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Bi Community News
B C N
Our 150th edition! êSummer Prides êBi Research êVolunteering & more
The first Bi Camp in the Midlands was a roaring success at the start of June
Sexual Health New figures from Public Health England released by the Office for National Statistics show the great benefit of the mass immunisation programme against HPV which has been rolled out in schools for young women.
have sex with men, who are not currently given any protection against HPV, and for greater “herd immunity” effect for sexually active young people regardless of gender and sexual orientation.
(from 5,955 cases in 2016 to 7,137 cases in 2017).
There were 441 diagnoses of first episode genital warts in 15 to 17 year old girls in 2017, a 90% decrease relative to 2009 and an early expression of the success of the national HPV immunisation programme.
This campaign recently saw a breakthrough with the Scottish and Welsh governments announcing a shift to give the vaccine regardless of gender. In England the authorities are reviewing evidence but surely now both neighbouring countries have stepped forward they will follow?
Across all STIs, the highest rates of diagnoses continue to be seen in 16 to 24 year olds.
Wider Immunisation
Syphilis
Health and LGBT rights campaigners have been arguing that the HPV programme would have even more effect if all young people were immunised, both for the benefit of young men who
The Public Health England report also reveals that while the overall rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remained stable in 2017 compared to 2016, there was a 20% increase in syphilis
There were 7,137 diagnoses of syphilis reported in 2017, a 20% increase (from 5,955) relative to the year prior and a 148% increase relative to 2008.
The increase in syphilis follows a 10-year trend, with 78% of diagnoses in bisexual, gay and other men who have sex with men.
In 2017, there were approximately 422,000 diagnoses of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) made in England, around the same number that was reported in 2016.
There were 44,676 diagnoses of gonorrhoea reported in 2017, a 22% increase (from 36,577)
Over In Parliament… Secretary of State for Education Damian Hinds MP has announced that pupils in England will be able to over-rule the parental opt-out on receiving sex education in school.
practice of persuading people to be a different sexual orientation than their body wants them to be.
The plan pledges that the government will, “consider all legislative and non-legislative options to prohibit From three terms before they turn 15 (a strange kind promoting, offering or conducting conversion of maths) teens will be free to make their own choice therapy”. rather than follow parental diktat. Most coverage of this issue focuses on “gay to straight” therapy. We trust that “bi cure” nonsense The government’s new LGBT Action Plan contains a will be stamped out with equal vigour. pledge to end conversion therapy – the discredited
Bi Community News Issue 150 Twitter: @bicommunitynews Facebook: facebook.com/bicommunitynews
August 2018
Welcome to Salford… Salford Uni Campus
Cover: Salford Uni on the march at Manchester Pride. Thanks to Gemma Parker & Manchester Pride.
Future BCN Copy Dates: #151 Sept 1st, 2018 #152 Nov 1st, 2018 Please note that these dates are always subject to change!
This BCN will be going out at Salford BiCon (as well as in the mail to our subscribers and anything left over to an assortment of Prides around the country!) Here’s to an excellent weekend as the annual bi convention returns to Greater Manchester for the first time since 2004. The main building of that BiCon was scheduled for demolition soon after - we are not sure what the attendees did!
Salford was one of the first places where the Town Hall flew the bi flag for Bi Visibility Day, and local bi group BiPhoria has been organising bi spaces, events and social meetups for bis and allies for 24 years this summer. So a special welcome to people living locally finding bi stuff for the first time through BiCon you’ll find there’s a lot going on nearby all through the year.
Civil Partnerships for all? In a unanimous verdict on June 27 the UK’s Supreme Court declared the rules that make Civil Partnership only open to same-sex couples unlawful. It declared the the Civil Partnership Act 2004 incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights as it only extends the right to partnership recognition to same-sex couples. For some time Charles Keidan and Rebecca Steinfeld have been making their way through the courts putting a case arguing that they are being
discriminated against on the grounds of sex, as a same-sex couple would be allowed the choice of marriage or civil partnership. Civil Partnerships were expected by many to wither away as a form of partnership recognition once marriage was opened up to same-sex couples, but there is still demand for them – and in Northern Ireland they are still the only option for same-sex couples due to the DUP’s actions in the Stormont Assembly.It is now in the hands of minister Penny Mordaunt MP to respond to the court ruling.
Disclaimer, Credits & Contact Info The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors, publishers or printers. Responsibility cannot be taken for the accuracy of statements made by contributors or for verification of material sent in. Nothing in this publication should be taken as implying anything about the sexuality of any person. © 2018 Copyright of all material reverts to author. We will publish news, articles and letters. We reserve the right to edit, and not to include work. Note: BCN back issues are published online, which means that it is accessible by search engines. Please make sure you use a pseudonym if you want to avoid the possibility of your name being found. Postal address: BM Ribbit, London WC1N 3XX. Website: www.bicommunitynews.co.uk Writers, letters etc - email: editor@bicommunitynews.co.uk Moved house? Tell us on: subs@bicommunitynews.co.uk Editor & Layout: Jen Yockney Finance: Katie M
All the talk of “Pride Month” in June is terribly misleading. It might be Pride Month in the USA but there’s a whole Pride Season here - from Bury at the start of April to Preston at the end of September. Here are some snaps from Prides so far - and notes of where and when there’ll be bi presences at Prides yet to come!
Above Birmingham Pride, attended by Brum Bi Group’s purple unicorn and friends. Left Bi Panellists at Student Pride in London - sensibly indoors given it was February!
Chester Pride is on 11 August. Drop into the health and wellbeing tent if you’re looking for bi stuff!
JULY
11 28 AUGUST
BiPride will be at Plymouth Pride that day, to join them on the march meet at North Cross roundabout for 12 noon.
AUGUST
18
It’ll be Levenshulme Pride on the 18 August. There is likely to be a bi marching group on the Saturday as well as a stall at the Klondyke. There should be a marching group at Doncaster Pride the same day.
It’s Liverpool Pride on July 28 where local group Liverpool Bees will be joined by BiPride on the parade. The focus of the Pride event there has moved from previous years - but the assembly area is still St George’s plateau, 11am. Bolton Pride is on 22/23 September.
SEPTEMBER Expect a small bi marching group on the Saturday, and a street stall on the Sunday in the town square market.
22/3
Bury Pride in April Worthing Pride in July
AUGUST
4/5
Though Brighton Pride is the same seekend as BiCon, BothWays and BiPride will be organising a marching group on the parade on August 4th. Meet 10.30am at Hove Lawns to march with them.
Leeds Pride is also BiCon weekend, but BiConners might still catch it as it’s on Sunday 5th. There will be a bi speaker on the main stage, Leeds Bi Group will be marching and BiPride have a stall at the end of the parade.
