Have you ever read a book and thought, "I could have written that and it probably would have been better"? Well, that's how I felt while I was reading this one.

I do believe that Ritch C. Savin-Williams set out with good intentions. He wanted to write a really in-depth book about a frequently-overlooked demographic. He did a lot of research. He interviewed a lot of young people who are attracted to multiple genders. He wrote almost 300 pages of very in-depth discussions about bisexuality. So why did it fail so spectacularly?

Usually, when I don't like a book, it's for one of two reasons: it wasn't to my personal taste or I wasn't the intended audience. But I struggled to determine who WAS supposed to be the intended audience for this book. It's too academic to be useful to young people who might be questioning their sexualities. It wouldn't be a helpful resource to the parents and teachers of those young people. And it's not saying anything fresh or original enough to be valuable to other academics. It's certainly not aimed at me, a college-educated bisexual person: the word "we" is consistently used to refer to the collective of people who are not bisexual (as defined by this author).

The author makes a lot of fundamental missteps here that indicate to me that he doesn't actually understand what he's talking about. He includes identities like trans* and nonbinary under the bisexual (or rather bi+ or m-spec) umbrella and in fact continually treats gender identities as sexualities. The presence of the word "nonbinary" in the title does NOT mean that this book contains an examination of the ways in which nonbinary gender identities and m-spec sexualities interact with each other and the reasons why so many people identify as both nonbinary (or genderfluid, genderqueer, etc.) and bisexual (or pansexual, polysexual, fluid, etc.). No, the reason "nonbinary" is in the title is because the author genuinely believes that nonbinary gender identities are part of the larger bisexual (m-spec) umbrella.

There were so many missed opportunities in this book. I kept thinking to myself as I was reading, "If only the author would actually examine the ways in which race and culture impact bi+ identity, taking into account factors such as colonialism. If only the author actually knew the definitions of the words that he's using and didn't lump in every single identity that's not straight, gay, or lesbian (or rather, according to this book, "heterosexual" and "homosexual") under the umbrella label of "bisexual." If only he acknowledged that the term "two-spirit" is its own umbrella that is exclusive to Native communities and not some new-fangled Gen Z gender label. If only the interview questions had been better, more complex, more focused on community and socialization and systemic power structures and less on biology and sexual activity. If only the author had demonstrated a knowledge of the history behind the labels he was discussing instead of claiming that nearly all of them (including things like political lesbianism, which dates back to the 1960s) are new things invented by today's youth."

Maybe this book will be useful to someone, but I cannot imagine who that person would be. If you don't already know about the wealth of experiences within the LGBTQ+ community, this book is a very bad place to start as it is confusing and full of incorrect information. If you're already more familiar with LGBTQ+ issues and you want to read an academic text that explores those experiences in-depth (as I did), you will likely be bothered by the lack of awareness of basic gender and sexuality concepts (as I was).

I probably would have found slightly more value in this book if I were a developmental psychologist, like the author is, but even then, I don't think I would have appreciated the author's methods. I really didn't need to keep hearing about every single interviewee's "first adolescent sexual experience." And because the book attempts to delve into other fields, such as gender studies and sociology, I feel more than qualified to say that it does not successfully accomplish what it tried to do.

I feel sorry for the young people who were interviewed for this book. I don't feel like their stories were done justice.

If you don't know much about bisexuality and want to know more, then I think you would like this book. I liked a lot of the interviews and anecdotes provided by people who identify or identified at one point as bisexual (brought me back to when I identified as bisexual in high school before identifying as pansexual), but there were a lot of sections in this book that I found to be dense, which caused me to skim some parts..

This book didn’t work for me. It’s very ambitious and I appreciated the individual case studies, but the author interpretation was overbearing at times. For example, in the pansexual chapter, the author insisted that one of the subjects surveyed wasn’t a “pure” pansexual because he had a stronger attraction to males. There can be preferences within a sexual orientation especially one such as pansexuality which focuses on people as a whole rather than their parts.

The focus on attraction to sex rather than gender was also disconcerting, and it seemed that people were classified as physical beings only rather than being inclusive of gender. Non-binary and other genders were given some consideration but in a separate section of the book. In my opinion, bisexuality isn’t about simply being attracted to only men and women but can also include non-binary people.

I appreciated some references to asexuality and romantic attraction, and the case studies themselves made for an interesting read. Overall this book felt rigid in its definitions of sexuality and gender, which was disappointing because there were so many case examples of how sexuality and gender are on a spectrum rather than categorized.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

I am unfortunately DNFing this. I was super interested because I haven’t read many nonfiction books focused specifically on bisexuality, but this was not doing it for me.

I was pretty uncomfortable with the section on why girls are more accepted as bi than boys in society because while there was good points on the toxic masculinity influencing how bi boys are perceived, there was NO mention of how women are “more accepted” often due to fetishization.

