The Invisible Epidemic: The Erasure of Bi+ Black Men

TL;DR

Bisexual+ Black men face a dangerous intersection of erasure, stigma, and neglect. Despite alarming rates depression, suicide, and ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences), this group is underrepresented in both public health discourse and social movements. Their stories are overwritten or ignored—both in Black communities and LGBTQ+ spaces. This article explores how this erasure is rooted in slavery, sustained by modern stereotyping, and reinforces mental health crises today. It also highlights the urgent need to invest in culturally grounded safe spaces like Bi+ Black Men.

The Problem

The conversation about Black men’s wellness often stops at heteronormative or hypermasculine ideals. Bisexual+ (black men are largely omitted from media representation, public health funding, and social justice frameworks. Federal and state-level health initiatives rarely disaggregate bisexual data from broader LGBTQ+ or MSM (men who have sex with men) categories, making the specific needs of Bi+ Black men statistically invisible.

This erasure has life-threatening consequences. Suicide rates among Black bisexual men have risen sharply in recent years. According to a study by the Trevor Project (2022), 44% of Black bisexual youth seriously considered suicide in the past year. Meanwhile, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that Black LGBTQ+ adults are less likely to receive mental health care due to stigma, cost, and lack of culturally competent providers.

Moreover, the presence of multiple ACEs—including parental incarceration, community violence, and rejection based on sexuality—has a compounding effect on mental and physical health. According to the CDC’s ACE study data, Black children experience higher average ACE scores than any other racial group, which is a predictor of negative lifelong health outcomes (CDC, 2021). For Bi+ Black men, these childhood experiences often involve gendered policing, homophobic bullying, and emotional neglect, resulting in chronic toxic stress and trauma that follow them into adulthood. In schools, homes, and places of worship, bi+ black boys learn early that deviation from masculine norms is punishable. These experiences lead to dissociation, self-censorship, and delayed self-acceptance. When public narratives erase bisexual Black men or cast them as “confused,” “down low,” or “untrustworthy,” it compounds their trauma, keeping them isolated and silent.

The Psychology

The erasure and stereotyping of Bi+ Black men operate as forms of psychological violence. Double discrimination—facing racism in queer spaces and homophobia in Black spaces—creates a unique form of minority stress (Meyer, 2003). These men constantly navigate identity suppression, microaggressions, and trauma bonding without access to safe processing spaces.

The impact of ACEs on this population is especially severe. High ACE scores are linked to long-term changes in brain development and stress hormone regulation, increasing the likelihood of anxiety, depression, and suicidality (Felitti et al., 1998). Studies show that LGBTQ+ youth with four or more ACEs are 12 times more likely to attempt suicide than those with none (CDC, 2021).

Invisibility also fosters shame. When one’s identity is not represented, or worse—mocked or weaponized—internalized stigma festers. Many Bi+ Black men report suppressing their sexuality to preserve family bonds or cultural belonging, leading to self-fragmentation and identity conflict. This internalized erasure becomes a breeding ground for depression, relationship dysfunction, and substance abuse.

Even within LGBTQ+ spaces, bisexual men are underrepresented. The cultural dominance of white gay male aesthetics and narratives marginalizes bisexual men—especially Black men—by invalidating their experience or reducing them to hypersexual tropes. This reinforces toxic masculinity, inhibits vulnerability, and leaves Bi+ Black men without refuge.

The Facts

• 44% of Black bisexual youth seriously considered suicide in the past year (The Trevor Project, 2022).

• LGBTQ+ people with 4+ ACEs are 12 times more likely to attempt suicide (CDC, 2021).

• Black bisexual men are significantly more likely to hide their sexuality from family and community than white LGBTQ+ individuals (HRC, 2021).

• 1 in 2 bisexual Black men show symptoms of major depressive disorder (Feinstein & Dyar, 2017).

• Less than 10% of LGBTQ+ health organizations provide programs specifically for Black bisexual men (NIH, 2020).

The Advice

1. Invest in Safe, Culturally Specific Communities

• Join or support organizations like Bi+ Black Men, which prioritize safety, identity affirmation, and peer-led healing.

2. Educate Yourself and Your Circle

• Learn about intersectional identity and challenge stereotypes that perpetuate bisexual erasure and toxic masculinity.

3. Advocate for Data Disaggregation

• Demand that public health and academic research distinguish between gay and bisexual men to better serve each group’s needs.

4. Deconstruct the “Down Low” Myth

• Reject narratives that criminalize Bi+ Black men as deceitful. Instead, uplift stories rooted in complexity, healing, and agency.

5. Promote ACEs Awareness in Black Families

• Advocate for trauma-informed parenting and educational interventions to reduce early-life stigma and mental health damage.

6. Fund Queer Black Mental Health Professionals

• Encourage grantmaking, training, and education opportunities for therapists who reflect the communities they serve.

7. Refuse to Shrink

• If you are a Bi+ Black man, you don’t have to conform or disappear. There’s power in naming your truth—and community to meet you in it.

8. Normalize Healing, Not Hiding

• Therapy, journaling, embodiment practices, and peer support should be integrated into the lives of Bi+ Black men without shame.

9. Challenge Institutions That Gatekeep Access

• Speak out against educational, religious, and political systems that silence bisexual Black narratives.

10. Uplift New Narratives

• Support books, podcasts, films, and creators who are rewriting the story of Bi+ Black men with honesty and care.

Join the movement

Bi+ Black men deserve to be seen, heard, and healed. Your voice matters, your identity is valid, and your story is essential to the collective liberation of our community. Get the App and join us.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Preventing early trauma.https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). HIV Surveillance Report, 2022 (vol. 34). https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/library/reports/hiv-surveillance.html

Feinstein, B. A., & Dyar, C. (2017). Bisexuality, minority stress, and health. Current Sexual Health Reports, 9(1), 42–49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-017-0096-3

Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., … & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258.

Human Rights Campaign. (2021). Lived Experiences of LGBTQ+ People of Color. https://www.hrc.org/resources

Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129(5), 674–697. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674

National Institutes of Health. (2020). Health Disparities in Sexual and Gender Minority Populations. https://www.nih.gov

The Trevor Project. (2022). National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health 2022. https://www.thetrevorproject.org