Manchester Pride is on the weekend of 25 / 26 August. There will be a bi marching group in the parade on the Saturday and bi community info stalls both Saturday and Sunday. Find out more: www.biphoria.org.uk
AUGUST
25/6
Cardiff Pride is also on the 25/26 August weekend. BiWales will be marching and there’ll be a stall full of info as well. Info: www.bicymru.org.uk And there’ll be a bi stall at Cornwall Pride on 25th.
SEPTEMBER It’s Gloucester Pride with a bi marching group organised jointly between the local BiVisible group and BiPride.
8
Right: BiPride’s stall at Sparkle, the Manchester trans pride festival. The stalls are building momentum towards a Pride event in London in March 2019 and adding to the array of bi outreach.
Your bi press needs you! B C N
Write-ups of bi and related events - Clippings, TV news and quotes for the Bi Media Watch pages - News from around the UK bi scene - How BiCon, Big Bi Fun Day or BiFest was for you - Photos - Cover Bis - Cheers and rants It’s the journal of (y)our community. Shape it.
To contribute to BCN, email: newsdesk@bicommunitynews.co.uk
The latest bi research Stonewall bi the numbers New research by YouGov for Stonewall published as the “LGBT in Britain: Home and Communities” report reveals that three in ten bi men (30 per cent) and almost one in ten bi women (8 per cent), say they cannot be open about their sexual orientation with any of their friends. This is compared to just two per cent of gay men and one per cent of lesbians.
to people of colour, older trans people and visibly disabled people, and have heard many testimonies to this effect e.g. fetishization, rude comments, not being allowed into clubs by door staff, not having events that cater to your needs, being misgendered or assumed to be heterosexual.” - Sylvia, 20 (South East) “Bisexuality is misunderstood within the LGBT community and sometimes you can be treated as just confused.” - Abeni, 22 (West Midlands)
That makes us around ten times as closeted in social spaces as our lesbian and gay friends – a chastening thought and another nail in the coffin of the old claim that “it’s easier to be bi”.
Pregnant
Further they note that a third of bi people (32 per cent) aren’t open about their sexual orientation to anyone in their family, compared to eight per cent of lesbians and gay men: four times the rate of living in secret.
US research published in the journal Pediatrics this spring suggests that queer teens have higher rates of teen pregnancy than their cishetero peers, and those who identify as bisexual have a nearly fivefold increased risk of becoming pregnant.
Squeezed out
That young lesbians are more likely to get pregnant than young straight women is counter-intuitive, but again we find one of those stats where the figures are more markedly different than the statistical norm for bi people than for gay and lesbian people.
Stonewall also report on bi exclusion in LGBT spaces: “More than one in four bi women (27 per cent) and almost one in five bi men (18 per cent) have experienced discrimination or poor treatment from others in their local LGBT community because of their sexual orientation, compared to nine per cent of lesbians and four per cent of gay men.” Amongst comments quoted in the survey are: “I am being treated as though I’m faking it because I’m bisexual but currently with a partner of the opposite sex.” - Jordan, 27 (North West) “As a feminine bisexual woman, I have often been ‘read’ as straight and therefore frowned upon in LGBTQ spaces. For example, I was once refused entry to a famous London LGBTQ bar while in a group with friends who were mostly queer men of colour, and have received sarcastic comments from staff members at a local LGBTQ club. I believe very strongly that many LGBTQ spaces are not welcoming
The sample sizes aren't huge. 7,120 teens are in the sample, and the overwhelming majority of young women identified as completely heterosexual and reported no same-sex partners (84%). The remainder split among completely heterosexual identity but with same-sex partners (2%), mostly heterosexual (11%), bisexual (2%) and lesbian (1%). The researchers observe, "The higher teen pregnancy prevalence among sexual minorities was partially explained by childhood maltreatment and bullying. One additional variable, the earlier age of sexual minority developmental milestones, was a significant risk factor for teen pregnancy among sexual minorities." And bis finding it harder to find and own a label seems to be a part of it, perhaps because of the feelings of not being bi, gay or queer enough to own a label and find support. The report notes:
"Lesbians reached sexual minority developmental milestones at the youngest age, whereas bisexual and mostly heterosexuals reported the highest amounts of sexual orientation–related stress, being the least out about their sexual orientation, and having the least LGB social activity involvement."
Homeless and victimised New research from Canada reinforces findings we have seen elsewhere and reported in past BCNs – that bisexual people are more likely to experience violence and abuse than both gay and straight people. Statistics Canada – their equivalent to our Office for National Statistics – note that “In 2014, overall, there were more than 100,000 incidents of violent victimization involving a bisexual victim and more than 49,000 incidents involving a lesbian or gay victim, corresponding to rates of 267 and 142 incidents per 1,000 population, respectively.” With the rate for heterosexuals at 69 that makes bis twice as likely as lesbian or gay people to be attacked, who are in turn facing violent vicitimisation twice the rate of straight people. They go on to observe that, “While rates of violence were higher among LGB people in general, findings show that bisexual individuals were particularly over-represented as victims of violent crime […] bisexual Canadians were almost nine times more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to report experiencing sexual assault”
Stalking Past research has shown different challenges for bis by gender – though it is overwhelmingly only about men and women. Whereas bi men seem to suffer more in discrimination in pay, bi women’s experience of violence and stalking seems to be higher, which Canada’s report also finds: “Notably, women were more likely than men to be sexually assaulted and, unlike other types of violent crime, the self-reported rate of sexual assault has remained unchanged between 2004 and 2014. Prior analysis of the 2014, GSS shows that even when controlling for other factors, individuals who identified as LGB were more than twice as likely to be sexually assaulted as those who identified as heterosexual. “Further, bisexual women were four times more likely to report experiencing violent victimization (327 versus 75 incidents per 1,000 population) and seven times more likely to report experiencing sexual
assault (208 versus 29 incidents per 1,000 population) than their heterosexual counterparts in the 12 months preceding the survey.”
Homelessness They also find that “Bisexual individuals were significantly more likely than their heterosexual and lesbian or gay counterparts to report experiencing hidden homelessness at some point during their lifetime (18% versus 8% and 12%)”
Seeking Asylum Manchester Metropolitan University hosted an afternoon mini-conference on bisexuality and the asylum process this Spring. Looking at research in the UK, Canada and Spain papers presented highlighted how the invisibility and lower social acceptance of bisexuality may contribute to a disparity between outcomes between bi and gay people. There is a perception that bi identified asylum seekers are less likely to be being accepted as fleeing persecution by authorities than those who identify as gay or lesbian. In related news, the Home Office has for the first time published statistics looking at asylum claims by bisexual and gay people. They warn that the data consists of "statistics that are in a testing phase and are not yet fully developed" They note that 12% of relevant stats are muddied by either having originally being tagged as LGB-related when they were not, or not tagged when they should have been. The data shows the number of asylum claims where sexual orientation was raised as part of the basis for the claim, the outcome of these claims and the number of appeals. A few statistics stand out. Of all the countries named, only for Uganda are a majority of asylum claims related to sexual orientation; Cameroon and Tanzania each have around a third of all claims citing sexual orientation. What it doesn't tell us is the split between bisexual and gay or lesbian claims, let alone between success and failure.
