Homophobia; we all know what is. Over the last decade this has come to the forefront of society, with attempts to eradicate it seen in every day life. First of all, let me say that I'm not discrediting any of the great work in this field – nor am I saying we have reached the end of our fight against homophobia by any means. But I would like to draw attention to a new issue which has arisen in the midst of this campaign.

Biphobia.

A pretty self explanatory concept; but one which at its heart is more complicated that it seems. You may imagine that homophobia and biphobia would go hand in hand, which often they do. But elements of a biphobic outlook are common even amongst those who consider themselves strictly opposed to homophobia. Often, this is not a conscious action – it's not that people are seeking out bisexuals and inflicting physical harm upon them. No, biphobia is more subtle in its nature, which is part of what makes it such a potent issue. Biphobia relates more the perceptions that many of society subconsciously hold about those who identify as bisexual. In order to solve this issue we need to first address why people bother to identify with a certain sexuality at all.

Human nature brings with it an intrinsic instinct to fit in, to belong to a group. This can be demonstrated through out society; through race, age, gender, social class, nationality. When a person 'comes out' they can be seen to be openly realigning their identity to become part of a new group. It is here that the first, and in my opinion the most hurtful element, of biphobia creeps in. People are inclined to split society into two groups 'gay' and 'straight'. While it is, inarguably, great that gay has now become a widely accepted and normalised group of society, what about those who fall between those two binary groups?

Bisexuals often feel like they don't have a group with which to align – rather that they fall short of either of the accepted norms. This is an issue exasperated by many day to day, thoughtless, comments – often made by those who would consider themselves strong ally's of the LGBT community.

This is an issue best understood through exemplification. For example, recently I've heard a group of four people described as containing 'three gays because two of you are bi so you really just count as half each'. Let's get this straight; being bisexual does not make you 'half a person' or just 'half way between two binary sexualities'. No, bisexuality is a sexual orientation in its own right (also, such a statement reveals a great level of ignorance – very few bi people would describe themselves as '50/50′). A further example of this is in discussions about marriage where I, as a bisexual, wasn't allowed to be part of either discussion, as 'you would marry either a man or a woman so belong in neither discussion'. As well as being an example of simply stupid reasoning, this is another example of people pushing bisexuals to feel that they don't belong – that they are less of a complete person simply because they don't align to one of the two binary orientations.

The second example of biphobia which is often evident in every day life is the general lack of recognition that bisexuals actually exist as a sexual orientation, rather than just as a stepping stone to being gay. What I don't want to incite here is hatred against those who do use this as a 'stepping stone'; I would also like to explain something to those inclined to take on this stance. Many people when going through the process of realising that they're gay genuinely do believe that they are bi to begin with, there are undoubtedly numerous reasons for this but I will not go into them here. The point I am trying to make is for those who do come out as bi and then latterly as gay, it is often not the case that they were just 'too scared' to come out initially as gay, but rather that they genuinely believed for a period that this was their sexual orientation.

There are two ways in which this element of biphobia tends to manifest itself; the first being the perception that bi people just have yet to realise that they're gay or that they are in some way greedy or indecisive. I have a very simple answer to this. You're just outright wrong.

The second branch of this is the perception that being bi is 'just a phase' or 'experimentation'. Speaking from experience, it can take a lot for someone to come out to you as bi and this is potentially the worst possible response.

What you are doing is diminishing and dismissing who that person is, and the orientation that they chose to identify with. Not only that but 'don't worry it's probably a phase' carries with it undertones of a very negative perception of bisexuality; many people are proud that they are able to openly identify as who they are, it's just wrong to suggest to them that they should be worried about it, or hope that they can 'get over it with time'.

Following on from that, if someone comes out as bisexual it is a big deal. Even if you don't care and it doesn't change your perception of them, or if you had already known, it will have taken a lot for them to work up the courage to tell you that. So just be careful not to downplay this, even accidentally. (The same goes for whatever someone comes out as to be honest – it's just an important point to keep in mind)

The last issue I'm going to discuss here is the misguided that once a bisexual is in a relationship they revert to being either straight or gay depending upon the gender of their a partner. Again, just no. Bisexuality is a sexual orientation in its own right; a bisexual will always remain bisexual. This is perhaps one of the most common, but also most hurtful misconception about bisexuality.

Bisexuality exists. It is as legitimate as being straight or as being gay. This seems almost too stupid to mention as point of its own, but as I've experience this it I will leave you with this; you can't refer to a bisexual as gay simply for your own convenience. You just can't. And if you do, you most certainly cannot be offended if they call you out on it. This is not them being picky or argumentative, this is them calling you out on what is actually a blatant act of biphobia. Just remember this; if you are in anyway diminishing the legitimacy or existence of bisexuality, you are being biphobic. Simple as that.