Issue 158 December 2019 ISSN 1757-6938
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Bi Community News
B C N
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BI PRIDE UK
5 SEPTEMBER 2020 LONDON
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BiPrideUK.org
Registered Charity no.1177128
Bi Community News Issue 158 Twitter: @bicommunitynews Facebook: facebook.com/bicommunitynews
Nov/Dec 2019
Reverse The Polarity Cover: Jamie Barton performs at Last Night of the Proms - photo: Chris Christodoulou/BBC.
Future BCN Copy Dates: #159 Jan 30th, 2020 #160 Mar 20th, 2020 Please note that these dates are always subject to change!
Over the last ten years or so many of us have got used to sticking a plus sign on the end of Bi or LGBT. Bi and related identities or issues. LGBT and other gender and sexuality issues that your group might want to work on like BDSM laws and representation that might not be obviously LGBT issues but the group is going to campaign or take a stance on. Not everything has the plus on it, or wants to put it there. That’s fair enough - I’m a great believer in the idea that it is better to have a label on the tin that reflects what is inside, not just a label that fits this week’s trendy or politically acceptable choice. I’d rather an organisation that is only really going to do anything for gay men to say so, not to pretend to be gay-and-bi but want bi chaps to leave their ‘straight half’ at the door. This winter we have seen the launch of a rival group to Stonewall - an organisation that has itself been dragged to including the B and T in its language and work - being eagerly promoted by some well-connected bigots on social media.
“LGB Alliance” got off to a tricksy start as while trumpeting its transphobic / trans-exclusionary position they instead started arguing about whether the B belongs either and how bi you have to be to be bi enough for them. Not being able to support all the words in your organisation name even on the day of launch sends out a brilliant message. We’ve been carefully not adding to the oxygen of publicity for them through our online presences. Some of the people involved were also involved in setting up Stonewall and have become disillusioned after that organisation started speaking up or taking action on bi and trans inclusion and challenging biphobia and transphobia. But it makes me wonder about that plus sign. That is the only mathematical operator we ever seem to use about our acronyms. Is it time that as well as “LGBT+” type naming, we had the minus used as well? As the “Alliance” despite having the “B” in its name is definitely not suited to the label LGB+, and isn’t even LGB… but it might be LGB-.
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. © 2019 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
A newbie’s experience of Prides sfsdfsdf A few years of indulging in holidays had taken its toll on my bank balance so I decided this year to stay in Manchester and make the most of the Pride events on offer in the North West. I was particularly looking forward to this as, despite having been quite active in the bisexual community for a number of years, I had never taken part in, or even seen, a Pride march. I was surprised myself at this omission but I decided to make up for lost time! I signed up for all of the marches I could fit in and I my services to carry a lady from the offered banners and hold flags. My Pride group in front experience this summer showed just how varied marches are came back to me and how they can generate say in a mock different emotions and - in no small part due annoyed tone experiences to the length of time a Pride that our group march has been up and running the oh so important weather was receiving and factor!
the most cheers
First up, Bury Pride in April. As it was my first Pride I was particularly nervous and this was not helped by a tricky travel plan (due to poor organisation!) Once I got there and saw friendly faces I felt much better and began to look forward to it. The circular route was small and we completed it twice. This was particularly amusing as a number of older men, frequenting a central cafĂŠ, seemed fairly put out by the march interrupting their regular Saturday afternoon routine. Their faces, when they realised we were circling again, said it all! I thought I had dressed for the weather, forgetting that being outside for a number of hours in April is likely to get cold. My main memory of this march was feeling proud at the end whilst also wondering how I was going to get back the feeling in my hands and feet. Next up, a weekend double-header; Liverpool and Stockport in July. These were certainly two very different Prides, united only by bad weather! The weekend was constant rain but there was something extremely satisfying about going the distance to complete a rainy Pride. Liverpool Pride was big and busy; before it started, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed fitness instructors attempted to pep up the already bedraggled marchers before the mayor of Liverpool gave a passionate and personal speech, kissing his husband at the end which prompted the crowd to cheer. The march was enjoyable despite the rain and as a nice bonus I bumped into friends I had not seen in a number of years. Stockport came on the Sunday and was a different kettle of fish; much smaller with fewer onlookers. It felt, however, as though