Performing Bisexuality
The play was developed by “sitting down and asking people - just getting them to ask me the questions they had always wanted to ask – it was hilarious – like ‘is scissoring a real thing? Because it happens in porn.’ And I was like ‘no, not really…’ but she was insistent ‘it happens all the time in porn!’ and suddenly I’m defending like: ‘no, I’m the one who has actually had sex with a woman, my opinion is probably better informed’… but I loved how insistent she was that she knew better” “Another things was labels, and straight people asking why do we need them – ironic as straight people are the ones obsessed with putting labels on things and are then the ones questioning why we keep mentioning the label.”
As debate rages about representation of queer people in the mainstream media one way we fix that is by representing ourselves – BCN is a prime example, while in Salford a new play gives voice to young bi women’s experience as part of this year’s Manchester Fringe. I met up with Paige Gadsby beforehand to find out more. Paige’s new play Come ‘ere You Daft Cow is focused on friendships between bi and straight women, looking at the ways that women support it each other through relationships and mental health issues that commonly affect young people. The show follows Molly who is heterosexual and Alex who is bisexual, the show takes snapshots from their lives and how they support each other. For BiCon goers it will sadly have just been and gone as it’s on in Salford a few nights before BiCon comes to town, though readers in the North may catch it elsewhere soon after. We started off talking about the bi ‘angle’ and how you get to represent bi voices. “It was important to me that one of the characters be bisexual as the characters are based on my own experiences in life also there is so little representation in mainstream media or theatre for any members of the LGBTQ+ community especially for those of us that fall under the B. “ “I am bisexual and a lot of my friends are straight so I talked with them”
Opening yourself up like that can be trying though: “It meant having to sit there and explain myself, defending myself to people. Especially when it was people I was friends with!“ The lineup of plays from production company North South has helped expand the script too: “We’ve been meeting from people for auditions for another production we are doing next year about queer women’s identities so that has helped add to the conversation and material of things that straight people say, and indeed people who are gay or lesbian and say ignorant things as well. You get ignorance from all over! “So it’s been hilarious and depressing. But it’s been uplifting as well, particularly finding out how many bisexuals there are out there! Even people I’ve known for years and just never knew who say things like: yeah, I just never tell anyone because people just start making jokes or make dismissive comments. But it turns out there are so many of us!” With a recent wave of bi characters being outed off-screen but lacking in visual representation of their sexuality, does Pagie think there an advantage to labelling, I ask? “I think there is! People who are heterosexual are accepted just as who they are and labels let society understand you for the rest of us. And having a label helps you latch on to something that says this is who I am and it’s a massively important thing, to be able to claim your own label, especially if you grow up without any representation of who you are out there.” How does that work then in writing roles?
“Representation is a real problem, like some TV shows are now writing characters that are not straight into things and it’s difficult because so many of them are coming out stories. “It’s great to see them but there is so much more to life, and often they bi erase along the way. Like someone will be married to a woman for years and then in a relationship with a man and it’s like, they must always have been gay – they couldn’t possibly have also loved that woman for who she was. More things need to be done - more stories need to be told. “I notice on TV shows with actual women, actual queer people, involved do it so much better. Representation comes not just from the characters being portrayed but casting too, as we saw with the Scarlett Johansson story.” Johansson was all set to play a trans guy in a film – meeting criticism that casting yet another cis actor to play trans reinforces the idea that trans people are really their assigned gender and just pretending or playing a part. So as a writer, can we at last show bisexuality beyond the coming out story or the confused, indecisive, cheating trope? “You really can. You can slip it into the conversations characters have with each other, about who they used to date or the like. Or if they are having an affair, the bisexuality
doesn’t need to be the plot point – it can just be a thing that happens to exist. “There are sad points in the play as things happen – I get a bit downbeat as a writer in my plots at times! Although our characters have their trials and tribulations (no spoilers!) it is about this being positive reflection of how women support each other really. All while taking in masturbation, abortion and death, grief, body image and eating disorders. In an upbeat way! A remarkable medley of upbeat topics there. Looking forward to it! The first performances are in Salford; the plan is to tour around the North - Liverpool, Newcastle, more venues in Manchester and then see how it goes from there. If anyone reading wants to bring it to their town too and can maybe help with venues – get in touch on hello@northsouthcreative.co.uk - even if you just want to tell us you’d want to come and see it! Come ‘ere You Daft Cow will be at the King’s Arms in Salford as part of Manchester Fringe, from 9pm on the 30 & 31 July. Tickets £8, from tinyurl.com/ya4sts4c
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rewind9 One of the joys of BCN having been publishing for quite so long is that we can dig into the archives and see what bis were talking about back in the day. This month we rewind to 1998... What a year it was. A new biography of sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, by James H. Jones, published Kinsey’s own scores in the research grid for which he became so famous. We noted at the time, “Kinsey had sex with both men and women, including most of the faculty staff, indulged in masochistic masturbation and enjoyed being filmed as part of his experiments.” Had any of that been public knowledge at the time of the groundbreaking Kinsey reports on human sexuality (late 50s and early 60s) it’s hard to imagine they would have been given enough respect to have the impact they made. Secretary of State for Wales Ron Davies MP was outed following a “moment of madness” with another man on Clapham Common in London. He lost his cabinet post and it was a season that also saw the outing of Peter Mandelson. In the New Statesman Simon Heffer puffed up all his best stereotypes in a piece titled “Why gays go into politics”. A survey conducted across the main gay print titles of the time - Gay Times, Diva, and the Pink Paper reported that while the vast majority of readers were gay or lesbian about 4% were bi and “Younger people were also more likely to define as bi: 9% of 16-24 year-olds did, versus 4% of 35-44 year olds.” We get age difference figures like that in surveys today too. If only such data were being collected on a like-for-like basis we might have a better idea how much people opt away from identifying as bi over time versus how much bisexuality (and perhaps related terms) is on the increase as a label of choice. London Bi Women’s Group (which has long since closed down) was having a big fight over whether trans women should be allowed to attend - and in particular who was woman enough to qualify. It
seems to have been in response to some people who happened to be trans being disruptive at meetings. A BCN report noted that it had been suggested that “any man could pretend to be transsexual to enjoy the company of 'hot bi babes'”. This may seem wearily familiar to anyone watching debates around reform of the Gender Recognition Act today. It’s especially noticeable that we didn’t have the word ‘cis’ in common parlance as an antonym to ‘trans’ at the time, which makes the discussion wordier and less clear. A special voting system was devised where members could vote whether there should be any rule limiting trans women’s attendance, but only those who voted “yes” in that round could vote in a second ballot on how broad or narrow the trans rule should be. If ever you need to ensure that the outcome to a decision tends to one extreme or the other, this is a brilliant method. The fifth International Bisexual Conference was held in Boston, USA, and our report from attendees reflected that every speaker - bar one last-minute substitution - was from the US. The internet was starting to be widely used at this point and “the gap between those on the Internet and those who weren't was all too apparent”. With over 1,000 attendees and a conference team forty strong it reflected the strength of BiNetUSA, whose turnover had just hit $150,000. A vision of what the UK BiCon could be? Our own BiCon was in Cambridge, where the roof gave way in the dancehall and so most of the entertainment had to be held in a corridor. A reflective piece afterward noted the event “on average attracts between 200 and 350 attendees. These numbers have been fairly constant over the last eight years or so”. While we have had a couple of BiCons with attendance over 400, that remains much the case today. The year wrapped up with the announcement of the first ever London Bisexual Festival for February 1999. That included one of the first bisexual pride marches, but is a story for another time.
