‘My girl, she likes it both ways,” sings Liam Payne, in Both Ways, a song about bisexuality from his recent new album, LP1. Listeners have quickly taken offence at the track, which describes a woman “switching the lanes like a Bugatti Sport” and having group sex.
“I read the lyrics first then tried to listen to the song but couldn’t finish it,” says Meg Murphy, of Bi-Pride, a campaign group for bisexual rights and visibility. “It felt incredibly fetishising. It reinforces the idea that bi women are there for men’s titillation.”
It also implies that bi women are inherently sexual, engaging in a greater variety of sexual acts, which, she explains, “can sometimes be true … but isn’t an inherent part of any sexual orientation.” Plus the line about changing lanes makes bisexual people seem indecisive.
Murphy explains that Payne’s lyrics are harmful because they can encourage male listeners to expect bi women to perform for them. We saw the real-life consequences of how attitudes such as this can play out earlier this year, when two women, Chris (who is bisexual) and Melania (a lesbian), were attacked on a London bus after refusing when a group of men demanded they kiss for their entertainment. Meanwhile, government research has found that in the UK, bisexual women are more likely to experience sexual violence than straight or gay women.
“I think most representations of bisexuality until recently have been through the lens of straight men, or in porn, so we are viewed as overly sexualised,” says Simone, 35, who is bisexual, and from Dubai. But there are other misconceptions too, she says: “When you’re bisexual, people always seem to tie your sexuality into who you’re having sex with at the time … I’ve been in a relationship with a man for 12 years, but that doesn’t erase my bisexuality.”
Payne’s song isn’t the first time pop stars have failed us when it comes to bi representation. Last year, Rita Ora made an apology after Kehlani, Hayley Kiyoko and Shura were among those who criticised her song Girls for exploiting her own bisexuality.
So how should pop get it right? Well, to start with, Payne should apologise, says Murphy. “For someone with his privilege and following he should be aware of his impact – and he should apologise so that young, bi fans don’t have to feel that their identity is inherently sexualised.”
We also need to see more bisexual representation in videos, Murphy says. Isn’t that difficult, though? If we see a woman kissing a woman, we assume she is gay, if we see her kissing a man, that she is straight. But that’s just the point, says Murphy: “It’s related to a wider societal problem around how we view bisexuality – and how we shouldn’t be making assumptions about people’s sexual identities.”
