‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ Star Stephanie Beatriz Has Written A Moving Essay About Her Bisexuality

Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Stephanie Beatriz has penned a powerful essay about her bisexuality, writing about what it means to come out and how important it is to her to be able to use her platform to help people who may be struggling with their sexuality.

Titled ‘Stephanie Beatriz Is Bi and Proud as Hell’, the essay was published by GQ, and begins with Beatriz discussing her impending marriage to a man.

“I’m bi, and I’m getting married this fall,” she writes. “I’m excited, nervous, terrified, and so fucking happy. I’m choosing to get married because this particular person brings out the best in me.”

“This person happens to be a man. I’m still bi.”

Beatriz describes being bisexual as “a continual series of coming-out moments,” and talks about being frustrated by how people’s sexuality often seems to be defined “by who we’re partnered with at any given moment”.

“I’ve had countless tiny ‘coming out’ moments in my life, often simply to explain to someone else that they have misjudged my sexuality based on who they saw me dating,” she writes.

“A lot of stuff rolls around in your head when you’re wondering about whether or not you should come out as bi: If I pass as straight, why should I have that possibly uncomfortable and maybe dangerous ‘I’m bi’ talk with my family, friends, community? If I’m in a same-sex relationship, shouldn’t I ‘stay gay’ and not upset the status quo? How much detail should I give people about myself and my sexuality?”

Beatriz also speaks about how important it is to her to be visible, both as herself and in her role as Detective Rosa Diaz on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, who also recently came out as bisexual.

“I have a small platform of visibility, because I’m on a fun and (if I do say so myself) damn good television show,” she writes. “I’ve chosen to use that platform to speak openly about my bi-ness, because of other people who may feel invisible and unsure of whether or not to come out as bisexual.”

She closes the essay by talking about her recent experience being on a float in the Washington D.C. Pride parade, and an encounter she had with a fan.

“A young man … recognized me and talked to me about Brooklyn and what a fan he is of the show,” she writes. “Then he whispered that he loved the episode in which Rosa came out to her family. He too, he said, identifies as bi but is unable to share it with his family. He told me that the episode meant so much to him, and then he trailed off. I grabbed his arm and held it. I told him I understood.”

“In October, I will marry a heterosexual man. We’ll make vows that I will take very seriously—till death do us part. But I’ll be bi till the day I die, baby, and I vow to myself to always sing that truth.”

You can read Stephanie Beatriz’s full essay over at GQ.