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Bisexual women face double discrimination

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Stonewall, LSTMH, bisexual women, prejudice, And even within this group inequality exists.

Lesbian and bisexual women are at risk of poor mental health, with bisexual women particularly affected due to ‘double discrimination’ and lack of social support, says report.

An analysis of data from the largest UK survey of lesbian and bisexual women, Stonewall‘s Women’s Health Survey, was published last month by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

The original survey, which questioned 937 bisexual-identified and 4769 lesbian-identified women, and was carried out in 2007, found higher rates of smoking and drug and alcohol consumption among lesbian and bisexual women compared to the general female population.

It also found higher rates of self-harm, suicide attempts and eating disorders among lesbian and bisexual women than among the general population.

However, this recent analysis by the LSHTM showed that even within this group inequality exists.

The bisexual-identified women surveyed differed in many ways from the lesbian-identified women.

For example, bisexual women were more likely to be younger and poorer compared to lesbian women.

They were also more likely to be trans-identified and from minority ethnic groups.

In addition, bisexual women were more likely to report using marijuana, having eating problems, self-harming, experiencing depression and anxiety than lesbian women.

Surprisingly, suicidal thoughts and eating disorders seemed to be more common among older bisexual women than younger bisexual women, despite the opposite being true among the general female population in the UK.

This analysis supports the findings of a study made in 2003 in Ontario, Canada, which found that bisexual people reported poorer mental health outcomes such as anxiety and depression than heterosexuals, lesbians and gay men.

The LSHTM researchers suggest these worse mental health outcomes for bisexual women may be down to experiencing ‘double discrimination’ – they are the victims of both homophobia and biphobia.

According to BiPhoria, a Manchester-based bisexual social support group, biphobia is based on prejudices and stereotypes of bisexuals as greedy, promiscuous, deceitful, attention seeking or immature, and comes not only from the heterosexual community but also from the LGBT community.

This is reflected in the LSHTM analysis, with bisexual women being less likely to be ‘out’ than lesbians and less likely to attend sexual minority community events.

BiPhoria estimates that at least two-thirds of the bisexual community do not engage with the LGBT ‘scene’.

The LSHTM’s researchers also suggest that a combination of ‘double discrimination’ and lack of social support may explain the higher rates of poor mental health outcomes among bisexual women.

However they note that the Stonewall study design means that the results are only valid for the participants in the survey and might not be generally applied to the wider population.

“Bisexual people are at particular risk of invisibility and marginalisation from both gay/lesbian communities and mainstream society,” said the study’s senior author Dr Ford Hickson.

“Although bisexual women in our study reported experiencing less sexuality-based discrimination than lesbians, this did not benefit their mental health.

“Mental health services should be aware of both the differences and the similarities in bisexual and lesbian women’s mental health care needs, and tailor the services they provide accordingly,” he added.

Even if not generally applicable, the analysis has highlighted the important point that biphobia is still an unchallenged prejudice in the UK and it is affecting the mental health of bisexual women.

As the study’s lead author Lisa Colledge concluded: “All women deserve equal chances of mental wellbeing and happiness, regardless of their sexuality.

“Homophobic prejudice is now widely and rightly condemned; specific stigma around bisexual identity needs to be similarly confronted.”

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