Viewpoint Stier had been married to a man before entering into a relationship with Kris Perry, a woman and the named plaintiff in the Perry case. Stier and Perry wish to marry, and have brought suit because of their inability to do so as a result of Proposition 8. Because they claim that Proposition 8 discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation, Olson asked Stier: “How convinced are you that you are gay? You’ve lived with a husband. You said you loved
gays and lesbians perceive as untrustworthy and not serious and therefore unacceptable sexual partners. The socially enforced exclusion of bisexuals has persisted as a result of long-existent myths that bisexuals are promiscuous, greedy (as a result of their “refusal” to “pick” a sex to which to experience sexual attraction), duplicitous and closeted. Recent media attention devoted to the experience of some African-American men who live on the “down low” by
him. Some people might say, ‘Well, it’s this and then it’s that and it could be this again.’ Answer that.” Olson’s reference — albeit so replete with demonstratives that it avoids describing anything at all — is likely entirely clear. When the characteristic is hair or eye color, or even skin color that serves as a proxy for race, it is unremarkable for individuals to deviate from their general “type” when choosing a specific person as their partner. When the characteristic is sex, an individual’s deviation becomes problematic, both socially and legally. Bisexual author Maria Burnham wrote recently in the Huffington Post of the experience of attending her first lesbian party where her advances toward a woman to whom she admitted her bisexuality were rebuffed. She was immediately counseled by another attendee to identify instead as lesbian because of the prevailing distrust of bisexuals, whom
having primary romantic relationships with women while engaging in secret sex with men has generated an additional myth that bisexuality is a bridge for the HIV infection from the gay population to the straight population. Bisexuals have experienced not only social exclusion but also political and legal exclusion. The movement for lesbian and gay rights — now often referred to as the movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or “LGBT,” rights — has achieved impressive victories, such as the 2010 repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, the Obama administration’s 2010 refusal to defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on the basis of its declaration that DOMA was unconstitutional, the legalization of same-sex marriage in seven states and the District of Columbia since 2003, and the adoption by some states of antidiscrimination statutes protecting against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment and public accommodations contexts.
Hofstra Law Report • SPRING 2012
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