How Do Bi+ Mothers’ Talk with Their Children about (Their) Bisexuality+?

Whereas a great deal is known about lesbian/gay parent families, much less is known about bi+ mother families, especially relating to the ways bi+ mothers discuss their bisexuality+ with their children. This article explores conversations about bisexuality+ and queer socialization in bi+ mother families. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online with 29 bi+ mothers, with each interview lasting one to two hours. Mothers were asked about whether they had discussed their bisexuality+ with their child(ren), their reasoning for wanting to discuss their sexuality with their child(ren), how they broached the topic, whether they used any resources, and how the child(ren) reacted. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis, informed by prior literature on cultural socialization and disclosure. Analysis revealed that bi+ mothers adopted various strategies and approaches to discussing their bisexuality+ with their children, which were often child-focused and based on a consideration of children’s developmental abilities. Bi+ mothers also engaged in queer socialization practices, such as cultural socialization, preparation for bias, and mainstream queer socialization. The theoretical and empirical implications of this research are discussed, as well as the practical implications, such as providing support to bi+ mother families. Directions for future research are also identified.

本文探讨了双性恋母亲与子女讨论自己双性别身份的经验。尽管双性恋者在性少数群体中占据最大比例，但关于双性恋父母的研究仍然较少，大部分研究集中在同性恋/女同性恋父母上。本文研究了双性恋母亲在是否以及如何向子女出柜的过程中所做的决定，探讨她们是否进行双性别身份的讨论，以及她们是否参与更广泛的酷儿社会化实践。该研究旨在填补双性恋父母文献中的空白，并挑战假设双性恋父母的经验与同性恋/女同性恋父母相似的观点。研究借助文化社会化和披露实践的理论框架，分析双性恋母亲如何教导孩子了解自己的双性别身份，并为孩子可能面临的社会污名做准备。

本研究通过社交媒体和滚雪球抽样招募了29名双性恋母亲，采用Zoom进行1至2小时的半结构化访谈，内容涉及母亲的关系、育儿经历以及双性别身份的披露。数据通过主题分析法进行处理，结合归纳与演绎编码，最终提炼出六个主题。为了确保研究质量，使用了质量检查清单和数据审计，以验证分析过程的透明性和可信度。

本研究探讨了双性恋母亲与子女讨论其性取向的经历，发现母亲们会根据孩子的年龄和需求选择合适的时机和方式进行披露。许多母亲选择在孩子小的时候进行披露，以促进积极的儿童发展，而非披露可能导致家庭沟通问题。母亲们也根据自己的关系状况调整解释方式，单亲或多元恋母亲通常通过约会行为向孩子解释双性恋，而有伴侣的母亲则避免这样做。研究还发现，双性恋母亲通过“酷儿社交化”帮助孩子理解多元性别和性取向，提升家庭认同感。母亲们有时需要保护孩子免受反LGBTQ言论的影响。由于样本的种族和教育背景较为单一，研究结果可能高估了双性恋母亲的“出柜”情况。未来的研究应关注更多样化的样本，特别是涉及不同背景母亲的经历。