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Bi: Bisexual, Pansexual, Fluid, and Genderqueer Youth
What bisexual youth can tell us about today’s gender and sexual identities
Despite the increasing visibility of LGBTQ people in American culture, our understanding of bisexuality—perhaps one of the least visible sexual orientations—remains superficial at best. Yet five times as many people identify as bisexual than as gay or lesbian, and, if we were to include the many bisexual people who remain hidden from sight, including those who simultaneously identify as pansexual, fluid, genderqueer, and no label, as much as 25 percent of the population is estimated to be bisexual.
In Bi, Ritch C. Savin-Williams brings bisexuality out of the shadows, particularly as Gen Z and millennial youth and young adults increasingly reject traditional sexual labels altogether. Drawing on interviews with bisexual youth from a range of racial, ethnic, and social class groups, he reveals to us how bisexuals define their own sexual orientation and experiences—in their own words. Savin-Williams shows how and why people might identify as bisexual as a result of their biology or upbringing; as a bridge or transition to something else; as a consequence of their curiosity; or for a range of other equally valid reasons.
Savin-Williams provides an important new understanding of bisexuality as an orientation, behavior, and identity. Bi shows us that bisexuality is seen and embraced as a valid sexual identity more than ever before, giving us timely and much-needed insight into the complex, fascinating experiences of bisexual youth themselves.
Despite the increasing visibility of LGBTQ people in American culture, our understanding of bisexuality—perhaps one of the least visible sexual orientations—remains superficial at best. Yet five times as many people identify as bisexual than as gay or lesbian, and, if we were to include the many bisexual people who remain hidden from sight, including those who simultaneously identify as pansexual, fluid, genderqueer, and no label, as much as 25 percent of the population is estimated to be bisexual.
In Bi, Ritch C. Savin-Williams brings bisexuality out of the shadows, particularly as Gen Z and millennial youth and young adults increasingly reject traditional sexual labels altogether. Drawing on interviews with bisexual youth from a range of racial, ethnic, and social class groups, he reveals to us how bisexuals define their own sexual orientation and experiences—in their own words. Savin-Williams shows how and why people might identify as bisexual as a result of their biology or upbringing; as a bridge or transition to something else; as a consequence of their curiosity; or for a range of other equally valid reasons.
Savin-Williams provides an important new understanding of bisexuality as an orientation, behavior, and identity. Bi shows us that bisexuality is seen and embraced as a valid sexual identity more than ever before, giving us timely and much-needed insight into the complex, fascinating experiences of bisexual youth themselves.
328 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 21, 2021
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August 6, 2023
Support Isaac! watch Heartstopper season 2 and read along on his journey into asexuality/aromantic selfhood.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: I'm not sure that the author is clear on some things that strongly impact the efficacy of this read. It seems, at some points, as though Author Savin-Williams is using "genderqueer" as a sexual orientation; at others, he clearly shows that he understands this (and nonbinary) are genders which might or might not impact another person's sexual interest in the person whose gender is expressed that way. Also, bisexuality is treated as a binary of sex, not in any way impacted by gender expression. I do not think this is the case, or at least it hasn't been in my own experience.
These are not small matters. But, in reading the case studies and interviews of young people who identify in many and various ways, these aren't issues on which they experience any doubt or confusion. I suppose this is understandable, as the author's prose isn't hugely dry or eye-wateringly dense; it is, nonetheless, presenting the author's understanding of the topic. That can get tangled in a reader's mind unless the very greatest possible care is taken to express distinctions with an absolute minimum of ambiguity. This editorial care felt inadequate to this reader, admittedly quite old and joyously binary. I might simply have missed something.
I asked for this DRC because I wanted a book to share with my grands. I was hoping, because it's focused on the youth of the twenty-first century, that it would be readable by those youth. It's not a great choice, I'm sad to say. I wouldn't give it to any of them, especially not my transmasc grandchild, because too often I felt Savin-Williams was dismissing the profiled person's self-definition by bringing all focus off gender and placing the emphasis on biological sex.
A completely-outside-the-author's-control cavil is that the DRC is a BEAR to navigate. I am entirely sure this is an issue with the vile, satanic PDF interfacing with my Kindle, but it required me to do a lot of fancy footwork to follow along as people were interviewed, or as points were made, and they happened to coincide with a page break. I'm not willing to ignore the issues but I've taken extra care to think about my rating of 3* of five very carefully. Am I blaming the story for the book's issues? Hence those three shiny stars when I started out with two.
All in all, I felt more disappointment due to my desired focus being unavailable in this project than I did with every other presentation issue. The author and/or publisher's title gave me to understand that all the identities listed in the subtitle would be more than touched on, and the groups mentioned would be the audience as well as the topic. I was incorrect in my assumption. The groups of young people were not, in my observation, treated with the respect they earned by taking part in the various studies. People, of all ages, are who they say they are; and lumping everyone from an enby/aro person to a cisqueer woman as "bisexual" did nothing for inclusion. It fostered confusion, and it did so avoidably.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.
My Review: I'm not sure that the author is clear on some things that strongly impact the efficacy of this read. It seems, at some points, as though Author Savin-Williams is using "genderqueer" as a sexual orientation; at others, he clearly shows that he understands this (and nonbinary) are genders which might or might not impact another person's sexual interest in the person whose gender is expressed that way. Also, bisexuality is treated as a binary of sex, not in any way impacted by gender expression. I do not think this is the case, or at least it hasn't been in my own experience.
These are not small matters. But, in reading the case studies and interviews of young people who identify in many and various ways, these aren't issues on which they experience any doubt or confusion. I suppose this is understandable, as the author's prose isn't hugely dry or eye-wateringly dense; it is, nonetheless, presenting the author's understanding of the topic. That can get tangled in a reader's mind unless the very greatest possible care is taken to express distinctions with an absolute minimum of ambiguity. This editorial care felt inadequate to this reader, admittedly quite old and joyously binary. I might simply have missed something.
