Double discrimination against bisexual people: a systematic review and meta-analysis of source differences*

Bisexual people experience discrimination both from heterosexual and lesbian/gay communities – termed ‘double discrimination’. This study is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify whether bisexual people experience more, or less, discrimination from heterosexual versus lesbian/gay sources. We searched six databases, supplemented by citation searching and public calls for papers, and identified 40 studies (20 unpublished) totaling 14,064 bisexual participants. Results showed that overall, bisexual people experience significantly more discrimination from heterosexual, compared to lesbian/gay, sources (d = 0.30; 95% CI = 0.20 to 0.39; small-to-medium effect). This pattern held across multiple forms of discrimination: stereotypes of sexual instability (d = 0.33; 95% CI = 0.23 to 0.43; small-to-medium effect), assumptions of sexual irresponsibility (d = 0.26; 95% CI = 0.20 to 0.33; small-to-medium effect), and general hostile treatment (d = 0.30; 95% CI = 0.21 to 0.40; small-to-medium effect). The source difference was robust to a range of moderators, including study and sample characteristics. Our findings provide comprehensive evidence that bisexual people experience more frequent discrimination from heterosexual than lesbian/gay sources. Given the harms associated with anti-bisexual stigma, interventions are needed to address double discrimination, particularly the higher levels of binegativity from heterosexual sources.