#BiVolunteering To mark Volunteers’ Week and with most bi projects dependent on volunteers here is the second of two issues where we focus on bi volunteering: this time, helping out with BCN and on the bi history project (below). Over the page, reflections from Wessex on running a bi group over the past few years.
Mostly the ones that catch your eye are the local groups or the BiFest and BiCon shaped events but BCN is one of those volunteer projects too. The obvious starting point is writing - but there’s also spreading awareness of bi press: got a leaflet rack or an LGBT stall coming up at an event? Get in touch and we can send you a bundle of leaflets. Little snippets for things like BiMediaWatch are fab too. But coming back to content, Bi Community News welcomes unsolicited writing, photographs and illustrations – whether a one-off or as a series piece. You don’t have to be a brilliant and accomplished writer: we can help with things like knocking something into shape, or tidying up your grammar and spelling. We also love cartoons. Fancy an outlet for your bi illustrations? It’s right here. But remember we are interested in work by or about bisexuality and / or bisexuals - because since 1995 that’s what has made BCN different from the rest of the queer press and the lack of representation of bi life in the likes of Diva and Gay Times was a key factor in BCN coming into existence. We welcome articles and press release items: this includes news, comment, film, book and theatre reviews, fiction, real-life stories and interviews, and reports on and about the bi community or bi individuals. Clippings, soundbites from radio, podcasts and TV and other quotes also very welcome. For longer pieces (1800+ words) please do consider getting in touch with us beforehand. Finally, please note that we don’t print poetry. Find out more at www.bicommunitynews.co.uk/submit For more bi volunteering ideas from what you can do in a spare 10 minutes to regular commitments see www.bicommunitynews.co.uk/volunteer
Get Researchy? The @bisexualhistory twitter account attempts to tweet a little bit of bi history every day of the year. Like these:
As well as reminding people about the long history of bisexuality and bi activism, it’s an easy way for twitterers to remind their followers they are bisexual. “Honestly I’m not going on and on about being bi, I just thought I’d retweet about that popstar’s birthday cos I really like her work”. The problem with history though is that it grows daily. If something happens that should go in the timeline then you can drop it into the history box at history@bimedia.org or use the form at tinyurl.com/yanv6yxg It’s also a way to have a bit of a geeky handson workshop for your local bi group - pull out a bunch of laptops or iPads, take a look at what’s already on twitter.com/bisexualhistory and start searching for other bi dates. There’s a lot on the timeline about the UK bi scene and law reforms like same-sex marriage around the world, but very little about thiings like sport for instance.
Start a bi group? There will be a “Down Your Way” workshop at BiCon for people wanting to get monthly bi meets and the like up and running in their area. If you can’t make that, or missed it, you might want to take a look at the Resources page of the BCN website which includes an A-Z of getting a bi group up and running, to try and save you reinventing the wheel as much as we can. That’s www.bicommunitynews.co.uk/resources/ And let us know about it for the BCN listings pages!
News from local bi groups around the country.
Bi Life Down Your Way
secured a job abroad and so could no longer continue running BiWessex. They thought that I ought to run BiWessex since I'd been the Sometimes life means you need to step down for most regular attendee. At first I was unsure a while. We talked to Jayne, who has just about this because I still didn't feel that finished a run at the helm of BiWessex. confident in my sexuality and so I tried to persuade others to run the group instead, but How did you get involved with BiWessex? nobody agreed to do it, so I thought I might By the time I was in my early twenties, I'd had as well give it a try. relationships with people of different genders and so it was clear to me that I was attracted How did you learn how to run it? Did you to people regardless of their gender. However, have other experience, did people stay around and show you how to do it, or was it at the time, everyone I met was either all learned on the fly? 'straight' or 'gay' - I hadn't even heard of bisexuality and so I came to the conclusion I've been doing voluntary work in various that I was just weird. It wasn't until years different areas for over 20 years now, but I'd later when I went along to an equalities never done anything related to LGBT+ activism, conference through my involvement in the so running BiWessex was a new area for me. trade union movement that I noticed that The previous coordinator left rather suddenly there was a breakout group for people who to take up their new job abroad, and so just identified as bisexual, and I thought, 'ooh, gave me a bag of resources and the usernames that's me.' I went along, half expecting there and passwords for various email and social to be nobody else there except for me, but of media accounts linked to BiWessex. Most of course others were there, and I met openly bi what I have done has been learnt as I've gone people for the first time. Shortly afterwards, I along. Initially, I tried to follow a similar plucked up the courage to go along to the pattern to previous meetups, but as I became LGBT+ staff network at the university I was more confident, I asked attendees what they working at, came out as bi and met others who wanted to do, planned some different activities were too. The realisation that bisexuality was and tried to change up the venues more. I actually a 'thing' and the fact that there were also played around with days and times of other people out there like me led me to meetups to attract as many people as possible. search for specifically bi groups in Hampshire. Through random internet searches, I eventually What's the group been up to in the past found BiWessex and started attending meetups. couple of years? I had been attending the group fairly regularly We've had lots of informal meetups in cafes for a couple of years when the person who was and pubs as well as well as a picnic, and other fun get-togethers with activities such as running the group informed me that they had
Stepping Aside
karaoke, quizzes and board games. We've also celebrated BiVisibility Day, had a presence at Southampton Pride and enjoyed great links with other local LGBT+ organisations who have invited us along to participate in their events too. How much time does organising that take in an average week or month? As with any voluntary role, it's as much or as little as you are able to give at any given time. I have tried generally to have a meetup once a month, but sometimes it hasn't been possible due to my work and study commitments, so meetups then had longer gaps between them, but usually there has been a meetup at least once every two months, but often more frequently. Choosing a date, time and venue for a meetup doesn't take too long, but sometimes more is involved in checking venues if they haven't been used before. For example, I usually think about venues in terms of accessibility, dietary requirements, price, gender neutral toilets etc., and in some cases I needed to book a venue, and on occasion pay a deposit. The most time-consuming part of the organisation has been in promoting meetups and events, as not everybody uses social media or wants to be visible on it as going to a bi event, so I have promoted events via our mailing list as well as on Facebook and Twitter. Some BiWessexuals do not use email or social media and so they need to be texted about events. So to organise a basic meetup usually takes me a few hours a month. Events such as BiVisibility Day and Prides take longer to organise in terms of fund-raising, coordinating people to staff a stand of resources, organising materials, participating in parades, and so on, but these take place less often, and I have found that people tend to be more willing to help out at 'one-off' events like these. Why is having bi groups important? For me personally, coming to the group validated my identity and was an important step in acknowledging and becoming more confident in my own sexuality, and I know that others have found the group useful
in their first steps on their journey too. I also think it is important to have a space to talk about specifically bi issues, such as biphobia and bi invisibility. When compared with either heterosexuals or lesbians and gay men, bi/pansexual people report poorer mental health, higher levels of anxiety and depression, more current adverse events and a higher frequency of financial problems (Stonewall, 2017). This means it is vital that we have our own network of support to counteract the reduced support that is available for people who identify as bi/pansexual. What's your advice for people thinking of volunteering with a bi group like this? If you are coordinating a group like I have been doing, it is useful to network with other local LGBT+ groups as they can be a source of support. In my case, I developed links with two university groups, and we regularly share each others' events to our respective networks. This means that bi people from the universities find out about BiWessex and come along to events, and BiWessexuals feel welcome to attend events within the wider local LGBT+ community. There are also various support groups online for organisers of bi groups which I have found helpful. If you don't feel that you can coordinate a group by yourself, you can still get involved. For example, on occasions when I was too busy to hold an event, other attendees said they would host it (i.e. be somewhere specific at a certain time on a particular date) and I promoted it for them, so you can take it in turns to 'host' or 'promote'! The ideal situation would be where a few people get together and work as a team to share the workload so that it isn't always one person coordinating an event. Whether you are coordinating a group, helping out from time to time, or just attending a group, remember that we all have a part to play in sharing with and supporting others...we can make this world a bi-eautiful place!