we were doing something that could be important to people within that community, even if the route was so short that I did not believe it had ended and I had to go and check with an official that it was actually over! August brought Levenshulme and Manchester, a local and a city Pride. The weather was again the only unifying factor, this time hot and sunny. Levenshulme felt very poignant as this Pride had been started after a relatively recent homophobic incident. This march was the only one which had to be completed on the pavements as the roads had not been closed. There was a real community feel, with animated conversation, photos and smiles amongst the marchers as we waited to start. Manchester in comparison was a particularly epic affair. Before the march started participants took over a whole park and during the march the onlookers, sometimes seven or eight deep, were held back by fences, which only added to the surreal experience. It almost felt like we were famous which felt both exhilarating and scary at different times. I particularly enjoyed carrying the flag despite it being somewhat cumbersome and heavy, and my highlight was giving an impromptu flag show with the other two flag bearers which raised cheers from the crowd. At one point a lady from the group in front of us came back to say to us, in a mock annoyed tone, that our group was receiving the most cheers! My last two Prides for this season were Bolton and Carlisle. Both were surprisingly warm and sunny days. Bolton started in a lovely park which set my mood for the day, after which we stopped traffic (the road closures did not seem to have been particularly well organised) on our march through the city centre. My fellow marchers were in good spirits and we had a good sized group which I was told was an improvement on previous years so it was nice to feel I was adding to the numbers! In
contrast Carlisle’s march started on the side of a road and there was an upbeat feel, maintained by constant music - my signature memory of this march. Being near to the borders we had a bagpiper tirelessly playing throughout while drums led the march. We went into Carlisle Castle which made for a great 21st century ‘storming the castle’ feel; I doubt that people in medieval times would ever have guessed that LGBT rights and the LGBT community would be celebrated so openly by so many! Overall I found the experience of all the marches extremely affirming and positive. Will I go again? Definitely. Will I do as many? … maybe! I was particularly moved by the numbers of young people I saw at all of the marches and the range of flags and banners they brought to show their personal identity and their support of others. I particularly noticed the number of young people who as a group had both bisexual and pansexual flags, showing that the label an individual chooses just has to be personally significant and does not need to exclude others. I feel my summer of marches has enriched my understanding of my community, both bisexual and the wider LGBT community. As a bisexual woman I felt very welcome and included in the LGBT community at these events. And on more than one occasion I thought about the road that has brought the community to this point, and the difficulties traversed by many a Pride marcher before me. Francesca
The Bi-Furious Test When we started the Scottish Bi+ Network, our first event was a film screening, and since then we’ve ended up doing a lot about bi+ representation in the media. Two of the questions we get asked a lot are: Why is representation so important? And what do we mean when we as a community ask for ‘good’ representation? There have been more and more mainstream films featuring bi+ characters, but when it comes to box office takings, there’s one film franchise that are in a league of their own. Thor: Ragnrok is widely considered a bi+ film by those in the community, even though no-one is explicitly stated or shown in the film to be attracted to multiple genders. One of the reasons it’s considered a bi+ film is its use of ‘bi lighting,’ where pink, purple and blue lights in the background of shots are used to subtly indicate that a character might be bi. Is this ‘good’ representation? If you’re bi and know what the colours signify, then it can be a subtle clue as to a character’s sexuality without having to spell it out. But for those outside the bi+ community it’s just pretty colours. Explicit representation is the only way to show them that we exist, and let them see that we are more diverse than the stereotypes about us. Which leads us to the hardest question of all; what is ‘good’ representation? There is no single character or film that can fully represent the diversity of the bi+
community, but from talking to lots of bi+ people there’s a few things we all seem to agree on. So, with all this in mind, we wanted to create a test that would help people judge the quality of bi+ representation in film.
The Bi-Furious Test 1. The character’s bi+ identity is not revealed through cheating. 2. The character is explicitly stated or shown to be attracted to multiple genders. 3. The character is integral to the plot, and not just there to be ‘sexy’ or for a throwaway joke, i.e. removing them would have a significant impact on the story. 4. Their sexual orientation (and gender identity, if applicable) isn’t their only defining trait. 5. The character is not later retconned to be gay/lesbian/straight. In the last five years, we have been spoiled with a selection of films that pass the Bi-Furious test, but there’s quite a few classics that were ahead of their time when it comes to bi+ representation.
