Readers are celebrating Bisexual Visibility Day on 23 September with a closer look at five men whose public stories have challenged stereotypes, secrecy and forced coming-outs. From AFL football to Heartstopper and Oscar Wilde, their experiences show why bisexual visibility matters across generations and communities.

Essential Takeaways

  • Visibility matters: Bisexual people remain the largest single LGBTQIA+ group, yet many still face disbelief and erasure.
  • Mitch Brown broke new ground: The former AFL player became the first man in league history to publicly come out as bisexual.
  • Kit Connor's story is a warning: Public pressure forced the Heartstopper actor to disclose his identity as a teenager.
  • François Arnaud challenged stereotypes: The Canadian actor made clear that bisexuality isn't confusion, disloyalty or performance.
  • History needs nuance: Oscar Wilde's relationships resist neat modern labels, which is precisely why his story still matters.

Why Biseptember still matters

Bisexual Visibility Day arrives on 23 September, at the close of Bisexual Awareness Week. It should be a celebratory moment, but the need for visibility remains serious. Research from La Trobe University's Who I Am study found that more than 60 per cent of bisexual participants experienced high or very high psychological distress.

That combination of pride and pressure is important. Bisexual people are often challenged by straight communities and, at times, dismissed within LGBTQIA+ spaces too. The result can be a particularly lonely kind of invisibility, where people are expected to provide proof of an identity that shouldn't require a courtroom defence.

This year's conversation also arrives as public figures continue to reshape assumptions about masculinity. The stories collected here aren't identical, but each one pushes back against the idea that bisexuality is temporary, fashionable or somehow less real.

Mitch Brown made AFL history

In August 2025, former West Coast Eagle Mitch Brown became the first man in AFL history to come out publicly as bisexual. Brown played 94 senior matches between 2007 and 2016, mainly as a defender, but kept his sexuality private throughout his playing career.

According to ABC News, Brown described hearing fellow players make hostile comments about sharing a changing room with a gay man. That memory helps explain why coming out in professional sport can feel so risky, even when the words themselves seem simple.

AFL.com.au reported that Brown hoped his decision would help younger men feel safer and less alone. It was a significant moment for a sport where toughness has traditionally been wrapped up with silence. One public statement won't fix that culture overnight, but it gives someone else a starting point.

Kit Connor's experience shows the cost of pressure

Kit Connor's bisexual coming-out story is far less celebratory. The Heartstopper actor was 18 when online users accused him of queerbaiting, despite knowing almost nothing about his private life. He eventually announced that he was bisexual on Twitter in October 2022, making it clear that public pressure had forced the disclosure.

Time reported that Connor's post came after months of speculation and criticism. The Guardian later argued that compelling celebrities to come out isn't progress, a point that feels especially sharp when the person involved is still a teenager.

The incident exposed an uncomfortable contradiction. Heartstopper helped many viewers understand queer identity with warmth and generosity, yet some fans treated the actor's real life as a test they were entitled to mark. As the show's creator Alice Oseman made clear, stereotypes aren't a valid way to decide who belongs under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella.

François Arnaud rejected the usual excuses

François Arnaud came out publicly in September 2020, during Bisexual Visibility Week. His message cut through several familiar myths, rejecting the idea that bisexual men are confused, attention-seeking, disloyal or ashamed.

Journal de Quebec reported on Arnaud's announcement, which was notable for its calm certainty. There was no attempt to make his identity easier for sceptical audiences to digest. Instead, he treated bisexuality as an ordinary part of his life, while also explaining how silence can reinforce the belief that bi men don't exist.

That matters because representation doesn't always need fireworks. Sometimes it looks like a person refusing to add an apology to a straightforward statement about who they are. For viewers searching for bisexual male representation, that steadiness can feel quietly radical.

Public figures can change the conversation, but they can't carry it alone

Richarlison, the former Brazil international, also spoke publicly about being bisexual, becoming the first player from Brazil's top flight to do so. His decision showed how powerful visibility can be in football, a setting where scrutiny around masculinity remains intense.

His story sits alongside Brown's in a broader shift towards more honest conversations in sport. But visibility shouldn't become another burden placed on a handful of people. No athlete or actor should have to risk their safety, career or privacy simply to prove that bisexual men are present.

The practical lesson is straightforward. Listen when someone names their identity, don't demand a dating history as evidence, and avoid treating bisexuality as a halfway point between other labels. It sounds basic, but many people still need reminding.

Oscar Wilde deserves a more careful reading

Oscar Wilde is the most historically complicated name on this list. He married Constance Lloyd, had two sons and had relationships with men, including Lord Alfred Douglas. In 1895, he was convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to two years' hard labour.

Modern readers often describe Wilde as gay, while others interpret his life through a bisexual lens. The difficulty is that he lived before the contemporary meaning of bisexual identity was widely available. Assigning a definitive label can therefore say more about us than it does about him.

What remains clear is the cost of being visible in the wrong era. Wilde's life was scrutinised, punished and endlessly reinterpreted, yet his work and personal history still invite debate. That uncertainty isn't a reason to exclude him from conversations about bisexual visibility. It is a reminder to leave room for complexity.

Biseptember won't erase biphobia, but it can make the conversation more generous. If these stories bring up difficult feelings, QLife offers free, anonymous LGBTQIA+ peer support in Australia on 1800 184 527 or through webchat, from 3pm to midnight daily.

Visibility is strongest when it comes with room to be complicated, private and fully human.

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