Abstract
In the present day, many societal beliefs and ideas are cultivated through mass media messaging. This study aims to examine mass media’s representation of bisexual women, specifically in pornography, and how those ideas lead to harmful stereotypes. Television show characters and song lyrics depicting bisexual women were examined using cultivation theory. Analysis found much of the representation involving force or coercion, indecisiveness, hypersexuality, and group sex. Pornography is an integral space for people to explore their sexualities. However, bisexual videos tend to only depict hypersexual or violent fantasies. With over 80,000 people logging onto PornHub each minute, negative stereotypes of bisexual women can lead to lasting impacts. Bisexual women are more likely to experience biphobia, bi-erasure, and gendered violence than straight and lesbian women.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Pappas, S.
(2025).
You Can't Be Kind of a Lesbian: Mass Media's Representation of Bisexual Woman.
Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal, 48(1).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56816/2471-0032.1181
Included in
Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Mass Communication Commons