Ironically the film that gives it name to the test, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, at first glance, wouldn’t qualify as good representation, because Ramona’s bisexuality seems to be there as a Period dramas always pose a problem for throwaway joke. But there wouldn’t be a bi+ representation, as a lot of the labels story without her, and she has more to we use to describe our attraction to her character than her sexuality. Also, her multiple genders didn’t exist or weren’t fluffy jumper in the bi pride colours is a used in the same context back then. Even huge hint. though it is set in the late 1800s and Like all of these simple representation early 1900s, Colette manges to explicitly tests, there is room for debate, and even show that she is attracted to multiple genders, leaving no doubt in the viewer’s if a film is ‘good’ representation, it may not be to someone’s personal taste. mind that she would identify under the bi+ umbrella. Leading the push for better bi+ characters seems to be coming from bi+ creators and bar high new a set My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend actors, but there’s still a long way to go for tv representation of bi+ people. Not before all of the bi+ community sees bisexual only does the show use the word many times, but they have a full song and themselves reflected on the big screen. dance routine for Darryl coming out as bi, The small screen is rising to the complete with saxophone solo. challenge, with streaming services The Feels, a series of short films, released allowing more creators to get their work one a day for pride month, is the story of out, and combined with the rise of web series such as The Feels, we are starting a bi guy with too many feels. As the to get the diverse representation we episodes are only a few minutes long, it allows them to have such a varied cast of deserve. bi+ people that the series does feel like it shows the full diversity of the bi+ community. By Lorna from the Scottish Bi+ Network
Velvet Goldmine was a relative box office success back in 1993. Set in the 70s glam rock era, a time of rebellion and sexual fluidity.
A Bit More Equal The original proposals for civil partnerships were not limited by gender, but this was amended December 2019 sees the first such during the passage of the civil partnership ceremonies. legislation back in the early As we reported in the summer, the 2000s. government announced its Civil partnerships enjoy many intention earlier this year to bring similar benefits to marriage, but in Civil Partnerships for mixed-sex there are a number of areas where couples by the end of this year. civil partnerships do not mirror This followed a series of legal the kinds of rights and protections challenges to the “same-sex afforded to married couples. couples only” nature of the civil It was widely expected that the partnership law, especially since advent of same-sex marriage reform to marriage law in 2013. would see the decline into
The first mixed-sex Civil Partnerships are here at last.
irrelevance of civil partnerships after 2014, but it hasn’t worked out that way – and not just in Northern Ireland, where marriage remained a strictly mixed-gender affair and only now is change on that coming through. The government’s predictions for the reform are between 20,000 and 50,000 extra civil partnership registrations each year – with an additional cost of around £10m in partners’ defined benefits pension entitlements.
The Politician / Netflix
Bi Media Watch
Square-eyed and proud, our ongoing quest to find good bi representation in the media...
Over the years at BiMediaWatch we’ve noted that the summer tends to be lean on screen but as the nights draw in the telly gets better - and better for bi and queer representation too. Indeed let’s kick off with the tiny ray of joy that is Let It Snow, the rarity of a Christmas film with queer representation beyond “token gay friend with no second dimension to their personality”. No further spoilers though, in case you manage to crowbar it on to your family’s seasonal Netflix viewing and don’t want to know the ending. Then there’s the BBC’s coverage of Last Night Of The Proms giving us this issue’s glorious bisexual cape cover. Mezzo-soprano opera
star Jamie Barton delivered Rule Britannia to the Royal Albert Hall wrapped in the pink, purple and blue of the bisexual flag – with eyeshadow to match. As the song reaches its climax she raises aloft a rainbow flag; the hall erupts in delight. The BBC commentator carefully doesn’t mention what either of these symbols mean while this happens, just that Jamie is “entering into the flagwaving spirit” of the evening.
The Good Place - NBC Universal/Netflix
Jamie told The Slate beforehand: “There were two very big things that I wanted to touch on with my guest appearance: one was my own walk with body positivity. And the other is bi visibility, pride, particularly with this year being the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. It just made every bit of sense to me that when I walk out for Rule Britannia, I’m going to have a Pride flag when the audience is going to have Union Jacks.”
Back on Netflix, The Good Place is back for its final run, albeit with a break across new year. This has given us lots of fine bi representation in at least two characters (I’m not sure how to categorise the sexuality of the Janets) and their sexuality has, a bit like the bisexuality in Torchwood, simply been who people were rather than a big reveal thing. The coming out experience needs to be represented but the just getting on with your life and happening to be bi thing needs to be told on screen too. Insatiable returned for a second season where Patty Bladell's (Debby Ryan) pageant queen career surprisingly continues after the show wrapped up its first run on the deaths of Christian and Stella Rose. I’m not sure if what drew me in was the serial killing or the way hasty romantic trysts are
Let It Snow / Steve Wilkie Netflix
long. Perhaps there's hope for us all.
can end the awkwardness and all get some happy.
