New Update to Bi’s of Colour Book, edited by the Bi’s of Colour Collective
Bi’s of Colour Anthology: call for contributors WORLDWIDE!
Are you a bisexual/pansexual/fluid-sexuality person of colour? Are you sick of having everyone else speak for/over us?
If you answered YES, then read on!
We are making plans to write a book about the lives and experiences of bisexuals of colour.
This is part of our longer term project to document and celebrate the richness of our lives; to connect us with one another.
It will be built on the foundations of the Bi’s of Colour History Report. We previously had confined this call for submissions to Europe, but now we are opening this up to bisexuals around the world. We plan to have the following chapter headings, but this is just a guide.
Creativity and the Arts Visibility and Erasure of Bi’s of Colour – where we are welcome, and where we aren’t White Academics versus Activists of Colour Dominant culture gaze – hypersexual, fetishes, imperialism and colonialism Dating and Relationships Isolation, exclusion and loneliness Health – Sexual health, Mental health, Disabilities Bi’s of Colour and BAME organisations Bi’s of Colour and LGBT organisations Families, Carers, Acceptance and Rejection Racism Religion, belief and spirituality or lack of Body image and fashion Class Ageing Violence We are open to other headings, so if you think of something you can’t wait to express, let us know. We are also interested in non-fiction, art, photography or things we haven’t thought of yet! You can always contribute using a pen name if you want to be anonymous.
All contributors will be paid – we’ll be crowdfunding, so everyone will get an equal share – the amount will depend on how much we raise and how many contributors
If you are interested in contributing, email us at bis.of.colour@gmail.com .
The number of times people have explicitly or implicitly let me know that if i would just shut up about being bi in terms of politics, oppression, liberation, connected struggles etc….. that they would ‘tolerate’ me. Gay, lesbian, het. All of you.
The number of times people have explicitly /implicitly let me know that if i’d just shut up about being brown…. ditto. White people, I’m looking right at you here. And some poc who would rather not ‘rock the boat’ and hate anyone who does.
Let’s just say that if I had a fiver for every time, I’d never have ended up homeless.
I would probably still be as isolated/fucked over/sick of humanity – my chronic health conditions are largely trauma/extreme stress response things, so i’d probably have most of that.
But I would have been doing it from atop a biiiiiiiiiiiigg pile of cash.
Something I saw on http://miles-thebi.tumblr.com which really struck a cord, and we would really want to adopt it too.
Bi’s of Colour will not engage in any discussion or arguments over bisexuality vs pansexuality. This whole argument was born of straight, lesbian and gay people giving wrong definitions of what makes a person bi or pan. Until the 19th Century, Gay meant Happy, and Lesbian was someone of any gender who came from the Greek Island of Lesbos. At that time bisexual also meant Intersex. The definition of all three of these terms have changed drastically over the past 100+ years. Bisexuals and Pansexuals have enough to deal with, without getting into verbal fights over which term is more suitable.
The term Bisexual has a long history, but if you want to call yourself Pansexual, do it! Nobody gets to define your sexual orientation for you. You can be Transgender and Bisexual, Intersex and Pansexual, Cisgender and Bisexual, Asexual and Pansexual, and much, much more!
We at Bi’s of Colour hope you will be happy in your sexual orientation, however you define it. Don’t let monosexuals tear us apart!
The Biscuit has now fully funded their bisexual float for 2018 London LGBT Pride! Contact biscuit for info on how to get on the float – it’s open to bi/pan people, regardless of gender.
If you’ve had as much trouble finding this book as I have, here’s what it looks like. I’ve had several issues with this book when it was just a kickstarter: the title seemed inappropriate to the large numbers of bisexual and queer Christians I know, but the biggest problem was the lack of awareness of ethnicity and bisexuality. I asked about this when the book was being put together, and was given the tired line: “We couldn’t find any Bisexuals of Colour”. I was later told that there is indeed a black bisexual in the book, but it still hurt me to see this shoe-horning of a silenced group at the last minute when they realised the whole project was a #Blizzard.
The UK Lesbian, Bi & Trans Women’s Health Week is 12–18 March 2018. Organisers want to highlight LBT women’s health service experiences – bad and good. If you’ve got a story you want people to hear, send a short, personal anecdote (words or video) to j.wynn@mesmac.co.uk by Fri 16/2/18. (Text is 1000 words max; video is 2.5 mins max and preferably MP4 format. Anonymous or not – whichever you’d rather.) Health services need to improve for LBT women. Telling our stories is the first step. Have your say.
Really important that Bisexual, Trans & Lesbian women and femmes of colour are heard in this study!
Bi's of Colour 