Why Bisexual Representation in Australian Media Still Falls Short
For years, bisexual people have watched mainstream screens and felt a quiet kind of invisibility. Shows that pride themselves on diverse casts often forget that sexuality exists on a spectrum, defaulting instead to characters who are either clearly gay or clearly straight. The bi+ community, which includes people who identify as bisexual, pansexual, queer, or fluid, has been told for decades that they simply do not exist as a serious cinematic or television identity. In Australia, where multicultural storytelling has long been championed by networks like SBS and the ABC, this erasure carries a particular sting because the country otherwise takes pride in representing difference.
This piece digs into where bisexual representation goes missing across Australian screens, bookshops, and audio platforms. It also looks at the local creators, festivals, and grassroots projects that are pushing back. Readers who have followed along with earlier essays on this site will know that visibility matters, and that stories shape how a society understands identity. A recent reflection on the social justice book that changed my perspective on privilege explored how reading can shift worldview, and the same principle applies to what we see on screen.
The erasure problem in Australian television
Australian television has produced some genuinely groundbreaking queer narratives, but bisexual characters rarely get to carry them. Long-running dramas on the major networks have introduced queer storylines, only to settle them into either side of a binary. A character comes out as gay, or comes out as straight after a same-sex dalliance, but rarely gets to remain comfortably in the middle. This binary approach mirrors how bisexuality has been treated in broader culture for decades, dismissed as a phase, a marketing ploy, or simply confusion.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority tracks diversity standards across broadcasters, yet there is no specific obligation to represent bisexual identities accurately. SBS has long been the gold standard for multicultural and LGBTQIA+ content, with programs and multilingual dramas featuring queer characters. Even these well-meaning productions sometimes lean on stereotypes or treat bisexuality as a stepping stone to a more legible identity. The result is that bisexual viewers, including many in regional towns from Cairns to Hobart, still struggle to find characters who reflect their actual lived experience.
Film festivals and local cinema
Australian film festivals have become crucial battlegrounds for bisexual visibility. The Melbourne International Film Festival and Sydney Film Festival regularly program queer cinema, but smaller events such as Queer Screen's Mardi Gras Film Festival and the Melbourne Queer Film Festival often take bigger risks. These festivals have screened films with complex bi+ protagonists, from stories about polyamorous relationships to documentaries exploring the fluid nature of desire. They give Australian audiences a chance to see narratives that Hollywood rarely funds.
Local filmmakers are also beginning to tell these stories with more nuance. Short films produced through agencies like Screen Australia and state-funded bodies have started to feature bisexual leads who are not defined solely by their sexuality. There is still a long way to go, and funding bodies tend to favour stories that fit neatly into grant categories, but the indie scene is alive. Walk into a screening at the Brunswick Mechanics Institute or the Factory Theatre in Marrickville and you are likely to find at least one film that centres a bisexual character without making their identity a plot twist.
Streaming platforms and content quotas
The streaming revolution was supposed to fix representation, and in some ways it has. Platforms like Netflix, Stan, and Binge now commission Australian content, and the local drama quota requires streaming services to invest at least 10 percent of their total expenditure in Australian programs. Stan originals have featured queer characters, though bisexual representation remains thin. Algorithms also play a role in what gets promoted, and bisexuality still does not trend the way other queer identities do, so even when content exists, it struggles to surface.
What makes the Australian streaming landscape distinctive is the mix of global platforms and local broadcasters operating online. ABC iview and SBS On Demand offer free streaming with public service obligations, which gives editors slightly more freedom to programme stories that might not perform well algorithmically. Some of the most interesting bi+ narratives in recent years have appeared on these platforms, often adapted from local books or podcasts. The challenge is discoverability, because audiences who search for bisexual content are still often met with either stereotypical dramas or quietly straight-passing storylines.
The role of community radio and podcasts
Australian community radio has long been a haven for voices that mainstream media ignores. Stations like JOY 94.9 in Melbourne, 2SER in Sydney, and 4ZZZ in Brisbane regularly feature bisexual guests, segments on fluid sexuality, and queer book clubs. Community radio broadcasters must comply with codes of practice that emphasise diversity and community service, which creates space for nuanced conversations about identity. A bisexual caller sharing their experience is treated as a normal part of the broadcast rather than a sensational story, and no one bats an eye.
Podcasts have filled many of the gaps left by television and film. Australian-produced shows have built loyal audiences by exploring bisexual lives in detail. Podcasting is one of the few mediums where creators do not need a network's permission to tell their stories, and many Australian bi+ podcasters have found niche but devoted followings. The Coffee with Katiee podcast has explored similar themes around identity and grief, and a piece on how podcasting helped me process my grief explains why the medium resonates so deeply for storytellers working through complex personal material.
Bookshops and literary culture
Australian bookshops have become surprisingly active in pushing bisexual representation forward. Independent stores like Readings in Carlton, Better Read Than Dead in Newtown, and Avid Reader in Brisbane curate queer sections that include bisexual authors. Display tables during Pride season often feature writers exploring fluid desire. The literary community has always been slightly ahead of screen media on queer representation, partly because novels and short story collections can sit with ambiguity in ways that visual media often avoids.
Australian publishers, including local imprints at the major houses and independent presses like Wakefield Press and Affirm Press, have also begun acquiring more bisexual fiction. BookTok and Bookstagram have amplified Australian bisexual authors, particularly those writing romance and speculative fiction. The rise of small queer presses based in places like Collingwood and Surry Hills has created a genuine infrastructure for these stories. There is still a gender imbalance, with bisexual men receiving far less attention than bisexual women, but the trajectory is encouraging.
What creators and audiences can do
Changing bisexual representation requires pressure from several directions at once. Audiences can write to broadcasters and streaming platforms when they notice bisexual erasure, asking for specific changes rather than vague complaints. Creators can write bisexual characters without making their identity a plot device, allowing them to want, lose, and succeed in ways that have nothing to do with their sexuality. Funding bodies can adjust grant criteria to specifically invite stories about fluid desire, recognising that bisexual lives are not simply queer subplots within otherwise heterosexual narratives.
Education matters too. Media studies courses at universities like RMIT, UTS, and the University of Melbourne now include modules on bisexual invisibility, and graduates are entering the industry with sharper tools. Parents and teachers can normalise conversations about bisexuality early, so that young people growing up in places like Perth, Adelaide, or Launceston feel seen long before they reach a screen. Visibility is not a finishing line, but a habit, and the more places it shows up, the less remarkable it becomes.
Practical steps for improving bisexual representation
- Pitch bisexual characters to networks with fully realised arcs rather than as queer sidekicks
- Fund and program films through queer festivals that centre bi+ protagonists
- Support Australian podcasters and community radio stations telling bisexual stories
- Review local dramas on ABC iview and SBS On Demand to boost discoverability of bi+ content
- Buy bisexual Australian authors from independent bookshops and request their titles at libraries
- Advocate for grant programs at Screen Australia to include specific bisexual categories
The road to genuine bisexual representation in Australian media will be long, but it is not mysterious. Every time a viewer in Brisbane complains to a streaming service about a missed bisexual storyline, every time a podcast host in Fremantle centres a bi+ guest, every time a bookseller in Newtown recommends a bisexual novel, the picture shifts a little. Change happens in ordinary moments, and Australian audiences hold the power to keep asking for stories that reflect the full range of human desire.
