Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical and/or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the heterosexual–homosexual continuum. Pansexuality may or may not be subsumed under bisexuality, with some sources stating that bisexuality encompasses sexual or romantic attraction to all gender identities. People who have a distinct but not exclusive preference for one sex over the other may also identify themselves as bisexual, and people who lack sexual attraction to either sex or genders are known as asexual.

Bisexuality has been observed in various human societies and elsewhere in the animal kingdom throughout recorded history. The term ''bisexuality'', however, like the terms ''hetero-'' and ''homosexuality'', was coined in the 19th century.

Description

Sexual orientation, identity, behavior

Bisexuality is the romantic and/or sexual attraction to males and females, especially to the two genders "men" and "women." The American Psychological Association states that "sexual orientation falls along a continuum. In other words, someone does not have to be exclusively homosexual or heterosexual, but can feel varying degrees of both. Sexual orientation develops across a person's lifetime–different people realize at different points in their lives that they are heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual." Sexual attraction, behavior and identity may also be incongruent, as sexual attraction and/or behavior may not necessarily be consistent with identity. Some individuals identify themselves as heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual without having had any sexual experience. Others have had homosexual experiences but do not consider themselves to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Likewise, self-identified gay or lesbian individuals may occasionally sexually interact with members of the opposite sex but do not identify as bisexual. The terms "heteroflexible" and "homoflexible," as well as the titles "men who have sex with men" and "women who have sex with women," may also be used.

According to Rosario, Schrimshaw, Hunter, Braun (2006):

...the development of a lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) sexual identity is a complex and often difficult process. Unlike members of other minority groups (e.g., ethnic and racial minorities), most LGB individuals are not raised in a community of similar others from whom they learn about their identity and who reinforce and support that identity. Rather, LGB individuals are often raised in communities that are either ignorant of or openly hostile toward homosexuality.

In a longitudinal study about sexual identity development among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youths, its authors "found evidence of both considerable consistency and change in LGB sexual identity over time". Youths who had identified as both gay/lesbian and bisexual prior to baseline were approximately three times more likely to identify as gay/lesbian than as bisexual at subsequent assessments. Of youths who had identified only as bisexual at earlier assessments, 60–70% continued to thus identify, while approximately 30–40% assumed a gay/lesbian identity over time. Authors suggested that "although there were youths who consistently self-identified as bisexual throughout the study, for other youths, a bisexual identity served as a transitional identity to a subsequent gay/lesbian identity."

Label accuracy

Like other queer sexualities, bisexuality has been discriminated against. Most of the discrimination has surrounded the application of the word "bisexual" and scrutiny of the bisexual identity as a whole. The belief that bisexuality does not exist is common, and stems from two views. In the heterosexist view, people are presumed to be attracted to the opposite sex and it is sometimes reasoned that only heterosexuality truly exists. In the monosexist view, people are either exclusively homosexual (gay/lesbian), exclusively heterosexual (straight), closeted homosexual people who wish to appear heterosexual, heterosexuals who are experimenting with their sexuality, or cannot be bisexual unless they are equally attracted to both sexes.

The belief that one cannot be bisexual unless equally attracted to both sexes is disputed by various researchers, who have reported bisexuality to fall on a continuum, like sexuality in general. In 2005, the belief that bisexuality must involve equal sexual/romantic attraction was further perpetuated by researchers Gerulf Rieger, Meredith L. Chivers, and J. Michael Bailey, who concluded that bisexuality is extremely rare in men. This was based on results of controversial penile plethysmograph testing when viewing pornographic material involving only men and pornography involving only women. Critics state that this study works from the assumption that a person is only truly bisexual if he or she exhibits virtually equal arousal responses to both opposite-sex and same-sex stimuli, and have consequently dismissed the self-identification of people whose arousal patterns showed even a mild preference for one sex. Some researchers say that the technique used in the study to measure genital arousal is too crude to capture the richness (erotic sensations, affection, admiration) that constitutes sexual attraction. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force called the study and ''The New York Times'' coverage of it flawed and biphobic. FAIR also criticized the study. In 2008, Bailey stated he regretted repeating the notion that people are gay, straight or lying, especially with regard to men. In a new study with the same technology but different recruiting criteria and stimuli, he said he found bisexual genital arousal patterns in men.

In 1995, Harvard Shakespeare professor Marjorie Garber made the academic case for bisexuality with her ''Vice Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life,'' in which she argued that most people would be bisexual if not for "repression, religion, repugnance, denial, laziness, shyness, lack of opportunity, premature specialization, a failure of imagination, or a life already full to the brim with erotic experiences, albeit with only one person, or only one gender."

Kinsey scale

The Kinsey scale attempts to describe a person's sexual history or episodes of their sexual activity at a given time. It uses a scale from 0, meaning exclusively heterosexual, to 6, meaning exclusively homosexual.

Prevalence

A 2002 survey in the United States by National Center for Health Statistics found that 1.8 percent of men ages 18–44 considered themselves bisexual, 2.3 percent homosexual, and 3.9 percent as "something else". The same study found that 2.8 percent of women ages 18–44 considered themselves bisexual, 1.3 percent homosexual, and 3.8 percent as "something else". ''The Janus Report on Sexual Behavior'', published in 1993, showed that 5 percent of men and 3 percent of women consider themselves bisexual and 4 percent of men and 2 percent of women considered themselves homosexual. The 'Health' section of ''The New York Times'' has stated that "1.5 percent of American women and 1.7 percent of American men identify themselves [as] bisexual."

A 2007 report said that 14.4% of young US women identified themselves as bisexual/lesbian, with 5.6% of the men identifying as gay or bisexual. A study in the journal ''Biological Psychology'' in 2011 reported that there were men who identify themselves as ''bisexuals'' and who were aroused by both men and women.

Dr. Alfred Kinsey's 1948 work ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Male'' found that "46% of the male population had engaged in both heterosexual and homosexual activities, or 'reacted to' persons of both sexes, in the course of their adult lives". Kinsey himself disliked the use of the term bisexual to describe individuals who engage in sexual activity with both males and females, preferring to use "bisexual" in its original, biological sense as hermaphroditic: "Until it is demonstrated [that] taste in a sexual relation is dependent upon the individual containing within his anatomy both male and female structures, or male and female physiological capacities, it is unfortunate to call such individuals bisexual" (Kinsey et al., 1948, p. 657). Dr. Fritz Klein believed that social and emotional attraction are very important elements in bisexual attraction. One third of the men in each group showed no significant arousal. The study did not claim them to be asexual, and Rieger stated that their lack of response did not change the overall findings.

Studies, theories and social responses

There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual orientation. Proposed reasons include a combination of genetic factors and environmental factors (including fraternal birth order, where the number of older brothers a boy has increases the chances of homosexuality; specific prenatal hormone exposure, where hormones play a role in determining sexual orientation as they do with sex differentiation; and prenatal stress on the mother).

The American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that "sexual orientation probably is not determined by any one factor but by a combination of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences." The American Psychological Association has stated that "there are probably many reasons for a person's sexual orientation and the reasons may be different for different people". It further stated that, for most people, sexual orientation is determined at an early age. The American Psychiatric Association stated: "To date there are no replicated scientific studies supporting any specific biological etiology for homosexuality. Similarly, no specific psychosocial or family dynamic cause for homosexuality has been identified, including histories of childhood sexual abuse." Research into how sexual orientation may be determined by genetic or other prenatal factors plays a role in political and social debates about homosexuality, and also raises fears about genetic profiling and prenatal testing.

Sigmund Freud theorized that every person has the ability to become bisexual at some time in his or her life. He based this on the idea that enjoyable experiences of sexuality with the same sex, whether sought or unsought, acting on it or being fantasized, become an attachment to his or her needs and desires in social upbringing. Psychoanalyst Dr. Joseph Merlino, editor of ''Freud at 150: 21st Century Essays on a Man of Genius,'' stated in an interview:

Human bisexuality has mainly been studied alongside homosexuality. Van Wyk & Geist argue that this is a problem for sexuality research because the few studies that have observed bisexuals separately have found that bisexuals are often different from both heterosexuals and homosexuals. Furthermore, bisexuality does not always represent a halfway point between the dichotomy. Research indicates that bisexuality is influenced by biological, cognitive and cultural variables in interaction, and this leads to different types of bisexuality.