I asked for this DRC because I wanted a book to share with my grands. I was hoping, because it's focused on the youth of the twenty-first century, that it would be readable by those youth. It's not a great choice, I'm sad to say. I wouldn't give it to any of them, especially not my transmasc grandchild, because too often I felt Savin-Williams was dismissing the profiled person's self-definition by bringing all focus off gender and placing the emphasis on biological sex.
A completely-outside-the-author's-control cavil is that the DRC is a BEAR to navigate. I am entirely sure this is an issue with the vile, satanic PDF interfacing with my Kindle, but it required me to do a lot of fancy footwork to follow along as people were interviewed, or as points were made, and they happened to coincide with a page break. I'm not willing to ignore the issues but I've taken extra care to think about my rating of 3* of five very carefully. Am I blaming the story for the book's issues? Hence those three shiny stars when I started out with two.
All in all, I felt more disappointment due to my desired focus being unavailable in this project than I did with every other presentation issue. The author and/or publisher's title gave me to understand that all the identities listed in the subtitle would be more than touched on, and the groups mentioned would be the audience as well as the topic. I was incorrect in my assumption. The groups of young people were not, in my observation, treated with the respect they earned by taking part in the various studies. People, of all ages, are who they say they are; and lumping everyone from an enby/aro person to a cisqueer woman as "bisexual" did nothing for inclusion. It fostered confusion, and it did so avoidably.
June 10, 2021
Note: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this work.
I have to be honest when I say I did not enjoy this book. In fact, there were a number of discussions that felt incorrect and, in some instances, a bit on the dangerous side. I'm bi and an academic (among many other things), so I went into this looking for an interesting and researched take on the subject matter. While parts of the book offer this, it's littered with a binary-reinforcing idea of bisexuals, which is frustrating because there are also bright instances where the author really seems to be on the accurate path.
There are a number of times that the author conflates "genderqueer" with a sexuality (it isn't, it is a gender), though then goes on to discuss genderqueer as a gender later on in the book. The author also tends to, when talking about bisexual individuals, draw a hard line between men and women, and writes as if bisexuals are only interested in the two of them, which is frustrating because the title of the book, "Bi," makes it feel as if bi, pan, genderqueer, and nonbinary people are all being lumped under that umbrella. Considering bi and pan are sexual orientations, while nonbinary and genderqueer/fluid are genders (though fluid could also be applied to sexuality), this feels needlessly confusing. Yes, there are definitely points where the author gets things right, but they're eclipsed (in my opinion, at least) by other confusing and reductive issues in the book. I suppose if this is one of many books one might be reading about the topics, then it might be useful, but overall I wouldn't recommend it. It isn't for me.
I have to be honest when I say I did not enjoy this book. In fact, there were a number of discussions that felt incorrect and, in some instances, a bit on the dangerous side. I'm bi and an academic (among many other things), so I went into this looking for an interesting and researched take on the subject matter. While parts of the book offer this, it's littered with a binary-reinforcing idea of bisexuals, which is frustrating because there are also bright instances where the author really seems to be on the accurate path.
There are a number of times that the author conflates "genderqueer" with a sexuality (it isn't, it is a gender), though then goes on to discuss genderqueer as a gender later on in the book. The author also tends to, when talking about bisexual individuals, draw a hard line between men and women, and writes as if bisexuals are only interested in the two of them, which is frustrating because the title of the book, "Bi," makes it feel as if bi, pan, genderqueer, and nonbinary people are all being lumped under that umbrella. Considering bi and pan are sexual orientations, while nonbinary and genderqueer/fluid are genders (though fluid could also be applied to sexuality), this feels needlessly confusing. Yes, there are definitely points where the author gets things right, but they're eclipsed (in my opinion, at least) by other confusing and reductive issues in the book. I suppose if this is one of many books one might be reading about the topics, then it might be useful, but overall I wouldn't recommend it. It isn't for me.
September 11, 2021
This book didn’t work for me. It’s very ambitious and I appreciated the individual case studies, but the author interpretation was overbearing at times. For example, in the pansexual chapter, the author insisted that one of the subjects surveyed wasn’t a “pure” pansexual because he had a stronger attraction to males. There can be preferences within a sexual orientation especially one such as pansexuality which focuses on people as a whole rather than their parts.
The focus on attraction to sex rather than gender was also disconcerting, and it seemed that people were classified as physical beings only rather than being inclusive of gender. Non-binary and other genders were given some consideration but in a separate section of the book. In my opinion, bisexuality isn’t about simply being attracted to only men and women but can also include non-binary people.
I appreciated some references to asexuality and romantic attraction, and the case studies themselves made for an interesting read. Overall this book felt rigid in its definitions of sexuality and gender, which was disappointing because there were so many case examples of how sexuality and gender are on a spectrum rather than categorized.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.
The focus on attraction to sex rather than gender was also disconcerting, and it seemed that people were classified as physical beings only rather than being inclusive of gender. Non-binary and other genders were given some consideration but in a separate section of the book. In my opinion, bisexuality isn’t about simply being attracted to only men and women but can also include non-binary people.
I appreciated some references to asexuality and romantic attraction, and the case studies themselves made for an interesting read. Overall this book felt rigid in its definitions of sexuality and gender, which was disappointing because there were so many case examples of how sexuality and gender are on a spectrum rather than categorized.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.
October 26, 2021
Rating 2.5 stars (rounded up for Goodreads).
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.
This text has some really good points hidden between the pages, but my god was it painful to read. It wasn't sure whether it wanted to read like a book or a research paper, though it was certainly marketed as a book. I found myself tempted to skim entire sections as my attention waned constantly besides wanting to actually know the information it contained. Points were also relentlessly repeated and I found myself saying out loud "I know! You've already told me!" towards the end. The organization was also very scattered and I felt the transitions to be quite jarring.
However, the main over-arching points I got from this text were good; emphasis on bisexuality as a spectrum and analyses of how current research is insufficient in it's acknowledgement of this spectrum (therefore breeding flawed data), and the need to listen to those having these lived experiences in order to understand the breadth of the label itself.
