Combating the invisibility of bisexuality: Attempts to gain visibility and their influences on bisexual individuals’ mental health

Bisexual individuals are at increased risk for negative mental health outcomes compared to heterosexual and lesbian/gay (LG) individuals. These disparities are largely due to the unique stressors that bisexual individuals experience (e.g., discrimination from both heterosexual and LG individuals, negative attitudes toward and stereotypes about bisexuality). Therefore, it is not surprising that bisexual individuals are more likely than LG individuals to conceal their sexual orientation. Given that many people do not recognize bisexuality as a legitimate sexual orientation, it becomes effectively invisible or erased in society, which is of great concern to the bisexual community. However, very little is known about if and how bisexual individuals attempt to gain visibility. To address this, I propose two complementary studies—an online survey and a daily diary study—to advance our understanding of bisexual individuals’ attempts to gain visibility (referred to as bi-visibility attempts) and their influences on mental health. The overarching goals of these studies are to broaden our understanding of bi-visibility attempts (e.g., how frequently different strategies are used in different contexts, factors that motivate bi-visibility attempts) and their influences on mental health, including in the context of bisexual individuals' day-to-day lives. These data will provide critical information to inform the development of interventions to combat the invisibility and erasure of bisexuality, to increase societal understanding of bisexuality, and to address the health disparities affecting bisexual individuals.