In the current debate around influences on sexual orientation, biological explanations have been questioned by social scientists, particularly by feminists who encourage women to make conscious decisions about their life and sexuality. A difference in attitude between homosexual men and women has also been reported, with men more likely to regard their sexuality as biological, "reflecting the universal male experience in this culture, not the complexities of the lesbian world." There is also evidence that women's sexuality may be more strongly affected by cultural and contextual factors.

Most of the few available scientific studies on bisexuality date from before the 1990s. Interest in bisexuality has generally grown, but research focus has lately been on sociology and gender studies as well as on bisexuals with HIV and AIDS.

Social factors

Krafft-Ebing was the first to suggest that bisexuality is the original state of human sexuality. Freud has famously summarized on the basis of clinical observations: ''"[W]e have come to know that all human beings are bisexual – - and that their libido is distributed between objects of both sexes, either in a manifest or a latent form."'' According to Freud, people remain bisexual all their lives in a repression to monosexuality of fantasy and behavior. This idea was taken up in the 1940s by the zoologist Alfred Kinsey who was the first to create a scale to measure the continuum of sexual orientation from hetero to homosexuality. Kinsey studied human sexuality and argued that people have the capability of being hetero or homosexual even if this trait does not present itself in the current circumstances.

From an anthropological perspective, there is large variation in the prevalence of bisexuality between different cultures. Among some tribes it appears to be non-existent while in others a universal, including the Sambia of New Guinea and other similar Melanesian cultures.

Sex drive

Several studies comparing bisexuals with hetero- or homosexuals have indicated that bisexuals have higher rates of sexual activity, fantasy or erotic interest. Van Wyk and Geist (1984) found that male and female bisexuals had more sexual fantasy than heterosexuals. Dixon (1985) found that bisexual men had more sexual activities with women than did heterosexual men. Bisexual men masturbated more but had fewer happy marriages than heterosexuals. Bressler and Lavender (1986) found that bisexual women had more orgasms per week and they described them as stronger than those of hetero- or homosexual women. They also found that marriages with a bisexual female were more happy than heterosexual unions, observed less instance of hidden infidelity, and ended in divorce less frequently. Goode and Haber (1977) found bisexual women to be sexually mature earlier, masturbate and enjoy masturbation more and to be more experienced in different types of heterosexual contact.

Recent research suggests that, for most women, high sex drive is associated with increased sexual attraction to both women and men. For men, however, high sex drive is associated with increased attraction to one sex or the other, but not to both, depending on sexual orientation. Bisexual men's pattern has been more similar to heterosexuals with a stronger correlation with high sex drive for one sex, but with other-sex attraction as well.

Masculinization

Masculinization of women and hypermasculinization of men has been a central theme in sexual orientation research. There are several studies suggesting that bisexuals have a high degree of masculinization. LaTorre and Wendenberg (1983) found differing personality characteristics for bisexual, heterosexual and homosexual women. Bisexuals were found to have fewer personal insecurities than heterosexuals and homosexuals. This finding defined bisexuals as self assured and less likely to suffer from mental instabilities. The confidence of a secure identity consistently translated to more masculinity than other subjects. This study did not explore societal norms, prejudices, or the feminization of homosexual males.

In a research comparison, published in the Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, women usually have a better hearing sensitivity than males, assumed by researchers as a genetic disposition connected to child bearing. Homosexual and bisexual women have been found to have a hypersensitivity to sound in comparison to heterosexual women, suggesting a genetic disposition to not tolerate high pitched tones. While heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual men have been found to exhibit similar patterns of hearing. There was a notable differential within a sub-group of males identified as hyperfeminized homosexual males who exhibited test results similar to heterosexual women.

Prenatal hormones

The prenatal hormonal theory of sexual orientation suggests that people who are exposed to excess levels of sex hormones have masculinized brains and show increased homosexuality or bisexuality. Studies to provide evidence for the masculinization of the brain have however not been conducted to date. Research on special conditions such as CAH and exposure to DES indicate that prenatal exposure to, respectively, excess testosterone and estrogens are associated with female–female sex fantasies in adults. Both effects are associated with bisexuality rather than homosexuality.

There is research evidence that the digit ratio of the length of the 2nd and 4th digits (index finger and ring finger) is somewhat negatively related to prenatal testosterone and positively to estrogen. Studies measuring the fingers found a statistically significant skew in the 2D:4D ratio (long ring finger) towards homosexuality with an even lower ratio in bisexuals. It is suggested that exposure to high prenatal testosterone and low prenatal estrogen concentrations is one cause of homosexuality whereas exposure to very high testosterone levels may be associated with bisexuality. Because testosterone in general is important for sexual differentiation, this view offers an alternative to the suggestion that male homosexuality is genetic.

The prenatal hormonal theory suggests that a homosexual orientation results from exposure to excessive testosterone causing an over-masculinized brain. This is contradictory to another hypothesis that homosexual preferences may be due to a feminized brain in males. However, it has also been suggested that homosexuality may be due to high prenatal levels of unbound testosterone that results from a lack of receptors at particular brain sites. Therefore the brain could be feminized while other features, such as the 2D:4D ratio could be over-masculinized.

Brain structure

LaVey's (1991) examination at autopsy of 18 homosexual men, 1 bisexual man, 16 presumably heterosexual men and 6 presumably heterosexual women found that the INAH 3 nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus of homosexual men was smaller than that of heterosexual men and closer in size of heterosexual women. Although grouped with homosexuals, the INAH 3 size of the one bisexual subject was similar to that of the heterosexual men. Though the results of such studies have been proven unreliable.

Chromosomes

Some evidence supports the concept of biological precursors of bisexual orientation in genetic males. According to Money (1988), men with an extra Y chromosome are more likely to be bisexual, paraphilic and impulsive.

Evolutionary theory

Some evolutionary psychologists have argued that same-sex attraction does not have adaptive value because it has no association with potential reproductive success. Instead, bisexuality can be due to normal variation in brain plasticity. More recently, it has been suggested that same-sex alliances may have helped males climb the social hierarchy giving access to females and reproductive opportunities. Same-sex allies could have helped females to move to the safer and resource richer center of the group, which increased their chances of raising their offspring successfully.

Brendan Zietsch of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research proposes the alternative theory that men exhibiting female traits become more attractive to females and are thus more likely to mate, provided the genes involved do not drive them to complete rejection of heterosexuality.

Also, in a 2008 study, its authors stated that "There is considerable evidence that human sexual orientation is genetically influenced, so it is not known how homosexuality, which tends to lower reproductive success, is maintained in the population at a relatively high frequency." They hypothesized that "while genes predisposing to homosexuality reduce homosexuals' reproductive success, they may confer some advantage in heterosexuals who carry them." and their results suggested that "genes predisposing to homosexuality may confer a mating advantage in heterosexuals, which could help explain the evolution and maintenance of homosexuality in the population."

In ''Scientific American Mind'', scientist Emily V. Driscoll stated that homosexual and bisexual behavior is quite common in several species and that it fosters bonding: "The more homosexuality, the more peaceful the species". The article also stated: "Unlike most humans, however, individual animals generally cannot be classified as gay or straight: an animal that engages in a same-sex flirtation or partnership does not necessarily shun heterosexual encounters. Rather, many species seem to have ingrained homosexual tendencies that are a regular part of their society. That is, there are probably no strictly gay critters, just bisexual ones. Animals don't do sexual identity. They just do sex."

History

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greeks did not associate sexual relations with binary labels, as modern Western society does. Men who had male lovers were not identified as homosexual, and may have had wives or other female lovers. Ancient Greek religious texts, reflecting cultural practices, incorporated bisexual themes. The subtexts varied, from the mystical to the didactic.

Spartans thought that love and erotic relationships between experienced and novice soldiers would solidify combat loyalty and unit cohesion, and encourage heroic tactics as men vied to impress their lovers. Once the younger soldiers reached maturity, the relationship was supposed to become non-sexual, but it is not clear how strictly this was followed. There was some stigma attached to young men who continued their relationships with their mentors into adulthood. For example, Aristophanes calls them ''euryprôktoi'', meaning "wide arses", and depicts them like women.

The Theban Band was organized according to the same idea.

Ancient Rome

It was said in Ancient Rome of Augustus Caesar that he was "every man's wife and every woman's husband".

