From Invisibility to Self-Determination: Navigating Bisexual Identity, Confronting Discrimination and Exploring Emancipatory Practices

In Brazil and in Italy, the rise of the far-right, restrictive geopolitical positions, as well as the operationalization of "anti-gender" politics, are strongly present, affecting the experiences of bisexual women. Nonetheless, nationality remains an underexplored dimension in sexuality studies. Informed by an intersectional theoretical framework, this study sought to explore how Italian and Brazilian bisexual women understand the experience of identifying as bisexual, social support, LGBTQIAP+ spaces, violence, society's perception of bisexuality, and its influence on intimate relationships. The study included 12 bisexual women from Brazil and 23 from Italy. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to identify, analyze, and report themes within the data, with an intersectional feminist lens informing the analyses. Three main themes were identified: Navigating Bisexual Identity; Violence, Discrimination, and Invisibility; and Emancipatory Strategies. By analyzing the dimensions of a transnational matrix of domination, this study offers valuable insights into the experiences of bisexual women in different countries and helps foster a broader understanding of how sexuality, gender, and nationality are interconnected. Moreover, it explores how bisexual identity is constituted through a complex web of power, responding to bi-misogynistic violence and constructing conditions for the agency and affirmation of female bisexuality in Brazil and Italy.