Bi-erasure is real

“I like women and men,” sings Ariana Grande in her new single “MONOPOLY”, a line in the song which has become a point of controversy since its release.

In the wake of Grande’s fifth studio album, the singer released a music video that concludes with Grande going in to kiss another woman.

Many believe these moves to be pandering to Grande’s LGBT fans – as Grande has had no shortage of tumultuous relationships with men and men only, leading critics to question the validity of Grande’s statements.

Sexuality is fluid. For people to make the broad assumption of how someone chooses to identify with their sexuality is wrong and when people try to diminish bisexuality – the way they are in Grande’s case – the concept of bi-erasure is too great to ignore.

“The boys and girls are in / I mess around with him / and I’m okay with it,” is a line from Harry Styles’ song “Medicine.” Here we see Styles apparently coming out as bisexual through his lyrics, not dissimilar to Grande.

Styles’ fans hailed him for his bravery, regardless of the fact that Styles has only dated women.

Neither singer has chosen to comment of the speculation of their sexuality beyond saying that they feel no need to label themselves.

According to a study from the CDC, 17.4 percent of women and 6.2 percent of men have had sexual contact with members of the same sex.

It takes courage to come out in the first place – for people to question one’s sexuality after coming out as bisexual is the reason so many people choose to stay in the closet. One does not have to actively be participating in a same sex relationship in order to consider themselves bisexual, sexuality is a spectrum and should be treated as such.