My favorite takeaway was that it is key to separate romantic and sexual attraction in order to fully grasp bisexuality in its nuances. One can be romantically attracted to one sex/gender while feeling more sexually attracted to another, and this is a common misconception I see from those who aren't in the community.
I would also refer to this if I want to delve deeper into any area of research mentioned here as the citations were very solid.
TL;DR- Was this an enjoyable reading experience? Not in the slightest. Is the content good? Yes, if you can parse through it.
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.
This text has some really good points hidden between the pages, but my god was it painful to read. It wasn't sure whether it wanted to read like a book or a research paper, though it was certainly marketed as a book. I found myself tempted to skim entire sections as my attention waned constantly besides wanting to actually know the information it contained. Points were also relentlessly repeated and I found myself saying out loud "I know! You've already told me!" towards the end. The organization was also very scattered and I felt the transitions to be quite jarring.
However, the main over-arching points I got from this text were good; emphasis on bisexuality as a spectrum and analyses of how current research is insufficient in it's acknowledgement of this spectrum (therefore breeding flawed data), and the need to listen to those having these lived experiences in order to understand the breadth of the label itself.
My favorite takeaway was that it is key to separate romantic and sexual attraction in order to fully grasp bisexuality in its nuances. One can be romantically attracted to one sex/gender while feeling more sexually attracted to another, and this is a common misconception I see from those who aren't in the community.
I would also refer to this if I want to delve deeper into any area of research mentioned here as the citations were very solid.
TL;DR- Was this an enjoyable reading experience? Not in the slightest. Is the content good? Yes, if you can parse through it.
April 25, 2021
Good book to read if you are a newbie who wants to explore more of sexual orientation but if you already know all of what is mentioned in the book, it might be boring for you. I would’ve liked to see real case studies of different people on their experiences. That’s just me but fairplay to the author for doing this book!
Thanks Netgalley and publisher for giving me the chance to read this book!
Thanks Netgalley and publisher for giving me the chance to read this book!
October 26, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy to review.
Representation: It's all right there in the title!
Bisexuality and the many similar sexualities are still very unknown about, heavily stigmatized, and frequently erased by data. The author interviews many Millennials and Gen Zers across racial groups, ethnicities, and social classes that identify as bisexual to find out how the younger generations define bisexuality, rejecting the traditional definition, or otherwise choosing to not identify as straight or gay/lesbian.
Rating: 2.5/5 I really, really wanted to like this book, but for me, it's simply... Fine. Not fantastic, but not awful either. I wouldn't recommend this for people who want to learn about bisexuality and the multitudes of similar identities, especially people who are completely clueless. I'll be referring to these sexualities as m-spec from now on. For those who don't know, m-spec is short for multisexual spectrum. This is intended as an umbrella term to include anybody who is attracted to more than one gender. The entire time I was reading this, I was bothered by the rigid definitions and language use in this. While Savin-Williams did briefly touch on trans and nonbinary people, he constantly wrote in binaries, reinforcing the idea that bisexual people are attracted to only men and women, which isn't accurate. This was despite the author saying at several points that m-spec people aren't strictly limited to one gender, and I felt like many times he wasn't considering the identities outside of bisexual. He did say that he was using it as an umbrella term, but the way he used language tells me that's not the case. Also, if you noticed, the title also has genderqueer in it. This is confusing, because genderqueer is a gender identity, not a sexuality. Reading through this, I felt like the author was often conflating gender with sexuality or just being very reductive, making it more confusing for people who aren't familiar with these identities. I did like the case studies, the individual interviews with people and about their personal experience of attraction. However, the author kept putting his own interpretations on it, and sometimes he was kind of invalidating the person's own definition. He was also very focused on *sex* rather than gender, which is a whole other thing. I haven't mentioned it yet, because I wanted my review to stand on its own first. Savin-Williams, as far as I can tell, is an older white man. I don't know how he identifies, but he has done a lot of work with the queer community, which I do appreciate. Despite that, based on his previous work, I can see that Savin-Williams approaches a lot of this from a very scientific and psychological perspective, and not a socio-cultural one. I think that's where he's gone wrong writing this book, because a lot of this is not easily defined by science and psychology. So unfortunately, I can't recommend this book at all.
Representation: It's all right there in the title!
Bisexuality and the many similar sexualities are still very unknown about, heavily stigmatized, and frequently erased by data. The author interviews many Millennials and Gen Zers across racial groups, ethnicities, and social classes that identify as bisexual to find out how the younger generations define bisexuality, rejecting the traditional definition, or otherwise choosing to not identify as straight or gay/lesbian.
Rating: 2.5/5 I really, really wanted to like this book, but for me, it's simply... Fine. Not fantastic, but not awful either. I wouldn't recommend this for people who want to learn about bisexuality and the multitudes of similar identities, especially people who are completely clueless. I'll be referring to these sexualities as m-spec from now on. For those who don't know, m-spec is short for multisexual spectrum. This is intended as an umbrella term to include anybody who is attracted to more than one gender. The entire time I was reading this, I was bothered by the rigid definitions and language use in this. While Savin-Williams did briefly touch on trans and nonbinary people, he constantly wrote in binaries, reinforcing the idea that bisexual people are attracted to only men and women, which isn't accurate. This was despite the author saying at several points that m-spec people aren't strictly limited to one gender, and I felt like many times he wasn't considering the identities outside of bisexual. He did say that he was using it as an umbrella term, but the way he used language tells me that's not the case. Also, if you noticed, the title also has genderqueer in it. This is confusing, because genderqueer is a gender identity, not a sexuality. Reading through this, I felt like the author was often conflating gender with sexuality or just being very reductive, making it more confusing for people who aren't familiar with these identities. I did like the case studies, the individual interviews with people and about their personal experience of attraction. However, the author kept putting his own interpretations on it, and sometimes he was kind of invalidating the person's own definition. He was also very focused on *sex* rather than gender, which is a whole other thing. I haven't mentioned it yet, because I wanted my review to stand on its own first. Savin-Williams, as far as I can tell, is an older white man. I don't know how he identifies, but he has done a lot of work with the queer community, which I do appreciate. Despite that, based on his previous work, I can see that Savin-Williams approaches a lot of this from a very scientific and psychological perspective, and not a socio-cultural one. I think that's where he's gone wrong writing this book, because a lot of this is not easily defined by science and psychology. So unfortunately, I can't recommend this book at all.
