Lili Reinhart Discusses Her Initial Reluctancy to Come Out as Bisexual

In a recent interview, the fan-favorite Riverdale actress opened up about her hesitation to publicly identify as bisexual.

Reinhart only publicly came out as bisexual this Summer, despite discovering her sexual identity at an early age. In a recent interview with Flaunt magazine, the popular actress candidly opened up about how the stigma surrounding bisexuality initially deterred her from publicly embracing her sexual identity. 

Lili Reinhart is opening up about the decision to come out as bisexual a few months ago: https://t.co/7mIN9pVv4M

— JustJared.com (@JustJared) August 8, 2020

Biphobia and overwhelming societal pressure to conform to preexisting, well-defined labels, compel many bisexual individuals, especially high-profile public figures like Reinhart, to repress their authenticity.

Lili Reinhart thought she might be ‘vilified’ after coming out as bisexual https://t.co/TTBVoODehg

— The Independent (@Independent) August 7, 2020

The 23-year-old actress revealed, “I felt that since I’ve exclusively been in heteronormative relationships, it would be too easy for any outsider, especially the media, to vilify me and accuse me of ‘faking it’ to get attention.” Ultimately, Reinhart was prompted to publicly profess her bisexual identity after participating in a Black Lives Matter protest in Los Angeles, alongside fellow LGBTQ+ community members. Reinhart shared, “It was incredible to be surrounded by so many people who are actively fighting against the injustices that are happening right now.” 

Lili Reinhart opened up about coming out as bisexual 🏳️‍🌈 💛 ‘I felt that since I’ve exclusively been in hetero-normative relationships, it would be too easy for any outsider to accuse me of faking it to get attention.’ READ MORE HERE: https://t.co/Rsj4e2JJs0 pic.twitter.com/2y4tNCWlMS

— British GLAMOUR (@GlamourMagUK) August 11, 2020

In an era of heightened sexual enlightenment, there still seems to be a stigma attached to bisexuality. The unshakable stigma is fueled by myths and biases perpetuated by ignorant individuals with limited knowledge of sexual identity. The entire sexual orientation is habitually dismissed as immoral, invalid, or insignificant. Although bisexuality constitutes the largest self-identified group within the LGBTQ+ community, many people perceive bisexuality as an eccentric, exploratory, and ephemeral “phase” and refuse to acknowledge it as a genuine sexual orientation. Ultimately, this bisexual “erasure,” the denial of its existence, reflects societal pressure to completely conform to existing, clear-cut categories. Hostility towards members of the bisexual community accentuates sustaining stereotypes surrounding people who don’t settle at one end of the homo/hetero binary. 

people are calling lili reinhart a “fake bisexual” just because she dated cole sprouse and it is BEYOND disgusting.

bisexuality is attraction to TWO OR MORE GENDERS.

a bisexual woman dating a man doesn’t make her straight. a bisexual woman dating a woman doesn’t make her gay.

— georgia //give auntie o a girlfriend/ ミ☆ (@msblakeshoe) August 8, 2020

There appears to be a ubiquitous push to surrender to society and adopt oversimplified, non-representative labels to appease others. We commend the acclaimed Riverdale actress for boldly addressing this pervasive fear-inspired reluctance to embrace bisexuality. Hopefully, Reinhart’s bravery and candor will initiate a series of necessary, long-deferred discussions regarding sexual orientation and the stigmas entangled in various sexual identities.