Bisexual people have had to deal with a ton of unfair drama for just being themselves. They are part of the rainbow too. Let's remember that!
Redditor u/Rk8ley wanted the bisexual, gender fluids to share their tales of being ostracized by asking.... Bisexuals of Reddit, especially those in straight relationships, have you ever been bullied or abused by LGBT people for not being "gay" enough? And what's your story?
Don't take on other people's past...
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My husband and I are both bi. I'm "out" but he's not. His father figure, a gay man, told him that he would never date a bi man, because he's nursed too many bi men back from failed straight relationships, only to have them "switch" and leave him for women. When my husband replied that he was bi, that was a very awkward moment. laraken
Look at Me!
I've been told both by lesbians (for some reason I was never told this by a gay guy) and straight people that bisexuals only claim to be bisexuals because they either want attention, they don't want to come out as lesbian/gay, or they go for people of their same gender because nobody of the opposite gender finds them attractive.
I was never *bullied* because of it, but some people are definitely passive aggressive about it and I've occasionally caught them talking shit about bisexual people behind their backs. ratinha91
It's my Pride too!
I (bi woman married to a man) had my gay coworkers boyfriend thank me for "supporting pride." It was in a fairly condescending tone. I was pretty offended, and kept saying "you marry one man, and suddenly you're straight!" I'm pretty open about being bi. The last two partners before dating my now husband were a woman and a trans man. I just happened to stop dating anyone, man/woman/genderfluid that wasn't my single monogamous life partner. emu30
Be Healthy!
I have nothing against dating bi women, and honestly with my type 90% of the women I date are bi. But I have been cheated on twice by long term partners with men - and for both it was a huge deal for them that they weren't able to be out to their parents, and instead opted for the easy route with men because there was less pressure. I think that's part of where the insecurity comes from. In many other circumstances women presented themselves as being serious, but then copped out as it being a fling to try. If society was less homophobic and compulsory heterosexuality wasn't so prevalent, it would be easier to date bi people.
In the cases I've experienced, the individual was insecure, selfish, and not in a healthy head space to be dating or dealing with their sexuality - but why try to work through your problems when there was a convenient, more socially acceptable fallback? I know this is because of the individuals though, and not that they are bi. It's just tough to figure out if they're that type of person without emotionally investing in them and getting to know them.
It's not going to stop me from dating bi women, but I'm certainly more selective now and am only dating women who are out and not new to dating women. Unfortunately, that does mean that I'm turning down women who may very well be serious but can't seem to get experience dating women because all the gays have developed the same selectivity. It's tough, I get it, but it's a choice that I have to make that is healthier for me. BoundingBorder
My pain is real...
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A few different gay people -- specifically, a few "gold star" lesbians -- insisted on calling me straight. The time it pissed me off most was right after I'd gotten out of a multi-year relationship with a woman (and I'm a woman). My heart was broken. I went to pride with a gold star lesbian pal and a few genuinely straight people.
The lesbian pal turned to me in front of the group and said, "Thanks for coming here to support me. You're a good straight ally."
I'd literally been crying on her shoulder about my ex-girlfriend the week before. Anyway, I was so shocked she would call me straight that I couldn't come up with anything to say. We didn't really stay friends. InvincibleSummer1066
It's Human Nature...
It's actually funny because the argument against gay people is that they aren't part of the group, they're different; then, you have that group that was discriminated against turning it around and discriminating against others, all while shouting at the first group "don't discriminate against me!" It's hilarious to see how warped minds can get, when we all forget about human nature. serrol_
Why do I have to pick?
Bisexual man. I've been railed on by both lesbians and gay men for not picking, not taking a side, not being honest about my sexuality (I said I was Bi, they didn't believe it was possible) etc. How is the idea that I can find and enjoy both sexes a falsehood? Also, how is that persecution any different from what you hate straight people doing to you? Ashe_Faelsdon
Bi-Flag!
