This Video by Bisexual Icon Evan Rachel Wood Is What Bi Folks Need this Pride Month

Actress and musician Evan Rachel Wood is the bisexual icon we’ve been waiting for. Why? Because she takes no BS. On her YouTube channel, she recently shared a video in which she discusses everything from mental health to visibility to a sense of community among bisexuals in an attempt to fight bi erasure within the LGBTQ community.

It’s so important to have an icon like Wood talking bisexuality. When you take the impact that bisexual invisibility has on the mental health of bi women, and the unique ways that bisexuality shapes poverty rates, it becomes obvious that we need to spend more time about what it means to be bi.

Wood decided to share her own story in an attempt to raise visibility. “I’ve had it up to here with all of the misconceptions about bisexuals and bisexuality,” Evan Rachel Wood begins.

“The first time I realized was the way that I thought wasn’t acceptable was in… second grade? I kissed a girl in the lunchroom in front of everyone.... I looked around and I realized that it wasn’t okay.”

She continued by sharing a story about her fear that stemmed from that incident in second grade, and how hesitant she was to kiss a girl again. She kissed a girl again when she was 12 and had her first secret girlfriend. “It was so terrifying,” she said, “and I ended it, not because I wanted to, but because I was so scared of coming out.”

She also said, “I was certainly attracted to women, so I just assumed that I was gay." She continued on to talk about her own love life. "I’ve been in relationships with men and women,” Wood said, “and most of the time I’m not gay enough, or straight enough.”

Watching the video, I could completely relate to what Wood was saying. Wondering if we're "just gay" is something many bisexual people have felt. Because so many define our sexuality by who we’re dating instead of who we are, many bisexual people are left feeling like we have little control over our own narratives. I was so grateful to hear someone finally verbalizing what I'd felt.

But who we are is just right. There’s no such thing as not being gay enough, or straight enough. We are who we are. And that’s valid.

Even though we're told our stories don't matter, they do, so much, and we’re grateful to Evan Rachel Wood for being open about her own struggles with her sexuality. We know that coming out isn’t for everyone, but we’re relieved to have someone as thoughtful and aware as Wood for acting as a role model in a world where bi role models are few and far between.