In 124 AD the bisexual Roman emperor Hadrian met Antinous, a 13- or 14-year-old boy from Bithynia, and inducted him into his Imperial Entourage; Antinous eventually became the Emperor's favourite. He was deified by Hadrian when he died six years later after sacrificing himself to the gods of the river Nile in order to cure the sickly Hadrian, other accounts say that he was murdered by the Emperor's detractors. Many statues, busts, coins and reliefs depict Hadrian's deep fixation with him and the Emperor even founded the city of Antinopolis near the site of his favourite's death.

Social status

Because some bisexual people do not feel that they fit into either the homosexual or the heterosexual world, and because they have a tendency to be "invisible" in public, some bisexual persons are committed to forming their own communities, culture, and political movements. Some who identify as bisexual may merge themselves into either homosexual or heterosexual society. Still other bisexual people see this merging as enforced rather than voluntary; bisexual people can face exclusion from both homosexual and heterosexual society on coming out. Psychologist Beth Firestein states that bisexuals tend to internalize social tensions related to their choice of partners and feel pressured to label themselves as homosexuals instead of occupying the difficult middle ground where attraction to people of both sexes would defy society's value on monogamy. These social tensions and pressure may affect bisexuals' mental health, and specific therapy methods have been developed for bisexuals to address this concern.

Bisexual behaviors are also associated in popular culture with men who engage in same-sex activity while otherwise presenting as heterosexual. The majority of such men — said to be ''living on the down-low'' — do not self-identify as bisexual. However, this may be a cultural misperception closely related to that of other LGBT individuals who hide their actual orientation due to societal pressures, a phenomenon colloquially called ''"being closeted"''.

Pride symbols

A common symbol of the Bisexual community is the bisexual pride flag, which has a deep pink stripe at the top for homosexuality, a blue one on the bottom for heterosexuality, and a purple one, blended from the pink and blue, in the middle to represent bisexuality.

Another symbol with the same color scheme is a pair of overlapping pink and blue triangles, the pink triangle being a well-known symbol for the homosexual community, forming purple where they intersect.

Many homosexual and bisexual individuals have a problem with the use of the pink triangle symbol, as it was the symbol that Hitler's regime used to tag and persecute homosexuals (similar to the yellow Star of David constituted of two opposed, overlapping triangles). Therefore, a double moon symbol was devised specifically to avoid the use of triangles. The double moon symbol is common in Germany and surrounding countries. Another symbol used for bisexuality is a purple diamond, conceptually derived from the intersection of an two triangles, pink and blue (respectively), placed overlapping.

Elsewhere in the animal kingdom

Many non-human animal species also exhibit bisexual behavior. Examples of mammals include the bonobo (formerly known as the pygmy chimpanzee), orca, and bottlenose dolphin. Examples of avians include some species of gulls and Humboldt Penguins. Other examples occur among fish and flatworms.

Many species of animals are involved in the act of forming sexual and relationship bonds between the same sex; even when offered the opportunity to breed with members of the opposite sex, they picked the same sex. Some of these species are gazelles, antelope, bison, and sage grouse.

In some cases animals will choose intercourse with different sexes at different times in their life, and sometimes will perform intercourse with different sexes at random. Homosexual intercourse can also be seasonal in some animals like male walruses, who often engage in homosexual intercourse with each other outside of the breeding season and will revert to heterosexual intercourse during breeding season.

In some cases bisexuality is actually a form of fitness favored by evolution. For example, female ''Cnemidophorus'' (a genus of whiptail lizards) reproduce by pairing up with each other. During the breeding season, females will take turns switching between "male" and "female" roles as their hormones fluctuate. Estrogen levels are high during ovulation ("female" role) and much lower after laying eggs ("male" role). While in the "male" role, a female lizard will mount another in the "female" role and go through the motions of sex to stimulate egg-laying. The hatchlings produced are all female. This all-female species has evolved from lizards with two sexes, but their eggs develop without fertilization (parthenogenesis). Female whiptail lizards can lay eggs without sex, but they lay far fewer eggs than if they engage in sexual stimulation by another female.

In culture

Film

Notable portrayals of bisexuality can be found throughout mainstream media in movies such as: ''Black Swan'', ''Showgirls'', ''The Pillow Book'', ''Alexander''. ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', ''Henry and June'', ''Chasing Amy'', ''Velvet Goldmine'', ''Kissing Jessica Stein'', ''The Fourth Man'', ''Basic Instinct'', ''Sunday Bloody Sunday'', ''Something for Everyone'', ''The Rules of Attraction'', and ''Brokeback Mountain''.

The documentary ''Bi the Way'', which aired on the LGBT cable TV network Logo in August 2009 followed the lives of five bisexual Americans ages 11 to 28. The movie talked about bisexuality in general and featured scientific studies, interviews with bisexual leaders and media portrayals. A majority of the bi/pan/fluid community felt the movie had portrayed them positively and had brought attention to their struggles, but some felt it had stereotyped them.

Television

The Fox television series ''House'' features a bisexual female doctor, Remy "Thirteen" Hadley, portrayed by Olivia Wilde, from season four on. The same network had earlier aired the television series ''The O.C.'', which for a time featured bisexual Alex Kelly (also portrayed by Olivia Wilde), the local rebellious hangout spot's manager, as a love interest of Marissa Cooper.

Beginning with the 2009 season, MTV's ''The Real World'' series featured two bisexual characters, Emily Schromm, and Mike Manning. Some bloggers suggested he was in fact gay, although he himself identified as bisexual.

In the BBC TV science fiction show, ''Torchwood'', several of the main characters, appear to have fluid sexuality. Most prominent among these is Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), is bisexual who is the lead character and an otherwise conventional science fiction action hero. Described within the logic of the show, where characters can also interact with alien species, producers sometimes use the term "omnisexual" to describe him. Jack, who originated in the long-running series ''Doctor Who'', later becomes romantically involved with his co-worker, Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd). Whereas Jack does not consider sexual orientation in a contemporary human way, Ianto's understanding of sexuality, though not label-oriented, is more conflicted. Jack's ex, Captain John Hart (James Marsters) is also bisexual. Of his female exes, significantly at least one ex-wife and at least one woman with whom he has had a child have been indicated. Some critics draw the conclusion that the series more often shows Jack with men than women. Creator Russell T Davies says one of pitfalls of writing a bisexual character is you "fall into the trap" of "only having them sleep with men." He describes of the show's fourth series, "You'll see the full range of his appetites, in a really properly done way." The preoccupation with bisexuality has been seen as critics as complimentary to other aspects of the show's themes. For heterosexual character Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), for whom Jack harbors romantic feelings, the new experiences she confronts at Torchwood, in the form of ""affairs and homosexuality and the threat of death", connote not only the Other but a "missing side" to the Self. Under the influence of an alien pheromone, Gwen kisses a woman in episode two of the series. In episode one, heterosexual Owen Harper (Burn Gorman) kisses a man to escape a fight when he is about to take the man's girlfriend. Quiet Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori) is in love with Owen, but has also has brief romantic relationships with a female alien and a male human. British newspaper ''The Sun'' ran the headline "Dr Ooh gets four gay pals" prior to the first series, describing all of ''Torchwood''s cast as being bisexual.

Music

Rock musician David Bowie famously declared himself bisexual in an interview with ''Melody Maker'' in January 1972, a move coinciding with the first shots in his campaign for stardom as Ziggy Stardust. In a September 1976 interview with ''Playboy'', Bowie said: "It's true—I am a bisexual. But I can't deny that I've used that fact very well. I suppose it's the best thing that ever happened to me." In a 1983 interview he said it was "the biggest mistake I ever made", elaborating in 2002 he explained "I don’t think it was a mistake in Europe, but it was a lot tougher in America. I had no problem with people knowing I was bisexual. But I had no inclination to hold any banners or be a representative of any group of people. I knew what I wanted to be, which was a songwriter and a performer [...] America is a very puritanical place, and I think it stood in the way of so much I wanted to do. In 1995, Jill Sobule sung about bi-curiosity in her song "I Kissed a Girl", with a video that alternated images of Sobule and a boyfriend (played by Fabio) along with images of her with a girlfriend. Another song with the same name by Katy Perry also hints at the same theme. Some activists suggest the song merely reinforces the stereotype of bisexuals experimenting and of bisexuality not being a real sexual preference. Lady Gaga has stated that she is bisexual, and has stated that her song "Poker Face" is about fantasizing about a woman while being with a man. Billie Joe Armstrong, of Green Day, identified himself as bisexual in a 1995 interview with The Advocate. British singer Jessie J is also openly bisexual and stated in an interview on the "In Demand" radio show on March 3, 2011 "I've never denied it. Whoopie doo guys, yes, I've dated girls and I've dated boys – get over it."

