Bisexual Men’s Constructions of Sexuality and Gender: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis

Bisexuality is often erased within discourse which perpetuates monosexism and hegemonic masculinity. Bisexual men, in particular, are underrepresented in both sexuality and discursive research. This study explores how cisgender and gender-diverse, publicly and privately bisexual men in the United Kingdom constructed their gender and sexual identities through discourse. Sixteen participants completed semi-structured interviews, with eight also taking part in focus groups. Accounts were analyzed using Foucauldian Discourse Analysis. Five discourses were identified. Dichotomized Sexuality discourse and Gender as Hierarchical discourse reflected dominant monosexism and hegemonic masculinity, constructing bisexuality as divided and unintelligible or subordinate. Neoliberal Authenticity discourse was utilized in attempts to construct resistance to erasure through individualism, without fully addressing the structural conditions shaping erasure and marginalization. Less frequently, Collective Nonconformity discourse, used more by gender-diverse participants, enabled accounts of belonging through shared non-normative positioning, whilst Personal Fluidity discourse allowed more flexible constructions of self. Findings suggest that bisexual men’s accounts of themselves are shaped by intersecting regimes of monosexism, hegemonic masculinity, and neoliberalism, where attempts at authentic self-definition may reproduce the conditions of marginalization they seek to challenge