Picture from bithewaymovie.com
So, who caught Logo airing “Bi the Way” two weeks ago? If not, you can catch it here. I watched it and I had to admit overall I was pleasantly surprised. It, portrayed us in a positive light, was called a “gay documentary” (implying inclusion in the community), aired a couple of times, and was put on the internet. The feedback online seemed mostly positive. I figure any portrayal of us that’s not negative and says we exist overall is a good thing. But I have seen some criticisms from other bisexual people, and having thought about it, I can see that some of them are valid. Are we so desperate for any coverage that’s not negative that we are afraid to criticize anything? Part of me did wonder. People from both the gay and the straight communities will watch this and take away many ideas about us from it, so what those are ideas are is important.
I decided to examine what I felt were both the positive and the negative aspects of the film. The positives: It starts off with the two filmmakers traveling cross country to interview bisexual people and ask people what they think of bisexuality. The cross country thing was a good idea; it gives you the feel of talking to the whole country. The tone of the film was very laid back; it moved quickly talked to many different people with many different takes on the subject. It showed both men and women from varied circumstances, and it showed articles about the subject and talked about scientific studies, and talked to a few leaders of the bi community, such as Mike Syzmanski.
The movie also links bisexuality to the greater BTLG community by showing that like some gay teens, some bi teens face a lot of trouble from their families when they are discovered. In the movie, one such teen is thrown out of her house. It also tips its hat to the idea that there is a genetic component in sexuality; it shows a gay dad with a son who thinks he might be bisexual. I hope this helps both gay and straight people realize that our hardships are the very similar to those of the gay community and we’re not that different.
The negatives: it was only 2 hours. I heard the filmmakers had a lot of footage, and the movie should have been longer and included more. Hopefully there will be deleted scenes on the DVD. They had footage of Bi centers, activists like Robyn Ochs and Dr. Fritz Klein, and more diversity that was not included. While there were people from several different circumstances, I noticed except for one person, all of the interviewees showed were white. The BTLG, especially the gay community, has had problems with race, and it would have been nice to break the stereotype that BTLG issues are a “whites only” thing. As we know well, it affects people of all ethnicities and races.
Some bi people have felt that the movie stereotypes us. While overall I liked it, I can see their points. While all of the people interviewed talk about past same-sex relationships and opposite sex relationships, all of the women are currently in opposite-sex relationships, and all of the men are currently in same-sex relationships. I can see how this can further the stereotype that they are really just experimenting and all end up with men anyway. Another issue for me was that both of the filmmakers were straight. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that two straight people are open-minded, but no one understands bisexuals better than, well, bisexuals. I think the film would have been more rounded if the filmmakers could relate to their subjects’ experiences.
It also bothered me was they talked about that stupid 2005 “study” by J. Michael Bailey. While I understand they wanted to present all points of view (why else interview notorious gay biphobe Dan Savage?!), this was the only study they really talked about at length. They presented others, but didn’t dwell on them very long or only showed news clips. While admitting there were several studies was a positive thing in itself, as I said above, more detail should have been given to several studies and not just the Bailey one, especially since it has widely been proven to be false (as well as another bogus study saying all women are bisexual!) and its researcher a known bi and transphobe. To give the filmmakers credit, they cut out the interview with Bailey. However, there was one very important study that proved bisexuality is a distinct orientation in women (read it here). Honestly, the fact that they didn’t mention this is what bothered me the most, overall.
Overall though, while most of these criticisms are significant, except for leaving out the study about bisexual women, I don’t feel they are overwhelming. The movie was mostly positive, not biphobic, and will have a wide-reaching audience. Overall, not bad for a first try, and I hope more and better ones will follow.
My grade is a B-. I do encourage you to check out the movie, and if you like it, buy the DVD, and let others know about it too.
To read more about Bi the way and opinions about it, watch it, and/or order the DVD, check out:
- Bithewaymovie.com
- Bi the way on Logo
- Bi the Way on Wikipedia
- Bimagazine.org
- BiFurious
- BIMA DC
- Bi the Way DVD
- Study on women’s bisexuality being it’s own orienation
- Task Force Report on female bisexuality study
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