Being bisexual in contemporary Italy: between stigma and desire of visibility

Abstract

<jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Purpose</jats:title><jats:p>The Italian sociological scientific community has shown a limited interest in issues related to bisexuality. The purpose of this paper is to fill the knowledge gap on the subject, showing data of an empirical research conducted online on the Italian bisexual community.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Design/methodology/approach</jats:title><jats:p>The article is based on a mixed methods online survey on Italian bisexual people, which included 218 interviews. The questionnaire was made up of closed and open-ended questions, to investigate their behaviours, habits and lifestyles.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Findings</jats:title><jats:p>Social pressure and lack of understanding by others sometimes make difficult for bisexual people to show themselves openly for what they are, especially in some contexts, such as the word of work. From a sociological point of view, one can argue that one of the tools when bisexual people face the stigma related to bisexuality is to control, often in an obsessive way, the information they provide about themselves, carefully evaluating the contexts in which they can free themselves and the time when they must expose themselves in line with the expectations of the heteronormative society.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Research limitations/implications</jats:title><jats:p>The non-probabilistic sample limits the external validity of the findings. There are also critical elements that characterise social research when transposed online: first, the profiles of the respondents not always are verifiable; second, the digital divide excludes some groups that cannot access the web or involves an over-representation of those who are more familiar with technologies.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type="abstract-subheading">Originality/value</jats:title><jats:p>The work presented is the first Italian sociological study aimed at deepening the “invisible B” phenomenon of the LGBT acronym in a systematic way. Nowadays bisexuality remains under-researched in social sciences and overall in sociology. Putting “bisexuality” at the centre of the sociological attention appears important to provide serious and scientifically valid data and information useful both to develop the knowledge on this identity category and to contain forms of discrimination and prejudice.</jats:p></jats:sec>

Heteronormativity in Italy: Psychometric Characteristics of the Italian Version of the Heteronormative Attitudes and Beliefs Scale

“…Several Italian studies have reported that Italian SGM individuals experience high levels of oppression and victimization due to their non-heterosexual orientation or gender nonconformity (e.g., Baiocco, Nardelli, Pezzuti, & Lingiardi, 2013;Bochicchio et al, 2019;Lingiardi et al, 2016;Lingiardi, Baiocco, & Nardelli, 2012;Monaco, 2020;Prunas et al, 2015;Scandurra et al, 2018). Thus, these studies depict the Italian context as unsupportive for SGM individuals.…”

Online Sexual Activities in Italian Older Adults: The Role of Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Permissiveness

“…Non-heterosexual identities and behaviors have been viewed as morally reprehensible, deviating from a normal development, a sign of an artistic personality or a private matter which should not be spoken about (Baiocco et al, 2013;Capozzi & Lingiardi, 2003). Despite the undoubted progress made in recent years (e.g., Lingiardi et al, 2015;Scandurra et al, 2019Scandurra et al, , 2020aScandurra et al, , 2020b, Italy continues to show a limited support for LGBT individuals, who still experience high levels of oppression and victimization, a general delay in the recognition of their civil rights, and a lack of anti-discrimination legislation for their protection (Amodeo et al, 2018;Baiocco et al, 2013;Bochicchio et al, 2019;Lingiardi et al, 2015;Monaco, 2020;Scandurra et al, 2018). In this regard, many LGB older people who have spent their youth and early adulthood in Italy tend to conceal their sexual identity in offline contexts (Pietrantoni et al, 2000;Scandurra et al, 2017).…”

Social Support, Identity Affirmation, and Psychological Well-Being: A Developmental and Intersectional Comparison between Italian Cisgender and Non-Binary People with Bisexual Orientation

“…Petrocchi et al [ 28 ] found among 327 Italian lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals that bisexual people exhibited lower levels of self-awareness, community connectedness, authenticity, and intimacy than their lesbian and gay counterparts. Monaco [ 29 ] found in a sample of 218 Italian bisexual individuals that they had great difficulty coming out because they felt they were not understood by others and argued that these individuals perceived the Italian context as strongly heteronormative. The most comprehensive study of minority stress among bisexual people in Italy was conducted by Scandurra et al [ 30 ], who found that discrimination and internalized stigma were positively associated with poorer health, that internalized stigma mediated the association between discrimination and mental health problems, but that resilience did not moderate this latter association.…”