bi women who lean more towards men r literally so strong this isn’t even a joke the biphobia they face for literally no reason is fucking crazy
so many people in the comments completely missing the point…. “plus they have to deal with MEN disgusting men are so gross!!” like bro that’s an example of the biphobia we’re referring to!!!!!
“…if bisexual people want to have their own board, the City should do that, but that it would not be serving bisexual people well to have their issues combined with others.”
“…spoke against having a separate board, because younger people are moving toward not defining themselves in these ways…”
“…the Board could ask the City Council to begin a Bisexual Task Force.”
ED. NOTE. The LA Bi Task Force regularly holds events and meetings in West Hollywood.
“…the Board is barely able to get through the agenda it already has, without adding an additional subject.”
“…moved to ask the City Council to consider whether there is a need to form a Bisexual Task Force to do a needs assessment of the bisexual community.”
“…supports the idea of asking the City Council to consider a Bisexual Task Force, but that she had joined a Lesbian and Gay board.”
“…talk to their own Councilmembers to see if there is a need for this in the community, and if so, to possibly come back with it in the future.
”…said the Board spends a large majority of its time on gay issues, and that people of all orientations might be better served by having one large board.“
”…said members were appointed to represent their particular identity as gay or lesbian, and that he didn’t want to presume to speak on someone else’s identity.“
“said that we are moving toward having one voice as a community, and would like to help people form an LGBT task force, seeing the changing nature of the community…”
A female-id’ing person kissing another female-id’ing person doesn’t ALWAYS mean one (or even both) of them self-identifies as Lesbian … Bisexual+ People exist!
Lesbian Women ❤️ Bi+ Women Bi+ Women Lesbian Women Bi+ Women other Bi+ Women … it’s all good!
Bisexuality is the attraction to more than one Gender, or to Genders similar to- and different from- one’s own.
It includes people of ALL Genders & Gender Presentations including but not limited to: Cis Intersex, Genderfluid, Genderqueer, Nonbinary, Trans and so many more.
Bisexual+, Biromantic+ (Bi+ or BiPlus for short) is the commonly used “shorthand” for the entire Non-Monosexual or otherwise MSpec (Multiple Gender Attraction Spectrum) Community including but not limited to: Bisexual/Biromantic, Ambisexual, Flexisexual, Fluid, Heteroflexible/Homoflexible, Multisexual, No Labels, Omnisexual, Pansexual, Plurisexual, PoMoSexual, Polysexual, Same-gender Loving (SGL), Sapiosexual, Queer-identified, and so many more.
SoPlease remember to ALWAYS include the “B” in LGBTQ+
If you define bisexuality as “an attraction to men and women”, then define pansexuality a “an attraction to men, women, and transgender individuals”, you are using transphobia to support a biphobic idea of bisexuality.
Simple as that.
The transphobia should be obvious; making the distinction between men, women, and transgender individuals invalidates trans men and trans women as ACTUAL men and women. It also places all transgender individuals in this “other” category. Not man, not women, no matter how they identify their gender. Trans women are actual women, not an “other” kind of woman. Trans men are actual men, not an “other” kind of men. Nonbinary people can identify under the terms “men” and “women” if they choose to, and they will still be just as valid as men and women as another individual.
The biphobia may be a little less obvious, however. Bisexuality is not defined as an attraction to cis men and cis women (saying so actually invalidates many bisexual people and aids in the invalidation of actual trans/nonbinary bisexuals), it is defined by the majority of the community as a “attraction to two or more genders or same and different genders”. The act of claiming otherwise (on a community level, not a personal definition level) is erasive and contributes to biphobia within the LGTBQ++ community.
Your argument that “bisexuals are attracted to cis men and cis women” not only invalidates trans men and trans women, and nobinary/trans bisexuals, it results in two very dangerous dynamics in the LGTBQ++ community.
Firstly, it creates tension between the bisexual and transgender/nonbinary communities. Historically, this is a fairly recent tension, as trans activists and bisexual activists often worked hand in hand during the first trans rights movement. This dynamic shreds apart two of some of the closet knit communities, and forces transgender people to identify as labels other than bisexual, else they face a wave of biphobia from their fellow transgender community. Despite this (thankfully), a large amount of transgender individuals identify as bisexual, and have begun doing what they can to end the faulty idea that bisexual is binary.