This paragraph sealed the DNF:
“Casey’s sexuality has fluctuated from a bisexual child (doing things with boys because it was easier) to a mostly gay early adolescent (more Sloan than Joan) to currently nearly 100 percent straight (“the woman I’ll marry”) to an ideal fluidity (possibility of swinging with his wife).”

Reading through other reviews, it seems like the view on bisexuality stays pretty binary and I don’t want to experience that

"Bi" is an intersectional and extensive examination of bisexuality, pansexuality, gender fluid and nonbinary identities within the LGBTQIA+ community. from the point of view of queer youth. While no means exhaustive, this book would serve as a fantastic primer to anyone with an interest in learning more about these communities.

Bi is a fairly academic book, which I personally enjoy. However, it was probably about 30% too long since the main premise about bisexuality the book poses is that it is understudied, and incorrectly studied. In sum, bisexuals are a diverse crowd, you can't generalize them, and current studies about bisexuality are lacking in a number of dimensions. I think a lot of this could have been boiled down to a few articles, but it was interesting nonetheless.

*Note: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this work.*

**Let's get to the point: the intention was great, however the execution not so much.**

Bi: Bisexual, Pansexual, Fluid and Genderqueer Youth (soon enough known as simply **Bi** because damn this title is long) is an interesting read. Not going to lie, it has its ups and downs - *some moments* I wanted to through my phone across the room because that would actually make it more exciting, *but some other moments* ****I would be learning and relearning actual concepts and ideas. It's interesting, but not all the way, not... enough (at least for me).

There's a couple things I liked, nevertheless I thought they should have been layed out differently. The interviews were great. **I loved to hear people's stories.** As a bisexual individual myself, I absolutely adored hearing people be themselves, discovering themselves and eventually loving themselves. It brought me so much joy, and sometimes it even tears. There's nothing greater than learning though people's own experiences and lives. Besides that, I also enjoyed the overall choice of topics, and really think someone new to this whole "queer thing" might be the ideal reader for this book.

On a more negative note, this book misuses the term 'genderqueer' a couple of times (it's not a sexuality, it's a gender identity like the name obviously says). That's a huge issue since a book that discusses gender expression, identity, and fluidity should (at least) get the terms right. Undeniably, language, and terminology in the queer community is constantly changing which makes it challenging to write a book on this topic, and even harder to make it stay up to date and correctly address the theme. On the matter of change, it's also incorrect to assume that bisexuality simply means being attracted to men and woman. It's not. **It's being attracted to more than one gender.** I don't think a book about both bisexuality, and pansexuality should make that mistake.

Personally, as a biromantic asexual, it troubled me that the book focused so much on sex. Even though it **gently** touched on the difference of being romantically attracted to someone, and being sexually attracted, it was not enough. Maybe it's my ace brain thinking but I don't think sex should be that big of a deal (that's just me ??? okay, i'll shut up then).

On a different note, the format of the ebook was all over the place and needs to be rethought. There were no separations from chapter to chapter and the quotations weren't properly emphasized. It was a mess but with an easy fix.

All in all, I do think this is not an awful book but one that needs a little shaping. It brings great conversations to the table, and many teachings to a younger, unexperienced reader.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley to provide me the ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
DNF at 32,7%
A not so educational read, which was far from my expectations. I was quite happy to get to read this because it's an OwnVoices educational read about bisexuality and more. Or so I thought, this book let me down in oribably all ways possibly.
First of all: the literal bland lesbophobia and biphobia?? In a queer book?? Fro m a queer author?? Beyond dissapointed in that. According to this book, being bi only means to be attracted to men and women. We get a lot of storytimes (from only the same 5 people over aand over again, 300+ pages long), but those are again only from men and womens perspective. A bit more diversity would've been appreciated.
The author also uses genderqueer as a sexuality an obnoxious amount of time. It's a gender identity, not a sexuality! It's in the name! How hard can it be to do research to learn your terms correctly.
The writing style is straight up boring. Getting concentrated into it takes a big effort where it shouldn't. We get 315 pages of black text, with (almost) no subdivisions which is downright disturbing.
I'm not going to torture myself into finishing this book & I hope you won't either.

While a decent introduction to bisexuality and queer terminology, this book also reinforces certain stereotypes and the gender binary, making it less educational and affirming than it could be.

DNF
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I couldn't finish the book, I feel like it's just an amount of confused and not specific information and it keeps reinforcing some stereotypes the lgbt community fights against for years.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My ARC on the NetGalley app was very difficult to read and when I used the Kindle format, the formatting was also imperfect and it was difficult to tell when Savin-Williams was quoting interviewees.

To be honest, I’m not sure what I think of this book. I am one of the advisors for my school’s GSA, I had been hoping this would be a good resource that I could recommend for any curious (straight) teachers or parents. It’s definitely not that, I can see this being more confusing than helpful.

