply their critical thinking skills in formulating opinions about the material just

presented. Each group will assign a note-taker, who will present their group’s thoughts to

the class. An opportunity for open class discussion will be provided after every group

has shared their thoughts.

For the final activity, students will be asked to return to their own seat and take out a

writing implement. Each student will be given an index card. They will then be

instructed to imagine that they are a parent of an adolescent child that has just told them

that they are bisexual. Each student will be asked to write a paragraph about what they

would say to their child (Fletcher & Russell, 2001). The students will be instructed to

make no identifying marks on the index cards. Afterwards, the instructor will collect all

the index cards from the students and shuffle them thoroughly. The index cards will then

be redistributed to the class. Students will then be asked to read their index card out loud

to the class. This process will continue untill all the cards have been read. The activity

will be followed by an open discussion about common themes, insights, and personal
 Teaching about bisexuality 7

reactions to what people had written. The remainder of the class will be devoted to

processing the information presented throughout the lesson.

III. Lenses

Gay and Lesbian Students:

Gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual students who are open about their sexual

orientation will likely be familiar with phobic and hostile reactions (Stombler, Baunach,

Burgess, Donnelly, & Simonds, 2007). For students who are questioning their sexual

orientation, or who are keeping their sexual orientation a secret, this lesson may be highly

anxiety provoking. Either way, non-heterosexual students may be uncomfortable

addressing the topic of sexual orientation in a classroom setting. Although they will not

be forced to engage in the lesson’s activities, they may have negative reactions to how

others react, or what others say about homosexuality and bisexuality. Journaling could

be a good way to process those feelings.

By pointing out the discrimination that bisexual individuals face within the gay and

lesbian communities, and suggesting that such reactions may mask possible heterosexual

arousal, gay and lesbian students may feel attacked and/or defensive for a variety of

reasons. However, the point of the lesson is to look at sexual orientation through a lens

that promotes anti-dichotomization. This goal will have been reiterated throughout the

lesson. Perhaps gay and lesbian students may react negatively to such information, due

to their guilt over judging bisexuality, their political views and alliances surrounding

homosexuality, or due to confusion over past or present relationships with other-gender

individuals. Such feelings may especially come to the surface during the forced choice
 Teaching about bisexuality 8

and final writing assignment about addressing one’s bisexual teenager. People tend to

invest a lot into their identity, whether it be their sexual orientation, race, political

affiliation, or religious beliefs. It is important to anticipate such personal convictions,

and respond in a validating, understanding, and compassionate way.

Homophobic Heterosexually-Identified Individuals:

Students with any degree of homophobia may find this lesson extremely stressful.

People who are homophobic often respond to homosexuality with fear, anxiety or even

hatred (Hays & Samuels, 1989). By covering research about homophobia, people with

any degree of homophobia may feel inhibited from participating, less their true feelings

are discovered and they are assumed to have issues with homosexual arousal. They may

even take the option of not participating.

Even if they are not homophobic, they may feel that homosexuality and bisexuality

are inherently wrong, or even deviant. Just because a person does not agree with

homosexuality/bisexuality does not mean that they are homophobic (Adams, Wright, &

Lohr, 1996). People are products of their culture, and American culture has a lot of

homophobia in its social programming. This lesson may temporarily flip the script on

homophobic heterosexually-identified individuals, by focusing attention on the root

causes of their own prejudices. Such an experience may prove to be quite uncomfortable.

Conservative Christians:

Whether students are Roman Catholic or Evangelical Protestant, learned messages

concerning any sexual orientation other than heterosexual, are likely to be condemning

(Comstock, 1991). Simply being asked to discuss homosexuality and bisexuality may
 Teaching about bisexuality 9

bring up a lot of negative emotions in these students. Typical justification for the

conservative Christian’s stance of rejecting homosexuality often come from

misinterpretations from the Book of Leviticus (Comstock, 1991; Stewart, 1999). This

may be a particularly sensitive topic for such religiously oriented students who are

themselves gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, regardless of whether or not they self-

identify that way. Even thoughts of a homosexual nature may engender profound

feelings of guilt and shame. By allowing students to opt-out of discussion and/or

activities in this lesson, a good deal of anxiety may be alleviated. Also, by framing the

lesson as one of building critical thinking skills, students may self-protect through

intellectualizing this often emotion-stirring topic.

However, some Christian students may feel the need to proselytize their religious

convictions regarding the topic. By creating an atmosphere where hateful and/or

discriminatory remarks are discouraged, people may feel safer in sharing what they truly

think about he information presented. However, it is also important for the educator to

refrain from assuming that all religiously-inclined students hold negative views of non-

heterosexuality, or that they will respond to the topic with hostility and/or condemnation.

Bisexual Students

Bisexuality is a topic often absent from academic and societal discourse (Knous,

2005), so engaging in such a discussion may either be validating and empowering, or

completely terrifying for the bisexual individual. Whether or not they publicly identify as

a bisexual, such students may worry about being “outed” due to what they say in the

class. The forced choice activity may be particularly painful, due to the frequency that

many bisexuals are faced with such comments, judgments, and accusations (Hartman,
 Teaching about bisexuality 10

2005; Knous, 2005; Leiblum & Rosen, 2000; Namaste, 1994; Rust, 2000; Stombler,

2007; Strong, DeVault, Sayad, & Yarber, 2005). During the final activity about

addressing one’s bisexual adolescent, affect could go either way. Either the student may

feel validated or empowered by people’s positive and empathetic handling of the

proposed situation, or become distraught by people’s judgmental/critical responses.

