Tag Archives: bisexuals

Bisexual Visibility day/week/month/lifetime!

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Title reads: Bi Visibility Day, a comic by @soovertherainbow. Emperor Robot says, “This comic is as subtle as a brick! And it’S interrupting my Firefly marathon.

Futuristic robot states, “This new Robot LGBT+ group just got funded. Isn’t that great!”
Another robot at ground level wears a sash with the words, “Bi Pride” on it. They respond, “They don’t have anything specific for bisexual Robots.”

Futuristic robot says, “What about this LGBT+ group for Black humans? The Emperor’s girlfriend will love that.”
Robot at ground level replies, “No she won’t. They don’t have anything specific for bisexuals.”

Futuristic robot asks, “Why are you being so difficult?”
Robot at ground level replies, “Why are you being a wanker? Answer that, you biphobic tosser.”

Futuristic robot starts to say, “You’ll lose an ally if you don’t argh!, but is unable to finish speaking, as the robot on the ground extends its arm, striking the floating futuristic robot.
The robot on the ground says, “Bisexuals may not get much funding, but we know how to spend it well.” An arrow points to the side of the robot’s arm stating, “Extendo-arm. Only £50!”

Bisexuals get a minuscule amount of funding because of Biphobia. 
LGBT+ organisations rarely provide anything specific for bisexuals because of Biphobia.
The unique experiences of bisexuals are usually incorporated into LGBT+ reports and stats, but never separated by individual sexual orientation because of Biphobia.
Black and POC charities for LGBT+ are terrible at welcoming bisexuals, providing resources for bisexuals and even saying the word bisexual. And why? Because of biphobia.
We are the B in LGBT+ but are rarely represented by Queer organisations. We regularly receive violence and abuse at Pride events from Lesbian and Gay folks. And if we live with other oppressions, our lives can be unbearable. Because of Biphobia.
Queer Hate doesn’t only come from Straight people. Hell, they don’t have to lift a finger, because so many Lesbian and Gay folks do the work for them. 

So if you want to shine a light on bisexual visibility, then shed some of that light on how we face biphobia inside the so called LGBT+ communities as well.

World AIDS day 2019

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On #worldaidsday please remember the bisexuals and pansexuals of colour who are demonised as spreaders of sexually transmitted diseases, when the reality is that we face racism and biphobia when trying to access S.T.I help. We experience multiple barriers from medical institutions, from Queer communities and from communities of colour too. It often feels like there are few safer places for us. We shouldn’t have to fight battles on so many fronts. Bi’s of Colour are here for you (link in bio), but we are just one volunteer run group. You can support other bi & pan people of colour by calling out organisations who erase us. You can include us in your events & projects. You can stop being defensive and violent when we demand you stop pushing us under the bus. HIV & AIDS doesnt discriminate. You can do better than a disease.

Connections with my skin – A Guest Post

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A guest post from N. Gupta

 

I have basically a 99% hard limit re ‘no white people as lovers/play partners/fuckbuddies.

Because I am done showing/sharing my skin and body with people who have no clue what their white skin means.

And no investment in learning *to the level that I need for any encounter to be remotely good/pleaseuable for me*

if im ever gonna have that intimacy again

and tbh it feels unlikely and I go back and forth on how i feel about that

THEN :
i am prirotising black and brown bodies like AND unlike mine:

– trans, gender non conforming, bi, crip, mad, working/mixed class, immigrant bodies, goddess/magic/witchy bodies.

Bodies that contain multitudes and borders.

Bodies that get stopped and searched at borders and on the street.

***

Me, reading this back. OH. Right. Yes!

with endless thanks to Rhizome Syndrigast Coelacanth Flourishing whose writing and making and thinking and feeling and re-imagining have been so inmportant to me in last couple years  Love and solidarty to u, mate xx

It’s a 99% limit because someone being BIPoC doesn’t guarantee a connection. or that they won’t be shit to me, or me to them.

I donn’t get to ‘disappear’ into that world coz it’s not magically free of transphobic, biphobic, ableist, classist, sanist, capitalist, racist, liberal, faily etc bulllshit.

And if someone is qtibpoc but is that more comfortable hanging on to instead of challenging that stuff, our skin doesn’t make us kin.

And coz if you wanna be my lover .. you literally have to come round and deali with my messy house. Coz I’m largely housebound these days.

