The Blood-Sucking Bisexuals of American Horror Story 40

The Bloodsucking Bisexuals

of American Horror Story

Written by Lauren Walczyk

American Horror Story, in all its campy glory, is a staple in the LGBTQ+ community. With at least one explicitly gay character in nearly every season, viewers can bypass fan theories and go straight to loving a new queer icon. As a bisexual woman myself, we love seeing ourselves represented as… villains? Season 5 of AHS takes us to a murder hotel. Lady Gaga’s Elizabeth, known better as The Countess, is our reigning vampire queen. She, along with almost every other vampire, is shown to be bisexual. While these characters have been praised for being badass bloodsuckers, they still reinforce biphobic talking points with a couple of glaring plot details. Even within queer spaces, a prevailing narrative surrounding bisexuals is that they have no loyalty to a partner. This perceived lack of loyalty is primarily due to the fact that bisexual individuals have an interest in multiple genders, and through that, some insist that we cannot be happy in a monogamous relationship. Not a single vampire, except for Donovan, is shown to be loyal to their original partner. Donovan, our token straight with an affinity for luxury apparel, is fully discarded by Elizabeth. The narrative makes us watch Donovan’s grief, manufacturing audience’s hatred of the heartless, blood-sucking bisexual. Ramona and Tristan, our other resident vampires, are also seen to cheat. Ramona decides to cheat on Tristan with a man in secret, only loving him in a recording studio. However, Tristan decides to come clean to Elizabeth as being in love with a bartender. Perfect! Our main three bisexuals are all known for infidelity. What a radical, never-before-seen concept. Not all representation is good representation—while we can continue to praise AHS for pushing visibility, the bisexual community doesn’t have to accept the way we are frequently pictured. Models: Michael Duffy & Victoria Broadbent Stylist: Caroline Kuhlman Layout by Laura Pereira Photographer: andy meeker