Bi Vis ’18
BiVisibilityDay.com is the international guide to what’s on for Bi Visibility Day each 23 September. Organising something to mark the date this year? Let them know about it at www.bivisibilityday.com/ tell-us-your-plans/
Square-eyed and proud, our ongoing quest to find bi representation in the media… with the thin summertime schedules this time we get reflective.
Bi Media Watch Summertime Sexy
I’m tired of that.
Don’t get me wrong, I Since Katy Perry kissed a girl and liked it there has don’t want to ban them. Even where these songs been a regular summer press release spot in the have been purely BCN in-tray. manipulation - one thinks This year it has been Rita Ora’s turn, for once of Russian pop duo Tatu’s provoking a big backlash as Hayley Kiyoko (lesbian profitable lesbian tease in singer best known for Girls Like Girls Like Boys Do) the 90s which was attacked Rita’s song Girls for playing up to male gaze followed by a slow and drunken experimentation stereotypes with its descent into championing chorus: Putin’s homophobia “Sometimes I just wanna kiss girls, girls, girls what matters really is not the truth about the artist but about what the music Red wine, I just wanna kiss girls, girls, girls” does for the listener, right then. The queer teen This forced Rita into coming out as bisexual, saying given a little more licence to experiment and explore “I have had romantic relationships with women and through this summer’s hit is what it is really about. men in my life […] I would never intentionally cause But it’s time “exploring your bisexuality” didn’t start harm to other LGBTQ+ people”. from a baseline of having thought you were It’s interesting that this broke out into public heterosexual before, and acceptable “exploration” controversy though. Perhaps a reflection of changing needs to stop being the sole preserve of ciswomen. times. Just last year Demi Lovato was crooning “Cool You don’t get the counterbalancing pop hit about a For The Summer”, with its “Just something that we wanna try” bi-curiosity, and facing far less kickback. guy being egged on by an eager girlfriend to explore his attraction to other men, the closest is when But thinking about that made me realise there’s been comedians spoof or gender-reverse the soft focus a song like this pretty much every year for ages. “It’s promos from things like I Kisses A Girl. Til then while the hot sexy summer song about experimenting with I am pleased we have a little progress, it’ll be bisexuality” the press release formula goes. It’s progress that doesn’t threaten the heteropatriarchy always about a song from a female singer, and always too much. the ‘experimental’ angle is about getting flirty or Jen frisky with another woman.
BiCon & Money: 2017 Money out
BCN & Getting Bi
£400
Where does all the BiCon money go? Last year’s ran at a small surplus, which gets passed on to team 2018. Here are the numbers!
Vehicle hire
£186.50
Access fund
Team costs
£765.68
Venue
Money In
Insurance
£104
Bags
Marketing
£895
Bi continuity loan refund £8,000
Bookings Access donations Raffle Stalls
£41,285 £718.24 £98.20 £270
Printing
£1,118.38
Creche
£1,380
Ents
£1,350
Access fund 2016
£1400
Sessions
£293.54
Continuity loan
£8000
Desk
£289
Biscuit stickers
£175
£51771.44
£2,879 £30,000 £250
Paypal fees
£528.11
Pride events
£720
Food/fruit/drinks
£520
BECAUSE
£400
Site visits
£487 £50,741.55
Queer Enough? What Constitutes Bi Representation? I recently spent a weekend binge watching Jessica Jones series two on Netflix. I like her straight taking, no bullshit, kickass style. Not to mention being a fan of the boots she kicks ass in. But through it all I’ve looked out for any sign, even a suggestion, that they might show her character to be bisexual. Was that bisexual mood lighting? Is there any significance that the paint she’s rolling around in is purple? Will they actually say the B word? When I reach the end of the 13 episode series without even a hint, I started searching the internet and found no evidence Jessica Jones is one of the canonically bi characters in the Marvel universe (of which there seem to be a few, but we’ll come back to that shortly). My misconception seems to come from speculations from the first series of her closeness with female character Trish “Patsy” Walker. However, it later becomes very clear that their closeness is a platonic, sisterly friendship. I feel let down, and this isn’t the first time in recent comic book to screen adaptations. The Dark Knight Rising’s Catwoman, the Valkyre in Thor Ragnarok, Harlequin in Suicide Squad, DC’s Wonder Woman, Marvel’s Deadpool. These characters are advertised as bi and pan yet when they hit the big screen we only see them in what is read as mixed gender relationships. The fan sites and social media argue backwards and forwards between on the one hand letting Deadpool have a boyfriend in the second film to show his pansexuality, and on the other those who feel sexual orientation (other than mixed gender relationships) isn’t important to the plots. But why do I hold these fictional (and not even life like) characters to such a higher standard than I do myself or those around me? When I am in a same gender relationship, I’m still bi. Mixed gender relationship? Single? Still bi. My relationship status and the number of people of different genders I’ve had sex with or been seen to date by the outside world does not have any bearing on my sexual orientation. So, what does it matter if we don’t see Harlequin mooning over Poison Ivy or Wonder Woman having a relationship with someone on the female only island before she leaves? But I guess the answer for me is, these aren’t real life characters and there is still such little bi+ representation in the media. I want the visible depiction of bi and pan people in the films and TV shows that I watch, preferably without falling back on stereotypical tropes of “all bisexuals are unfaithful”. But I also know that the same standard should never be enforced on my life or anyone else’s to prove their orientation. Emily
Where’s The Pride In This?