Literature

Virginia Woolf's ''Orlando: A Biography'' (1928) is an early example of bisexuality in literature. The story, of a man who changes into a woman without a second thought, was based on the life of Woolf's lover Vita Sackville-West. Woolf used the gender switch to avoid the book being banned for homosexual content. Her 1925 book ''Mrs Dalloway'' focused on a bisexual man and a bisexual woman in sexually unfulfilled heterosexual marriages in later life. Following Sackille-West's death, her son Nigel Nicolson published ''Portrait of a Marriage'', one of her diaries recounting her affair with a woman during her marriage to Harold Nicolson. Other early examples include works of D.H. Lawrence, such as ''Women in Love'' (1920), and Colette's ''Claudine'' (1900–1903) series.

The main character in Patrick White's novel, The Twyborn Affair (1979), is bisexual. Contemporary novelist Bret Easton Ellis' novels, such as ''Less Than Zero'' (1985) and ''The Rules of Attraction'' (1987) frequently feature bisexual male characters; this "casual approach" to bisexual characters recurs throughout Ellis' work.

Webseries

In October 2009, "A Rose By Any Other Name" was released as a "webisode" series on YouTube. Directed by bisexual rights advocate Kyle Schickner, the plot centers around a lesbian-identified woman who falls in love with a straight man and decides she is actually bisexual.

Media stereotypes

There tend to be negative media portrayals; references are sometimes made to stereotypes or mental disorders. In an article regarding the 2005 film ''Brokeback Mountain'', sex educator Amy Andre argued that in films, bisexuals are often depicted negatively:

Using a content analysis of more than 170 articles written between 2001 and 2006, sociologist Richard N. Pitt, Jr. concluded that the media pathologized black bisexual men’s behavior while either ignoring or sympathizing with white bisexual men’s similar actions. He argued that the black bisexual is often described as a ''duplicitous heterosexual'' man spreading the HIV/AIDS virus. Alternatively, the "Brokeback" white bisexual (when seen as bisexual at all) is often described in pitying language as a ''victimized homosexual'' man forced into the closet by the heterosexist society around him.

On the HBO drama ''Oz'', Christopher Meloni played Chris Keller, a bisexual serial killer who tortured and raped various men and women. Other films in which bisexual characters conceal murderous neuroses include ''Black Widow'', ''Blue Velvet'', ''Cruising'', ''Single White Female'', and ''Girl, Interrupted''.

See also

Bisexual Community

Bicurious

Bisexual chic

Journal of Bisexuality

Bisexual erasure

Biphobia

List of bisexual people

List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people

List of LGBT-related organizations

List of media portrayals of bisexuality

Media portrayal of bisexuality

Mixed-orientation marriage

Non-westernized concepts of male sexuality

Societal attitudes towards homosexuality

Pansexuality

Heteroflexible

References

Further reading

General

Michel Larivière. ''Homosexuels et bisexuels célèbres'', Delétraz Editions, 1997. ISBN 2-911110-19-6

Sigmund Freud. ''Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex''. ISBN 0-486-41603-8

Ancient Greece and Rome

Eva Cantarella. ''Bisexuality in the Ancient World'', Yale University Press, New Haven, 1992, 2002. ISBN 9780300093025

Kenneth J. Dover. ''Greek Homosexuality'', New York; Vintage Books, 1978. ISBN 0-394-74224-9

Thomas K. Hubbard. ''Homosexuality in Greece and Rome'', U. of California Press, 2003. ISBN 0-520-23430-8

Herald Patzer. ''Die Griechische Knabenliebe [Greek Pederasty],'' Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1982. In: Sitzungsberichte der Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft an der Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Vol. 19 No. 1.

W. A. Percy III. ''Pederasty and Pedagogy in Archaic Greece,'' University of Illinois Press, 1996. ISBN 0-252-02209-2

By country

Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe, et al. ''Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature,'' New York: New York University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8147-7468-7

J. Wright & Everett Rowson. ''Homoeroticism in Classical Arabic Literature''. 1998. ISBN 0-231-10507-X (pbbk)/ ISBN 0-231-10506-1 (hdbk)

Gary Leupp. ''Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan,'' Berkeley, University of California Press, 1995. ISBN 0-520-20900-1

Tsuneo Watanabe & Jun'ichi Iwata. ''The Love of the Samurai. A Thousand Years of Japanese Homosexuality,'' London: GMP Publishers, 1987. ISBN 0-85449-115-5

Modern Western

''Bi Any Other Name : Bisexual People Speak Out'' by Loraine Hutchins, Editor & Lani Ka'ahumanu, Editor ISBN 1-55583-174-5

''Getting Bi : Voices of Bisexuals Around the World'' by Robyn Ochs, Editor & Sarah Rowley, Editor ISBN 0-9653881-4-X

''The Bisexual Option'' by Fritz Klein, MD ISBN 1-56023-033-9

''Bi Men : Coming Out Every Which Way'' by Ron Suresha and Pete Chvany, Editors ISBN 978-1-56023-615-3

''Bi America : Myths, Truths, And Struggles Of An Invisible Community'' by William E. Burleson ISBN 978-1-56023-478-4

''Bisexuality in the United States : A Social Science Reader'' by Paula C. Rodriguez Rust, Editor ISBN 0-231-10226-7

''Bisexuality : The Psychology and Politics of an Invisible Minority'' by Beth A. Firestein, Editor ISBN 0-8039-7274-1

''Current Research on Bisexuality'' by Ronald C. Fox PhD, Editor ISBN 978-1560232896

Exploring Biphobia. (144 KB PDF). Report on the problems caused by stereotyping of bisexuals.

http://xoomer.alice.it/letteraturadamore/Orlando.html ("Orlando", a Virginia Woolf's novel focused on sexual ambiguity)

Other Film

Bryant, Wayne M.. ''Bisexual Characters in Film: From Anais to Zee''. Haworth Gay & Lesbian Studies, 1997. ISBN 1-56023-894-1

External links

"Bisexuality" at the Magnus Hirschfeld Archive for Sexology

The Continuum Complete International Encyclopedia of Sexuality

Bisexuality Basics, UC Riverside LGBT Resource Center, Riverside, CA

American Psychological Association's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns Office

3 Category:Gender studies

af:Biseksualiteit ar:ازدواجية الميول الجنسية bn:উভকামিতা zh-min-nan:Siang-sèng-loân be:Бісексуальнасць bar:Bisexualität br:Divrevelezh bg:Бисексуалност ca:Bisexualitat cs:Bisexualita cy:Deurywioldeb da:Biseksualitet de:Bisexualität et:Biseksuaalsus el:Αμφιφυλοφιλία es:Bisexualidad eo:Ambaŭseksemo eu:Bisexualitate fa:دوجنس‌گرایی fo:Tvíkynd fr:Bisexualité fy:Biseksualiteit gd:Dà-ghnèitheachd gl:Bisexualidade ko:양성애 hy:Երկսեռականություն hr:Biseksualnost id:Biseksualitas ia:Bisexualitate is:Tvíkynhneigð it:Bisessualità he:ביסקסואליות ka:ბისექსუალობა ky:Бисексуалдар ku:Bîseksuelî lv:Biseksualitāte lt:Biseksualumas hu:Biszexualitás mk:Бисексуалност ms:Kedwiseksan nl:Biseksualiteit nds-nl:Biseksualiteait ja:両性愛 no:Bifili nn:Bifili pl:Biseksualizm pt:Bissexualidade ro:Bisexualitate ru:Бисексуальность sco:Bisexuality simple:Bisexuality sk:Bisexualita sl:Biseksualnost sr:Бисексуалност sh:Biseksualnost fi:Biseksuaalisuus sv:Bisexualitet ta:இருபால்சேர்க்கை th:รักร่วมสองเพศ tg:Дуҷинсгароӣ tr:Biseksüellik uk:Бісексуальність vi:Lưỡng giới yi:בייסעקסואלוטעט zh-yue:雙性戀 zh:双性恋

name	Tyra Banks
birth name	Tyra Lynne Banks
birth date	December 04, 1973
birth place
occupation	Model ActressTalk show host
height
haircolor	Dark Brown
eyecolor	Brown
measurements	34D-24-35½
years active	1991–present
website	Tyra Banks web site
agency	IMG Models
salary	$23 million (2008) }}

Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973) is an American supermodel, media personality, actress, occasional singer, and businesswoman. She first became famous as a model in Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo, and New York, but television appearances were her commercial breakthrough. Banks is the creator and host of the UPN/The CW reality television show ''America's Next Top Model'', co-creator of ''True Beauty'', and host of her own talk show, ''The Tyra Banks Show.''

