Madisyn J. Roberts, in fulfilling the requirements for a PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision, has written and published a dissertation titled Bisexuality: An Individual’s Direction is Society’s Detour.
Roberts uses narrative inquiry, informed by queer theory and intersectionality, to examine how ten self-identified bisexual adults construct stories of sexuality and identity in a culture that often overlooks or erases bisexuality. Through in-depth interviews and thematic analysis, she identifies six major themes—fluidity of bisexuality, gendered impacts, intersections of identity and meaning-making, biphobia, relational impact, and the persistent sense of not being “enough”—with sub-themes of invisibility and acceptance. Roberts argues that framing sexuality as a straight/gay binary fuels biphobia and invisibility, reinforces heteronormativity, and undermines wellbeing. She positions storytelling as a tool for healing, community building, and resistance, and calls for counselor education, clinical training, and organizational policies that center bisexual voices across micro, meso, and macro systems.
Roberts is a licensed mental health counselor, AASECT-certified sex therapist, educator, and researcher based in Seattle. Her work focuses on LGBTQIA+ identity development, sexuality, and intersectionality, advancing queer-affirming, sex-positive, liberation-based practice through clinical services, teaching, supervision, and advocacy.
Read and download Roberts’s dissertation, Bisexuality: An Individual’s Direction is Society’s Detour, here.
