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Boy George giggles his way through biphobia
When it comes to attitudes to bi people, some gay people can be the worst.
Boy George has performed a public service by reminding us of this.
The way George has dealt with being called on this is worse.
He's fallen back on a "how can I be biphobic when I'm so fabulous defence" and to chunter on about "steaming white rice" when anyone tries to call him on it.
Anyone who nods along with George, though, gets a thumbs up:
My point completely but that doesn't mean some people are not genuinely bi. https://t.co/h3zFRzltwA
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) January 2, 2017
Oh, gee, thanks, Mr Boy, for allowing that some people might not be lying about being bi - although perhaps even that is undermined by doing it while agreeing with this:
@BoyGeorge I agree, in my experience people use bi when they aren't ready to fully come out.
— Jonny (@tinwhiteduke) January 2, 2017
This, it seems, was "George's point" all along. Some people might identify as bi as their sexual identity pulses through towards something else; but the reverse can be true - back in the 80s, the lack of bi role models and dismissiveness of bisexuality made it easier to identify as gay as a halfway house to being able to identify as bi. I know this from experience, not as a theory.
I understand that George thought he was making a joke; I also think when George insists he doesn't believe he's biphobic that he's probably genuine. Like a lot of gay people, he thinks that simply allowing bi people on his bus is enough.
But it's not. If you're first thought when someone tells you they're bi is that they're only half-baked, a person whose souffle has yet to rise, you've got a problem.
We wouldn't let someone telling gay-attacking jokes get away by calling "bantz." We shouldn't let Boy George off with the same defence, no matter how much glitter he throws behind it.