Early life

Tyra Banks was born in Inglewood, California, the daughter of Carolyn (née London), a medical photographer, and Donald Banks, a computer consultant. The couple divorced in 1980, when Banks was 6 years old. However, the relationship between her parents, and between her and her brother Devin Banks (born 1968), stayed friendly. Later, Carolyn married Clifford Johnson; she now goes by Carolyn London-Johnson. Banks attended John Burroughs Middle School and graduated in 1991 from Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles. She was accepted by USC and UCLA but declined to attend, instead pursuing a career in modeling.

Career

Modeling

Banks began modeling in the 11th grade. She later went to Paris, France to do some runway modeling. Within Banks' first week in Paris, she was booked for twenty-five shows. She has done extensive print and/or runway work for fashion/advertising giants, such as Anna Sui, CoverGirl, Bill Blass, Chanel, Victoria's Secret, and Yves Saint Laurent. She has appeared on the covers of high-fashion magazines such as ''Vogue'', ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Cosmopolitan'', and ''Elle''.

Banks was the first African American woman on the covers of ''GQ'' and the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue''. In 1997, she received the VH1 award for Supermodel of the Year. That same year, she became the first-ever African American chosen for the cover of the Victoria's Secret catalog.

In 1998, Banks authored a book entitled ''Tyra's Beauty, Inside and Out''. The book was advertised as a resource for helping women to make the most out of their natural beauty.

Banks retired from modeling in May 2005 to concentrate on her television career. She walked the runway for the final time at the 2005 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

In 2010, Banks re-signed with her former modeling agency IMG Models.

Move into television and film

Banks's television career began on the fourth season of ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', in which she played lead character Will Smith's old friend Jackie Ames. She made seven appearances in the series. Other TV credits include ''Felicity'', ''MADtv'', ''Nick Cannon's Wild 'n Out'' (in which she was featured as a special guest host and team captain) and ''The Price Is Right'' (guest-starring as a "Barker's Beauty"). She also appeared as a guest in the animated talk show ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' in an episode entitled "Chinatown."

Tyra Banks started her own production company ''Bankable Productions'', which produced ''The Tyra Banks Show'', ''America's Next Top Model'', and the 2008 movie ''The Clique''.

Currently, Banks can be seen on television as the hostess, judge and executive producer of The CW Television Network show ''America's Next Top Model''. In addition, she hosted ''The Tyra Banks Show'', a daytime talk show aimed at younger women, which premiered on September 12, 2005, and ran until May 28, 2010.

In 2008, Banks won the Daytime Emmy Award for her work and production on ''The Tyra Banks Show''. In late-January 2008, Banks got the go-ahead from The CW Television Network to start work on a new reality television series based on fashion magazines called ''Stylista''. The show premiered on October 22, 2008.

In 2009, she was honored by Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) with the Excellence in Media Award.

Banks's first big screen role came in 1994, when she co-starred in the drama ''Higher Learning''. She then co-starred with Lindsay Lohan in the Disney film ''Life-Size'', playing a doll named Eve who comes to life and has to learn how to live in the real world. Other notable roles include ''Love Stinks'' (1999), ''Love & Basketball'' (2000), ''Coyote Ugly'' (2000) and ''Halloween: Resurrection'' (2002). She and Miley Cyrus poke fun at the excesses of the Hollywood lifestyle with a battle over a pair of shoes in ''Hannah Montana: The Movie'' (2009).

Banks appeared in the fourth episode of the third season of ''Gossip Girl'' playing Ursula Nyquist, a larger-than-life actress who works with Serena.

Music

Banks has appeared in several music videos, including Michael Jackson's "Black or White", Tina Turner's "Love Thing", Mobb Deep's "Trife Life", George Michael's "Too Funky" (with fellow supermodel Linda Evangelista) and Lionel Richie's "Don't Wanna Lose You". In 2004, she recorded her first single, "Shake Ya Body," which had a music video featuring the final six contestants on ''America's Next Top Model, Cycle 2''. The video was world-premiered on UPN, but the single turned out to be a failure. On ''America's Next Top Model, Cycle 2'' Banks said, "Singing has been a passion of mine for a long, long time...six years on the down low - been ducking in and out of studios cutting tracks." Later, on her talk show, she said, "I can't believe I wasted six years of doing something that I didn't finish...I was almost able to release my album ''T.Y.R.A.'', but since my music career hit rock bottom, I quit."

Banks released a single with NBA player Kobe Bryant, entitled "K.O.B.E.," which was performed on NBA TV. She also has a single on the soundtrack to Disney Channel's Original Movie ''Life-Size'' called "Be A Star."

Books

Banks announced in May 2010 that she would be writing a novel, called ''Modelland'', loosely based on her own modelling experience. Scheduled to be released in September 2011, it is the first of a planned three-part series. On an interview with ''Good Morning America'', Banks stated that ''Modelland'' is the story of four girls who are accepted into an "exclusive" modelling school in the world of Modelland.

''Love Stinks ''Love & Basketball'' ''Halloween: Resurrection'' ''Mr. Woodcock'' ''Tropic Thunder'' ''Hannah Montana: The Movie'' ''MADtv'' ''America's Next Top Model'' ''American Dreams'' ''The Tyra Banks Show'' ''Gossip Girl (TV series)

colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;"	Film
		! Film	! Role	! Notes
1995	''Higher Learning''	Deja
1999	|	Holly Garnett
rowspan=3	2000	|	Kyra Kessler
''Life-Size''	Eve Doll
''Coyote Ugly (film)	Coyote Ugly''	Zoë
rowspan=2	2002	|	Nora Winston
''Eight Crazy Nights''	Victoria's Secret Gown
2007	|	Herself	Cameo
2008	|	Herself	Cameo
2009	|	Herself in Women's Shoe Department	Cameo
colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;">Television
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
1993	''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air''	Jackie Ames	*Where There's a Will, There's a Way: Part 1	*All Guts, No Glory	*Father of the Year	*Blood Is Thicker Than Mud	*Fresh Prince After Dark	*Take My Cousin... Please	*You've Got to Be a Football Hero
rowspan=2	1999		Jane Scott	*A Good Egg	*Kissing Mr. Covington	*One Ball, Two Strikes
''Just Shoot Me!''	Herself	*Nina Sees Red: Part 1	*Nina Sees Red: Part 2
2000	|	Katisha Latisha Parisha Farisha Johnson	TV series	*Episode #5.17	*Episode #5.25
2003–present	|	Host	Reality TV series created, judged and hosted by Banks
rowspan=2	2004	|	Carolyn Gill	TV series	*Chasing the Past
''All of Us''	Roni	*O Brother, Where Art Thou?
2005–2010	|	Host	Talk show
2009	Gossip Girl''||	Ursula Nyquist	TV series,season 3	*Dan de Fleurette

Further education

In 2011, Banks enrolled in the Owner/President Management Program (OPM) at the Harvard Business School.

Philanthropy

In 1999, Tyra Banks established the TZONE program, which aimed at leadership and life skills development. The program was created for the primarily disadvantaged teen girls in the greater Los Angeles area, and involves sending teens to a week-long overnight camp outside of LA, where Tyra personally lived among and bonded with the campers.

In 2005, TZONE transformed from a camp into a public charity, the Tyra Banks TZONE Foundation, with a mission which honors TZONE's camp origins, and seeks to create a larger “sisterhood” among girls and young women. It makes grants to grassroot organizations, and supports organizations that serve women and girls ages 13–35.

