Dating Confessions by You "I think that tattoos are ridiculously trashy. I want another one though."
The Nerve Insider by Nicole Ankowski What's new in the Nerve universe. Today: What do hiccups and herpes have in common? Behind the scenes with Stuff Nobody Likes.
What happened to the bisexual moment? In the mid-nineties, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana kissed on Saturday Night Live, Time ran a cover story on bisexuality, and coeds felt each other up to the strains of Ani DiFranco.
But as bisexuality fell from sight, did it also fall from favor? A decade later, many people who feel an attraction to both sexes still find themselves stigmatized. If there were any lingering doubts that bisexuality had become passé, two weeks ago The New York Times obliterated them with the sensitively titled article "Straight, Gay or Lying?," which touted a new study suggesting that male bisexuality is a myth.
In May, Nerve published the personal essay "Come As You Are" by Neal Medlyn, who also happens to be my husband. It suggested that male bisexuality was not a myth, but quite real and misunderstood. Our feedback boards lit up. So in this month's issue, we expanded the discussion. Mike Albo discusses his fear of infidelity in gay relationships and proposes bisexual "gender monogamy" as a solution. Sarah Hepola revisits the bygone era of the "lesbian until graduation," and Andy Horwitz discusses the complications of coming out twice.
We have no interest in bisexuality becoming trendy again, or seeing a Very Special Episode of Will & Grace on the topic. But we would like to better understand why bisexuality is dismissed and feared, why people have trouble entertaining the possibility that there's something between A and B. Enjoy the issue, take our poll, and tell us your stories in Feedback. — Ada Calhoun
In This Issue:
PERSONAL ESSAYS
Brave New World by Mike Albo A gay guy's bi anxiety and vision for a sexual utopia: "gender monogamy."
Platonic
Ideal by
Sara Eckel The romance and seduction of female friendship.
Head Case by Chris Rockwell A straight guy defends his right to be curious, but not confused.
A Life's Work: Love Thine Enemy by Will Doig A researcher reveals what we can learn from the bonobo, a bisexual primate that resolves conflict through sex.
Stimulus Response by Bert Archer Porn isn't an accurate gauge of sexuality. Here's an experiment.
Come As You Are by Neal Medlyn There's still one sexuality no one can get behind: male bisexuality.
White Rabbit by Erin Cressida Wilson "This was the shy and smart girl who was my best friend. She was suddenly a sexual genius, and I was left watching."
Among Boys by Ben Brown If 50 Cent can have a sexually ambiguous male posse, why can't I?
The Invisible Men by Carl Swanson Whatever happened to the new bisexuality? How the post-gay man got lost on the way to the mainstream.
About Last Night . . . by Carrie Hill Wilner What does he mean, I can't kiss other girls?