The second dynamic is constant fighting between the bisexual and pansexual community. Opinions about umbrella term usage aside, these communities have an enormous amount of overlap that requires them to work together to fight ideas of monosexism; a social system that operates on the belief that single gender attraction is the standard, and enforces this by rewarding SGA and punishing MGA. Gay/Lesbian monosexism operates in a different environment than hetero monosexism, but both cause strife towards the MGA communities.
These dynamics are reinforced daily by all members of the LGBTQ++ that continue to allow the bisexual definition of “attraction to cis men and cis women” to spread and be taken as the real definition. Until the rest of the LGBTQ++ gets on board and begins to allow bisexuals to define their community, and their individual forms of attraction, we will not be able to heal the fracturing relationships between BT and P.
Often, there is a pressure in LGBTQIAP+ spaces to fit into a “queer” mold. While many G&L individuals don’t experiences this pressure, those with the ability to be attracted to a gender other than their own do. This pressure leads a lot of bisexual, pansexual, and asexual people feeling like they don’t belong in Pride events, especially with their different-gender partner by their side. When we…
Q: How to be “Queer Enough” to “Deserve” to go to Pride? A: Be Queer!
and always remember that all sorts of LGBT people were actively were involved in the Stonewall Riots, then all working together immediately started organizing new, more radical, activist, LGBT+ Liberation Groups (x)(x)(x)(x) and that it was in fact a young, radical, progressive, feminist, Bisexual+ Woman who first conceived of and then chaired the committee that organized the 1st Pride Marches and Festivals that we we now continue to celebrate worldwide every June
Bisexual+ people may not be perceived as queer if they’re datingsomeoneperceived asthe“opposite” of their gender – so does that mean they have straight passing privilege?
You might think so, but try considering the perspective in this comic for a more nuanced answer to this question. It’s a breakdown of the assumptions behind the idea of bisexual+ “straight passing privilege” – and the harm you cause by erasing people’s identities when you make these assumptions.
It’s possible to acknowledge that different queer folks have different experiences without erasing anyone.
Bisexual+, Biromantic+ (Bi+ for short) is the commonly used “shorthand” for the entire Non-Monosexual Community including but not limited to: Bisexual/Biromantic, Ambisexual, Flexisexual, Fluid, Heteroflexible/Homoflexible, Multisexual, No Labels, Omnisexual, Pansexual, PoMosexual, Polysexual, Sapiosexual, Queer, and so many more.
Bisexuality is the attraction to more than one gender, or to genders similar to- and different from- one’s own.
Bisexual Erasure,Bisexual Invisibility is the tendency to ignore, remove, falsify, or re-explain evidence of bisexuality in history, academia, news media and other primary sources. In its most extreme form, bisexual erasure can include denying that bisexuality exists. It is often a manifestation of conscious and/or unconscious biphobia and/or monosexism.
Straight Passing, Hetero Passing, etc. is all those things you get just by being, acting, or appearing straight. Conversely, straight privilege is all those things you lose when you are, act, or appear as queer. Becasue hetrosexuality is (inncorectly) seen as the “default” state, it means that all people are initially assumed to be “straight” unless they do something to actively signal they are queer, ie dress, mannerisms, coming out, wearing pins, badges, t-shirts, jewelry, etc.
Trans Erasure,Non-Binary Erasure, etc, is the tendency to ignore, deny, or minimize the existence of trans, androgynous, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, NB, etc. people. It is often a manifestation of conscious and/or unconscious cisexism and/or transphobia.
Note: There has been much debate within the main organizing committee Women’s March deciding on wording, who was explicitly included, etc. At first it was Lesbians, then Lesbian and Queer, then went to LGTQ+(without the B), and so on and so forth. When politely asked to also remember and include Bi+ Women (x) (x) (x) etc, for whatever reason the organizers then chose to move to Queer only, rather than to also just #SayBisexual.
[Update: after much outcry currently it’s now been changed to LGBTQIA, the wording on this & some other issues(ieTrans inclusion vs TERF, Sex-workers rights via anti’s, Bisexual+ people vs monosexual, etc.) has been contentious and changing quickly, so it’s been difficult to keep up … so if it is changed again no disrespect or attempts to be deceptive or inaccurate meant]
Sadly a great deal of the problem is that (as usual) no one reached back, when representitives of the bisexual+ community reached out to Women’s March to try to participate. It’s a constant problem. Even well meaning would be/should be“allies” (1) assume that Some Gay Group will “take care of you people” or (2) it never occurs to (some #NotAll) people that bi+ people are active and organized, except for maybe swingers clubs or hook-up apps.