References

External links

''The Tyra Banks Show'' website

''The New York Times'' Profile/Interview

Category:1973 births Category:African American film actors Category:African American models Category:African American female models Category:African American female singers Category:African American television personalities Category:American entertainment industry businesspeople Category:American female models Category:American game show hosts Category:American television producers Category:American television talk show hosts Category:Models from California Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Living people Category:People from the Greater Los Angeles Area Category:GLAAD Media Awards winners

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Name	Tila Tequila
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Tila Nguyen
Alias	Tila Tequila
Birth date	October 24, 1981
Birth place	Singapore
Origin	Houston, Texas, United States
Instruments	Vocals
Genre	R&B;, pop rap, hip hop, pop rock, electropop
Occupation	glamour model, singer, rapper
Years active	2001–present
Website	misstila.com }}

Tila Nguyen (born October 24, 1981), better known by her stage names Tila Tequila and Miss Tila, is a Singaporean-born American model and television personality. She is known for her appearances in the men's magazines ''Stuff'', ''Maxim'', ''Penthouse'', her role as host of the Fuse TV show featuring performance striptease, ''Pants-Off Dance-Off'' and her position as the most popular artist on MySpace (according to page views) circa April 2006, along with Jeffree Star. She was raised in Houston, Texas, and now lives in Los Angeles, California. Her MTV reality show ''A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila'' aired for two seasons.

Early life and education

Nguyen was born in Singapore, where her family emigrated from Vietnam after the Vietnam War. Her mother is half French descent, while her father is full Vietnamese. Her siblings are Daniel and Terri. When she was one year old, she and her family lived in a neighborhood in Houston until they were admitted to a gated community run by a strict Buddhist temple. The family left the community when Nguyen was eight.

While in middle school, Nguyen became a tomboy and was eventually sent to a boarding school for six months for her combative behavior before transferring to another school. While in high school, she used her sister's identification card to enter nightclubs, where she began taking drugs and joined a gang. In her memoir, she would later explain that she felt "confused" and "lost" from various personal family and environmental issues and lost her virginity at 15. She turned to writing poems in an attempt to release powerful emotions, and friends outside the gang briefly helped turn her life around. However, her past caught up with her, and she fled to Queens, New York, at the age of 16. While still 16, she experienced a drive-by shooting in Houston. She reports having become pregnant and suffering a miscarriage the following year.

Nguyen graduated from Alief Hastings High School in 2000. She has cited the violent adolescence she had in Texas as her reason for becoming a model and moving to California in 2001. In a March 2003 interview, she revealed that she has taken some college classes but does not have a degree, stating, "I didn't want to go to college for an actual degree because there's nothing out there I like besides doing something that involves the entertainment industry."

Career

Modeling and acting

Nguyen's career began at the age of 18 when she was discovered at the Sharpstown Mall by a ''Playboy'' scout and was offered a chance to model nude for the magazine. She did a test shoot, then eventually moved to Southern California and was featured as ''Playboy''’s Cyber Girl of the week on April 22, 2002, and soon thereafter she became the first Asian Cyber Girl of the Month. A few more pictorials for the magazine followed.

Nguyen gained further popularity through the import racing scene. She has been featured on the cover of ''Import Tuner'' magazine, at car shows such as Hot Import Nights, and in the video game ''Street Racing Syndicate''. She was also the most frequent host on the first season of Fuse TV's dance show, ''Pants-Off Dance-Off'', on which a group of contestants strip to music videos.

Nguyen was featured on the cover of the April 2006 issue of ''Stuff'' magazine; in the interview, she claimed that her nickname "Tila Tequila" came about when she experimented with alcohol at the age of thirteen. She appeared on the August 2006 ''Maxim'' UK cover, was named #88 in their Hot 100 List, and also appeared in the December 2007 issue. She was ranked #100 on the Maxim Hot 100 list in 2008.

Nguyen made an appearance as one of the 12 strangers in the first game on the April 6, 2007 episode of NBC's game show ''Identity''. On March 4, 2007 she made a cameo appearance on the show "War At Home." She also appeared as a Hooters Girl in the 2007 film ''I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry''.

Nguyen has been featured on the front page of magazines such as Penthouse, King, Blender, and most recently Steppin' Out

Nguyen has provided her voice to shows such as ''Robot Chicken'' and ''The Cleveland Show''.

Reality television

In May 2007, Nguyen began filming for a reality show which first aired on MTV on October 9, 2007, as ''A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila''. The program is a bisexual-themed dating show where 16 straight men and 16 lesbian women compete for Nguyen's affections, the twist being that the contestants were not aware of her bisexuality until the end of the first episode. The ten-episode series is produced by SallyAnn Salsano and MTV.

The show led to a heated online debate between Nguyen and conservative Christians after an article appeared on ''The Christian Post'' on September 13, 2007. After seeing the article, Nguyen wrote an impassioned response in her blog on September 28, 2007, criticizing churches for "bashing" the gay community while thanking God for saving her life.

The show premiered for a second season in April 2008 and became a popular gossip subject in Asian media, such as ''AsianWeek''. The season finale premiered July 8, 2008, the winner being Kristy Morgan who declined her "shot at love". A new season of the series was announced. However, bisexual twin women were the bachelorettes.

Before ''A Shot at Love'', Nguyen was a contestant on VH1's ''Surviving Nugent'', a reality TV show where participants performed compromising tasks and stunts for rock star Ted Nugent.

Online business ventures

In July 2001, Nguyen started up her website entitled "Tila's Hot Spot". Originally the site featured information, quotes, blog, and pictorials requiring adult verification and a monthly fee. Later, the site was revamped to feature all-ages content and information to promote her career, business ventures, personal information, and a premium membership section including videos, non-nude picture galleries, blogs, and chat sessions. In 2008 the site was transformed into a social network.

During 2005, Nguyen launched Tilafashion.com, a site featuring her custom line of clothing for men and women. In 2006, Nguyen created a website entitled "Tila Zone," which features content to use on Myspace and other social networking websites including layouts, widgets, and clipart.

In December 2009, Nguyen partnered with Joe Francis to launch a dating site called "TilasHotSpotDating.com". The site is for people ages 18 and up. The site includes a free membership with basic access to the site, and paid membership which includes access to other areas of the site. Nguyen has taken part in webcam chats on the site.

In 2010, Nguyen launched a celebrity blog site, MissTilaOMG.com.

Music

At age 20, Nguyen acted on her interest in rock music and started looking for bands willing to let her join. She eventually assembled a band called Beyond Betty Jean, for which she was singer and songwriter. Following the breakup of Beyond Betty Jean, Nguyen started working in recording studios to sharpen her vocal skills and wrote music. Later, she became the lead singer of a band called Jealousy, which released a few songs online before breaking up. Around this time, she began to employ the stage name of "Tila Tequila".

In April 2006 during the taping of an interview with MTV's ''Total Request Live'' VJs, will.i.am announced that Nguyen had been signed to the Will.I.Am music group, a record label under A&M; Records. Despite this major-label signing, Nguyen independently released her first single "I Love U" through iTunes on February 27, 2007, justifying the independent release through her desire to become famous by herself. She also shot a music video for the song.

In March 2007, Washington-based record label The Saturday Team released an EP called ''Sex'', by Tila Tequila. On July 27, 2007, Italian website MusicBlob reported that The Saturday Team and distributor Icon Music Entertainment Services sued Nguyen over breaching her contract related to the album. However, Nguyen claimed in a MySpace bulletin that the EP was not authorized for release by her, and was removed from most retailers. The Saturday Team won a legal case, making ''Sex'' available for digital purchase.

On October 9, 2007, Nguyen released her second official single, "Stripper Friends". A video premiered via Yahoo! Music on February 26, 2008 and was released to iTunes on March 4, 2008. The single failed to chart. In April 2008, the single "Paralyze" and its accompanying music video were released via Yahoo! Music and iTunes.

On April 7, 2009 the "''I Love U Remixes''" EP was released to digital music retailers.

In April 2010, Nguyen officially released "I Fucked The DJ", along with an edited version entitled "I Love My DJ", through iTunes. The songs were released under the name "Miss Tila".

In May 2010, Nguyen released an EP to iTunes entitled "Welcome to the Darkside". The EP includes a cover of Depeche Mode's song "Blue Dress" and Yoko Ono's song "Walking on Thin Ice". Tila began a tour supporting the new EP in 2010, and at one of her tour stops in August 2010, Nguyen appeared at the Gathering of the Juggalos, a music festival founded by hip hop duo Insane Clown Posse. She was repeatedly pelted with rocks and bottles among other objects, and she vowed to take legal action against the organizers and promoters for the event.

Book

On December 2, 2008, Nguyen released a self-help book, ''Hooking Up with Tila Tequila: A Guide to Love, Fame, Happiness, Success, and Being the Life of the Party'' (ISBN 9781439101537).

