(((I Will Outlive)))

Fact: You don’t have to project an image of bisexuality that is sanitized or more respectable to society. It’s okay if your bisexuality intersects with other identities in ways that others don’t always understand or accept. It is not on you to change your identity to make yourself acceptable: it is on others to learn to love and accept you for who you are, even if you are different from them. 

it’s okay if you’re scared of saying the words bisexual. it’s okay that you have to look around to see if anyone heard you when you say something related to your sexuality. It’s okay if you consciously whisper the word every time you want to discuss bisexuality with your friends. it’s okay if you avoid explicitly saying the word bisexual.

I do too.

It takes a long time to recover from internalized biphobia.  Even if you are completely okay with talking about it privately or publicly online, there’s no shame in having issues with discussing it out loud. It takes time to fully be comfortable with sharing this part of yourself with another casually, because there’s always going to be a fear of being judged.

But one day, I promise you, you won’t be so nervous to talk about it out loud. Because I know one day I, myself, will no longer cringe or flinch or shush my friends when they say this word. This is my goal, and it is achievable for you and me. 

But in the meantime, I am not shaming my community. These are effects society have imprinted on me about bisexuality and they are not my fault. And I will learn that I am not dirty. I am not a cheater. I am not confused. I am not making up my bisexuality for attention. I am bisexual, and I am valid.