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Bisexual Identity
"Too many people belittle bisexuality as a party trend and a way to get attention..."
Listen to this Commentary!
By Ramika Gourdine
Youth Radio's Ramika Gourdine reflects on when she revealed her bisexual identity to her traditional, Christian mother. Ramika also looks at how the media protrays bisexuality and how society exploits a woman's choice to be in-between. (February 10 on WABE)
Being from a conservative Christian family, there is one topic in particular that is simply unacceptable to discuss: sexuality. I learned this the hard way a few months ago when I told my mother a secret I've been keeping for years: I am bisexual.
Rather than screaming and tearing out her hair, I got a calm response. BUT it's what my mother said in her reply that hurt me. She explained she thinks my bisexuality is just a phase - I am just trying to fit in with my friends; it will all go away with time. But she's wrong. I can't "get better" with rest, tea and a dose of Nyquil.
While I was surprised at my mother's reaction, it helped me realize a bigger problem. Too many people belittle bisexuality as a party trend and a way to get attention. Celebrities get on the covers of magazines when they kiss as a publicity stunt. And in movies, it's easy to get a few cheap laughs or sell a couple extra tickets, because guys think girls-who-like-girls and guys are sexy.
But I don't want to be a sex symbol in a movie. I don't want my picture in a magazine. I don't want to be the "popular, yet slutty" girl at the party. I just want to be me. I'm not lesbian and I'm not straight. I just want my mother and society to realize that bisexuality isn't a condition, it’s who I am.
- Youth Radio Atlanta is produced in cooperation with WABE and funded in part by The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.
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