I say there’s a lot of queer in the show. There's a heap of bisexuality in that mix - it's not pretty but it is comedy-drama honesty about how bis get told to "pick a team" and can have their sexual orientation erased by the people closest to them.
Wrapping up their remarkable bi lineup for now, the streaming channel also offered us The Politician, which is not great telly so far but does give us the cute poly trio pictured at the top of the page here.
Atypical / Saeed Adyani & Netflix
Atypical got a third season with more of the developing love triangle - or ‘v’ - between Casey, Izzie and Evan. It’s a relateable bi In season two our love triangle between Bob, Bob and Angie now story of uncertainty over who and what you want. But please let the becomes a love trapezoid with three of them watch or read Rudy (Vincent Rodriguez III, costar of Crazy Ex Girlfriend). Nonnie something about polyamoury at last finds love after pining after before any fourth season so they a straight woman for way too
It’s the end of the year so a wish for 2020: that one of the UK networks picks up The Conners from the USA, the show that Roseanne has become since Roseanne had to leave under a cloud. It has great queer family life representation and a set of characters many of us in the UK grew to love in the 1990s: surely it is due an airing over here?
Insatiable / Tina Rowden Netflix
always held at the Halfway Inn, but there is a lot of queer in the show. Beware spoilers follow. For a start there’s the gay cop whose investigations are somewhat compromised by having made out with a key suspect in a steam room, and an awkward father / child conversation about sexuality and acceptance - all wrapped in a soundtrack and musical references that would sit comfortably in most of the gay bars I've ever frequented.
bookings now open
The Book Of Pride: LGBTQ Heroes Who Changed The World Author: Mason Funk. Meet dozens and dozens of awesome queers telling their stories! This book is a great collection of interviews with people who made the world a little bit better each in their own way, collected through the OutWords project Mason started in 2016. There's a great interview with Gigi Raven Wilbur, bisexual radio show presenter and co-founder of Bi Visibility Day - who is introduced as being "intersex and BDSM educator" - and who talks about being a sex educator on radio, being kicked out of bars for being bi and much more. We meet other bis too like Lani Ka'ahumanu who was co-editor of 1991's "Bi Any Other Name" anthology of bi experience, which was hugely important back then when the internet was so much more niche a way of connecting and feeling less isolated. I particularly enjoyed Troy Perry's tale of creating the Metropolitan Community Church as a place for LGBT Christians. There's the story of Dean Hamer, best known as the researcher
behind that 1993 paper that said homosexuality was genetic and caused by chromosome xq28 - inspiration of the "xq28: thanks mom, love the genes" teeshirts back in the 90s. And Jewel Thais Williams, who in 1973 opened one of the USA's first black discos and gay bars - because she "wanted a job that was recession proof". She went on to serve on AIDS Project Los Angeles and many more health projects in the 1990s and since. But I didn't realise before buying that this would be all about the USA. Changing the world surely goes beyond the borders of one country? David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 years of LGBT Music Author: Darryl W Bullock. This is a lovely book - an a very thorough exploration of LGBT people in popular music across the decades, mostly across the US and UK. I've got to be honest and say that with lot of the artists and records prior to the 1980s I had simply no
idea who these performers were but it made you want to google or youtube them to find out a bit more about what they did. The richness of the stories told of more recent artists like Pete Townshend or the Scissor Sisters where I had some idea about the people involved and their careers promises that the research is thorough in regard to artists you know nothing about. Crucially for a BCN reader, this is a good text at noting whether people were gay or bi and acknowledgi ng some of the nuances in that. There are some artists where on limited evidence and no self-labelling I'm not sure I reach the same conclusions as the writer - where do we categorise someone who had relationships with people of several genders but it might have been about pressure to be heterosexual whilst young? The uncertainty of labelling where people didn't own a clear and modern term themselves is made plain.