May 1, 2021
Bi by Ritch C. Savin-Williams is an interesting read. For newbies wanting to understand LGBT terminology, this book offers such explanations; however, it also looks at how society and science approach bisexuality, pansexuality etc. and comments on the lack of reliable data from surveys and the erasure of anything but the three key 'positions' of straight, gay and lesbian. The book includes excerpts from interviews with young people from diverse backgrounds who identify in some manner as bisexual, and it is fascinating to see how different people categorise their experiences and self-identify in different terms, especially for someone like me who has long questioned my own sexuality and gender expression. If you are keen to understand more about bisexuality and the many ways it can be expressed and understood, this is a book worth reading as it offers a non-judgmental review of various current views on the topic.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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August 18, 2021*Note: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this work.*
Let's get to the point: the intention was great, however the execution not so much.
Bi: Bisexual, Pansexual, Fluid and Genderqueer Youth (soon enough known as simply Bi because damn this title is long) is an interesting read. Not going to lie, it has its ups and downs - some moments I wanted to through my phone across the room because that would actually make it more exciting, but some other moments I would be learning and relearning actual concepts and ideas. It's interesting, but not all the way, not... enough (at least for me).
There's a couple things I liked, nevertheless I thought they should have been layed out differently. The interviews were great. I loved to hear people's stories. As a bisexual individual myself, I absolutely adored hearing people be themselves, discovering themselves and eventually loving themselves. It brought me so much joy, and sometimes it even tears. There's nothing greater than learning though people's own experiences and lives. Besides that, I also enjoyed the overall choice of topics, and really think someone new to this whole "queer thing" might be the ideal reader for this book.
On a more negative note, this book misuses the term 'genderqueer' a couple of times (it's not a sexuality, it's a gender identity like the name obviously says). That's a huge issue since a book that discusses gender expression, identity, and fluidity should (at least) get the terms right. Undeniably, language, and terminology in the queer community is constantly changing which makes it challenging to write a book on this topic, and even harder to make it stay up to date and correctly address the theme. On the matter of change, it's also incorrect to assume that bisexuality simply means being attracted to men and woman. It's not. It's being attracted to more than one gender. I don't think a book about both bisexuality, and pansexuality should make that mistake.
Personally, as a biromantic asexual, it troubled me that the book focused so much on sex. Even though it gently touched on the difference of being romantically attracted to someone, and being sexually attracted, it was not enough. Maybe it's my ace brain thinking but I don't think sex should be that big of a deal (that's just me ??? okay, i'll shut up then).
On a different note, the format of the ebook was all over the place and needs to be rethought. There were no separations from chapter to chapter and the quotations weren't properly emphasized. It was a mess but with an easy fix.
All in all, I do think this is not an awful book but one that needs a little shaping. It brings great conversations to the table, and many teachings to a younger, unexperienced reader.
Let's get to the point: the intention was great, however the execution not so much.
Bi: Bisexual, Pansexual, Fluid and Genderqueer Youth (soon enough known as simply Bi because damn this title is long) is an interesting read. Not going to lie, it has its ups and downs - some moments I wanted to through my phone across the room because that would actually make it more exciting, but some other moments I would be learning and relearning actual concepts and ideas. It's interesting, but not all the way, not... enough (at least for me).
There's a couple things I liked, nevertheless I thought they should have been layed out differently. The interviews were great. I loved to hear people's stories. As a bisexual individual myself, I absolutely adored hearing people be themselves, discovering themselves and eventually loving themselves. It brought me so much joy, and sometimes it even tears. There's nothing greater than learning though people's own experiences and lives. Besides that, I also enjoyed the overall choice of topics, and really think someone new to this whole "queer thing" might be the ideal reader for this book.
On a more negative note, this book misuses the term 'genderqueer' a couple of times (it's not a sexuality, it's a gender identity like the name obviously says). That's a huge issue since a book that discusses gender expression, identity, and fluidity should (at least) get the terms right. Undeniably, language, and terminology in the queer community is constantly changing which makes it challenging to write a book on this topic, and even harder to make it stay up to date and correctly address the theme. On the matter of change, it's also incorrect to assume that bisexuality simply means being attracted to men and woman. It's not. It's being attracted to more than one gender. I don't think a book about both bisexuality, and pansexuality should make that mistake.
Personally, as a biromantic asexual, it troubled me that the book focused so much on sex. Even though it gently touched on the difference of being romantically attracted to someone, and being sexually attracted, it was not enough. Maybe it's my ace brain thinking but I don't think sex should be that big of a deal (that's just me ??? okay, i'll shut up then).
On a different note, the format of the ebook was all over the place and needs to be rethought. There were no separations from chapter to chapter and the quotations weren't properly emphasized. It was a mess but with an easy fix.
All in all, I do think this is not an awful book but one that needs a little shaping. It brings great conversations to the table, and many teachings to a younger, unexperienced reader.
September 18, 2021
Have you ever read a book and thought, "I could have written that and it probably would have been better"? Well, that's how I felt while I was reading this one.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
I do believe that Ritch C. Savin-Williams set out with good intentions. He wanted to write a really in-depth book about a frequently-overlooked demographic. He did a lot of research. He interviewed a lot of young people who are attracted to multiple genders. He wrote almost 300 pages of very in-depth discussions about bisexuality. So why did it fail so spectacularly?
