BRITISH BISEXUALITY: A SNAPSHOT OF BISEXUAL REPRESENTATIONS AND IDENTITIES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

This article summarizes the state of bisexuality in the United Kingdom today. First the authors provide an overview of the United Kingdom Bisexual Conference (BiCon) and the studies conducted at the Conference by the Bisexual Research Group in the summer of 2004. Then they provide an in-depth examination of the representations of bisexuality in the British media to give a picture of the prevailing context in which U.K. bisexuals live. Following this they present the results of the two pieces of research: a survey questionnaire and a focus group discussion. The purpose of this research was to produce a report by and for the U.K. bisexual community on the kind of people who attend this BiCon and their understandings and experiences of bisexuality. Specifically they focus on who constitutes the active bisexual community, how they identify themselves, and what bisexuality means to them in relation to the dominant societal perceptions of bisexuality exemplified in the mainstream media. The authors conclude with some reflections on the U.K. bisexual dcommunity today and the possibilities and pitfalls in embarking on such research in this area.