Opal Gay Ph.D.

Published in the Journal of Bisexuality

I’m thrilled to share the latest publication from my sister Angela-Faith Thomas and me in the Journal of Bisexuality.  You can check out the article through the following link.

Below is a copy of the reflexive essay Angela and I wrote to underscore our connection to the work and aspirations for future directions.

This manuscript is a letter of solidarity to the Black bisexual men in our lives and beyond. We uplift the well-being of Black bisexual men because we have seen firsthand how exclusionary practices, such as bierasure, have left several friends feeling othered, invalidated, and unwell. In straight and queer spaces, television, social media, as well as our own thoughts and interactions, we have witnessed the widespread nature of racialized biphobia. A wish that we hold for this research is that it may help others see, as it has helped us, that the Eurocentric, colonial, and white supremacist “gay/straight” binary is oppressive and harmful. 

Our respective positionalities are incredibly important in situating our relationship to this project. We understand how intersectionality shapes how we conceptualized, analyzed, and subsequently are disseminating our research. As a multi-racial and bisexual Black trans femme (Opal), and a cishet, straight Black woman (Angela-Faith), we are still learning and unlearning the ubiquitous nature of racialized biphobia. Angela-Faith, coming from a middle class background, and Opal coming from a working class background, and both authors having access to higher education through our institution, we understand how living at the intersection of privileged and oppressed identities affects the lens with which we see the world. 

To Black bisexual men: know that this piece was written with our collective liberation in mind. To non-Black bisexual readers: We cannot and do not speak directly for any Black bisexual man or person. We ask that these self-reported narratives (anonymized) are not used to homogenize Black bisexual men’s experiences, but to be a starting point for a more concerted effort to center the voices, health, and well-being of Black bisexual people in the United States. May those who sit at the intersections of white supremacy, heteronormativity, and monosexism, contribute compelling visions for a more harmonious society.

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  1. kdaddy23

    As a Black bisexual man, I learned long ago to not pay attention to the stigma and other crap being put out there about homo- and bisexuality. I’ve never felt minimized or suffering from any internal dissonance about being bisexual because I know what all the social bullshit has to say… and I better know the reality that scares the shit out of those who keep the stigma alive and continues to victimize all bisexual men, to be honest about it.

    I grew up listening to “all Blacks are homophobic” which, in my environment, was an outright lie because I “cut my bisexual teeth” with and on Black males and that told me that this – and among other stuff I heard about not being straight – was our moral society shitting itself because all the stuff they believed in regard sex and sexuality was… wrong.

    Then, the word on the street was that there was no such thing as a Black, bisexual male and the first time I heard it, I almost pissed on myself due to near uncontrollable laughter but then I sobered to understand that even though I didn’t believe it, you know, since I’m the thing they say doesn’t exist, it didn’t mean that others wouldn’t believe it and the shameful fact was – is – that a lot of people believe it and the impact on Black bisexual men was, in my opinion, profound and definitely not in a good way.

    Heteronormativity is only way to go about love, sex, and relationships; homosexuality is one way and bisexuality is another way and the problem as I’ve seen it isn’t that the stigma exists – it’s that there are too many of us who are willing to give this bullshit weight and meaning and, as such, making our lives as Black bisexual men and women pretty damned miserable.

    And a life lived in fear is a life that’s not worth living and Black bisexuals have been living in fear for a damned long time. I could “go on forever” about this because this is my life and has been for over six decades and, well, I’ve learned some stuff about being Black, male, and bisexual.

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