Record Label and Management Firm

Nguyen has started her own record label called "Tila Tequila Records", and recently signed Raz-B of B2K. Apart from her record label, Nguyen has also started a management firm called "Little Miss Trendsetter Management LLC".

Personal life

On September 6, 2009, Nguyen was allegedly choked and restrained by former boyfriend Shawne Merriman, who was later arrested. San Diego district attorney Bonnie Dumanis decided not to charge Merriman after her office spent three days reviewing reports from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. On November 17, 2009, Nguyen sued Merriman for $1.5 million. Several weeks later, Merriman countersued, alleging intentional interference with contract, unfair competition, and trademark infringement. She declined to respond to his more recent actions, and a default judgment was entered in his favor for $2 million.

In November 2009, Nguyen announced on Twitter that she is a lesbian, rather than bisexual, as she had previously proclaimed herself to be.

On December 9, 2009, Nguyen stated she was engaged to heiress Casey Johnson and was photographed with a diamond ring. On January 4, 2010, Johnson, who had long suffered from Type I Diabetes, was found dead. On February 4, 2010, the Los Angeles Coroner's Office announced that Johnson "died from diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening condition caused by a lack of insulin and high blood sugar". She was reported to have neglected to take her medication, and died naturally. Nguyen has arranged plans to seek legal custody of Casey Johnson's adopted daughter, Ava.

Discography

EPs

''Sex'' (2007)

''Welcome to the Dark Side'' (2010)

===Singles===

"I Love U" (2007)

"Stripper Friends" (2007)

"Paralyze" (2008)

"I Fucked the DJ (I Love My DJ)" (2010)

"You Can Dance" (2011)

Filmography

Films

''I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry'' as a Hooters Girl (2007)

Television

''A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila'' as herself (2007)

''A Shot at Love II with Tila Tequila'' as herself (2008)

''The War at Home'' as herself (episode: The White Shadow)

''Robot Chicken'' as herself (episode: Help Me!)

''MADtv'' as herself (episode: #1412) (2009)

''The Cleveland Show'' as herself (episode: The Brown Knight)

''$h*! My Dad Says'' as Ting Ting (episode: Ed Goes to Court)

Books

Tila Tequila with Sarah Tomlinson, ''Hooking Up With Tila Tequila: A Guide to Love, Fame, Happiness, Success, and Being the Life of the Party'', Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, December 2008 (ISBN 9781439101537)

Awards and nominations

{|class="wikitable" |- !Year !Award !Result |- |2007 |The Soup Awards for Entertainer of the Year | |- |rowspan=2|2008 |Spike Annual Guy's Awards for So Hot They're Famous | |- |Bravo's A-List Awards for A-List Drama Queen | |}

References

External links

Official website

Category:Living people Category:1981 births Category:21st-century women writers Category:American actors of Asian descent Category:American bloggers Category:American female singers Category:American memoirists Category:American musicians of Vietnamese descent Category:American people of French descent Category:American pop singer-songwriters Category:American television personalities Category:American women writers Category:American writers of Asian descent Category:Lesbian actors Category:Lesbian musicians Category:Lesbian writers Category:LGBT Asian Americans Category:LGBT musicians from the United States Category:LGBT television personalities Category:LGBT writers from the United States Category:Musicians from Houston, Texas Category:Musicians from Los Angeles, California Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Queens Category:Singaporean emigrants to the United States

de:Tila Tequila es:Tila Tequila fr:Tila Tequila it:Tila Tequila lt:Tila Tequila nl:Tila Tequila ja:ティラ・テキーラ no:Tila Tequila pl:Tila Tequila pt:Tila Tequila ru:Тила Текила fi:Tila Tequila sv:Tila Nguyen th:ทีลา เทกีลา tr:Tila Tequila vi:Tila Nguyễn zh:提拉·特基拉

birthname	Daniel Keenan Savage
birth date	October 07, 1964
birth place	Chicago, Illinois
spouse	Terry Miller
children	D.J.
other names	Keenan Hollahan
education	B.A., Theater, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
occupation	Author, media pundit, journalist, newspaper editor and sex advice columnist }}

Daniel Keenan "Dan" Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, media pundit, journalist and newspaper editor. Savage writes the internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column ''Savage Love''. Its tone is frank in its discussion of sexuality, often humorous, and hostile to social conservatives, as in the Santorum controversy regarding homosexuality. Savage, who is gay, has often been the subject of controversy regarding some of his opinions that pointedly clash with cultural conservatives and those put forth by what Savage has been known to call the "gay establishment". He has also worked as a theater director, both under his real name and under the name Keenan Hollahan, using his middle name and his grandmother's maiden name. In 2010, Savage and his husband Terry Miller began the It Gets Better Project to help prevent suicide among LGBT youth.

Early life and college

Dan Savage was born to William and Judy Savage in Chicago, Illinois. He is of Irish ancestry. The third of four children, Savage was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary North, which he has described as "a Catholic high school in Chicago for boys thinking of becoming priests." Though Savage has stated that he is now "a wishy-washy agnostic" and an atheist, he has said that he still considers himself "culturally Catholic."

Savage attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied theater and history. As a theater director, Savage (working under the name "Keenan Hollahan") was a founder of Seattle's Greek Active Theater. Much of the group's work has been queer recontextualizations of classic works, such as a tragicomic ''Macbeth'' with both the title character and Lady Macbeth played by performers of the opposite sex. In March 2001, he directed his own ''Egguus'' at Consolidated Works, a parody of Peter Shaffer's 1973 play ''Equus'' which exchanged a fixation on horses for a fixation on chickens. Savage has not directed, produced, or performed in any productions since a 2003 production of ''Letters from the Earth'', also at Consolidated Works, his trimmed version of Mark Twain's ''The Diary of Adam and Eve'', which received scathing reviews, including one from his own paper, "My Boss's Show Stinks".

Savage Love

In 1991, Savage was living in Madison, Wisconsin, and working as a manager at a local video store that specialized in independent film titles. There, Savage befriended Tim Keck, co-founder of ''The Onion'', who announced that he was moving to Seattle to help start an alternative weekly newspaper titled ''The Stranger''. Savage "made the offhand comment that forever altered [his] life: 'Make sure your paper has an advice column — everybody claims to hate 'em, but everybody seems to read 'em'." Savage typed up a sample column, and to Savage's surprise Keck offered him the job.

Savage stated in a February 2006 interview in ''The Onion'''s ''A.V. Club'' (which publishes his column) that he began the column with the express purpose of providing mocking advice to heterosexuals. Savage wanted to call the column "Hey Faggot!" His editors at the time refused his choice of column name, but for the first several years of the column, he attached "Hey Faggot!" at the beginning of each printed letter as a salutation. According to Savage: In his February 25, 1999 column, Savage announced that he was retiring the phrase: "Lo many columns later, it feels strange to begin every column with a joke about a debate that ended years ago."

He has written in a number of columns about "straight rights" concerns, such as the HPV vaccine and the morning-after pill, stating in his November 9, 2005, column that "[t]he right-wingers and the fundies and the sex-phobes don't just have it in for the queers. They're coming for your asses too."

Radio and journalism

thumb|right|Dan Savage speaking at Illinois Wesleyan University, 2007In addition to maintaining his weekly column and authoring four books, Savage has been involved in several other projects.

From 1994 until 1997, he had a weekly three-hour call-in show called ''Savage Love Live'' on Seattle's KCMU (now KEXP). From 1998 to 2000, he ran the biweekly advice column ''Dear Dan'' on the news website abcnews.com.

He is now the editorial director of the weekly Seattle newspaper ''The Stranger'', a promotion from his former position as ''The Stranger''s editor-in-chief. Savage is currently a contributor to ''This American Life'', an hour-long radio show on Chicago's WBEZ syndicated by PRI, as well as a frequent contributor to ''Out'' magazine and a "Real Time Real Reporter" on HBO's ''Real Time with Bill Maher''. He has also made multiple appearances on MSNBC's ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' and CNN's ''Anderson Cooper 360'' discussing LGBT politcal issues such as same-sex marriage and Don't Ask Don't Tell.

Podcast

The Savage Lovecast is a weekly audio podcast based on Savage's column ''Savage Love'', available via iTunes and at the ''Stranger'''s website for free download. It features Savage doing a call-in version of his sex advice column.

iPhone App

In 2010, the Savage Love iPhone App was released. The app features a "Question of the Day" pulled from "Slog," the Stranger's blog, as well as archived and indexed advice from ''Savage Love''s archives. The app also provides access to The Savage Lovecast podcast and videos of Savage's speaking appearances, among other features.

