Non-Existent “Bi”omes : Attitudes and Binegativity against Bisexual People in India

Abstract

3 years ago the same-sex law was decriminalized in India which has brought about an increase in the LGBTQIA+ community’s visibility. Today, around 9% of India’s population identifies as bisexual (Ipsos, 2021). Bisexuality is the sexuality of any person who identifies themselves to be sexually attracted to people of any gender including binary, non-binary and agender individuals. There has been some research to understand the lesbian/gay and transgender population in India, but there’s a dearth of literature studying the various factors influencing the lives of bisexual population of India. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes and binegativity against bisexual people by cisgender and heterosexual (cis-het) high school (9-12th grade) students from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. This study will follow a cross-sectional exploratory design using a multiple stage cluster sampling. The Attitudes Regarding Bisexuality Scale (Mohr & Rochlen, 1999) and the Gender Specific Binegativity Scale (Mullik & Wright, 2002) would be administered to the students using an online survey platform. The findings would provide a better understanding of the bisexual population in India and present implications at the policy level to prevent discrimination against the bisexual community.