This collection of essays focuses on historical and contemporary representations of bisexuality - both "real" and "imagined" - in literature, film and the visual arts. They ask questions concerning what it means to desire both men and women and explores the role of bisexuality in the construction of every person's sexual identity.

A largely unexplored area, this is an innovative and original examination of bisexual spaces as places that are defined by both geographical boundaries and cultural significance. Hemmings applies the ideas of queer theory as well as social and cultural geography in her fascinating investigation into the spaces and places of bisexual life. Specifically focusing on Northhampton, MA and San Francisco, she draws on interviews with community members and the town histories showing how and why they have developed into safe places for the gay, lesbian, and bisexual communities. By mapping out a space of bisexuality, Bisexual Spaces provides a new and provocative understanding of the concept.

Bisexuality: A Critical Reader presents the essential primary texts on bisexuality from the last 100 years in an easy-to-read format. Exploring this often controversial concept from a range of perspectives, this book places bisexuality in its historical and cultural context and explores its many meanings and uses. Merl Storr's introductions give a straightforward overview of the texts included and sets them clearly in the context of debates on bisexuality. This collection includes pieces by: * Henry Havelock Ellis * Sigmund Freud * Alfred C. Kinsey, Wardell B. Pomeroy and Clyde E. Martin * and Hélèn Cixous.

Gain a fresh perspective on this misunderstood sexual orientation! From invisible to pathological, the literary, cultural, and theoretical representations of male bisexuality have been almost uniformly negative. Bisexual Men in Culture and Society provides a clear, rational analysis of the negative stereotypes and the underlying reasons for them. ”The bisexual is the brutal father, the abusive husband, the violent rapist (all familiar figures of male heterosexual power), but he is also the simpering, oral-sadistic mama's boy found in psychoanalytic accounts of homosexuality. . . . Bisexuals are queers with straight privilege, . . . straights with gay chic.” Jonathan David White's caustic summary of bisexual men as seen in David Lynch's film Blue Velvet also applies to many of the representations of male bisexuality in popular and high culture. The original essays in Bisexual Men in Culture and Society deconstruct that dangerous image with blistering force and accuracy. Bisexual Men in Culture and Society offers thoughtful, insightful examinations of the cultural meanings of bisexuality, including: the recurring figure of the predatory, immoral bisexual man in the novels of E. Lynn Harris the overlooked bisexual themes in James Baldwin's classic novels Another Country and Giovanni's Room the murderous bisexual men in such films as Blue Velvet and American Commandos the portrayal in women's magazines of the bisexual husband as a promiscuous, deceitful AIDS carrier the conflicts within sexual-identity politics between gay men and bisexual men the focus on bisexual orientation, rather than sexual behavior, as a risk factor for AIDS Continuing the tradition of Bisexuality in the Lives of Men: Facts and Fictions, Bisexual Men in Culture and Society offers a brilliant analysis of the lives of bisexual men and their precarious position within a racist, sexist, and homophobic society.

This book provides an accessible introduction to bisexuality studies, set within the context of contemporary social theory and research. Drawing on interviews conducted in the UK and Colombia, it maps out the territory, providing a means of understanding sexualities that are neither gay, nor lesbian, nor heterosexual.

Emerging from a case study in secondary schools, this book explores young bisexual women’s notions of bisexuality through their own sense of self-identification and how they express their personal beliefs. McAllum sheds light on the presence and practices of "bisexual misrecognition" and "bi-misogyny" in school settings, and draws out the implications of this bias on bisexual women. Incorporating women’s own spoken and written anecdotes, this book reveals hidden narratives and helps boost awareness about the social and learning needs of young bisexual women.

What does it mean to grow older as a lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans (LGBT) person? What gaps in knowledge about LGBT ageing remain? This timely and innovative book reports on a project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council which aimed to address gaps in knowledge about older LGBT people and their experiences of ageing. The book discusses the project and contains chapters either specially commissioned or written by leading researchers and activists in the field. Informed by a range of theoretical perspectives, empirical research studies, critical observations as well as lived experiences, this book explores areas of LGBT ageing that have been under-studied. These include: bisexual ageing; trans ageing and older trans people’s mental health; ethnicity, culture and religion in the lives of older LGBT people and gaps in knowledge about older LGBT people from minority ethnic communities; intergenerational networks; residential and end-of-life care; and the effects of austerity on services. Written in an accessible style, this book is essential for researchers and policy makers interested in the lives of older LGBT people, people who work with older people and teachers and students interested in ageing, gender identity and sexuality.