While it sounds like a joke, it’s a real long-running issue and causes no end of trouble. And so far no one has come up with a way to correct it.
i need to make a post about this because it’s really bothering me.
bisexuality = the attraction to more than one gender, or the attraction to two or more genders, or the attraction to genders same as and other than your own
pansexuality = the attraction to all genders or the attraction to people regardless of their sex and gender identity
bisexuality is not defined as the attraction to men and women. bisexuality does not exclude other genders. bisexuals aren’t any less open-minded and accepting than pansexuals or anyone else in the lgbtq+ community. bisexuality is a sexuality, not a way to reinforce the gender binary.
many people seem to think that bisexuals aren’t aware of non-binary people or that they think there are only two genders.
this is because
1. the term bisexual is older than the term pansexual, and at the time the word bisexual was first introduced, it was defined as the attraction to males and females, because the term non-binary wasn’t something people were aware of. fortunately, many people today understand what gender binary and non-binary mean and because of this, the definition and meaning of bisexuality have evolved. saying bisexuals are only attracted to men and women is the old way of thinking.
2.biinbisexualmeanstwo, and people always like to rely on this and say that it literally means two, as in men and women. if you really have to use this as an argument, the two you’re referring to means same as your own genderandother than your own gender. that makes two groups without excluding any genders.
3. pansexuality is always thought of as the gender-blind label that includes everyone whereas bisexuality is seen as only including men and women, boys and girls, males and females. which, like i said, is not true, so please destroy this way of thinking. it’s not helping anyone.
you can identify as both bisexual and pansexual. you can identify as bisexual but feel like the word pansexual could also describe your sexuality accurately. you can identify only as pansexual.
the difference between these two is slight but it’s there. so maybe instead of trying to tell others what their own sexualities are supposed to mean to them or what they should identify as, give everyone the freedom to identify themselves however way they feel is right for them. especially people who are neither bisexual nor pansexual can stfu and stop defining our sexualities for us thank you.
Bisexual+ is a Community Identity Label (like Lesbian, Gay, SGL, even Straight). Many bisexual+ & biromantic+ people also use Personal Identity Labels that serve a vital function in describing differences while giving each individual non-monosexual person a space to be unique. These can include (but are never be limited to): ambi, flexi, fluid, heteroflexible/homoflexible, multi, no labels, omni, pan, poly, pomo, queer, sapio, and so many more.
“Bisexual or Pansexual?” must be understood as the Bisexual+ Community’s equivalent to internal community conversations many Gay and Lesbian people have regarding their own personal approaches to identification (e.g. masc, butch, twink, femme, scene, AG, bear, queen, etc.).
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Allies stop using the internal conversation between members of the Bi+ Community about how each community member individually choses to personally identify to try and reclassify non-mono people into separate, groups. Your cynical practice of creating, encouraging and using these so-called “label wars” as a rationale for not funding, including, hiring and serving the needs of the Bisexual+ Community has to end immediately. Stop trampling Bi+ People into the ground in your headlong scramble for respectability and the almighty dollar. You are costing the lives of your fellow LGBT+ people.
Bi+ People listen to yourselves. Stop being drawn into cliques, snobbishness and“town vs gown” bickering. Do you really think that somehow those with less monetary and educational advantages are automatically less intelligent or socially aware? Consider the source when you accept or worse pass on embarrassingly false gossip that some bi-queer academic of Jewish extraction “invented” this or that wording/idea to “make money”. Stop and think of what you are really saying if you find yourselves snickering over someone using a different bi+ label as being “ghetto”or “project”.
Ask yourself, why do you so unquestioningly accept what some frequently straight, usually white and western, mostly cis, largely heteronormative self-proclaimed expert says over what your own well-respected trans, genderqueer, enby, ace, intersex and cis Bi+ Community thought leaders have been saying for decades now?