Opinions and points of view

It Gets Better Project

On September 21, 2010, Savage started the It Gets Better Project in light of the suicide of 15-year-old Billy Lucas, who was bullied for his perceived sexual orientation. The project encourages adults, both LGBT and otherwise, to submit videos assuring gay teenagers that life can improve after bullying in early life. As of January 3, 2011, the project had over 5,000 user created testimonials.

Political advocacy

Savage has written about his interest in political matters. His political leanings are primarily liberal, with pronounced contrarian and libertarian streaks. For example, he wrote that in 2000, suffering from the flu while on an assignment for salon.com to cover the Iowa caucuses, he was so angered by televised remarks in opposition to same-sex marriage by conservative Republican presidential hopeful Gary Bauer that he abandoned his original plan "to follow one of the loopy conservative Christian candidates around — Bauer or Alan Keyes — and write something insightful and humanizing about him, his campaign, and his supporters." Instead, he volunteered for the Bauer campaign with the intent to infect the candidate with his flu. He wrote that he licked doorknobs and other objects in the campaign office, and handed Bauer a saliva-coated pen, hoping to pass the virus on to Bauer and his supporters (though he later said that much of the article had been fictitious). He also registered and participated in the caucus, which was illegal, as Savage was not an Iowa resident. He was charged and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of fraudulent voting in a caucus, and was sentenced to a year's probation, 50 hours of community service, and a $750 fine.

Savage frequently mentions political issues in his column, particularly issues that affect family planning, birth control, and sexuality. He often encourages readers to get involved and/or voice a positive or negative opinion about a politician or public official.

After Rick Santorum, then a United States senator from Pennsylvania, made comments to a reporter comparing homosexual sex to bestiality and incest in 2003, Savage assailed Santorum in his column. Later, he sponsored a contest that led to the term ''santorum'' being used to refer to "the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes a byproduct of anal sex". Savage set up a website to spread the definition. In 2010, Savage offered to remove his website if Rick Santorum would agree to donate US$5 million to a gay rights group. The organization, Freedom to Marry, advocates on behalf of same-sex marriage in the United States. Savage told ''Mother Jones'' in 2010, "If Rick Santorum wants to make a $5 million donation to [the gay marriage group] Freedom to Marry, I will take it down. Interest starts accruing now." Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, responded in a statement to ''Metro Weekly'': "Support for Freedom to Marry's national campaign would be welcome—and a good way for Rick Santorum to start cleaning up the discriminatory mess he and his companions have made."

Savage continued the tradition in 2009 by having his readers vote to define ''saddlebacking'' as "the phenomenon of Christian teens engaging in unprotected anal sex in order to preserve their virginities", as a protest against the vocal support given to California Proposition 8 by Rick Warren (pastor of Saddleback Church), and President Barack Obama's invitation to Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. When Savage vowed to boycott Utah due to strong Mormon support for Proposition 8 ("Fuck you, Utah – we’re going to big, blue Colorado"), the ''Salt Lake City Weekly'' dropped Savage's column: "all Utahns aren’t to blame."

Savage strongly supported the war in Iraq in the pages of ''The Stranger'' in October 2002. By the time of the U.S. invasion in March 2003, however, he had somewhat softened his argument.

Savage has also been a vocal opponent of state legislation proscribing the sale of sex toys. After an exposé by Kandiss Crone from WLBT (Jackson, Mississippi) precipitated the arrest and fining of an adult video store owner, Savage suggested that readers send any sex toys that they needed to dispose of to Crone.

Personal opinions

Savage initially supported the Iraq war and advocated military action against other Middle Eastern states, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, saying, "Islamo-fascism is a regional problem, like European fascism – and the Middle East [has] to be remade just as Europe was remade." One week before the war began, Savage spoke against it, citing the inability of President George W. Bush to form a convincing case and sway the UN and NATO allies. By 2005 he deemed the situation "hopeless" and advocated an immediate troop withdrawal. He describes his view toward family as "conservative", and his husband, Terry Miller, is a "stay-at-home dad" for the couple's adopted son. He has, however, expressed skepticism of "simplistic" views of monogamy. In response to a letter asking "Is the AIDS crisis over?" Savage, in his October 22, 1997 column, answered simply, "Yes." Several weeks of columns were devoted in whole or in part to discussion of the issue. In an interview with the ''Daily Pennsylvanian'', Savage stated that then-Green Party Senate candidate Carl Romanelli, whom Savage claimed was partially funded by state Republicans for a spoiler effect against Democrat Bob Casey, "should be dragged behind a pickup truck until there's nothing left but the rope." In the same interview, he stated, "Mr. Romanelli should go fuck himself." Immediately after the interview, Savage wrote, "I regret using that truck metaphor, and didn't mean it literally, and it was in poor taste, and I regret it." He opposes the tactics of the War on Drugs, and opposes the prohibition of certain controlled substances. On HBO's ''Real Time With Bill Maher'' July 15, 2011, during a panel discussion of the debt limit increase negotiations between the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama, Savage said in a stand-alone remark, "I wish the Republicans were all fucking dead." He apologized for his remarks on his blog later the same night saying in part, "I don't feel that way. My dad is a Republican. (Well, he says he's an independent, but he hasn't voted for a Democrat since JFK. My dad is a Republican.)"

Views on outing

Savage stated in a column that he favors outing in some cases, specifically mentioning anti-gay activist Tyler Whitney. However, in the same column he noted that "I recently talked someone ''out'' of outing a public figure. A ''Savage Love'' reader was contemplating outing an innocuous celebrity back in April. I advised him against it because, as I wrote to him privately, outing is brutal and it should be reserved for brutes."

Local issues

Savage's editorship of ''The Stranger'' has established him as a voice in local Seattle politics. His most high-profile commentary has been as an outspoken critic of the Teen Dance Ordinance and other crackdowns on all-ages events.

Savage argues that closing down supervised all-ages dance venues drives teens to boredom and reckless activities: "Places like Ground Zero and the Kirkland Teen Center are invaluable from a law enforcement point of view. They keep kids out of, say, 7-Eleven parking lots or the homes of friends whose parents are away."

Ann Landers

On December 3, 2002, Savage announced in an article that he had purchased columnist Ann Landers's desk; she died on June 22 of that year. Savage has facetiously referred to Landers as his "college roommate" and said "I like to think of myself as a gay Ann Landers."

Family and marriage

Savage's home state of Washington allows same-sex couples to adopt children and enter civil unions, but does not legally recognize same-sex marriage. In March 2004, Savage wrote about an action that he took to highlight what he saw as being indicative of same-sex couples' lack of legal right to marry. After his co-worker Amy Jenniges was denied a license to marry her girlfriend Sonia, Jenniges and Savage obtained a license to marry one another. He wrote at the time, "We emphasized to the clerk and her manager that Amy and I don't live together, we don't love each other, we don't plan to have kids together, and we're going to go on living and sleeping with our same-sex partners after we get married. So could we still get a marriage license?" According to Savage, the license-department manager replied, "Sure. If you've got $54, you can have a marriage license."

Savage and his husband, Terry, have one adopted son, D.J., and were married in Vancouver, BC in 2005.

Awards

!Year !! Work !! Award !! Organization !! Result
1999	''The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant''	PEN West Award for Excellence in Creative Nonfiction	PEN Center USA
2003	rowspan="2"	Lambda Literary Award	Lambda Literary Foundation
2004	''The Best American Sex Writing 2004''	Running Press
			International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
Anthony Giffard "Make the Change" Award

Bibliography

In addition to his advice column, Savage has written four books, edited one book, and authored various op-ed pieces in ''The New York Times''.

References

External links

Savage Love – Savage's weekly sex advice column

* Savage's podcasts

It Gets Better Project

Category:1964 births Category:American advice columnists Category:American agnostics Category:American memoirists Category:American political pundits Category:American political writers Category:American relationships and sexuality writers Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American writers of Irish descent Category:Gay writers Category:Lambda Literary Award winners Category:LGBT memoirists Category:LGBT writers from the United States Category:LGBT journalists Category:LGBT parents Category:Living people Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:People from Madison, Wisconsin Category:People from Seattle, Washington Category:Sex columnists Category:Sex educators Category:University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign alumni Category:Writers from Chicago, Illinois Category:Writers from Washington (state) Category:Writers from Wisconsin *

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