The mythological bisexual – the object of legends as it swarms through the endless crowd, lusting after each and every being it lays it’s eyes upon.
The Situation
In reality, that is definitely not the case. Let’s clear something up. No, bisexuals are not half-gay and half-straight. No, bisexuals do not lust after every human in sight. No, bisexuals do not always have genitalia of both sexes, we have another term for that. No, they won’t eat you. They are just normal people, who get attracted to a person, irrespective of their sex or gender.
But (yes, there is a big but), in India, as the enforcement of the Section 377 is still there and although there is growing awareness and openness about the LGBTQ community, especially in colleges and universities, people are still afraid and suspicious of bisexuals as they may seem to be with a person of the opposite sex one day (as our heteronormative society dictates) and be with a person of the same sex, the other day.
As they say, lack of knowledge creates fear or phobia, in this case. The Indian young adults of 2016 are yet to discover how bisexuals are in real life.
The History
From a very historical and mythological standpoint, a more Hindu standpoint to be precise, the Vedic form of Hinduism did support the act of bisexuality. The Atharva veda and Upanishads suggest that sexual pleasure in any form with any being is not restricted as long as the partners are agreeing to it. Vedic priests and Tantric priests even engage in coitus with a man and a woman at the same time till this day – threesomes in what the kids are calling it these days. After the Vedic age ended, the religion became a bit strict and restricted bisexuality as a ritualistic practice. Agni, who is the God of Fire & creativity in Hindu mythology, had a same-sex encounter which involved the accepting of semen from the other Gods. Although, Svaha, his wife, was active with him, Agni is shown to be in cahoots with Soma, the moon God. During an eclipse, Agni takes the receptive role, receiving the semen from Soma’s penis with his mouth which parallels to Agni’s role in accepting sacrifices from Earth to Heaven.
In case of Abrahamic religions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism, bisexuality is blasphemous, sacrilegious and defiles the purity of a human bestowed upon by God. As for why they are against it, is all in the history books.
During an eclipse, Agni takes the receptive role, receiving the semen from Soma’s penis with his mouth which parallels to Agni’s role in accepting sacrifices from Earth to Heaven.
The Confusion
Through the lack of confidence and social stigma, if someone does meet with their bisexual side or see themselves being attracted to people of both the sexes, the experience is quite confusing to them and is often sparked with a more emotional trigger than a carnal one.
In popular culture, the most knowledge about bisexuals is derived from..yes, you guessed it: Internet Porn. Hetero-men see & fantasize about two women getting down with each other and then another man comes in and the trifecta is at work. Hetero-women fantasize about two dudes getting their freak on and quite often, then she sees herself in between two dudes.
Believe it or not, bisexuality in men is more frowned upon than bisexuality in women. The reason being, a bisexual man is not regarded as manly, as there is a prerequisite notion that you have to be strictly hetero and be at ‘war’ with other men to appear macho. Bisexual women on the other hand are the fuel to many sexual fantasies as it shows that women can get their freak on with any being, which is just blatant degradation.
How much bisexual are you?
Truth be told, bisexuals in India are confused people because more often than not, they do not understand themselves. How would they express themselves to other people? They are either termed gay or lesbian or a person who swings both ways. But, then the question comes, How much bisexual are you?
Alfred Kinsley, researcher and pioneer, developed a scale called the Kinsley scale, which was 0 if you are hetero and 6 if you are homo. Any person in between is a bisexual. Yes, there are degrees of bisexuality – the reason I stated in the beginning that, we are not half-gay or half straight. Degrees can vary from lusting after the same-sex while being emotionally involved with the opposite sex or vice versa, to lusting and being emotionally involved after the same and the opposite sex.
There are degrees of bisexuality – we are not half-gay or half straight. Degrees can vary from lusting after the same-sex while being emotionally involved with the opposite sex or vice versa, to lusting and being emotionally involved after the same and the opposite sex.
The typical situation for a man, in India, when he discovers his bisexuality is this – suppose the man was in a relationship with a woman and found himself to be emotionally involved with another man.People will say that he couldn’t please his woman and turned gay.
Let’s see the situation from the other side. Suppose there was a woman who was in a relationship with a man and found herself to be emotionally involved with another woman. What ‘the Junta’ will say is that she was too horny and slutty so she became a lesbian.
In both the situations, we see that being bisexual is misinterpreted as turning homosexual for the lack of pleasure. In both situations, people try to blame the person’s carnal needs instead of their failed relationships and the fact that they are attracted to both the sexes.
This misconception needs to go. It really does. It not only affects the person but, also the person associated with them as they are teased for being associated with a queer person.
Conclusion?
As more and more people are opening up to the different forms of sexuality in India, the state of bisexuals are still as closeted as ever, as often their existence is contested. People in the middle ground of the Kinsley scale are very much in sorrow, as no law in any country allows a person to get married to a man and a woman at the same time. While, polyamory is an option, it is not always successful, as emotions like jealousy and possessives come into play and it starts to fall apart.
For all the bisexuals or people who are yet to come to terms with their sexuality, stay strong. Never be bothered by what people say.
At the end of the day, it’s a personal point of view and like how the Romans put it, As long as it does not impinge on another person’s integrity then who is anyone to condemn or glorify it.
- No, Bisexuals Are Not Half-Gay and Half-Straight - November 23, 2016