Bisexual Coming Out Growth

I already know being bisexual is fabulous but it is always  nice to see bisexuality being studied as a positive phenomenon. A newly released research study shows that growth and happiness after coming out as bisexual has several common themes. Researchers Jenna M. Brownfield, Chris Brown, Sathya Baanu Jeevanba, and Sarah B. VanMattson in “ More than simply getting bi: Coming out growth for bisexual individuals “ published in Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity highlight some of the positive changes that occur after coming out as bisexual.

They found “noticeable positive changes within oneself, in relation with others, and in society” Of course I knew that coming out can be a positive experience because that was my experience but it is really nice to see some research that looks at some of the aspects of this coming out growth. There are so many studies about the negative effects of living as bisexual in a society that does not accept and understand variations in sexual orientation and gender diversity that it is easy to overlook the positive growth that can occur. Of course Brown et al found that the coming out growth was not without challenges and their interviews highlighted that ones positive experience was affected by “ one’s cultural environment, their resources, and their experiences of discrimination.” This goes back to other studies that show coming out is good for you only if its good for you.

One of the benefits to studying a population is you can identify patterns and processes that make up the phenomenon. Brownfield et al interviewed 13 subjects including myself and identified several shared factors that contribute to coming out growth. Through my years of informal study of bisexuality I was pleased to find validation of the importance of role models. In other words we desperately need to know we are not alone, that there are other bisexuals out there living happy lives. As one mid 60’s person said to me “Mark you are the first bisexual I have ever known. “ The study validated that a positive counseling experience can contribute to a positive coming out growth experience so we definitely need more training of the counseling profession on the positive aspects of bisexual sexual orientation . A valuable aspect of this study is it helps move the coming out process away from trauma and crises and moves it to this is an opportunity for positive growth including as Brownfield et al point out they found patterns of intrapersonal growth, interpersonal growth and critical consciousness. Another common coming out growth opportunity is more involvement in bi communities and activism. In other words by coming out, we serve as a role model which gets others to join us which improves visibility which makes others see the positive nature then they say I want that and it becomes an ever increasing circle of happier bisexuals.

I am very grateful for Jenna Brownfield and her research teams efforts in highlighting the positive aspects of coming out as bisexual , the article is a valuable contribution towards understanding the positive aspects of the bisexual coming out experience. I always hesitate to make posts that refer to studies that cost money to view but I feel this is an important one to at least make our community aware of another positive view of being bisexual.

References

Brownfield, J. M., Brown, C., Jeevanba, S. B., & VanMattson, S. B. (2018). More than simply getting bi: Coming out growth for bisexual individuals. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 5(2), 220-232. doi:10.1037/sgd0000282
The journal article can be purchased here http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000282

 

Bisexual.org has a great writeup on this study here:

https://bisexual.org/study-shows-benefits-of-coming-out-bi/