Many people don't even know that I swing that way, because I usually don't talk about it unless I'm asked. I don't consider it that important to my identity that I'd feel need to hang out in the LGBT crowd or fly the bi-flag or whatever. Still, as an outside observer I've witnessed a lot of gatekeeping like this, and I feel that it will hurt their goals down the road. boringprude
I'm Coming Out.... Maybe!
I'm a bi female and honestly it's not a huge deal to me. I haven't had to "come out" because it's not something I talk about unless asked. I've only dated men and I know I'm going to marry my current boyfriend so it's just not something that ever really comes up. But as an art student at a liberal college I'm just waiting for that moment for some a--hole who says "you can't speak on this cause you're straight" and be like HAH you assuming SOB haha. LittleBumbleBean
You MUST Choose!
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Yes. I am bisexual and besides lesbians on the after Ellen forum, where I first attempted to understand my orientation and the greater lifestyle bullying us for being untrustworthy, I have recently been fully aware of gay individuals posting things like that the B should be removed and is not representative if the rest of the community because we may "choose." puffpuffpastries
"The Look"
The amount of bi discrimination in the LGBTQ community is wild. phantom_panties
People have weird expectations when it comes to this stuff. I know a guy who is literally married to another guy, and you'd think that qualifies as 'gay enough' to be considered gay; but apparently his husband's friends give him crap for 'looking straight.' ratinha91
Don't Judge...
100% gay man here. First and deepest love was Bi and I just never got over the feeling he'd one day go back to women or have a fling with a lady. It was part of what ended our relationship and it still hurts so many years later. I resented him for it then and regret it now. I teased him and prodded for him to admit he was cheating on me with a woman. You cannot change a leopards spots and I tried but failed miserably.
What I'm trying to say is that when you're with someone, be with them in that moment of your lives and love each other. Don't panic over the unknown or try to change someone to suit your future. If they are with you it's because they are into you. OmgLikeForSureDude
Why so Serious?
I'm a bisexual teen (male), and I've actually faced a lot more direct anger from people than expected. I'm like a weird middle ground between flamboyant and very serious and straight (pun not intended), so both straights and gays tend to find me a little off. A lot of gay guys I've met have been especially big d**ks to me because they assume I'm gay just for attention. I've only dated women before, so that also helps give them a reason to hate on me. PixlYoshi
Simmer Down Now!
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Bi woman here. The weirdness I've experienced is from straight chicks not really LGBT. Like I'll mention it because I'm not ashamed & they get all weird like I'm going to hit on them or be creepy. Chick - you aren't my type, I'm very married to a man & a Mother. Chill. Nightmare_Moons
A Proud "B!"
Oh man, yes, from both men and women. For the gay guys, it's usually that I'm just out there for the privilege, like I'm secretly gay but dating women for like, status or something. From straight women, there's a huge fear of infidelity. Like, if I'm going to cheat, it's because I'm a cheating scumbag, not because I'm bi. Then, there's the times when I'm dating a girl and I've been told or made to feel like I don't belong in LGBTQ+ spaces. Like, the "B" stands for bisexual, I'm totes part of this damn community. el_pobbster
Making the Turn....
Lesbian girls never really want(ed) to date me, because I'd leave them for a guy anyway. My sexuality has been questioned by gay and straight people alike. Not my story but that of my BF. He was in a relationship with a guy for a while. This guy kept asking him when he'd turn fully gay. No. Marshmallow_konijn
Not Alone....
I don't know if this counts, but I'm asexual, and people give us soooo much crap about it. They assume I'm molested, I'm just abstinent, that I am secretly gay, or that I just "need to get d**k" or whatever. Some people get very rude about it. PlasticGirl
I'm not Broken!
Bi girl here. Had relationships/one night stands/fwb with men and women. Married to a man. I've had people say I pretend to like women for attention, that I just needed the right guy and d**k to get over the phase. I had a guy follow me home from a gay club who said he was gonna show me what a real man was to "fix me." Had people assume that the only type of sex I want is threesomes. The list goes on.... ChronicallyLou
Here for the Fun!
