Cody Lawrence—a contestant on Jeopardy!—is being praised for showing a little bit of LGBTQ+ pride during his appearance on the long running show. The episode was taped prior to the passing of beloved host, Alex Trebek.
Fans were thrilled when they noticed something about Lawrence's outfit. He wore a nice dark suit jacket, which made the bisexual pride pin affixed to his lapel stand out even more clearly.
Lawrence had this to say on Twitter:
Lawrence decided to use this platform to talk about bisexual erasure in the LGBTQ+ community.
@Jeopardy @BlairImani I’ve always been bisexual and first became aware of it when I was 10. It wasn’t until age 26… https://t.co/u5FGduZLi9— Cody Lawrence’s Spooky Ghost (he/him/his/was 👻) (@Cody Lawrence’s Spooky Ghost (he/him/his/was 👻)) 1607475650.0
@Jeopardy @BlairImani According to @GLAAD, #BiErasure is a pervasive problem in which the existence or legitimacy o… https://t.co/KDiI66NSlW— Cody Lawrence’s Spooky Ghost (he/him/his/was 👻) (@Cody Lawrence’s Spooky Ghost (he/him/his/was 👻)) 1607475650.0
@Jeopardy @BlairImani @glaad .@BlairImani explains that #BiVisibility is the visibility, acknowledgment, and accept… https://t.co/nHCVpasrIP— Cody Lawrence’s Spooky Ghost (he/him/his/was 👻) (@Cody Lawrence’s Spooky Ghost (he/him/his/was 👻)) 1607475651.0
GLAAD describes bisexual erasure as:
"... 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."
"For example, two married women might spend time in community spaces dominated by lesbians. Perhaps one of the women is bisexual and objects to the assumption that she is a lesbian (i.e., when others call the two women a 'lesbian couple')."
"However, every time she mentions this, others insist that she can't really be bisexual or that her orientation doesn't matter (perhaps with the subtext that she shouldn't talk about it) now that she is partnered."
So, naturally, people were thrilled by the representation.
@cody___lawrence @laurynbr00ke @Jeopardy @BlairImani I immediately recognized the pin and was so excited!! I told a… https://t.co/3uUqcDAbfy— glennby !! (@glennby !!) 1607488433.0
@cody___lawrence @Jeopardy @BlairImani Good for you. We need more bi representation, especially with cis men. Sending you much love. 💙💜💗— Heather Chandler Bing (@Heather Chandler Bing) 1607640670.0
@cody___lawrence @Jeopardy @BlairImani I was so excited to see your pin! And then you got the first question too an… https://t.co/GT04blXCJq— Boo-thany 👻 (@Boo-thany 👻) 1607484069.0
People were grateful for Lawrence's small bit of activism.
@cody___lawrence @Jeopardy @BlairImani Thanks for the visibility 👏🏻— Mike Rist (@Mike Rist) 1607562683.0
@cody___lawrence @Jeopardy @BlairImani I was so excited to see you sporting #BiPride !! Thank you for this!! Made m… https://t.co/Fxw3jAb2hd— Lisa Lili Mercer 🇵🇷 (@Lisa Lili Mercer 🇵🇷) 1607636238.0
While Lawrence did not ultimately win this episode of Jeopardy!, his appearance was a win for bisexual representation on television.