Bi Online: Finding Your Community Without Leaving the House
But what if there are no bi majority spaces that you can access? In the UK the main event in the bisexual calendar is BiCon, but this only happens once a year (and, as it happens, I can’t make it this year). There are BiFests happening throughout the year and regular bisexual meet up groups, but all of these are… Continue reading
Eight Myths About Pansexuality, Debunked
It’s hard to deny that ignorances and misunderstandings about pansexuals exist, and the bisexual community is not immune – despite facing plenty of myths of our own. Myths around bisexuality and pansexuality overlap, but pansexuality also attracts some unique prejudices. It’s time to put them all to bed, starting with eight of the most common panphobic myths.
MYTH: Pansexual is a new term
FACT: We’ve been seeing the word pansexual since at least 1924. It’s shifted in meaning since it was coined, of course, just like the words ‘bisexual’, ‘homosexual’ and even ‘furniture’, ‘girl’ and ‘manufacture’. That’s just how language works.
It was first used by contemporary critics of Freud such as Otto Rank and Wilhelm Reich in derision, as an ironic validation of Freud’s suggestion that “that the sex instinct plays the primary part in all human activity”; or that our libidos either directly or indirectly, drive… Continue reading
LGBT* in UKIP Gatecrashes Pride
Pride in London is courting controversy once again, by allowing UKIP to march in the Parade that was held in the West End on Saturday.
UKIP, a far-right political party whose members have been outspoken in their racism and homophobia, had their application to march in the parade controversially turned down by the Pride in London committee following an outcry by the LGBT community. The committee insisted the decision was not made on political grounds but in the name of safety.
In December, Kerry Smith, standing for UKIP South Basildon and East Thurrock resigned from his candidacy after calling gay people ‘fucking disgusting old poofters’. In February the group UKIP Christian Soldiers, authorised by UKIP HQ circulated leaflets that claimed educating school children on LGBT issues was ‘sexual grooming’.
Approximately 15 LGBT* in UKIP activists – who had not paid the fee required to take part in the parade,… Continue reading
You Didn't Hear it from Us 27/06/15
Here’s a round-up of some of the news, blogs posts and comment we missed this week.
- Attitude and DIVA both said enough is enough when it comes to biphobia in lesbian and gay communities.
- Vogue got slammed for calling Cara Delevigne’s bisexuality a ‘phase’.
- Gwendolyn Fougy Henry posted a brilliant tumblr post on the reasons bi people of colour may not participate in spaces created for them.
- The Stonewall Inn was given ‘landmark’ status.
- A report by Public Health England told us that rates of gonorrhoea and syphilis are going up in gay and bi men.
- There’s a “God loves Gays” sign and a homophobic banner rotating on the same billboard.
- Femmeviolet talked about femme as a queer identity.
- HuffPo delved into the world of bisexual OKCupid.
- A lesbian-identified bi woman described her battle with heterosexual privilege.
Did we miss any other must-see stories?… Continue reading
Hoisting our colours: A brief history of the bisexual pride flag
The bi pride flag has become internationally recognised symbol of our movement, so it’s surprising that so many people don’t really know where it came from of what it represents. Now, we can’t have that, so with a little help from thewaybackmachine, and the good people at BiNet USA, Biscuit presents a history of the bisexual flag.
There are lots of symbols that represent homosexuality. From the (pun not intended) gaiety of the rainbow flag to the somber significance of the inverted pink or black triangles or the mythological connections of the labrys, you can usually find a motif that suits your purpose.
But until 1998, when Michael Page designed the flag that would become a global shorthand for bisexuality, there was no universal symbol under which the movement could unite. Many bisexual people did not feel a connection to the already iconic rainbow flag, which seemed to belong… Continue reading
"A queer call to arms": Why I'm setting up a bi youth group