Usually, when I don't like a book, it's for one of two reasons: it wasn't to my personal taste or I wasn't the intended audience. But I struggled to determine who WAS supposed to be the intended audience for this book. It's too academic to be useful to young people who might be questioning their sexualities. It wouldn't be a helpful resource to the parents and teachers of those young people. And it's not saying anything fresh or original enough to be valuable to other academics. It's certainly not aimed at me, a college-educated bisexual person: the word "we" is consistently used to refer to the collective of people who are not bisexual (as defined by this author).
The author makes a lot of fundamental missteps here that indicate to me that he doesn't actually understand what he's talking about. He includes identities like trans* and nonbinary under the bisexual (or rather bi+ or m-spec) umbrella and in fact continually treats gender identities as sexualities. The presence of the word "nonbinary" in the title does NOT mean that this book contains an examination of the ways in which nonbinary gender identities and m-spec sexualities interact with each other and the reasons why so many people identify as both nonbinary (or genderfluid, genderqueer, etc.) and bisexual (or pansexual, polysexual, fluid, etc.). No, the reason "nonbinary" is in the title is because the author genuinely believes that nonbinary gender identities are part of the larger bisexual (m-spec) umbrella.
There were so many missed opportunities in this book. I kept thinking to myself as I was reading, "If only the author would actually examine the ways in which race and culture impact bi+ identity, taking into account factors such as colonialism. If only the author actually knew the definitions of the words that he's using and didn't lump in every single identity that's not straight, gay, or lesbian (or rather, according to this book, "heterosexual" and "homosexual") under the umbrella label of "bisexual." If only he acknowledged that the term "two-spirit" is its own umbrella that is exclusive to Native communities and not some new-fangled Gen Z gender label. If only the interview questions had been better, more complex, more focused on community and socialization and systemic power structures and less on biology and sexual activity. If only the author had demonstrated a knowledge of the history behind the labels he was discussing instead of claiming that nearly all of them (including things like political lesbianism, which dates back to the 1960s) are new things invented by today's youth."
Maybe this book will be useful to someone, but I cannot imagine who that person would be. If you don't already know about the wealth of experiences within the LGBTQ+ community, this book is a very bad place to start as it is confusing and full of incorrect information. If you're already more familiar with LGBTQ+ issues and you want to read an academic text that explores those experiences in-depth (as I did), you will likely be bothered by the lack of awareness of basic gender and sexuality concepts (as I was).
I probably would have found slightly more value in this book if I were a developmental psychologist, like the author is, but even then, I don't think I would have appreciated the author's methods. I really didn't need to keep hearing about every single interviewee's "first adolescent sexual experience." And because the book attempts to delve into other fields, such as gender studies and sociology, I feel more than qualified to say that it does not successfully accomplish what it tried to do.
I feel sorry for the young people who were interviewed for this book. I don't feel like their stories were done justice.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
I do believe that Ritch C. Savin-Williams set out with good intentions. He wanted to write a really in-depth book about a frequently-overlooked demographic. He did a lot of research. He interviewed a lot of young people who are attracted to multiple genders. He wrote almost 300 pages of very in-depth discussions about bisexuality. So why did it fail so spectacularly?
Usually, when I don't like a book, it's for one of two reasons: it wasn't to my personal taste or I wasn't the intended audience. But I struggled to determine who WAS supposed to be the intended audience for this book. It's too academic to be useful to young people who might be questioning their sexualities. It wouldn't be a helpful resource to the parents and teachers of those young people. And it's not saying anything fresh or original enough to be valuable to other academics. It's certainly not aimed at me, a college-educated bisexual person: the word "we" is consistently used to refer to the collective of people who are not bisexual (as defined by this author).
The author makes a lot of fundamental missteps here that indicate to me that he doesn't actually understand what he's talking about. He includes identities like trans* and nonbinary under the bisexual (or rather bi+ or m-spec) umbrella and in fact continually treats gender identities as sexualities. The presence of the word "nonbinary" in the title does NOT mean that this book contains an examination of the ways in which nonbinary gender identities and m-spec sexualities interact with each other and the reasons why so many people identify as both nonbinary (or genderfluid, genderqueer, etc.) and bisexual (or pansexual, polysexual, fluid, etc.). No, the reason "nonbinary" is in the title is because the author genuinely believes that nonbinary gender identities are part of the larger bisexual (m-spec) umbrella.
There were so many missed opportunities in this book. I kept thinking to myself as I was reading, "If only the author would actually examine the ways in which race and culture impact bi+ identity, taking into account factors such as colonialism. If only the author actually knew the definitions of the words that he's using and didn't lump in every single identity that's not straight, gay, or lesbian (or rather, according to this book, "heterosexual" and "homosexual") under the umbrella label of "bisexual." If only he acknowledged that the term "two-spirit" is its own umbrella that is exclusive to Native communities and not some new-fangled Gen Z gender label. If only the interview questions had been better, more complex, more focused on community and socialization and systemic power structures and less on biology and sexual activity. If only the author had demonstrated a knowledge of the history behind the labels he was discussing instead of claiming that nearly all of them (including things like political lesbianism, which dates back to the 1960s) are new things invented by today's youth."
Maybe this book will be useful to someone, but I cannot imagine who that person would be. If you don't already know about the wealth of experiences within the LGBTQ+ community, this book is a very bad place to start as it is confusing and full of incorrect information. If you're already more familiar with LGBTQ+ issues and you want to read an academic text that explores those experiences in-depth (as I did), you will likely be bothered by the lack of awareness of basic gender and sexuality concepts (as I was).
I probably would have found slightly more value in this book if I were a developmental psychologist, like the author is, but even then, I don't think I would have appreciated the author's methods. I really didn't need to keep hearing about every single interviewee's "first adolescent sexual experience." And because the book attempts to delve into other fields, such as gender studies and sociology, I feel more than qualified to say that it does not successfully accomplish what it tried to do.
I feel sorry for the young people who were interviewed for this book. I don't feel like their stories were done justice.
