Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Bisexual mums??

87 replies

abulford13 · 09/08/2016 18:13

Hi all

Any bisexual mums on here? I'm a SAHM and would be nice to talk to someone who knows how I'm feeling!

OP posts:
Waitingfordolly · 29/08/2016 10:28

Yes you can clearly be polyamorous and heterosexual, but perhaps when you are bisexual or lesbian or gay it leads to you questioning more things about how relationships are "supposed to be".

In fact, the idea that we stay with one partner over a lifetime who is supposed to meet all our needs is a fairly recent invention, over time and cultures there have been many different family and relationships forms. And in fact although the however many percentage of people who have affairs - it's really high but I can't remember what at the moment - wouldn't call themselves polyamorous, that is in fact what they are. When you view human society as a whole, monogamy is not at all "natural" but arose particularly with the need to pass property through the family (male) line, requiring marriage, and throughout a lot of the 20th century was needed so wives could service husband workers to provide a healthy and available workforce. You can argue that it's needed to bring up children, but in many cultures across the world children are brought up by villages or extended families so that's not universal either.

Interestingly a lot of the justification for same sex relationships is that "we love each other," "we're just like you" etc., which plays into the narrative of the pair bond and the primacy of romantic love rather than challenging our broader social structures.

Anyway, so that was meant to illustrate that you are not "depraved" for not fitting in with the very narrow definition of what it is to have a family and sexual relationships that is current in our particular time and place!

PanPoly · 29/08/2016 10:37

Name changed.

I classed myself as bisexual from an early age and got with my first boyfriend who I went on to marry. I only kissed a few girls.

However as I got older I started to question things more and more and I felt a great sadness whenever I would see 2 women holding hands or a lesbian wedding etc.

I eventually decided I needed to explore this and DH gave me the go ahead to meet an online friend to have sex.

Before we even met I fell in love.
So now DH and I are apart and I'm in a poly relationship with my new partner and their husband. I do not have any romantic or sexual contact with the husband at all.
But I feel like I've been healed. This gap that was in my life has been filled.

It's extremely hard being a single mum and it's scary at times but I feel like the real me now.

Being bi (I class myself as pan as my partner is nonbinary) is not the same as poly at all. But it works for us and that is all that matters. Everyone's been so supportive of what is frankly a pretty unusual set up but I'm happy.

lillithdor · 29/08/2016 16:14

Hi Panoply,

I'm really pleased to hear you have found some peace and a good set up that works for you all. I have my husband and a girlfriend, she is the first woman I've ever had any kind of relationship with and I am for her too. She and my husband used to get along great, before any of this happened. Then through what I will call "the adjustment period" he had some very negative reactions, blamed her for everything and he and I separated temporarily. Since then he and I have worked things out and got to a really good place. He feels very bad about how he treated her and is working to put that right slowly. He also has another female partner and so far things are going fine there.

One thing I'm interested in asking is whether you are open about your set up with friends and family? And what do your children know? My daughter is 7 and told me in secret that she believes daddy has a girlfriend. I don't want to give her information that is age inappropriate so have just said that it's ok for him to have other friends and everything is fine between us. I also think she is beginning to have a glimmer of an idea about my girlfriend and me. Again I don't intend to give her any details but I do wonder how best to deal with things if and when she might ask. I don't want her to feel like she has the burden of any secrets, but also am mindful of the stigma she may face of she were to know the truth and share it with others. Have you dealt with any of these issues?

PanPoly · 29/08/2016 18:24

All my family know but it's kind of a different situation as my partner actually lives quite a distance away so they effectively live 2 lives right now. At home with him and visits with me. I have met their husband, I stayed at their house and we have online contact. We too have had some 'issues'. Its hard to go from a lifetine of monogamous upbringing to being poly. There are feelibgs to work through. (If you wanna talk more PM me! )

My kids love my partner and they know about my partners son but they don't know they are married. It's just not come up yet and tbh as thibgs are right now there is no reason for my kids to know. All my family/friends do though.

As we are long distance we are taking things slowly. They are going to bring their son next year and their husband will eventually be introduced too, but right now it's just not an issue.

Offred · 30/08/2016 16:01

I'm very monogamous in the sense that what I actively desire is only one partner at a time. As a person I could not cope with and actively do not want concurrent relationships. I think the point of that 'bisexuals are not' thing is to make the point that poly is separate to bi etc. You can be straight/gay/bi and poly/confused/attention seeking. They are separate things to your sexuality e.g. No-one tells a straight/gay (anymore anyway) person they must be bi because they are poly/confused/attention seeking but the do tell bi people that because they are bi they are poly/confused/attention seeking.

