I am shockingly grateful to have forgotten about the community involvement paper I had to write for my women’s studies class.

Had this not slipped my mind I might have opted to be proactive and attended one of the pre-approved events that served as the paper’s topic and may not have attended, “Let’s Talk About It: Busting Myths About Bisexuality.”

But I did forget and ended up going to the discussion group where I talked to people I hadn’t met about things that I had never before considered.

I’m sad to admit that prior to this event I had really never given much thought to bisexuals and was even more upset to learn that bisexuals are a common oversight.

The thought of a large cultural group being overlooked by the world at large inspired me and after talking to Jennifer Miracle – the director of the University’s LGBT resource center – I decided to teach myself and write about bisexuality in the hopes of dispelling some of the misconceptions people have about groups they’ve never interacted with.

I’ve learned that one of the biggest myths associated with bisexuality is that it’s a period of confusion, or transitional phase before becoming openly gay.

Both of these can be true in certain circumstances.

Telling people that you’re bisexual can help ease them into the idea that you aren’t straight while at the same time allowing them to keep hoping that you will still be involved in “traditional” relationships.

And we’ve all heard that college is the time to experiment. It’s no longer shocking for college-aged people to engage in relationships (however serious) with members of both sexes. But just because those people act bisexually does not mean that they identify as such.

For the most part, those who identify as bisexual stay so throughout their lives. They are involved in monogamous relationships and can remain committed to their partners.

Another major misconception associated with bisexuality is that bisexuals are equally attracted to men and women. People who consider themselves bisexual tend to favor one gender over the other, the same way some people prefer blondes to brunettes.

If a straight man is most attracted to blondes but finds his soul mate in a redhead, it’s doubtful he’ll walk away. He doesn’t close himself off to opportunities by forsaking every woman who is not blonde; he accepts the fact that other women are engaging regardless of hair color.

In that same way, bisexuals recognize that both sexes are desirable and opt not to limit themselves to choosing. And why should they just because the rest of society has?

What attracts us to one gender (or hair color) over the other changes from person to person, yet there are a few things that stay constant, whether we recognize them or not.

In 1948 Dr. Alfred Kinsey – the father of sexology – discovered that almost half of men had “reacted” to both sexes at least once. This lends support to the theory that everyone is inherently bisexual.

While we may not all identify as such, we can appreciate the attractiveness of both genders. At a basic level – and keeping in mind that attraction is relative – we all can tell the difference between the Elephant Man and Helen of Troy.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle bisexuals are faced with is their collective invisibility. We have mental images of both gay and straight men and women while bisexuals get lost in the shuffle. They are the proverbial middle-children of the LGBT community.

Gay and lesbian characters have appeared on hit television shows such as “Friends,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and “Will & Grace.”

Only recently has a bisexual character been included on television – Olivia Wilde of “House” has been portraying bisexual women since 2004. But network executives have yet to create a recurring male bisexual character.

Fortunately, the times are changing and pop culture is reflecting that. The lines between sexual identities are crumbling and while that frightens many, it is a blessing for others.

Despite the American mantra that “all men are created equal”, there is still a powerful cultural sect that is denied innate rights. The only way to remedy this is to become educated. We fear what we don’t understand and it’s high time that the country goes back to school.

– Megan Otto is a page designer for The Red & Black. She will be profiling a different group every week. If you have a group you’d like her to cover, email motto@randb.com.