The latest bi research New Zealand’s first major sexual health survey shows samegender sexual attraction is more common among women than men. The 2014/15 New Zealand Health Survey: Sexual and Reproductive Health Module (these things always have a catchy title) looked at sexual attraction, sexual behaviour and sexual identity. The survey had some 10,168 respondents aged 16-74 years. It’s all about women and men with no space for gender diversity. But within the binary, it has got some interesting numbers: 1 in 6 women (17.6 percent) reported same-gender sexual attraction at least once in their lifetime, but just 1 in 20 men (5.4 percent). This reduced to 4.3 percent of men and 8.6 percent of women when asked about the last 12 months.
While 2.3% of men and 3.7% women identified themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual, in itself perhaps a big drop from the numbers those last statistics might suggest, men were less likely to identify as bisexual than women (1.0% and 2.6% respectively). Men were three times less likely to say they have ever been sexually attracted to both men and women than women to both men and women (4.6% and 16% respectively). The report found a big gender difference in the age profile of bis too - for men the levels of bi identity by age grouping don’t vary much but for women under 45 rates of bi identity are sharply higher - around three times what they are for their male peers. As with other surveys elsewhere in the world that’s showing more
men than women identifying as gay, and many more women than men identifying as bisexual. There are genuine questions that follow from that – including how much of this gap is down to a different social acceptability of admitting, even if only to yourself, what your attractions have been over time. And how the figures would look if people were able to express more than binary gender identity and attraction. But it does suggest that bi groups would naturally skew “more female than male” in attendance if they are reaching the average bisexual, and perhaps a little bit of why ‘gay’ groups tend to be dominated by men. More: www.health.govt.nz/ publication/sexual-andreproductive-health-2014-15-newzealand-health-survey
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Justice Delayed A court case settlement has seen a bisexual Navy veteran have his service medals returned after twenty years – but the Ministry of Defence managed to erase bisexuals even in their apology.
“History has shown us that a person’s sexuality has no bearing on how they perform in times of conflict. So many LGBT people were forced out of their wonderful careers and the consequences were devastating.
Joe Ousalice, now 68, served in the Navy for nearly 18 years but was discharged in 1993 when there was a ban on bi and gay people serving in the armed forces. The Falklands veteran has at last got his medals back and received an apology from the Ministry of Defence, in a historic court settlement in a case brought by human rights organisation Liberty.
“It has taken me 27 years to resolve this and I had to take the MoD to court to get here. But I would like to acknowledge the apology finally offered to me today and urge the MoD to continue to do all it can to address the continuing and serious effects of its discrimination on LGBT veterans.”
The MoD has agreed to return Joe’s medals, and say they will establish a new scheme so that other people in Joe’s situation can get their medals back.
“Back in 1993, because of his sexuality, Mr Ousalice was treated in a way that would not be acceptable today and for that we apologise. In Mr Ousalice’s case, he was a former radio operator who served his country in the Falklands War and the Middle East, as well as six tours of Northern Ireland and was awarded a Long Service and Good Conduct medal in 1991 which we will now return to him in person.
Twenty years almost to the day from the ending of the armed services’ ban on bi and gay people serving it is remarkable that he had to go to court to get them. The former radio operator, served in the Falklands War, did six tours of duty in Northern Ireland, was posted to the Middle East and was seconded for two and a half years to a leading NATO task force. He was awarded a Long Service & Good Conduct Medal and three Good Conduct badges – all stripped from him when he was dismissed because of his bisexuality, on the grounds that his conduct was “prejudicial to good order and naval discipline”. On receiving the apology and on being told that he would have his medals restored and a new scheme set up for others like him, Joe said: “I should have always been judged on the basis of my exceptional service and not my sexuality.
The MoD’s apology read:
“We accept our policy in respect of serving homosexuals in the military was wrong, discriminatory and unjust to the individuals involved.” Good. If very overdue. We’d have quite liked it if in an apology to a bisexual serviceman they could have mentioned that their ban extended to bi people as well as gay people.
