It’s no surprise that so few bisexual men are out of the closet. Whilst many groups celebrated Pride this year with big support and high visibility, bisexuals had to fight hard just to get a spot on the London Pride Parade with organisers putting the inclusion of big businesses such as Skittles ahead of ensuring all subgroups of the LGBTQ+ community were represented.

Organisers blamed bisexual groups for not applying before the deadline (which closed early) rather than taking the responsibility to ensure bisexuals were represented at their event. Sadly, after the parade, there were reports on Twitter that the cheering stopped as the bisexual group walked past.

London Pride 2017 Show all 14 1 /14 London Pride 2017 London Pride 2017 Revellers in Trafalgar Square in front of the National Portrait gallery take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A man wearing two hats attends the Pride in London Festival Getty London Pride 2017 Protesters demonstrate during the Pride in London Festival in London. This year's London Pride event marks 50 years since homosexuality was decriminalised in England and Wales under the 1967 Sexual Offences Getty London Pride 2017 The parade passes Nelson's Column as revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London, EPA London Pride 2017 Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community take part in the annual Pride Parade in London on July 8 AFP London Pride 2017 Revelers enjoy the Pride London Parade in London. The Parade attracts an estimated crowd of 1 million onlookers, while around 26,500 people are taking part in the annual Parade making this the city's biggest one-day event and one of the world's biggest LGBT+ celebrations. AP London Pride 2017 Revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A participant sits on a rainbow coloured flag during the Pride in London Parade in central London PA London Pride 2017 Two men sit on a rainbow flag painted on the pavement at Oxford Circus as revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London, Britain EPA London Pride 2017 Revellers take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A woman from the homeless charity 'Crisis' takes part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 Revellers wave their flags as they take part in London Pride, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) parade in London EPA London Pride 2017 A woman walks past a shop front decorated with the Pride flag colours Getty London Pride 2017 People ride a tube escalator decorated with the Pride flag colours Getty

As a bisexual man, I know the reality of bi invisibility all too well. Despite living in London, I have never knowingly been in a room with even ten other bisexual men around my age. Both gay and straight people have spent their time trying to convince me that I must really be gay. Whilst many believe the LGBT community are there to support one another, the majority of negativity towards bisexuals I’ve experienced has been at the hands of gay men. A study by the Journal of Bisexuality suggested that bisexual people face just as much discrimination within the LGBT community as they do from straight people. Similarly, the Equality Network found the highest amounts of biphobia experienced are within LGBT and NHS services.

Bisexual exclusion comes in many forms, one of the most shocking was the finding that in 2014, only 0.3 per cent of grants aimed at LGBT issues went toward the bisexual community. The issue of how LGBT groups divide their funding between the subgroups is something rarely looked at in the UK. However, the fact that bisexual men have received significantly less support and funding than other subgroups such as gay men is undeniable. The British Sociological Association has found that bisexual men in the United Kingdom are at the bottom of the wage scale, earning 30 per cent less than gay colleagues and perhaps linked, the Workplace Equality Index 2010 by Stonewall found bisexual employees are eight times more likely to be in the closet at work compared to lesbian and gay counterparts. Outside of the work place, mental health suffers too with the Office of National Statistics just recently finding that bisexual people have a lower amount of overall life satisfaction and feel less worthwhile than straight, gay and lesbian people. With minimal funding and biphobia rife in LGBT circles this is unlikely to change.

So why are the LGBT+ community not fighting for bi rights?

What many fail to realise is that bisexual men not only suffer as a result of LGBT exclusion but also of inclusion. All too often two groups with completely different sex lives – gay and bisexual men – are looked at under the same microscope, particularly when assessing sexual health risks. For example, last year a report by Public Health England concluded that “STIs in gay and bisexual men are on the rise.” By failing to distinguish that bisexual men have different sexual behaviour to that of gay men we are putting their health at risk.

Outside of the LGBT community, the discrimination bisexual men receive is unique. My girlfriend has been at the receiving end of significant abuse simply for dating me, which is a distressing reality for so many bisexual men in relationships with women. She has been told she’ll never be enough for me, that I will cheat and one person even said I would give her HIV. Bisexual men feel responsible that those they date become targets of biphobia and more significantly we so rarely have other bisexual men to turn to for support and advice.

You may ask how this problem can be fixed and the answer is relatively simple – we must provide bisexuals the tools to find each other. We must have bisexual venues to bring people together to foster friendships.

A support group won’t help – I’m not an alcoholic, my sexuality isn’t a problem. I want a place where I can go to celebrate my sexuality, a place that makes men like me feel good to be bisexual and a place where closeted bisexual men can go to finally get the confidence boost they need to come out.

One may suggest we already have gay venues which cater to bisexual men, however I’ve been asked to stop kissing my girlfriend in gay bars on several occasions. From the outside my girlfriend and I kissing is seen as “straight” therefore we are seen as invading gay people’s safe space.