Bisexual Love Island star Katie Salmon has spoken out about the biphobia she faced after leaving the show.

After coupling up with Sophie Gradon - who died in June age 32 - in 2016, Katie and Sophie became the first (and only) female-female couple on the show.



Katie has now got very real about the biphobia she was subjected to after leaving the show, and as she explains, a lot of it came from within the LGBTQ+ community.



ITV

"I felt like they all doubted [that I was bisexual], were criticising me," she told the Victoria Derbyshire programme.

"I was really upset to be honest that they'd not supported me - my own community who had probably felt those [same] nervous feelings of coming out."

"They see it as a sexual thing... it's entertainment for them"

Unfortunately, Katie is not alone in feeling unaccepted by the LGBTQ+ community. Many bi+ people face misconceptions about their sexuality on a daily basis - namely that they're not really bi and just "attention seeking", that they're "promiscuous", or that they're just "confused" and will eventually come out as gay or lesbian.

But, as Katie went on to explain, straight cis men have also been complicit in promoting harmful bi stereotypes.



"They see it as a sexual thing. They think it's entertainment for them," she said, talking about the fetishisation of bisexual women. "They'll be like, 'Oh, you like women as well, you like threesomes.'"



Katie Salmon (right) and Helen Briggs Barcroft Media Getty Images

Office for National Statistics research shows bi+ people are at higher risk of experiencing anxiety and depression than any other group, with those who identify as bi experiencing the biggest "well-being gap" - meaning they reported "significantly higher levels of anxiety than any other group, as well as reporting lower levels of life satisfaction and happiness."

To put that into perspective, three in 10 (30%) of those who identified as bisexual reported high levels of anxiety, compared to two in 10 (19%) straight people.



"Bisexual people face double discrimination "

Another study found bi+ people face a disproportionate risk of mental health problems and discrimination."Bisexual individuals are at higher risk for poor mental health outcomes compared to heterosexual as well as lesbian and gay individuals, and experience minority stressors, such as discrimination, from both heterosexual and sexual minority communities," a 2017 Prevention Science study says.

Lead study author Ethan Mereish explained, “Bisexual people face double discrimination in multiple settings — bisexual people are often invisible, rejected, invalidated, [and] stigmatised in the heterosexual community as well as the traditional LGBTQ communities.”



Katie's partner on the show, Sophie Gradon, who openly identified as bisexual, regularly spoke out about the anxiety and depression she experienced after leaving the villa.

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I feel very deep tonight. Reflecting on life & what it means to live. pic.twitter.com/pUOMHj49LK — Sophie Gradon (@sophiegradon) June 15, 2018

Sidonie Bertrand Shelton, Head of Education Programmes, Stonewall UK said, "We can all help support bi people by learning more about their experiences and challenges they face, and calling out biphobia. There is still so much to do to ensure that all bi people are accepted without exception both within and outside of the LGBTQ+ community."

Paisley Gilmour Sex & Relationships Editor Paisley is sex & relationships editor at Cosmopolitan UK, and covers everything from sex toys, how to masturbate and sex positions, to all things LGBTQ. She definitely reveals too much about her personal life on the Internet.

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