September 26, 2021
**Note: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this work. **
I was very intrigued by the synopsis of this book and was interested to see what a book sort of critically assessing the state of bisexuality based on what bi youth have to say. I also just appreciate that the author wrote a book dedicated to understanding bisexuality at all, which seems underrepresented despite the high percentage of people that identify this or similar ways.
There is a lot to like about the way this book tackles the subject of bisexuality. The first is that Savin-Williams goes straight(lol) to the source by interviewing people who identify as some form of multi-attracted individual. He presents their stories in their own words, and presents their way of identification as they present it to him. Rather than place his own understanding on their experiences, he allows for all sorts of responses, both typical and atypical, without judgement.
Another thing I liked is that the author acknowledges that many of his subjects are past the point of being interested in labeling how they view their gender and sexuality experiences. While stating and accepting this assessment of social and personal understanding, he addresses how institutions of learning, statistics, medicine, etc. still do make these distinctions, and often simplify them to a point that under-represents a significant portion of the population, especially the younger generations. One of the things he seems to be doing is advocating for listening to the youth's experiences without preconceived expectations, and when needing to assess these aspects at all, doing so in a more inclusive way.
Lastly, something that I appreciate to no end is that a solid 20% of this book is dedicated to notes, acknowledgments, appendixes, etc. which lends confidence and authority to his writing. It tells me that this is not just opinion-based, but that a lot of research and work went into creating this book.
This book is very readable and offers a valuable perspective on bisexuality. It is a solid piece of non-fiction research and I would recommend it for both academic and public libraries.
I was very intrigued by the synopsis of this book and was interested to see what a book sort of critically assessing the state of bisexuality based on what bi youth have to say. I also just appreciate that the author wrote a book dedicated to understanding bisexuality at all, which seems underrepresented despite the high percentage of people that identify this or similar ways.
There is a lot to like about the way this book tackles the subject of bisexuality. The first is that Savin-Williams goes straight(lol) to the source by interviewing people who identify as some form of multi-attracted individual. He presents their stories in their own words, and presents their way of identification as they present it to him. Rather than place his own understanding on their experiences, he allows for all sorts of responses, both typical and atypical, without judgement.
Another thing I liked is that the author acknowledges that many of his subjects are past the point of being interested in labeling how they view their gender and sexuality experiences. While stating and accepting this assessment of social and personal understanding, he addresses how institutions of learning, statistics, medicine, etc. still do make these distinctions, and often simplify them to a point that under-represents a significant portion of the population, especially the younger generations. One of the things he seems to be doing is advocating for listening to the youth's experiences without preconceived expectations, and when needing to assess these aspects at all, doing so in a more inclusive way.
Lastly, something that I appreciate to no end is that a solid 20% of this book is dedicated to notes, acknowledgments, appendixes, etc. which lends confidence and authority to his writing. It tells me that this is not just opinion-based, but that a lot of research and work went into creating this book.
This book is very readable and offers a valuable perspective on bisexuality. It is a solid piece of non-fiction research and I would recommend it for both academic and public libraries.
December 16, 2021
2,25 stars
i was very disappointed in this... had big expectations
I think this book would work okay as a reference (for someone in the field study). Even if you’re interested in the subject I’m not sure I would recommend it – but there isn’t much more out there… I wouldn’t recommend this as a starting point if you’ve never read about lgbtq+ concepts/theory/etc – you need to have basis as things get complicated here.
Positives:
This book pools data from many sources, both in reference and in the interviews done by the author, so it could be a good reference point for people working/studying in the area.
i wasn't a big fan of the interviews: it was interesting to see different perspectives but, on the other hand, very little of what i read felt representative of the messages that the bi+ community wants to communicate. I understand this might not have been the objective, but with this title, I believe most people will pick it up searching for that.
Negatives:
Most negatives are things that stand out in a 2021 release, that is about a subset of the queer community, by an ownvoices author...
- worst negative: wrong definitions!! most obviously the definition of bisexuality (!) – it is attraction to more than one gender! Why would you get that wrong in a book titled bi?? (Also conflating gender identities with sexual orientations at times)
- maybe sources are to blame, but there was a big emphasis on sex (rather than gender). the writing oftentimes felt insensitive regarding sex/gender, to the point where i wondered if the text was trans-exclusionary. however, there was a good amount of discussion of non-binary people, which was very much appreciated.
- felt bizarre to read that only asexual people use -romantic labels. This simply isn’t true, from experience. Adds to the “listen to young people more” narrative though.
- the text read extremely academic.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.
i was very disappointed in this... had big expectations
I think this book would work okay as a reference (for someone in the field study). Even if you’re interested in the subject I’m not sure I would recommend it – but there isn’t much more out there… I wouldn’t recommend this as a starting point if you’ve never read about lgbtq+ concepts/theory/etc – you need to have basis as things get complicated here.
Positives:
This book pools data from many sources, both in reference and in the interviews done by the author, so it could be a good reference point for people working/studying in the area.
i wasn't a big fan of the interviews: it was interesting to see different perspectives but, on the other hand, very little of what i read felt representative of the messages that the bi+ community wants to communicate. I understand this might not have been the objective, but with this title, I believe most people will pick it up searching for that.
Negatives:
Most negatives are things that stand out in a 2021 release, that is about a subset of the queer community, by an ownvoices author...
- worst negative: wrong definitions!! most obviously the definition of bisexuality (!) – it is attraction to more than one gender! Why would you get that wrong in a book titled bi?? (Also conflating gender identities with sexual orientations at times)
- maybe sources are to blame, but there was a big emphasis on sex (rather than gender). the writing oftentimes felt insensitive regarding sex/gender, to the point where i wondered if the text was trans-exclusionary. however, there was a good amount of discussion of non-binary people, which was very much appreciated.
- felt bizarre to read that only asexual people use -romantic labels. This simply isn’t true, from experience. Adds to the “listen to young people more” narrative though.
- the text read extremely academic.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.
Read
July 30, 2021I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
My ARC on the NetGalley app was very difficult to read and when I used the Kindle format, the formatting was also imperfect and it was difficult to tell when Savin-Williams was quoting interviewees.