This year’s Pride in London was disrupted by a small clique of anti trans equality campaigners. Many LGBT people and organisations spent the weekend reacting in shock that a group campaigning against the history and spirit of Prides wound up - as the security and stewarding team struggled to solve the problem and the police failed to intervene leading one of the biggest pride marches in the country. Thus taking the place of a group representing the NHS in its 70th year. Pride in London’s public statements included the explanation that it had just been too hot a day to do anything about it. Is London coming off the rails? An unregistered UKIP entry was let into the parade in 2015 and problems at last summer’s Pride in London ruffled so many feathers that Stonewall declared that for 2018 they were to focus on UK Black Pride the same weekend instead. Manchester’s bi group proposed to their main local Pride that every marching group be issued a trans flag as part of the arrangements for authorised entries in the parade as a rebuttal of the transphobia at London and in case similar scenes took place in Manchester. Edinburgh, Sheffield, Leeds, Manchester and Bristol bi groups are among those taking a clear and vocal line following the scenes in London. It feels like the pressures in London must lead to change or collapse soon. 2018 saw bi banners and the first bi float (truck) at Pride in London. In 2019 will there even be a Pride to attend? And worse, it’s not just London. Manchester Pride in the days following the disruption of the London parade ran a series of community consultation meetings - in a building that required “a government issued photo identity document” to allow entry, which you are less likely to have if you are for example trans (and/or belong to many other marginalised groups). None of it makes you proud, really.
the committee was me and eleven gay men (we’ve now recruited another bi woman) so some of my activism is now focused on exploring how to ‘sell’ bisexuality to gay people who are supportive, but perhaps don’t always understand the specific issues involved. I’ve been emphasising the benefits of gay people coming to bi events – the chance to meet a more diverse selection of people, the chance to examine some of their own assumptions about the B in LGBT, and the chance to explore a different but overlapping community.
BiFesting BiFest is a one-day celebration of bisexuality and the bi community, with different versions held around the country. This year, London BiFest 2018 takes place on Saturday 18 August at the Kingston Quaker Centre in Kingston-Upon-Thames. Details at london.bifest.org.
In a similar vein, BiFest this year is reaching out more to the wider LGBT community. I’ve divided most of the sessions up into 15 minute slots and I’ve invited LGBT community groups and organisations to come along and talk about what they do. Other groups are having stalls in the main hall, or organising a picnic in the garden, or running craft sessions.
As a result, it’s shaping up to be a very diverse and interesting event. Among others, we’ve got the Outside Project (which deals with LGBT homelessness), Stonewall Housing, Amnesty LGBTQI, G(end)erswap (which organises trans and non-binary clothes swaps), FTM London and TransPals UK, the In many ways London is a great place to organise a Bisexual Index, Bi Pride, Stitch Bi Stitch, the Queer BiFest. Many of us already live here, most people can Black and POC Geek Group, and Opening Doors (for get here, and it’s got lots of venues. Unfortunately, what it doesn’t have is a lot of affordable, accessible, LGBT over-50s). On top of that, there’ll be queer bi-friendly venues that are the right size for an event crafts, blackout poetry, Speed Friending, activism… I don’t even know how we’ll fit all this into one of around 100-130 people. Which was one of the reasons that London BiFest went on a few years’ hiatus afternoon, but it’s all coming together brilliantly. between 2012 and 2017. I’ve also been exploring funding options – London BiFest is ongoingly funded by a loan from Bi Last year, however, I found the BiFest Holy Grail, otherwise known as the Kingston Quaker Centre. It’s in Continuity, but this year Healthwatch Kingston and Kingston-upon-Thames, which is in zone 6, so more or Healthwatch Sutton have also given us some funding less technically London (with a Surrey postcode). And in exchange for recruiting local LGBT people to be it’s a lovely venue. It’s a recent build and was designed interviewed about their healthcare experiences. With that and the Kingston Forum’s involvement, this feels with accessibility in mind – all one level, all like a properly local, supported BiFest. wheelchair accessible, with gender neutral disabled toilets, and a kitchen, and a little garden, and Other aspects remain the same as last year. We’ve disabled parking. It’s got enough space that we can reduced the cost of tickets (because it’s a shorter have a main social and stall space, two session rooms, event than 2017’s) but we’re continuing to offer free a quiet room, and a craft room. And it’s run by the tickets for people of colour/BME people as part of our Quakers, who are very LGBT-friendly. I booked it and policy to try to remove as many barriers as possible ran a BiFest there in April 2017, and it went very well. for people who might not otherwise come along. So even though I was supposed to be taking a year off We’re still child-friendly – which is also an access bi activism, I couldn’t resist doing it again. issue – and we’ll have a small quiet room available The other reason I couldn’t resist is that thanks to last through the afternoon for people who need to escape for a bit, with magazines and puzzle books etc. BiFest, I have local support for my organising. I was invited to join the committee of the Kingston LGBT We’ll also be asking people to complete an equality Forum, which is a group that organises Kingston LGBT and diversity monitoring form as we did last year. social, health and support events, and they’re going to This kind of data is vital for grassroots bi events, host post-BiFest drinks at a nearby pub. Until recently, because there’s still not a lot of research into our
Bi Space: Now and Then It's more than 23 years ago that I first went along to BiPhoria, which was then a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed new meetup for bisexual people and is today the oldest bi group in the country.
