Bi design: A historical ontology of bisexual women’s construction in psychology research and practice

Abstract

Historical investigations of sex research suggest that bisexual representation has been largely missing from the field of psychology. While psychology has become increasingly affirming of monosexual queer identities, acceptance for plurisexual identities is still lacking. Furthermore, though scholars have criticized the patriarchal construction of sexuality within sex research, it is unclear how patriarchy shapes representations of bisexuality. This project explores the intersection of monosexism, heterosexism, and patriarchy within psychology and discusses implications for bisexual-affirming clinical practice. The first manuscript explores representations of bisexual women within psychology. We conducted a critical literature review on the representations of bisexual women in psychological literature published before 2000. Using Foucauldian Discourse Analysis, we examined the stigmatizing and affirming discourses used to construct women’s bisexuality across time. From the late 19th century onwards, we found that much of the literature constructed a pathological and stigmatizing picture of bisexual women. However, some literature published in the late 20th century incorporated affirming representations of bisexual women that centred their voices. This project highlights the often-invisible role of monosexism, heterosexism, and patriarchy in sex research. Implications for current bisexual-affirming research are discussed. The second manuscript outlines recommendations for bisexual-affirming therapy with women. Building on the findings of the first manuscript, we explore the ways clinicians can challenge monosexism, heterosexism, and patriarchy through multiple levels of intervention. Considering the pathologization and erasure of bisexual women within psychology, we discuss the use of strengths-based and anti-oppressive counselling to leverage bisexual joy and support client growth. Furthermore, we explore the importance of bisexual visibility in the counselling space to build trust and safety in the therapeutic relationship. Lastly, we provide recommendations for clinicians’ individual, interpersonal, and systemic advocacy to support bisexual women outside the counselling space. This project adds to the growing body of research on LGBTQIA+-affirming counselling approaches by highlighting practice with plurisexual communities.