Some Twitter Troll:(responding to @BisexualBatman) it’s not the gay communities responsibility to build bisexuals up. Biphobia is a myth. Biscuit Magazine: biphobia is spending 50 years telling bisexuals they should ID as gay in an act of solidarity, then saying there are no bis in the movement.
Jamaica is widely recognized as one of the most homophobic countries on Earth; same-sex intimacy remains criminalized, and anti-gay hate crimes are stunningly common. Yet the immigration judge inexplicably held that bisexual people are not persecuted in Jamaica.~Mark Joseph Stern,Slate
TheSeventh Circuit US Court of Appeals this week denied a petition from a Jamaican immigrant, 51-year-old Ray Fuller, for relief from an order sending him back to Jamaica where he feared being persecuted and tortured due to his bisexuality. Fuller’s fear of persecution was not theoretical; he provided evidence of having been the victim of violent harassment in Jamaica because of his sexual orientation…
In denying his petition for relief, the immigration judge not only expressed skepticism that bisexuals are persecuted in Jamaica, but also concluded that Fuller is not really bisexual, largely because of his relationships with women … In a scathing dissent, Judge Posner criticized the Fuller v. Lynch majority opinion, the effect of which is to perpetuate harmful misconceptions about bisexuals and the dangers they face…
First, the immigration judge’s conclusion that bisexuals do not face persecution in Jamaica is disturbingly ill-informed.
As Judge Posner aptly concluded in his dissent, the Seventh Circuit decision places Fuller in peril.
The author of this articleNancy MarcusisLambda Legal’s Law & Policy Project Senior Staff Attorney. Ms. Marcus is also an active member of BiLaw a group of bisexual-identified and bi-allied attorneys, academics, and law students.
Elizabeth and Amy discuss LGBTQ+ legal protections with Nicholas Breiner, a Kentucky teacher who was fired when he came out as Bi; and Jennifer Nwachukwu and Aunna Dennis of the Lawyers’ Committe for Civil Rights Under Law.
Elizabeth speaks about the NYC Feminist Film Week program Vivid Glances with Patricia Silva, Guest Programmer; Film-maker Shelby Zoe Coley; performance artist, Edith Woolley, a.k.a. Manly Stanley, and Lynnette McFadzen, President of BiNet USA. Proceeds from the Vivid Glances screening will benefit BiNet USA.
Bi Net USA Vice President Faith Cheltenham speaks to Dr. Tangela Roberts, Professor of Psychology at Western Michigan University about the intersectionality of sociology, psychology, and black bi+ lives.
In celebration of Black History Month, Faith Cheltenham, Vice President of BiNet USA, hosts David Johns, Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition.
Elizabeth and Lynnette interview Laura DelloStritto and Alexandra Bolles of the Bisexual Resource Center about the 2019 Bisexual Health Awareness Month in March.
Elizabeth, Amy, and Mick interview founder of the BiCast, BiNet USA President, and 2018 PFLAG Queens Brenda Howard Award recipient and Lynnette McFadzen.
Published2019-02-16 Elizabeth and Lynnette speak with Ashley Gallagher, writer of Manicita and the Songkeeper,featured in the upcoming LGBTQIA+ anthology, Shout Out, by TO Comix Press. Download Episode
Above page image used with express permission by TO Comix Press. Want to see more? Buy a copy when it comes out in May. Totally worth it.
Published2019-01-24Lynnette, Amy, and Elizabeth discuss bi visibility in video games with Mata Haggis-Burridge, Professor of Creative and Entertainment Games at Breda University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands. He is the External Consultant for the game Fragments of Him.Download Episode Links:
Good bi representation is not and never will be about characters being “gay enough” for gay people and lesbians to pretend that they’re not bi. Good bi representation is about having a diverse range of bi characters.
Published 2019-03-14
Published2019-02-26
LinksJan Steckel’s websitePurchase Jan’s books at Zeitgeist PressFacebook page for Like Flesh Covers Bone (Zeitgeist Press, 2018)Jan’s Facebook Author page Twitter In…
Published2019-02-28
Published2019-02-26
Published2019-02-26
Transcription Services…
Published2019-01-24Lynnette, Amy, and Elizabeth discuss bi visibility in video games with Mata Haggis-Burridge, Professor of Creative and Entertainment Games at Breda University of Applied Sciences in The Netherlands. He is the External Consultant for the game Fragments of Him.Download Episode
Links:
