Rhetoric: Bisexuality is part of gender identification. 

Sen. Dan Coats: [Re: The Beijing Conference on the Status of Women.] (July 31, 1995): 

When several delegates sought to define gender, their efforts were rebuffed. Behind the scenes, it became evident that the meaning of gender had been expanded to include not just male and female, but transsexual, bisexual and homosexual...I wonder how many Americans consider 'gender' to be relative...

Reality: Bisexuality is a sexual orientation. 

Bisexuality is a sexual orientation, not a gender identity. A male can be a bisexual, and a woman can be a bisexual. BNDC is sure that this misunderstanding on Senator Coats' part resulted from the multiple dialogues that took place at the Beijing Conference on all topics related to gender and sexuality. 

[FURTHER TALKING POINT: There are times when sexual orientation issues are closely linked with gender identity issues. For example, when a supervisor is charged with sexually harassing a worker, the gender and the sexual orientation of the accused and the gender of the target are all relevant in determining whether or not a violation of a law designed to prevent discrimination based on gender.] 

Rhetoric: Bisexuality is sick 

Rep. Bob Dornan: [Report of a Factfinding Trip] (September 8, 1995): 

It is sickening what is going on in Hollywood...It is mortal sin. It is all promiscuity. It is all flesh. Flesh is flesh, so you experiment with everything. So I do not think that Cary Grant was a homosexual or a bisexual. He just got carried away at those orgies... When I saw here that they are claiming James Dean...when I saw that they are claiming Marlene Dietrich as a bisexual lesbian.... I went to the end to see how many women participated in this disgusting, vile [article]... I always said for my entire life that bisexuality was basically a cover story for homosexuality. That when they captured the adjective 'gay' to say that they were happier than your average pair, more cheerful, more mirthful, that then, if they said they were bisexual, they could say, "Well, I date the whole base. I can date anybody on Capitol Hill. I am a switch-hitter. I am AC DC, I am bi. I can go for anything. You are missing out on half the world.'... As "Tim Roring {profiled in Newsweek] sees it, "I have gone from the political to the historical attraction to the very personal. All that matters is if they like me.' This is the new bisexual movement, Newsweek says. This is their case in a nutshell. And I close with this line, Mr. Speaker, "Hard fought, hard thought and distinctively individual. It is a thorny narrative, fraught with questions of identity and belonging. And in the end, it is really about the simple, mysterious pull between warm bodies when the lights go out.'

Reality: Bisexuality is healthy and normal. 

Bisexuality is the capacity for physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction to either a male or a female. (list institutes) have all stated that Bisexuality is a legitimate and biologically normal sexual orientation. For some people, having a bisexual identity is a part of a transition towards having a homosexual orientation. For other people, like members of BNDC, bisexuality is a lifelong orientation. 

[ADDITIONAL TALKING POINT: When sexual orientation was studied by Dr. Kinsey, he found that normal, healthy adults experienced and expressed attraction to men and women across a spectrum, from exclusively homosexual, through exclusively heterosexual. All points in the middle of this spectrum could be called bisexual.] 

Bisexuals are as capable as anyone of making long-term relationship commitments. Many bisexuals are living in committed life partnerships. Bisexuals live a variety of lifestyles, as do gays, lesbians and heterosexuals. 

[ADDITIONAL TALKING POINT: Some bisexuals identify strongly with the heterosexual community, some with the lesbian or gay community, and some with the bisexual community. Some identify with all or none of these communities.] 

Rhetoric: Bisexuals spread AIDS. 

Wes Pruden, article entered into the Congressional Record by Representative Dornan, (May 10, 1996): 

The CDC reports that as of Dec. 31, 1995, a total of 513,460 cases have been tabulated since June 1981. Of those, 51 percent are homosexual or bisexual males...

Reality: The transfer of body fluids spreads AIDS.

Bisexuals have been targeted as scapegoats by people who think of AIDS as being a "Gay disease". One thing spreads AIDS: taking someone else's bodily fluids (like blood or semen) into your body. The AIDS virus neither knows nor cares what your sexuality is. Safer sex will go a long way towards helping stop the spread of AIDS. 
 

Rhetoric: Bisexuals must be non-monogamous and is just a ploy by young people to appear 'cool.' 

William Bennett, Washington Post article dated May 21, 1996, entered into the Congressional Record during the DOMA debate (July 12, 1996): 

How could [advocates of same sex marriage] explain why we ought to deny a marriage licence to a bisexual person who wants to marry two people? After all, doing so would be a denial of that person's sexuality... According to [an article by E.L. Patullo] teenagers said it has become 'cool' for students to proclaim they are gay or bisexual--even for some who are not. Not surprisingly, the caseload of teenagers in 'sexual identity crisis' doubled in one year...What are we going to do with all these kids proclaiming they are bisexual or homosexual when we know they are not?

Reality: Multiple partner marriage is not at issue in the current marriage debate...

Whether someone chooses to have a committed relationship is separate from whether or not they are bisexual, heterosexual or gay. There are monogamous bisexuals, just as there are monogamous heterosexuals. Moreover, multiple partner marriage (or to use the legalistic terms, polygamy and polyandry) are not at issue in the current dialogue on marriage. The issue in this debate is only whether or not two people of the same gender can be legally married. 

Many adolescents go through a period of questioning their own sexual orientation. Youth deserve and should receive all the support we can provide to help them through the tumultuous years of adolescence and teen age. As adults, we are responsible for providing loving guidance to ensure that difficult times do not become crises, regardless of the focus of the difficulty. Sexual maturation for all people, whether heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual usually entails periods of insecurity, confusion and fear. We must support youth through this period, being careful to help individuals realize their true, healthy potential. This support does not include telling youth who they really are, if they self identify in a way which is unfamiliar to us. 

Rhetoric: Bisexuals want special rights 

Sen. Don Nickles: [ENDA debate] (September 10, 1996): 

Senator Kennedy's bill before us elevates sexual orientation to special status under the Civil Rights Act. It grants governmental approval, acceptance, and protection to homosexual and bisexual behavior under the Civil Rights Act...Sexual orientation as defined in the bill proposed by Senator Kennedy, includes homosexuality, bisexuality and heterosexuality. It does not just apply to people in a monogamous relationship. Basically, any of the above sexual behaviors are going to be protected by the Federal government. Does that mean that you want to discriminate? No. But, should homosexuals and bisexuals have special protected status? Most people would say no... Bisexual by definition means promiscuous, having relations with both male and female. We are going to five that a Federal preferred protected status under this legislation. I think that is a serious mistake.

Reality: Bisexuals want equal rights, not special rights. 

Bisexuals, like homosexuals, want to live their everyday lives free from the threat of discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation. And, like homosexuals, bisexuals have been fired from their jobs or denied housing. To ensure their basic civil rights, bisexuals are seeking equal protection under the law. Without ENDA, bisexuals can and will face discrimination, despite Senator Nickles' belief that this should not happen. 

Rhetoric: Bisexuality is not the moral equivalent of heterosexuality. 

Sen. Trent Lott:[ENDA debate] (September 10, 1996) 

ENDA, in my opinion, is part of a larger attempt to equate, by law, what the bill itself calls, in the language of the bill, 'homosexuality, bisexuality, or heterosexuality'...ENDA would mean that ethical and religious objections to homosexual or bisexual conduct would have to be pushed aside or closeted...Mr. President, ENDA equates homosexuality or bisexuality with heterosexuality, but the American people have never regarded homosexuality or bisexuality as the moral or legal equivalent of heterosexuality, whether in the workplace or not... Today we will vote on ENDA, a bill that will tell every employer in America that homosexuality and bisexuality must at all times and in all workplaces must be irrelevant...The Congress and the President have told the Pentagon that homosexuality is contrary to good order or her own moral judgment, homosexuality and bisexuality are just another orientation that Congress has decreed to be irrelevant?

Reality: Continuing to legalize discrimination against bisexuals, and justifying that discrimination as merely a moral response, violates the separation of church and state. 

If sexual orientation diversity disrupts order in the workplace or in the military, that is because people are responding to their own discomfort, fear or hatred of that which is different. There is no inherent disruptive factor tied to bisexuality. Bisexuals contribute as much as heterosexuals to the functioning of our social, political and economic life in America. Moral judgments against bisexuals by heterosexuals are most often driven by religious beliefs. Codifying these religious beliefs in law, violates our Constitution. 
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