Bisexuality confuses a lot of people. Most will either treat you like a bisexuality wibbly-wobbly switch between straight and gay depending on partner or like bisexuals are just greedy sexual deviants who are experimenting with all the flavors at Baskin Robbins. Media, however, is slowly catching on and while we will have to deal with some really screwed up depictions of bisexuality (looking at you Outlander) let us celebrate the strides that bisexual representation have made:
1 & 2. Korra and Asami Sato [The Legend of Korra]
Yes, there are bisexual women on your Nicktoons and the world did not implode! Last December, the finale of The Legend of Korra aired and the Internet went wild at the ending scene of Korra and Asami going to the Spirit World together on “vacation.” The writers later confirmed the couple, making Korrasami the first bisexual children’s cartoon relationship.
Not only is this exciting because they are bisexual and women of color, but because the narrative between them had been so awesome. Initially, Asami was part of a love triangle between Korra/Mako, which everyone agrees was awful, before the writers decided to develop a friendship between the girls in season three. For many fans of the ship this match was a welcome surprise, because there had been a lot of chemistry between them, but no one thought they would go there. Well they did! Off to the Spirit World!
3. Clarke Griffin [The 100]
Despite sometimes being bogged down by love triangles and inconsistent character writing, The 100 is one of the better sci-fi shows to come out in the last few years. Unlike the usually male dominated dystopian shows (Revolution, The Walking Dead, etc.) Clarke is one of the major leaders in her community, along with Bellamy Blake, who, while male, is a POC so that’s a step up. This season she and their former antagonists, the Grounders, have teamed up to save their people from capture in a fortress called Mount Weather. The leader of the Grounder forces is a lesbian woman named Lexa. Since her introduction, she and Clarke have served as excellent foils to one another: both women in leadership, young, and having to deal with the responsibilities of maintaining an entire community. Still, the idea of them being a potential couple hadn’t occurred until they kissed in episode fourteen “Bodyguard of Lies.” We’re all for it.
4. Selina Kyle (Catwoman) [DC Comics]
BUST covered this story but we still can’t get over it. Selina Kyle’s Catwoman is one of the classic femme fatale characters in comic books. Usually characters like that exist purely in the heterosexual lens, but things have certainly changed. In issue 39 of the Catwoman comics, Batman’s anti-hero kisses another woman. Genevieve Valentine, who took over the character’s spinoff in October, couldn’t be happier that she’s established Selina Kyle as a “cannon bisexual,” which she describes as an “indispensable beat.”
5. Bo Dennis [Showcase/Syfy]
This lovely succubus has gone through a long journey in the five years Lost Girl has been on air. While there is a little bit of a problem with portraying a bisexual character as a succubus (a sex demon), the writers have played their part in making sure that Bo is never shamed for her sexual desires and that people who would shame her are villains.
Bo has always been a hero trying to live the life she chooses with the people she loves. Her sexuality has never nullified her nobility or her virtue in the eyes of the narrative or her friends. While she doesn’t always make the best decisions, Bo is certainly one of the most compelling bisexual heroines and one of the few to have been bisexual from the very beginning.
6. Ilana Wexler [Comedy Central]
There were many hints that Broad City’s Ilana liked the ladies, but we weren’t sure if she was just Abbi-sexual or bisexual. Her hookup episode with Alia Shawat’s character Adele showed the audience that Ilana being into girls is not just an Abbi related thing. It was so normalized (other than the fact that Adele and Ilana are almost twins) and the comedic issue had nothing to do with sexual preference. We can count Ilana among the bisexual women in television and definitely one of the funniest.
7. Sara Lance [The CW]
Ideally a list like this wouldn’t include any dead characters, but there is one we would have to add to the list and that is Sara Lance from Arrow. Arrow has made a lot of missteps when it comes to its female characters, but Sara Lance’s version of the Black Canary as a bisexual woman was one of the better choices.
Her relationship with Nyssa al-Ghul is not treated as an oddity by anyone and she spends her time as a super heroine being a defender of women. Unfortunately her death was used as a plot device, but in spite of that, Sara Lance has remained one of the most popular female characters on the show.
Images c/o The CW, NICK, Showcase and Tumblr