Students of any self-identified sexual orientation may question their orientation as a

result of the material presented. This may be highly stressful and confusing. Bisexual

individuals who have politically aligned themselves with the heterosexual or homosexual

communities may become distressed by what feelings the topic brings up. They may also

reject their own bisexuality due to the negative way in which our society views

bisexuality (Hartman, 2005; Namaste, 1995). An awareness of possible reactions the

discussion of this topic may have on bisexual individuals is important.

IV. Addressing Sensitivities

For the educator, teaching about human sexuality carries with it a variety of practical

challenges. Not only does the educator need to be highly informed about the topic of

sexual orientation, they must also prepare for the probable moralistic and/or political

backlash from citizens raised in our sexist and homophobic culture; whether they be

parents, administrators or co-workers. In addition, educators should anticipate the

likelihood that negative reactions and inappropriate remarks about sexual orientation will

come from some of their students as well (Fletcher & Russell, 2001).

It may also be personally difficult for educators to teach about the topic of sexual

orientation for a many reasons. Most commonly, sensitivity to the topic of sexual
 Teaching about bisexuality 11

orientation may be due to a lack of exposure to accurate information about the topic, the

fact that research has not resulted in a universal definition or understanding of sexual

orientation, societal attitudes of intolerance, or a fear of how students will react (Fletcher

& Russell, 2001; Kauth, 2005). Regardless of the educator’s personal feelings about the

topic they teach, they have a responsibility to ensure that the learning environment is safe

for their students. Safety can be enhanced through proper pre-class preparation, and the

formulation of in-class ground rules (Hedgepeth & Helmich, 1996).

I suggest using the following methods to create a safer environment. First, before

conducting an educational intervention, the instructor should fully explore a variety of

possible viewpoints (lenses) that their students may have on the chosen topic. This will

enable the educator to prepare for likely reactions and/or responses to the material. It is

equally important for the educator to have a thorough understanding of their chosen topic,

as well as opposing viewpoints and alternative explanations or theories. In this way, the

educator will be prepared to address and discuss the concerns and questions of students

from myriad perspectives.

In addition, pre-class preparation could involve the gathering of reading material, and

resources to meet the intellectual and emotional needs of the students. Such resources

could include counseling/support group resources, useful websites, up-to-date and peer-

reviewed research articles, and any material representing as many different views as

possible. This material should be made available for students to take or access before,

during, or after the lesson has ended. In this way, if people are affected in any way by the

material presented, they will have easy access to resources to help them deal with their

emotions (Hedgepeth & Helmich, 1996).

 Teaching about bisexuality 12

As previously mentioned, prior to teaching about sensitive issues, it is also advisable

to lay down some in-class ground rules. Teaching about sexuality can elicit a number of

strong emotional reactions. Ground rules are important for the group process since they

tend to increase students’ sense of safety, and help diffuse interpersonal conflicts

(Hedgepeth & Helmich, 1996). Such ground rules may include: Confidentiality,

acknowledgment and acceptance of feelings, respecting and appreciating differences, the

use of “I” statements, refraining from sarcastic and judgmental comments, assuming

good will, and speaking for oneself and not others. The sensitivity of the topic should be

fully acknowledged, as well as the possible emotional reactions that students may have.

An emphasis should be placed on students’ personal care regarding their affective

reactions. Students might be given the option of processing the material with the educator

after class, or through email. Contact information for counseling resources could be

made available, as well as an option to not participate if they feel too uncomfortable.

During the lesson, the educator should be prepared to address conflict and/or negative

affect from students. If any conflict arises between students, or a student becomes

hostile, the educator should always refer back to the class ground rules. The educator

should also make a point to recognize and validate the diversity of views and opinions of

all students, regardless of whether they agree with particular students or not. For

example, if a student expresses condemning religious beliefs about the topic, the educator

can first, refer back to the ground rules, and then encourage them to educate themselves

about the issue within their religion at a later time. After acknowledging their viewpoint,

the student could be referred to a list of useful publications on the topic of homosexuality

and the bible (Comstock, 1991; Stewart, 1999).

 Teaching about bisexuality 13

A few techniques to increase safety in the class have already been incorporated into

the lesson plan. For instance, breaking students into small groups to discuss and process

sensitive information. Small group activities make it easier for students to get involved

in discussions since they tend to be less anxiety provoking and typically help build a

sense of community. Research indicates that cooperative learning (group work) can lead

to higher achievement, improved social skills, improved motivation, and better relations

among students from diverse backgrounds (Emmer & Gerwels, 1998, as cited in Eggen &

Kauchak, 2006). Another good way to deal with teaching about sensitive topics, is to

encourage journal writing. Journal writing allows students to reflect on the content and

process of sexuality education they receive, and gives them a place to freely express

personal reactions, attitudes, values, beliefs, and feelings (Hedgepeth, & Helmich, 1996,

p.145).

Although teaching about sensitive topics, such as sexual orientation, carries with it

some challenges and risk, it is the educator’s responsibility to ensure that their students

receive accurate and up-to-date information in the safest way possible (Allen, 1995). By

becoming cognizant of various lenses from which the information could be interpreted,

and preparing as much as possible for likely reactions, the educator can create an

environment that fosters critical thinking. Ground rules can be generated by students

themselves as well, but ultimately, it is the educator’s role in establishing a safe

environment from which to share and learn (Eggen & Kauchak, 2006).

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