Mikayla Leskey | Arts and Entertainment Editor
There has been a stigma around bisexuality since the word came to fruition. Often people who are bisexual are accused of being cheaters or hiding the fact that they actually are gay, they just don’t want to admit it. Commonly, this is the representation of bisexuality seen in media, as well. There has always been a certain hesitation in media to create canonized bisexual characters, take Supernatural’s Dean Winchester, for example. A character who, subtextually, has been known to lean towards men, yet it was never actually canonized. It’s a common fact, that most characters that are considered to be bisexual are only because of subtext clues.
Until the TV show, 9-1-1, which had made waves over the past year for canonizing one of their main characters, Evan “Buck” Buckley, to be bisexual. 9-1-1 was on for seven years before this reveal was made. As usual, there has always been subtext that made Buck’s character bi, but never anything actually canonized. It was a momentous occasion in TV history when this happened, especially because it was done well and it fit Buck's characterization. Not only that but it made shows like Supernatural and Teen Wolf trend, years after each show ended because finally, a bisexual character had gotten justice.
In general, people who identify as bisexual have had difficulty in the LGBTQ+ community itself, since before the term started being used. As mentioned before, there’s this awful stereotype that names bisexuals as cheaters or people who sleep around just because they’re attracted to more than one gender. Bisexuality is not the cause of cheating, it’s the person's own morals that cause them to cheat.
Saying this, because of the stigma surrounding bisexuality, some parts of the media and even members of the queer community erase bisexuality as a whole. They say it's fake or people who identify as bisexual only use the term because they’re afraid to call themselves gay or lesbian. It’s biphobic to think this way and is extremely harmful to those who do find themselves identifying with this sexuality.
Good representation is important, for everybody. It’s extremely upsetting whenever a show says they have diversity among their characters but their diversity is done in a negative way, or straight-up just ignores the aspect that makes them diverse. It’s not a true representation if a piece of media does this, it’s stereotyping and harmful to those part of that diverse community.
As someone who has written numerous essays and projects on the topic of LGBTQ+ representation in media, this prospect of 9-1-1 having a bisexual character being represented well gave me hope. It’s probably a silly thing to say, but this kind of representation is important to so many people that it’s almost unbelievable. I know when I was a kid I would’ve been in awe seeing someone like me on screen, but as an adult, I think I need it more now than ever.
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