people got in touch to know more about the group by writing letters to us at our P.O. Box address. As the person most likely to turn up first I was entrusted with knowing where the post went, collecting it, and doling it out ("we have a letter It wasn't my first time in bi space, from someone wanting to know if but it was the first time I'd been in there is a bi group near them in a bi space I hadn't had to lobby for Liverpool, who wants to write a and organise myself. And unlike reply?") those bi spaces I'd contributed to small conferences and events, this But I think getting information through the post was much better wasn't a one-off, but a regularly repeated chance to hang out with for people actually coming to the meetings: rather than a vague "oh, other bis. Rather than just meet I'll post it on the facebook group people and talk here was a space when I remember" you'd have a to get to know people over time half-dozen flyers for whatever and make friends. So exciting! upcoming event might be of Back then we met at the Sidney interest to pass around and be Street Lesbian & Gay Centre, whose taken home by anyone interested. name gives an honest reflection of Decision making was painfully slow. where bisexuals came in the A side project, Bisexual Action pecking order: every so often Manchester, engaged the local meeting rooms would be overbooked and upon arrival at the council in debate about their centre we'd find ourselves meeting policy of the non-existence of in the kitchen. We were given use bisexuality. We'd meet one month and hammer out a letter; a month of a filing cabinet to keep bi resources in, but no-one had a key later, with a typed copy, we'd sign it and put it in the mail. Another to it so what we really had was a month on we would meet and read filing cabinet we could perch a couple of cups of coffee on top of the reply, and agree a rough wording for what we should say in whilst talking. turn. With no quick way of It was technically not before the rounding people up, dates for internet, but for all practical meetings were set on a "they'll purposes it was. Communication probably have written back by was through postal mailouts, and community. For example, we discovered that of last year’s attendees, roughly a third had never been to a bi event before. Just over half of attendees had a disability of some kind (40% had a mental health disability). About a quarter didn’t define as male or female. 65% of attendees were cis (i.e. not trans), a quarter were trans and 10% weren’t sure. About 40% of people were polyamorous or non-monogamous. 28% weren’t white British. In terms of sexual orientation, 63% defined as bisexual, 15% as pansexual, 8% as lesbian/gay, 6% as biromantic, 4% as queer, 4% as asexual, 2% as
then" basis, and at least once we got to the bar to talk and the person with the typewriter sighed that they hadn't. A simple discussion like that would go on for six months then and today would be over in an afternoon's worth of angry tweeting. What's interesting is what hasn't changed. With growing bi visibility in public life, people are much less likely to write in asking: is this real, am I not the only one after all? But the moment of personal crisis when coming out to family, friends or partners still wants a human face and connection for support and advice. People who have come along for the first time to the group in 2018 describe being in a special space where you don't have to defend the existence of bisexuality or that your bi-ness is valid when you have a broad preference for this gender over those ones or are trying not to be erased into monosexuality whilst in a monogamous relationship is still just as real, the same way we did back in the 1990s. The change all around us has been remarkable but BiPhoria being there is still surprisingly important. Jen
heterosexual, 2% as ’attracted to femininity’ and 2% as ’some people are hot’. This year I’m hoping we’ll get a bigger sample (we had 48 completed forms out of 130 attendees) and be able to get even more accurate data. Overall, with just over a month to go at the time of writing, I’m excited and happy about the way London BiFest is shaping up. Event organising is never stress-free, but I have a lot of friends helping me, and I can’t wait to see how it all goes. Hope to see you there. Katy
Starting a new group?
Local Groups/Meetups Remember to let us have any changes to existing groups info, or new listings! BIRMINGHAM Bi Coffee Every 4th Sunday from 1:30pm onwards. Big Cafe Soya, 2 Upper Dean Street, Birmingham B2 4BH, look for the unicorn.
UPDATED IRELAND Bi Ireland - organises bi meets in Dublin, Cork, Belfast & more. Find out more at www.biireland.com
Bi Community News can offer you a variety of support in getting a new local bi community group off the ground. a We can include notices in the body of the magazine or flier inserts targeted at those subscribers in your local area a We can act as an anonymous postal address for your group (so your posters have the contact details “Anytown Bi Group, BM Ribbit, London WC1N 3XX” and we forward it to your personal address) a We will list you here in the community pages of BCN to help draw new people in to your group when they move to the area a Our website includes an “A to Z of running a bi group”, updated for 2017, which has advice from people who’ve been there about some of the things you need to consider in getting a group going. www.bicommunitynews.co.uk/resources Just let us know you need help!
NEW ISLE OF WIGHT Bi Wight - bi meets, see Birmingham Bi Group - meeting 2nd Tues twitter @biwight of each month. At LGBT Centre, 38/40 Holloway Circus B1 1EQ from 7.30. LEEDS Website: brumbigroup.wordpress.com Leeds Bi Group - Pub Meet 1st Tues of Twitter: @brumbigroup / 07946 821394 month, 7.30pm at Wharf Chambers. Talky space - 2nd Wed of month, 7pm at BRIGHTON Mesmac centre. See fb.com/leedsbigroup Brighton Both Ways - monthly coffee tweet @leedsbigroup or website: meets, see facebook group “brighton www.leedsbigroup.org.uk bothways”, phone or text 07505 385094, or see www.brightonbothways.org.uk LIVERPOOL Liverpool Bi+ occasional meetups in cafe, UPDATED BRISTOL see liverpoolbis.wix.com/livbis BiVisible - meet 1st Tues of month, 6pm at Bristol Energy Hub. Follow @bristolbivis LONDON & SURROUNDS on twitter or see www.bivisiblebristol.co.uk Bi Coffee London - meet 1st Sat of the month, 3-6pm, Leon cafe, Spitalfields CARDIFF Market nr Liverpool Street Station. Bi Cardiff meets 1st Thursday every facebook.com/groups/bicoffeelondon/month, 6:30pm, Quaker Meeting House, Twitter: @bicoffeelondon Charles Street. Open socials from 7.45pm in The Prince of Wales (Wetherspoons), St. Bi Meetup - 4th Thurs, a pub social meet once a month in a Soho bar. Web: Mary's Street. For details contact lgbtfriends.meetup.com/145/ bicardiff@yahoo.co.uk, text: 07982 308812 or join us on facebook. Bi Underground - monthly bis and friends DERBY Bi Group met at Derbyshire Friend LGBT centre. Now online. tinyurl.com/biderby
pub night. Second Tuesday of each month from 6pm. For more info see www.bisexualunderground.com
EAST MIDLANDS East Mids Bi Network - email network, with social meet-ups arranged through the email list - to join send a blank email to embn-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Bi The Way: for over-50s. Meet on the fourth Monday of each month from 6 to 8pm at Opening Doors, Tavis House, 1-6 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9NA
EDINBURGH Bi & Beyond - meets 9 Howe St, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month 6:30pm. facebook.com/biandbeyond GLASGOW Bi Glasgow - 1st Tuesday of month, 7pm9pm, at THT, 274 Sauchiehall Street. wordpress.biscotland.org UPDATED HAMPSHIRE BiWessex - Regular social meet-ups mainly in Southampton and Winchester. Email biwessex@yahoo.co.uk or see facebook.com/BiWessex HEMEL HEMPSTEAD Bi+ Herts Social - Regular social meetups in Hemel Hempstead. See facebook.com/hertsbigroup
www.meetup.com/Newcastle-BisexualSocial/ NOTTINGHAM BiTopia meets 2nd Thursday of month at 7:30pm in the Lord Roberts pub, see nottinghambi.wordpress.com/bitopia/ Nottingham Bi-Women email list groups.yahoo.com/group/nbwg/ or call Margret on 0115 956 8810 NEW STOKE-ON-TRENT BiSociable - First bi brunch meet 28 July, see facebook.com/bisociable SHEFFIELD Sheffield BiSocial - meets 1st Monday most months at Caffe Latte, The Forge, London Road. Check meeting info on fb.com/groups/242100959262106/ or email sheffieldbisoc@gmail.com SWANSEA Bi Swansea - meets 3rd Tuesday every month, 7:45pm, front bar, Mozarts, Walter Road. Ask for Ele at the Pagan Moot in the main bar. Coffee meets last Sunday monthly, at The Kindercafe (except bank holidays), 12 noon -2pm, families welcome. Email: BiSwansea1@yahoo.co.uk Text: 07982 308812; or on Facebook.
