Bisexual Broadway star Andy Mientus speaks out about being 'lumped in as gay'
2016-09-20
Broadway actor Andy Mientus has opened up about the stigma he faces as a bisexual person as part of bisexual awareness week.
The Spring Awakening star, who recently married theatre director Michael Arden, admitted that correcting people who assume he is gay feels "unnecessary in the moment," but acknowledged that this was down to "my own shame," in an Instagram post shared on Monday (September 19).
"I try to be visible all the time just by being true to who I am openly, but I know many people struggle with this because of the stigma associated with bi-ness," he wrote.
"I know that some of you, probably friends even, are reading this and rolling your eyes- 'oh he’s still holding on to that? Who is SHE kidding?'- and I don’t blame you."
A survey of 515 bisexual people last year found that 66% of bisexuals felt that they had to pass as exclusively straight, while 42% felt that they had to pass as exclusively gay or lesbian - and Mientus touched on the invisibility of bi people in the heartfelt post.
"Not many are open about it so we appear to be very rare creatures, maybe even mythical," the 29-ear-old wrote.
"I’ve definitely felt the pressure to just accept being lumped in as gay when I meet new people- correcting them feels super political and unnecessary in the moment but then later I realize that it’s my own shame.
"I try to be the best person I can be always but I am just an actor, not a queer-studies professor, and I am learning along with everyone else. I have and will continue to put my foot in my mouth on issues so I won’t pretend to know everything."