Did you read my comment? The bi in bisexual has never referred to two genders; it refers to two sexualities, namely homosexual and heterosexual. Homo meaning same and hetero meaning different. If we consider a set of people with both the same gender as a hypothetical bisexual person (regardless of their gender) and different genders from that same bisexual person, all people are included in that set regardless of their gender.
Importantly, no single word has ever been a full and complete description of any person’s sexual preferences. I’m not saying that all bisexual people are attracted to all people of all genders, but that the word bisexual has no implication of anything less.
The term bisexual is not an exception to the bi - 2, tri - 3, quad - 4, etc linguistic rule, it simply doesn’t refer to the two that you’re assigning it to (genders). Beyond that, I have no idea why you think it’s appropriate to apply a linguistic rule proscriptively to other people’s sexualities.
This kind of confidently incorrect interpretation not only harkens to bisexual erasure (as in ignoring the words and writings of actual bisexual people), it actively harms bisexual people by assigning them with a reinforcing of gender binary that bisexuality has never implied, even linguistically. Try listening to a bisexual person (me, for starters) rather than blaming us for reinforcing a gender binary based on your own misinterpretation.
Also, bisexual is not an old outdated term from “when we considered that there are only two genders” (bisexual erasure much?), it is an inclusive identifier that covers a broad range of sexual preferences.
TLDR: Fuck you, you don’t get to tell me how to refer to my own sexuality.
Did you read my comment? The bi in bisexual has never referred to two genders; it refers to two sexualities, namely homosexual and heterosexual. Homo meaning same and hetero meaning different. If we consider a set of people with both the same gender as a hypothetical bisexual person (regardless of their gender) and different genders from that same bisexual person, all people are included in that set regardless of their gender.
Importantly, no single word has ever been a full and complete description of any person’s sexual preferences. I’m not saying that all bisexual people are attracted to all people of all genders, but that the word bisexual has no implication of anything less.
The term bisexual is not an exception to the bi - 2, tri - 3, quad - 4, etc linguistic rule, it simply doesn’t refer to the two that you’re assigning it to (genders). Beyond that, I have no idea why you think it’s appropriate to apply a linguistic rule proscriptively to other people’s sexualities.
This kind of confidently incorrect interpretation not only harkens to bisexual erasure (as in ignoring the words and writings of actual bisexual people), it actively harms bisexual people by assigning them with a reinforcing of gender binary that bisexuality has never implied, even linguistically. Try listening to a bisexual person (me, for starters) rather than blaming us for reinforcing a gender binary based on your own misinterpretation.
Also, bisexual is not an old outdated term from “when we considered that there are only two genders” (bisexual erasure much?), it is an inclusive identifier that covers a broad range of sexual preferences.
TLDR: Fuck you, you don’t get to tell me how to refer to my own sexuality.
I really appreciate your eloquent and expressive defense of bisexual people in this thread. You’ve got a way with words :)
That’s very kind, thank you!