Bisexual Identity in Literature
Bisexual identity in literature has evolved significantly over time, reflecting broader societal changes regarding sexuality. Historically, depictions of non-heterosexual relationships faced marginalization, often portrayed negatively or as transitional phases toward a more definitive sexual identity. Early examples include the works of Shakespeare and Whitman, who explored complex attractions to both genders, while authors like Alice Walker and Virginia Woolf integrated their own bisexual experiences into their narratives.
The late 20th century saw a surge in LGBTQ+ representation, particularly during the Gay Pride movement, yet bisexual characters often remained underrepresented or depicted as confused or transitional. As societal attitudes shifted, literature began to celebrate bisexuality more affirmatively, with characters engaging in open sexual exploration without the confines of traditional labels, as seen in works by Djuna Barnes and Brad Fraser.
Contemporary literature has further expanded the portrayal of bisexuality, offering nuanced characters and positive representations, such as André Aciman's "Call Me By Your Name" and Susan Choi's "My Education." This changing landscape reflects an increasing recognition of bisexuality as a legitimate and complex identity within the broader spectrum of human sexuality.
Bisexual Identity in Literature
Background
Writers have always sought to portray all aspects of life, including the myriad varieties of human sexuality. Traditional proscriptions against homosexuality have relegated depictions of non-heterosexual relationships to the periphery, or have cast them as evil, unhealthy, or dangerous to society.
It is nevertheless known that many men in ancient Greece had wives and male lovers, as vividly portrayed in the historical novels of Mary Renault. William Shakespeare’s sonnets convey his attraction to both the woman known as the Dark Lady and the man known as the Fair Youth. The work of nineteenth century poet Walt Whitman is filled with a generally inclusive eroticism. The novels of Virginia Woolf reflect her own bisexuality. The marriage of Vita Sackville-West, Woolf’s lover, and Harold Nicolson, both bisexual, is chronicled by their son, Nigel Nicholson, in Portrait of a Marriage (1973).
Transition
After the advent of the Gay Pride movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s, lesbians and gay men became more common in literature. Bisexual characters, however, remained rare for some time. In many cases, bisexuality has been treated as a transitional phase in the life of a character who ultimately identifies as exclusively gay or heterosexual. James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room (1956), a celebrated novel of homosexual angst, offers a protagonist with male and female lovers who is clearly journeying toward homosexuality. Such works as Marge Piercy’s Small Changes (1972), Albert Innaurato’s Gemini (1977), and Tony Kushner’s Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (1990) include characters passing through a bisexual stage. In Paul Monette’s 1992 memoir Becoming a Man, he describes, after coming out as a gay man, a period of sexual activity with both genders.
At times, novels have focused on characters who seem to be bisexual, but do not understand this aspect of themselves. Such works as Carson McCullers’ Reflections in a Golden Eye (1941) and The Ballad of the Sad Café (1951) and Robert Anderson’s Tea and Sympathy (1953) offer versions of this confusion. In these works, characters are attracted to both genders but are limited by societal assumptions or personal idiosyncrasy.
Exploration
Rather than be confused, some characters are unconcerned with labeling their sexuality. The sexual liberality of the late twentieth century led to many forms of sexual exploration, and a de facto bisexuality has been part of a larger identity of openness and freedom. Ernest Hemingway’s unfinished The Garden of Eden (1986) follows a newlywed couple who welcome another woman into their relationship. In Djuna Barnes’s Nightwood (1936), a woman takes a series of male and female lovers amidst the decadence of American expatriate life in Paris. Canadian dramatist Brad Fraser, in Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love (1991), offers a group of variously self-identified characters searching for love and identity in a fluid sexual landscape. In Can Can (1991), a one-act play by Romulus Linney, a young housewife takes a female lover. In these works, questions of sexuality and fidelity never enter the equation; the gay-or-straight dichotomy and the bisexual label become irrelevant.
Particular situations foster other forms of bisexual exploration. John Herbert’s Fortune and Men’s Eyes (1967) and, more affirmatively, John Cheever’s Falconer (1977) depict situational bisexuality among incarcerated males. In a different vein, Isaac Bashevis Singer’s fantastical Yiddish tales occasionally include spiritually motivated sexual exploration: In “Teibele and Her Demon,” the heroine invites her best friend to bed in order to please her demon lover.
Affirmative Bisexual Identity
Exploration may translate into an affirmative bisexual identity. In the genre of science fiction, writers have created worlds in which bisexuality is the cultural norm. Ursula K. Le Guin, in The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), and Robert A. Heinlein, in Friday (1982), depict openly bisexual characters. In Woman on the Edge of Time (1976), Marge Piercy offers a future in which women, freed from childbearing, explore lesbian relationships while maintaining their connections with men. Leaving behind contemporary societal baggage, writers imagine bisexuality to be a normative identity.
Some portrayals of explicitly bisexual characters have been negative. In Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy (1979), the bisexual man is a threat to the gay identity of his lover. In Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City (1980), he is the image of sleaze and marital deceit. Beyond Therapy, Christopher Durang’s 1982 satire, includes a vapid bisexual, although the rest of the cast is equally quirky. Shug Avery in Alice Walker's The Color Purple (1982) is ultimately a sympathetic character, but cannot resist having a series of flings with men despite the pain that this causes her female lover, Celie. Thus, bisexuals are often portrayed either as menaces to straight and gay societies or as careless clowns in the circus of sexual liberty.
As awareness of human sexuality expands, however, affirmative portrayals have emerged. A classic work is James Baldwin’s Another Country (1960), in which an array of ethnically diverse characters seek love and sexual fulfillment. Baldwin, himself primarily homosexual, infused the work with respect, compassion, and complexity. Baldwin’s seeming heir is E. Lynn Harris, whose first three novels— Invisible Life (1994), Just as I Am (1994), and And This Too Shall Pass (1996)—explore bisexuality in an African American milieu, including positively self-identified bisexuals and supportive gays and straights. Marge Piercy’s Summer People (1989) offers an affirmative portrait of a married couple and their shared female lover.
In the twenty-first century, a wider variety of stories about bisexual characters have been published. André Aciman's Call Me By Your Name (2007) depicts a romance between two bisexual men; the novel received wide acclaim and was adapted into an award-winning film in 2017. In One Person (2012) by John Irving explores the coming-of-age of a bisexual man discovering his identity and dealing with a lack of understanding from both straight and gay people. My Education (2013) by Susan Choi is the story of a graduate student's tumultuous affair with her professor's wife. The twenty-first century has also seen an increase in young-adult fiction dealing with bisexuality; one of the first books in this category was Sara Ryan's Empress of the World (2001).
Bibliography
DeCecco, John P., and Michael G. Shively, eds. Bisexual and Homosexual Identities. Binghamton, N.Y.: Haworth Press, 1994.
Garber, Marjorie. Vice Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.
Geller, Thomas, ed. Bisexuality: A Reader and Sourcebook. Ojai, Calif.: Times Change, 1990.
Hutchins, Loraine, and Lani Kaahumanu, eds. Bi Any Other Name. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1991.
Klein, Fritz. The Bisexual Option. Binghamton, N.Y.: Haworth Press, 1978.