MANCHESTER Bi Coffee BiPhoria’s coffee meet third Sun WALES Bi Cymru / Wales – the all-Wales social 1pm at Vienna Coffee House, Mosley St. support network for bisexual people and BiPhoria! - bi social/support group, meets those who think they may be bi. Also runs campaigns, training on bi issues for 1st Tues monthly, 7.30pm, at LGBT organisations in Wales, events such as Foundation, 5 Richmond St, Manchester BiFest Wales. Email: bicymru@yahoo.co.uk M1 5HF. www.biphoria.org.uk Text: 07982 308812. Post: c/o Diverse Email: info@biphoria.org.uk; Cymru, 3rd Floor, Alexandra House, 307Twitter: @biphoria 315 Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff, CF5 Bi Drinks BiPhoria’s pub meet, third Tues 1JD. 8pm at the Waterhouse. Look for the lion. WOLVERHAMPTON BCN magazine - meetings and stuffing Third Way has been on hiatus for some nights for the mailouts are in the city. time. www.facebook.com/thirdwaybigroup Join us? editor@bicommunitynews.co.uk NEW YORK NEW NEWCASTLE Bi Group - York LGBT Forum runs bi Bi Meetup – irregular social meets about meetings at Cross Keys, Goodramgate, twice a month. See webpage: next 6.30pm 20 Sept. Twitter @yorkbigroup
UK Bi Listings BCN Online W: bicommunitynews.co.uk T: @bicommunitynews F: facebook.com/bicommunitynews
Organisations NATIONAL BI ORGANISATIONS UK Bi Activist Network UK bi activists network, organises away weekends, compares notes on current bi issues and projects we’d like to work on groups.yahoo.com/group/uk-bi-activism The Bisexual Index - a collective of UK Bi activists working together to fight bisexual erasure & biphobia, and promote bisexual visibility and clearer understanding of bisexuality. For more details, posters, leaflets and t-shirts see www.bisexualindex.org.uk BiUK formerly the Bi Research Group. For bi academics and those interested in conducting or analysing bi research www.biuk.org BiCon - National Bisexual Conference permanent web & email addresses. Web page: www.bicon.org.uk; email: general@bicon.org.uk Bi History Project See bisexualhistory.wordpress.com or twitter.com/bisexualhistory Bis of Colour - a welcoming and supportive group for bisexuals nationwide who identify as Black Minority Ethnic or Mixed Heritage. Email bis.of.colour@gmail.com Twitter @bisofcolour Tumblr: bisofcolour.tumblr.com NON-BI-SPECIFIC ACTIVIST GROUPS Consortium of Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Voluntary and Community Organisations. Unit 204, 34 Buckingham Palace Road London SW1W 0RH. Tel: 020 7064 6500 Web: www.lgbconsortium.org.uk information@lgbtconsortium.org.uk Equality Network - Scotland LGBT campaigns group, publications include the Complicated? bi report. See www.equality-network.org Pride London - write: London LGBT Community Pride CIC, PO Box 71920, London NW2 9QN.
Web: www.PrideInLondon.org email: info@PrideInLondon.org HEALTH & SAFER SEX Metro Centre - resource/advice centre for bisexuals, lesbians and gay men, SE London. Local safer sex outreach; national advice line now open Mon-Thurs, 7-10pm: 020 8265 3355 National AIDS helpline - 24 hour HIV/AIDS information and help. Tel: 0800 567123 Project LSD (Literature & Services on Drugs) - are you bisexual/lesbian/gay and want help with drug issues? We provide the following free, confidential services: Counselling, Complementary Therapies and Drugs Helpline every Weds 6 - 9pm on 020 7439 0717 Terrence Higgins Trust Helpline HIV/AIDS info available daily, noon10pm; tel: 020 7242 1010 PARENTS Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays Also gives support to people who have found out a family member is bi or trans. www.fflag.org.uk SPIRITUALITY Metropolitan Community Church LGBT positive Christian movement with Churches around the UK. 01225 837499 Email european.district@virgin.net or see www.mccchurch.org for listings of churches and www.ufmcc.com for more information about the denomination.
Publications of interest Getting Bi in a Gay / Straight World Glossy colourful 24-page pocket guide to getting and staying out as bi, published by BiPhoria on paper and online. Now also available in Spanish. www.biphoria.org.uk/gettingbi Both Directions - the forerunner of Getting Bi... this is BCN’s guide to the bi community: covers what is out there for bis, our UK bi movement’s history, bi issues and mythbusting. Read or download as a PDF from www.bicommunitynews.co.uk/resources Bike Immunity News - bisexual humour zine. Issue 20 (Summer 2017) now out, and all back issues still available for £1.50 each including postage. Buy through Paypal or email for details to neiljameshudson@fsmail.net Journal of Bisexuality - USA book-sized academic quarterly, for details & subs rates see www.haworthpressinc.com Purple Prose: Bisexuality in Britain is an anthology of writing about bisexuality in the UK. From your favourite bookstore. A-Z of Running a Bi Group - 26 things to consider before you start a local group. www.bicommunitynews.co.uk/resources Bisexuality & Mental Health - service users perspectives to help inform NHS practice. Mostly an educational resource. See www.biphoria.org.uk under ‘publications’.
Blogging BiBloggers Site bringing together blogs by bi people across the UK and Ireland. Add yours to the roster! www.BiMedia.org/blogs
Diary Dates
Quaker Lesbian and Gay Fellowship bi-positive organisation. Write: Roy Vickery, 9 Terrapin Court, Terrapin Road, London SW17 8QW. Web: www.qlgf.org.uk
BiFest London Kingston Upon Thames, 18 August An afternoon of bi chatter, at Kingston Quaker Centre: set satnavs and map apps for KT1 2PT www.facebook.com/events/981663231972590/
LGBT HELPLINES
Bi Visibility Day Worldwide, 23rd September every year. See www.bivisibilityday.com
London 0300 330 0630 - 10am-11pm Manchester 0345 3 30 30 30 10am10pm (staffed - automated info system out of hours) Scotland 0300 123 2523 Tu/We 129pm
Because St Paul, Minnesota, 12-14 October The USA’s version of BiCon - this year experimenting with a community centre rather than academic venue. www.becauseconference.org
Bi social & support meetups 3+ times each month in and around Manchester
BiPhoria. Bi space & voice since 1994. www.biphoria.org.uk @biphoria