To be honest, I’m not sure what I think of this book. I am one of the advisors for my school’s GSA, I had been hoping this would be a good resource that I could recommend for any curious (straight) teachers or parents. It’s definitely not that, I can see this being more confusing than helpful.
I appreciate Savin-Williams’ research and attempt to find diverse participants, although I think that some demographics needed more representation. The tone of the book is very casually academic and mostly easy to read, despite my ARC formatting issues. However, in terms of content, there were times when I’m not sure if they were using some terminology consistently/clearly. For a book that discusses gender expression, identity, and fluidity… it’s not great at using some of the terms correctly, particularly the term ’genderqueer’, which I feel is problematic since it's important to get that right.
Language, particularly terminology, in the queer community is challenging because the community is not a monolith. Members interpret terms and labels differently and the language is consistently evolving, so I understand that it’s a difficult task to get the language down, but I hope that it gets revised before publication.
My ARC on the NetGalley app was very difficult to read and when I used the Kindle format, the formatting was also imperfect and it was difficult to tell when Savin-Williams was quoting interviewees.
To be honest, I’m not sure what I think of this book. I am one of the advisors for my school’s GSA, I had been hoping this would be a good resource that I could recommend for any curious (straight) teachers or parents. It’s definitely not that, I can see this being more confusing than helpful.
I appreciate Savin-Williams’ research and attempt to find diverse participants, although I think that some demographics needed more representation. The tone of the book is very casually academic and mostly easy to read, despite my ARC formatting issues. However, in terms of content, there were times when I’m not sure if they were using some terminology consistently/clearly. For a book that discusses gender expression, identity, and fluidity… it’s not great at using some of the terms correctly, particularly the term ’genderqueer’, which I feel is problematic since it's important to get that right.
Language, particularly terminology, in the queer community is challenging because the community is not a monolith. Members interpret terms and labels differently and the language is consistently evolving, so I understand that it’s a difficult task to get the language down, but I hope that it gets revised before publication.
November 12, 2024
The collection of stories from young people is absolutely essential. I just found myself irritated or angry with the author most of the time, partly because it's hard to tell at times if Savin-Williams is sharing his opinion or the interviewee's opinion, but also because I think he betrays a lack of respect for his subjects and their ability to understand themselves and the topics of discussion. It was frustrating, and confusing given how consistently he proclaims the importance of highlighting and listening to youths' voices.
Other parts of the book are just very dry, and again, I struggled to set aside my perpetual annoyance with the author.
The last note is that I appreciated the acknowledgement of intersectionality and some of the ways it can affect experiences of queerness. I just wish I could more wholeheartedly recommend this book to friends, but instead I've been saying, "The stories he collects are good, but just ignore all the things he says about them that are his own opinion. And some intersectionality is included but not much. I really just strongly dislike the author's character, from what I can tell from the book, but hearing directly from queer youths about their different experiences was beautiful!"
Other parts of the book are just very dry, and again, I struggled to set aside my perpetual annoyance with the author.
The last note is that I appreciated the acknowledgement of intersectionality and some of the ways it can affect experiences of queerness. I just wish I could more wholeheartedly recommend this book to friends, but instead I've been saying, "The stories he collects are good, but just ignore all the things he says about them that are his own opinion. And some intersectionality is included but not much. I really just strongly dislike the author's character, from what I can tell from the book, but hearing directly from queer youths about their different experiences was beautiful!"
June 6, 2021
The tone of the book is casually academic and I think it would be interesting to those wanting to learn more about bisexuality in the younger generations. I enjoyed the case studies and personal accounts with young people describing their own experiences and understanding of their sexuality. Personally as a bisexual Millennial, I found that I already knew much of the topics covered, and at times it was odd to read about them from the much older perspective of the author. That being said, I would recommend to monosexuals and Gen X or Older readers.
Additionally, it's worth noting that the author appears to use the word genderqueer incorrectly sometimes. It is included numerous times in a list of multi-attraction sexualities, including the title "Bisexual, Pansexual, Fluid, and Genderqueer Youth". However genderqueer is not a sexuality, it is a gender identity similar to non-binary. He does have a chapter on genderqueer and non-binary identities, so it's clear he knows that gender and sexuality are separate, so I'm confused as to its incorrect usage throughout the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Additionally, it's worth noting that the author appears to use the word genderqueer incorrectly sometimes. It is included numerous times in a list of multi-attraction sexualities, including the title "Bisexual, Pansexual, Fluid, and Genderqueer Youth". However genderqueer is not a sexuality, it is a gender identity similar to non-binary. He does have a chapter on genderqueer and non-binary identities, so it's clear he knows that gender and sexuality are separate, so I'm confused as to its incorrect usage throughout the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 12, 2021
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley to provide me the ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
DNF at 32,7%
A not so educational read, which was far from my expectations. I was quite happy to get to read this because it's an OwnVoices educational read about bisexuality and more. Or so I thought, this book let me down in oribably all ways possibly.
First of all: the literal bland lesbophobia and biphobia?? In a queer book?? Fro m a queer author?? Beyond dissapointed in that. According to this book, being bi only means to be attracted to men and women. We get a lot of storytimes (from only the same 5 people over aand over again, 300+ pages long), but those are again only from men and womens perspective. A bit more diversity would've been appreciated.
The author also uses genderqueer as a sexuality an obnoxious amount of time. It's a gender identity, not a sexuality! It's in the name! How hard can it be to do research to learn your terms correctly.
The writing style is straight up boring. Getting concentrated into it takes a big effort where it shouldn't. We get 315 pages of black text, with (almost) no subdivisions which is downright disturbing.
I'm not going to torture myself into finishing this book & I hope you won't either.
DNF at 32,7%
A not so educational read, which was far from my expectations. I was quite happy to get to read this because it's an OwnVoices educational read about bisexuality and more. Or so I thought, this book let me down in oribably all ways possibly.
