The Truth About Saffron Burrows And Alan Cumming’s Relationship – Nicki Swift

While it can be argued that attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community have changed since Alan Cumming came out publicly 1998 as a bisexual man — and, more recently, when Saffron Burrows officially confirmed her bisexuality in 2013 after revealing her marriage to Alison Balian – biphobia is still an issue many bisexual people in the U.K. are forced to contend with. 

According to a September 2020 report published by the non-profit Stonewall UK, roughly 20% of participants surveyed by the organization out of respondents who identify as bisexual stated that they are out to their family members. Only 42% answered that they are out at their place of employment, citing a “fear of discrimination” due to their sexual orientation. (Comparatively, 63% of respondents who identified as either gay or lesbian stated that they are out to their family members.) Per Stonewall UK, the reason is two-fold. “Bi people are often a forgotten part of the LGBT acronym and can face ‘double discrimination,'” the organization noted. “Not only do they face abuse from straight people, but also from lesbian and gay people.”

Speaking with the BBC in a 2018 interview, the non-profit’s former chief executive, Ruth Hunt, extrapolated on how biphobia within the LGBTQ+ community could manifest. “For men, it’s presumed they’re on their way to being gay,” Hunt said at the time. “And for women, it’s presumed that they’re trying it out.”