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I'm a bisexual woman who has dated men and women. Currently in a long-term relationship with a man. I have several very close lesbian friends and none have ever tried to make me feel bad/lesser/whatever. I was also the president of my college's LGBT group and no one ever seemed upset about it.
I don't want to deny anyone's experiences, but I also don't want younger bisexual people to think they're automatically hated by other members of the LGBT community. It's fun being bisexual! And it's fun to have bisexual friends! It's fun to have gay and lesbian friends too. summerbowl
I am who I am!
In high school, one of my best friends came out to me as a lesbian. She was only out to me and one other friend for about a year. We spent countless hours talking about her process of realizing that she was not straight, the girl she had a crush on, what she found attractive in women, etc. Her family did not know for quite a long time, and I was one of her main support structures until she left for college.
Anyway, we both went to separate colleges and did not talk for a while. During my first year at college, I developed a raging crush on a girl from my school. Blushing when she walked into the room, getting flustered when she would talk to me, the whole nine yards. Previously, I had only dated men, so this was really when I came to realize that I identified as bisexual.
A few months later, I had a phone call with my friend, just to catch up since we had not talked for a while. At some point in the conversation, I told my friend about my crush and how it had been so out of the blue for me but how I had begun to identify as bisexual since then and notice that I was attracted to other women. My friend fell silent as I was speaking, and once I had finished, asserted multiple times that there was no way that I could be bisexual because I had only dated men and was currently dating a man.
She and I have not talked since that interaction years ago, and I am now surrounded by much more supportive friends. It still hurts, though, that she could not accept me after I'd spent so much time working through her sexuality with her. telepathiccrowqueen
H/T: REDDIT
The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
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"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine
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"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & Grace
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"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The Office
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"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
Every now and then, a friend of ours might say something, or we might overhear a complete stranger say something that makes us stop in our tracks.
More often than not, what we can't believe we just heard is something so ridiculous, we can't help but put the person who said it in their place.
Other times, however, what we just heard might have stunned us silent because of how shockingly clever it was.
Resulting in our not wanting to scold or yell at someone, but rather give them a handshake.
Redditor SubmergingOriginal was curious to hear the sharpest and wittiest things they've ever heard, from friends and strangers alike, leading them to ask:
"Enough with the dumbest; what is the wittiest thing you've ever heard someone say?"
Don't Give Me So Much Credit...
'I was on a team at work that was on a project working insane overtime."
"One night after an 80-90 hour week, we were all sitting around the table trying to finish up so we could go home."
"Around 11, my buddy's wife called, dubious about the hours he'd been keeping."
"We heard her through the line - 'are you cheating on me?'"
"Exasperated, he looked at our boss, then replied 'honey, if I was cheating on you, I would have been home by now'."- lionbatcher
Eternal Optimism...
"Asked a blind guy if he'd been blind his whole life."
"He said 'Not yet'."- Feeling_Mode_6465
Free time Isn't The Only Thing He Has On His Hands...
"My brother got a vasectomy and when the doctor was releasing him and giving him instructions (with the nurse listening in), one of the orders was to 'come back and have a follow-up appointment after you’ve ejaculated 30 times'.”
"Without missing a beat my brother asked 'what time do you open tomorrow?'”
"The nurse couldn’t keep it together after hearing that."- UtahUtopia
Awkward Season 8 GIF by The Office
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Double Whammy!
"My pal uses the phrase 'he doesn’t look strong enough to carry information' and it cracks me up every time."
"Calling someone stupid and weak in one fell swoop."- JennyW93
Can't Hide Your DNA...
'Whenever I jokingly insult my mum, she says 'that must be where you get it from'."
"She cracked the code."
"I can never offend her without offending myself."- JennyW93
Self-Sufficient!
"My brother was a line cook at a New Orleans restaurant."
"My mom was in town, staying at a fancy hotel, and he stopped by after work, still wearing his kitchen whites."
