‘What do bisexuals look like? I don’t know!’ Visibility, gender, and safety among plurisexuals

Abstract

Plurisexuals are often interpreted as half gay/half straight due to the prevailing belief that multigendered attractions are temporary, or illusory. This interpretation is also strongly connected to the gender binary, gender norms, and cisnormativity. Based on these social forces, this article explores how plurisexuals represent themselves in a culture that does not see their identities as viable, often through the use of gender norms. Informed by queer theory, this research is based on semi-structured interviews (n = 30) and photo diaries (n = 9). Findings demonstrate that plurisexuals wish to present visually, but are not certain of how to do so. Plurisexuals see gender and sexuality as connected, and reference transforming outfits through feminization or masculinization. Finally, plurisexuals reference the homophobic, monosexist, transphobic social world by describing how they communicate gender and sexual identities only in certain spaces, or for certain audiences.