It’s a 99% limit because there are *and always have been* white working class people in my chosen fam. (and some of their families pretty expolicity chose/’adopted me)

We share and connect on many of these lines in ways.

And coz I have rarely found absolutism to be a useful/positive force/ i need pluralism and options.

So yeah

Bi Pride 2019

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I attended the first Bi Pride on 7th September 2019.  I was surprised at the turnout – it felt like hundreds of people were there!  I was also pleasantly surprised at being at the most diverse mainstream* bisexual event EVER.

I spoke on the Mental Health and Bisexuality panel, about the problems with long waiting times, how NHS mental health services are awful and putting bi and trans people in danger.  I also spoke up as an audience member during the session on Bi Community.  I raised the point of the barriers to building bi communities, when so many meet-ups and events were held in pubs, which are often unfriendly to visibly queer, POC, those who wear religious clothing, and/or gender non-conforming clothes.  These places are also often inaccessible to those with mobility issues.

Overall I was impressed at how professional the event was – the scale of things to do, and the community marketplace.  Also the Sensory relaxation room was small but it was AMAZING!

*mainstream, as in the event was not for bi people of colour only

On Sunday 8th July 2018, UKBlack Pride https://www.ukblackpride.org.uk will be happening at the pleasure gardens in Vauxhall, London.  For the first time in their history there will be TWO bisexual stalls!  Both Bi’s of Colour  http://bisofcolour.tumblr.com and BiPride UK https://biprideuk.org will have stalls present.  Please come visit us both and pick up some badges, info sheets and bright, bisexual smiles.  To top off your day, go to CaBiRet https://www.facebook.com/events/1758324607521315/ for some bisexual entertainment!

The silencing of bisexual people of colour

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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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIAXG_QcQNU

Violence against Bi women of colour

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Research Consultation

Project
Violence against Bisexual Women: Causes, Experiences and Implications for Service Providers

You are being invited to take part in a research project which explores bisexual women’s experiences of violence. Please take your time to read the following and ask the researcher for further information or if anything is unclear.

Purpose of Project

To explore bisexual women’s experiences of violence.
To understand why bisexual women experience higher rates of violence.
To explore bisexual women’s experiences with service providers and provide resources to providers of services which work with bisexual women.
Am I eligible to take part?

To take part in this part of the study you must:

Be a person of colour i.e. a person who is not white.
Either be a (transgender or cisgender) woman or have experiences of being a woman (this may include transgender people of various genders, please ask if you are unsure).
Identify as bisexual, pansexual or queer (you must be romantically and/or sexually attracted to multiple genders).
What does taking part involve?

This part of the research is a consultation with bi women of colour to allow them to influence the research process. The purpose of this is to ensure that bi women of colour are included throughout this study.

If you agree to take part you will be briefed about the aims of the project and the design of the research. You will be asked for feedback on recruitment of participants, structure of interviews and invited to be part of future consultations.

This can take place in person (the researcher will travel to you) or over skype/telephone.

What are the possible risks of taking part?

You will not directly be asked about your own experiences of violence, however you may find the session emotional and distressing. It may bring back painful or upsetting memories. If this happens, this is completely normal. Please use the contact numbers at the bottom of this page to access support if this happens to you.

Please also feel welcome to contact the researcher who can direct you to appropriate support. It is important to remember that the researcher is not a qualified mental health professional, counsellor or therapist and cannot provide you with professional support.

What are the possible benefits of taking part?

There are no immediate benefits to participants. It is hoped that this work will contribute to understanding of an under-researched subject and group. The research also intends to contribute to creating research led resources for services which work with bisexual women, as well as to the bisexual activist community.

About the researcher

Sally-Anne Beverley is a doctoral researcher at the University of Leeds. She is a white, bisexual, cisgender woman who has experienced intimate partner violence.  

For further information or to take part please contact

Sally-Anne Beverley s.e.beverley@leeds.ac.uk      

For support

For urgent police or medical help 999 or NHS 111

Refuge www.refuge.org.uk 0808 2000 247

Women’s Aid www.womensaid.org.uk ‎ 0808 2000 247

Rape Crisis https://rapecrisis.org.uk 0808 802 9999

Galop (LGBT Domestic Abuse Helpline) http://www.galop.org.uk 0800 999 5428

Forced Marriage Unit Helpline 0207 008 0151

Halo Project (Honour Base Violence, Forced Marriage, FGM Helpline) http://www.haloproject.org.uk/ 01642 683 045