This “Jeopardy!” Contestant Is Being Praised For Promoting Bisexual Visibility
Cody Lawrence appeared on an episode this week wearing a bisexual pride flag pin in an effort to combat bisexual erasure.
A “Jeopardy!” contestant used his appearance on the show to promote bisexual visibility, and fans are loving it.
Cody Lawrence, 28, from Sherman Oaks, CA competed on a “Jeopardy!” episode that aired Tuesday while wearing a bisexual pride flag pin. Instead of a full rainbow like the LGBTQ+ flag, the stripes are pink, lavender and blue.
“I’ve always been bisexual and first became aware of it when I was 10. It wasn’t until age 26 that I started expressing my truth openly,” Lawrence explained on Twitter the day the episode aired. “Everyone should be able to come out on their own terms but #BiErasure made that more difficult for me.”
According to GLAAD, which Lawrence references in the tweets, bisexual erasure or bisexual invisibility “is a pervasive problem in which the existence or legitimacy of bisexuality (either in general or in regard to an individual) is questioned or denied outright.”
Viewers quickly took notice of Lawrence’s pin on the game show’s episode and praised him for his advocacy.
"The bi segment of the LGBTQ+ community isn't quite as visible as the rest of it, both within the community and outside of the community,” Lawrence told TODAY. “Obviously, the LGBTQ+ community as a whole has difficulty with visibility, but I feel like we get lost in the shuffle. A lot."
Lawrence finished in third place on Tuesday and took home $1,000.
Beloved “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek died in November, over a year after he announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Episodes hosted by Trebek prior to his passing have been airing posthumously, with the final episode airing on Christmas Day.