I appreciate Savin-Williams’ research and attempt to find diverse participants, although I think that some demographics needed more representation. The tone of the book is very casually academic and mostly easy to read, despite my ARC formatting issues. However, in terms of content, there were times when I’m not sure if they were using some terminology consistently/clearly. For a book that discusses gender expression, identity, and fluidity… it’s not great at using some of the terms correctly, particularly the term ’genderqueer’, which I feel is problematic since it's important to get that right.

Language, particularly terminology, in the queer community is challenging because the community is not a monolith. Members interpret terms and labels differently and the language is consistently evolving, so I understand that it’s a difficult task to get the language down, but I hope that it gets revised before publication.

Thank you to NetGalley and NYU Press for an ARC of this book!

A really informative and comprehensive look at multi-attraction labels. Savin-Williams uses analytical data to show us how generational differences affect how labels are attached and where the differences lie. I especially appreciated the look into how race and gender affect how one labels themselves, and how the difficulties can come into play regarding these two things. This isn't a history of bisexuality or an advice book, so if that's something you're looking for, I'd look elsewhere. But this is a comprehensive view of how the spectrum of sexualities exists and where the common themes lie. A really great read.

Bi is a very personal and intimate account of what it means to be bisexual in today's world through the eyes of youths who identify as such. It poses interesting questions about the way we perceive gender and sexuality as a society and lets the reader gain insights through these very personal experiences of the participants of Savin-Williams' research throughout the book.

The book itself has a relatively casual tone and anecdotes upon anecdotes of the bisexual experience, which make for an incredibly interesting read. Though the reader absorbs a lot of quantitative information and empirical research, they do not get lost in the weeds. I would certainly recommend it to readers who are curious about bisexuality and want to spend time hearing directly from youth willing to share their experiences in a very direct, no holds barred manner.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review!

This was hard to read maybe it might be something I need to read in physical form. I give it 3 stars cause it was hard to reas e book form. It did like was I was able to read. But I think I will get it in physical form and finish reading that way.

Some parts of this book were really interesting and well written, but a lot of it spread false or biased information. Even though the title expresses an exploration of gender, this book still felt very binary; the term genderqueer was also used to express a sexuality multiple times.

I have to be honest when I say I did not enjoy this book. In fact, there were a number of discussions that felt incorrect and, in some instances, a bit on the dangerous side. I'm bi and an academic (among many other things), so I went into this looking for an interesting and researched take on the subject matter. While parts of the book offer this, it's littered with a binary-reinforcing idea of bisexuals, which is frustrating because there are also bright instances where the author really seems to be on the accurate path.

There are a number of times that the author conflates "genderqueer" with a sexuality (it isn't, it is a gender), though then goes on to discuss genderqueer as a gender later on in the book. The author also tends to, when talking about bisexual individuals, draw a hard line between men and women, and writes as if bisexuals are only interested in the two of them, which is frustrating because the title of the book, "Bi," makes it feel as if bi, pan, genderqueer, and nonbinary people are all being lumped under that umbrella. Considering bi and pan are sexual orientations, while nonbinary and genderqueer/fluid are genders (though fluid could also be applied to sexuality), this feels needlessly confusing. Yes, there are definitely points where the author gets things right, but they're eclipsed (in my opinion, at least) by other confusing and reductive issues in the book. I suppose if this is one of many books one might be reading about the topics, then it might be useful, but overall I wouldn't recommend it. It isn't for me.

The subject was really good, but I think it was way too difficult to read. I read it but lot of things seems confused.

The tone of the book is casually academic and I think it would be interesting to those wanting to learn more about bisexuality in the younger generations. I enjoyed the case studies and personal accounts with young people describing their own experiences and understanding of their sexuality. Personally as a bisexual Millennial, I found that I already knew much of the topics covered, and at times it was odd to read about them from the much older perspective of the author. That being said, I would recommend to monosexuals and Gen X or Older readers.

Additionally, it's worth noting that the author appears to use the word genderqueer incorrectly sometimes. It is included numerous times in a list of multi-attraction sexualities, including the title "Bisexual, Pansexual, Fluid, and Genderqueer Youth". However genderqueer is not a sexuality, it is a gender identity similar to non-binary. He does have a chapter on genderqueer and non-binary identities, so it's clear he knows that gender and sexuality are separate, so I'm confused as to its incorrect usage throughout the book.

I only read half of this, but I was not enjoying it just because I don't think I was the target audience for this. I'm a bisexual Gen Z-er, and as I was reading this I just felt like I already knew everything I was reading just by existing in queer spaces as a queer person. The academic language in which the author was... analyzing my life felt a bit strange to me, and I didn't enjoy reading an analysis on my existence. I'm sure this book will be great for monosexual people to read, this book did not feel like it was written for bisexual people.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Such a useful book. Very helpful and a great resource.