First of all: the literal bland lesbophobia and biphobia?? In a queer book?? Fro m a queer author?? Beyond dissapointed in that. According to this book, being bi only means to be attracted to men and women. We get a lot of storytimes (from only the same 5 people over aand over again, 300+ pages long), but those are again only from men and womens perspective. A bit more diversity would've been appreciated.
The author also uses genderqueer as a sexuality an obnoxious amount of time. It's a gender identity, not a sexuality! It's in the name! How hard can it be to do research to learn your terms correctly.
The writing style is straight up boring. Getting concentrated into it takes a big effort where it shouldn't. We get 315 pages of black text, with (almost) no subdivisions which is downright disturbing.
I'm not going to torture myself into finishing this book & I hope you won't either.
July 16, 2022
Aunque ofrecía una premisa interesante, lo abandoné al 15% de la lectura por lo pesado, confuso, y sobre sexualizado que es. No sentí que estaba aprendiendo algo nuevo, la lectura se me hacía eterna, y leyendo más reseñas sobre los errores y mal manejo de la información, prefiero dejarlo hasta aquí. Sería mejor una reedición y reevaluación de la información que presenta el autor, pues sí creo que hay un buen material, pero falla en la ejecución.
Although it offered an interesting premise, I abandoned it at 15% of the reading because of how heavy, confusing, and over-sexualized it is. I didn't feel like I was learning something new, reading seemed to take forever, and reading more reviews about errors and mishandling of information, I prefer to leave it here. A reissue and reevaluation of the information presented by the author would be better, because I do believe that there is good material, but it fails in the execution.
Although it offered an interesting premise, I abandoned it at 15% of the reading because of how heavy, confusing, and over-sexualized it is. I didn't feel like I was learning something new, reading seemed to take forever, and reading more reviews about errors and mishandling of information, I prefer to leave it here. A reissue and reevaluation of the information presented by the author would be better, because I do believe that there is good material, but it fails in the execution.
September 19, 2021
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy.
Being part of the LGBTQ+ community, and identifying as a bisexual woman myself, it was interesting to get to know other perople's perspectives and experiences about bisexuality. It was surprisingly good to see how the new generations are opening and embracing new terms and the people who identify as such, compared to previous generations.
However I think, sometimes it is too theoretical and dense, I found myself searching for the interview parts more than the rest as they were the ones I found more interesting.
Besides, I think some of the comments stated (mostly by white cisgendered males) were misogynistic, fatphobic and patronising. Also, some women made patriarchal comments regarding gender.
All in all it was interesting but maybe too long.
Being part of the LGBTQ+ community, and identifying as a bisexual woman myself, it was interesting to get to know other perople's perspectives and experiences about bisexuality. It was surprisingly good to see how the new generations are opening and embracing new terms and the people who identify as such, compared to previous generations.
However I think, sometimes it is too theoretical and dense, I found myself searching for the interview parts more than the rest as they were the ones I found more interesting.
Besides, I think some of the comments stated (mostly by white cisgendered males) were misogynistic, fatphobic and patronising. Also, some women made patriarchal comments regarding gender.
All in all it was interesting but maybe too long.
July 23, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and NYU Press for an ARC of this book!
A really informative and comprehensive look at multi-attraction labels. Savin-Williams uses analytical data to show us how generational differences affect how labels are attached and where the differences lie. I especially appreciated the look into how race and gender affect how one labels themselves, and how the difficulties can come into play regarding these two things. This isn't a history of bisexuality or an advice book, so if that's something you're looking for, I'd look elsewhere. But this is a comprehensive view of how the spectrum of sexualities exists and where the common themes lie. A really great read.
A really informative and comprehensive look at multi-attraction labels. Savin-Williams uses analytical data to show us how generational differences affect how labels are attached and where the differences lie. I especially appreciated the look into how race and gender affect how one labels themselves, and how the difficulties can come into play regarding these two things. This isn't a history of bisexuality or an advice book, so if that's something you're looking for, I'd look elsewhere. But this is a comprehensive view of how the spectrum of sexualities exists and where the common themes lie. A really great read.
August 28, 2021
Bi is a fairly academic book, which I personally enjoy. However, it was probably about 30% too long since the main premise about bisexuality the book poses is that it is understudied, and incorrectly studied. In sum, bisexuals are a diverse crowd, you can't generalize them, and current studies about bisexuality are lacking in a number of dimensions. I think a lot of this could have been boiled down to a few articles, but it was interesting nonetheless.
June 29, 2021
This was a super informative book about not only bisexuality, but evolving thinking about sexuality, queer identities, and how we talk and think about these things. I loved the anecdotes and snippets from the interviews. I wish there were more of those to balance the huge amount of statistics and facts given. I learned a lot from this!
September 20, 2021
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review.
I am very interested in the subject matter, but I found this book boring and a bit scattered. I appreciated the perspectives from those within the community that the author quoted, but found the majority of the pure text too technical/clinical, and a lot of it went over my head.
I am very interested in the subject matter, but I found this book boring and a bit scattered. I appreciated the perspectives from those within the community that the author quoted, but found the majority of the pure text too technical/clinical, and a lot of it went over my head.
May 18, 2021
I received this book for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley
This book was extremely useful. I'm happy I got it. Some of the facts were very surprising.
This book was extremely useful. I'm happy I got it. Some of the facts were very surprising.
July 29, 2021
2.5 stars:
DNF @ 10%
Probably a good book, just couldn’t keep me engaged enough to get through it.
DNF @ 10%
Probably a good book, just couldn’t keep me engaged enough to get through it.
October 23, 2021
The book comes to a good conclusion, but there are many confusing moments in between. At times the author claims to be discussing everything from a perspective beyond gender, and at other times seems to rely on gender stereotypes so outdated that even social conservatives would reject them. Furthermore, there are many parts that seem to come to no conclusion at all - though I recognize this may be due to a lack of usable research. There are however many good points regarding the study of gender and sexuality which are worth noting.
August 20, 2024
Another good-no, great informative book that goes in depth with the more neglected communities that are within the LGBT.
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