"He was reading a newspaper in the lobby waiting for her to come down when the shocked lobby manager sputtered at him, 'MAY I HELP YOU!?!?'
"He answered, 'thanks, but I know how to read',” and went back to his paper."- jobrody
Morph Current Affairs GIF by Aardman Animations
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A Miracle!
"My brother-in-law’s comment."
"The entire family went out for my mother’s 80th birthday and after the meal we all went to a local park, largely occupied by the elderly, to rest."
"My mother needed crutches at this point, and they were resting against her bench."
"My 10-year-old niece, who looked like every starving waif image from Dickens, grabbed the crutches and started hobbling round the park."
"All the OAPs were following her progress with looks of pity until my brother ran up behind her, and kicked away the crutches."
"There was an audible gasp from round the park and then my niece picked the crutches back up and started chasing my brother, clearly intending to hit him."
"In the confused silence my brother-in-law’s voice rang out 'Praise be! She can walk again!'"
"We still think this was the highlight of the birthday celebrations."- DdraigGwyn
Still Legal, Whichever Way You Cut It...
"I picked up my pleasantly tipsy boyfriend from a nightclub."
"We were stopped by the Police for a random breath test."
"They asked me my age, and I said, 33."
"My bf blurted out '33? You told me you were 22'."
"Police just laughed and let me go."- Aggravating-Corgi379
Music Video Police GIF by Andrew W. K.
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A Bit Too On The Nose?
"Business law class in college years ago, talking about the issues that black Americans had before the Civil Rights."
"Amendment, trying to travel through the south with the discrimination so rampant, trying to find restaurants to serve them and decent lodgings."
"My instructor was posing a hypothetical: 'So you pull up out front of this place, you're exhausted from driving for hours, and you see the sign out front says 'Ku Klux Klan Motel'."
"'What would you expect to find there?'"
"Without missing a beat, from the back of the room came this gem: "'Extra sheets in every room?'"- NedsAtomicDB
Not Yet, Anyway...
"I was working with my friend and his dad."
"My friend (26) heard an ice cream truck near where we were working."
"He asked his dad if he could have a couple dollars."
"His dad asked, 'what for?'"
"My friend told his dad that there was an ice cream truck in the neighborhood, and that they were playing music."
"My friends dad told him "'They don't charge anything to listen to the music'."- tatersalad1234567890
Words Escape You In The Literal "Heat" Of The Moment...
"A friend of mine is a teacher and her husband is known for his wit."
"She told this story to him:"
"One day at school a kid took the hall pass and returned reeking like smoke."
"She asked the kid if he’d been smoking and he denied it over and over."
"She was about to send him to the office when she noticed smoke coming from somewhere."
"She told the kid and he realized that he didn’t put his cig out completely and it was burning in his pants pocket."
"The kid noticed and frantically tried to put it out and someone finally poured water on it."
"Her husband sat listening to this with a weird look on his face."
"She asked him what was wrong."
“'What’s wrong???'"
"'This was probably the only chance you’ll have in your life to say literally, ‘liar,liar, pants on fire’ and you missed your chance'."- Luder714
On Fire No GIF by PEEKASSO
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Amazing What You Might Say A Few Drinks In...
"When I went to a renaissance faire once, I went to a beer tent and ordered a Newcastle Brown Ale (seemed the most fitting for the surroundings)."
"The beer wench, without skipping a beat, said, 'Everyone wants a Newcastle - no one wants to remodel!'"- jayhof52
Read The Room People!
"My dad wiped out when skiing down a mountain and lost a ski."
"After a few minutes of hunting for it, he gives up, slings the one remaining ski over a shoulder and starts walking down the mountain in his ski boots."
"About half-way down, another skier stops and goes 'Gee! Did you lose a ski?'"
"My dad instantly replied 'No, I was out for a walk and found one!'"- PeterJoAl
There's a reason your mother always told you to "use your words".
As clever remarks can have a much more lasting effect on people than a push or shove.