Offred · 30/08/2016 16:07

It's the defining of bi people by a load of unrelated characteristics that is the discriminatory/prejudiced bit. So someone who is bi may be confused and attention seeking but the closest it will ever get to being about bisexuality is socially constructed experiences of being bisexual, it is not an inherent part of being bisexual. Re being poly I see that as a thing similar to sexuality in that you either are poly or not and it's not something you can help or change but I do not think it is an inherent part of bisexuality, even if research were to find it was more common amongst bi people - that would be a correlation and I don't think it should be conflated.

In any case being poly is not being a cheater; those things are often conflated too.

Nodowntime · 26/09/2016 18:10

Another bisexual mum and wife here, very interested in joining the group mentioned by Little Oyster. I do think your bisexuality can be very relevant even if you are in a monogamous relationship with a man. It's a relief to find women in a similar position with whom it'd be possible to share and discuss possibly common issues.

I don't think all bisexual people are the same it terms that they are all equally attracted to men and women. My wiring is definitely faulty Hmm and very inconvenient for me, in terms of me falling in love with men but sexually feeling more fulfilled with women :(. I mean I'm very lucky that I have a passionate and satisfying sexual relationship with my husband, but it doesn't stop me from desperately missing sexual experiences with women.

On the other hand, if I had to only sleep with a woman/women for the rest of my life, I know I would be okay, I wouldn't miss men desperately in a sexual sense. Grin However, even hypothetically I cannot see myself with a woman as a life partner, I only fancy feminine women (and masculine men, though fancy men very seldom anyway), and I find that I have more than enough estrogen by myself to have a smooth relationship with a woman, even close friendships with girlfriends I find overwhelming sometimes, I need to be balanced out by testosterone, and in general I find friendships with couples and men more relaxing, though I'm blessed with some great friendships with women. :)

So even though I'm happily married I forever feel like something is missing (sexually), I try not to dwell on it but I am still often attracted to women, and when I suppress it for too long I start getting lots of erotic dreams featuring girls :/

Nodowntime · 26/09/2016 18:39

So basically when I'm in a relationship with a man(most of my adult life, two marriages), I stop being attracted to other men, but am still attracted to women. When I said I'm only attracted to feminine women, I meant sexually, not in terms of friendships - in terms of friendships possibly the less womanly(in a conventional sense) the better. :)

I think in purely physical terms I am probably wired more as a lesbian, I remember originally finding cock a little bit revolting, and also most of my life not being able to climax unless I visualise a woman taking part too. Confused I grew to enjoy male-ness and male sexuality but partly because it was all that was possible/available in my particular environment in my late teenage years, partly through just having a high libido and giving myself some pep talks :)...it was like getting used to a delicacy, I find delicacies of most nations' cuisines are acquired taste, but once you acquire it, you can really enjoy it Grin

Vinnie11 · 27/05/2017 08:20

Anyone been here recently? I realised I have been Bi since the beginning of our marriage. My husband has been extremely supportive, we recently had a baby and I love her to bits. But like many other threads, I too feel the urge to want to be with a woman. I have explained this to my husband and he did agree that I could explore later in the future and not now as our baby girl is still quite young. I fear that if I do meet a woman and fall in love it would change the way things are with me and my husband. I love him very much and he has done so much for me I can't even imagine not having him in my life. But the empty space I have in me... the urge to want to experience... My first love was a girl, ever since I have not felt that sort of love. I want to do so again... so hard...

AMBE123 · 12/04/2020 21:13

Is anyone still on this thread?

NoMoreDickheads · 13/04/2020 15:08

I know this may be a zombie thread but thought I would make a comment.

I'm bi ad though I'm not a mum, I don't see how being bi would effect someone's ability to be a mum at all- it wouldn't, we make just as good parents.

Obviously we could've done with the OP explaining more of what she's finding difficult.

If OP is feeling a desire to have a same sex relationship while in a committed relationship, that could be difficult. But being bi doesn't make someone more likely to cheat.

AMBE123 · 13/04/2020 16:34

I read the OP's post more as just saying her main identity at that point was as a SAHM (plus this is Mumsnet) but wondering if there were other people like her out there to talk to. Could be wrong. Maybe she'll come back and give an update Grin

New posts on this thread. Refresh page