Rachel Dolezal reveals that she's bisexual in the middle of Pride Month (original) (raw)

In the midst of Pride season, Rachel Dolezal shared on social media that she is bisexual.

The embattled former president of the NAACP's Spokane, Wash. branch, who has two white parents but self-identifies as black, shared a photograph of herself with a rainbow shining on her face.

"I am bisexual," she wrote in an Instagram post Sunday. "Just because I have been married (briefly) to a man or have had children by male partners does not mean I am not bi.

"I am in absolutely no rush to explore a new relationship, but it still matters to stay visible."

Some LGBTQ advocates didn't take issue with the message itself, but rather with the messenger.

"I hope that being out to the public as bisexual empowers Rachel Dolezal to critically consider the many intersections that exist within our community and the privileges she has been afforded in comparison to the people of color and transgender people in the bi+ community with us," said Belle Haggett Silverman of the Bisexual Resource Center. "I also hope the media will take the opportunity to fairly and accurately report on who bisexual+ people are ... rather than perpetuating harmful stereotypes that seek to undermine bisexuality+ as a valid identity."

Although bisexual women are perceived to be more accepted by society than other members of the LGBT community – according to a survey of LGBT people by the Pew Research Center – the stigma surrounding bisexuality is still common. Bisexual women face the highest risk of intimate partner violence in the LGBT community. The lifetime prevalence of rape for lesbians and heterosexual women is 13% and 17%, respectively, while for bisexual women it's 46%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and most perpetrators are male.

Dolezal first made headlines in 2015 when she stepped down from her post at Spokane's NAACP after publicly claiming to be black, telling NBC News she identified as black starting at age 5.

Since then, Dolezal – who changed her name to Nkechi Diallo but still uses her birth name – was charged last year with committing welfare fraud. She was sentenced in April to community service and was forced to pay back $8,847 she stole from in government assistance.