First JoJo, now Billie – what the hell is going on with all the bi erasure this Pride month?

Posted on by Samantha

On Sunday (8 June), photos of Billie Eilish kissing Nat Wolff in Venice circulated on social media, appearing to confirm romance rumours, and causing the phrase “Is Billie Eilish really LGBTQ?” to start trending online.

Billie Eilish has made it clear that she’s attracted to people of more than one sex or gender, which is the dictionary definition of bisexuality, though she’s not actually used that label for herself.

If she dates a woman, she’s queer. If she dates a man, she’s still queer. Her right to be identified as a member of the LGBTQ+ community is unchanging, however, many people took to social media to proclaim that Billie is “no longer LGBTQ+” if she’s in a relationship with American actor Nat Wolff.

One person even (falsely) wrote that Billie Eilish had “come out as straight”, in response to the photos, even though the singer has never denied being into men. However, she also, famously, likes women.

Last year, speaking to Rolling Stone, about her new track “Lunch”, Billie Eilish explained that the song helped inspire her own reckoning with her sexuality.

“That song was actually part of what helped me become who I am, to be real,” Eilish said.

“I wrote some of it before even doing anything with a girl, and then wrote the rest after. I’ve been in love with girls for my whole life, but I just didn’t understand — until, last year, I realised I wanted my face in a vagina.”

The online discourse about Billie Eilish “ruining Pride Month” by having the audacity to kiss a man in what she probably thought was relative secrecy, is a textbook case of bi-erasure.

GLAAD defines the issue as “Bisexual erasure or bisexual invisibility is a pervasive problem in which the existence or legitimacy of bisexuality (either in general or in regard to an individual) is questioned or denied outright.” The non-profit gives the example of a female couple. One is a lesbian, the other is bisexual, however the second woman is repeatedly referred to as a lesbian due to the fact she’s partnered with a woman, erasing her identity.

Billie isn’t the only LGBTQ+ musician to be “accused” of going back on her sexuality lately due to being intimate with a man: JoJo Siwa has been dealing with this for weeks.

Jojo Siwa has confirmed her relationship with Chris Hughes isn’t ‘platonic’. (Instagram/@chrishughesofficial)

The 21-year-old Dance Moms star came out as pansexual in 2021, but more recently has spoken about herself as either a lesbian, gay or queer, which is a common journey that young people take as they cast around for the right label that they feel best represents their personal LGBTQ+ experience and how they personally feel.

Pansexuality is an expansive identity that falls under the bisexual umbrella: it refers to people who have the potential to be sexually or romantically attracted to all people, regardless of gender.

During her recent stint on Celebrity Big Brother in April, JoJo fell for Love Island star Chris Hughes, despite (at the time) being in a relationship with non-binary influencer Kath Ebbs.

While she was in the CBB house, JoJo chatted to RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner Danny Beard and clarified her sexuality. “I feel so queer,” she said. “I’ve always told myself, I’m a lesbian [but ] being here I’ve realised I’m not a lesbian, I’m queer,” the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.

JoJo and Chris have since confirmed that they’re a couple, and ever since then the bi-erasure has been so rife that even fellow queer celebs — namely, out and proud pansexual Miley Cyrus — have accused her of going “back into the closet” by choosing to date a man.

In a recent clip to promote Dreamland Pride in New York City later this month, Miley Cyrus said that she was “going back into the closet to find JoJo Siwa and bring her back out.”

It was a light-hearted joke, but doesn’t help the situation, and as a pansexual Miley must have experienced similar comments in the past. Being with Chris Hughes doesn’t make JoJo Siwa any less queer, or “in the closet”.

The bisexual community took Miley to task in the comments beneath the viral clip.

One person wrote: “Why don’t she tell herself that? Oh yeah that’s right, it’s almost like you can’t help who you fall for. Love is love, can we just let bi people live!?”

Another simply said: “Can y’all just let bi people exist?”

With all of the attacks on LGBTQ+ rights that are currently ongoing across the world this Pride month, it’s more important than ever that the community sticks together. Joking that JoJo Siwa and Billie Eilish aren’t queer anymore because of their choice of partners might seem trivial, but it chips away at the bond we all share. After all, bigots think bi people are just as awful as lesbian, gay and trans people – so we should all stick together.

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