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LEEDS Leeds Bi Group - Talky space - 2nd Wed of month, 7pm at Mesmac Birmingham Bi Group - meeting 2nd Tues centre. Pub Meet 1st of each month. At LGBT Centre, 38/40 Tues of month, 7.30pm Holloway Circus B1 1EQ from 7.30. at Wharf Chambers. Website: brumbigroup.wordpress.com Coffee meet 3rd Thu at Flamingo, 7.30pm. Twitter: @brumbigroup / 07946 821394 See fb.com/leedsbigroup or website: www.leedsbigroup.org.uk BRIGHTON Brighton Both Ways - coffee meet 2nd LIVERPOOL Sunday of month 3pm at Presuming Eds Liverpool Bi+ occasional meetups in cafe, Coffehouse, see facebook group “brighton see liverpoolbis.wix.com/livbis bothways”, phone or text 07505 385094, LONDON & SURROUNDS or see www.brightonbothways.org.uk Bi Coffee London - meet 1st Sat of the BRISTOL month, 3-6pm, Leon cafe, Spitalfields BiVisible - meet monthly, first Tuesday at Market nr Liverpool Street Station. the Watershed at 6pm. @bristolbivis on facebook.com/groups/bicoffeelondon/twitter or see www.bivisiblebristol.co.uk Twitter: @bicoffeelondon CAMBRIDGE Bi Pizza monthly meetup over dinner. Email CARDIFF Bi Cardiff meets 1st Thurs every month, 6:30pm, Quaker Meeting House, Charles Street. Open socials from 7.45pm in The Prince of Wales St. Mary's Street. For details contact bicardiff@yahoo.co.uk, text: 07982 308812 or Bi Cardiff facebook. DERBY Bi Group meet online. tinyurl.com/biderby 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 EDINBURGH Bi & Beyond - meets 9 Howe St, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month 6:30pm. facebook.com/biandbeyond UPDATED GLASGOW Bi Glasgow - 1st Tuesday of month, 7pm9pm, currently at The Space. For more info see www.scottishbinet.org HAMPSHIRE BiWessex - rebranded, see Southampton. IRELAND Bi Ireland - organises bi meets in Dublin, Cork, Belfast & more. Find out more at www.biireland.com
Bi Meetup - 4th Thurs, a pub social meet once a month in a Soho bar. Web: lgbtfriends.meetup.com/145/
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 STAFFORDSHIRE BiSociable - facebook.com/bisociable SHEFFIELD Sheffield BiSocial - meets irregularly. Check latest meeting info on facebook fb.com/groups/242100959262106/ or email sheffieldbisoc@gmail.com
UPDATED SOUTHAMPTON Bi Underground - monthly bis and friends Bi-Pan-ic - social meets and email list. pub night. Second Tuesday of each Email bipanicsouthampton@gmail.com or month from 6pm. For more info see see facebook.com/BiWessex www.bisexualunderground.com SWANSEA Bi The Way: for over-50s. Meet on the Bi Swansea - 3rd Tuesday every month, fourth Monday of each month from 6 to 7:45pm, front bar, Mozarts, Walter Road. 8pm at Opening Doors, Tavis House, 1-6 Ask for Ele at the Pagan Moot in the main Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9NA bar. Coffee meets last Sunday monthly, at The Kindercafe (except bank holidays), 12 London Bisexual Network a professional - 2pm, families welcome. Email: network catering for those working in the BiSwansea1@yahoo.co.uk Text: 07982 legal, insurance, banking and professional 308812; or on Facebook. services. londonbisexualnetwork.co.uk WALES MANCHESTER Bi Cymru / Wales – the all-Wales social Bi+ Book Club. See BiPhoria (below) support network for bisexual people and those who think they may be bi. Also Bi Coffee BiPhoria’s coffee meet third Sun runs campaigns, training on bi issues for 1pm at Vienna Coffee House, Mosley St. organisations in Wales, events such as BiFest Wales. Email: bicymru@yahoo.co.uk BiPhoria! - bi social/support group, meets Text: 07982 308812. Post: c/o Diverse 1st Tues monthly, 7.30pm, at LGBT Cymru, 3rd Floor, Alexandra House, 307Foundation, 5 Richmond St, Manchester 315 Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff, CF5 M1 5HF. www.biphoria.org.uk 1JD. Email: info@biphoria.org.uk; Twitter: @biphoria YORK Bi Drinks BiPhoria’s pub meet, third Tues 8pm at Via. Look for the lion. BCN magazine - meetings and stuffing nights for the mailouts are in the city. Join us? editor@bicommunitynews.co.uk
Bi Group - York LGBT Forum runs bi meetings every two months. Twitter @yorkbigroup
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Organisations NATIONAL BI ORGANISATIONS
HEALTH & SAFER SEX
Bi History Project See bisexualhistory.wordpress.com or twitter.com/bisexualhistory
Metro Centre - resource/advice centre for bisexuals, lesbians and gay men, SE London. Local safer sex outreach; national advice line now open Mon-Thurs, 710pm: 020 8265 3355
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 web: bisofcolour.home.blog BiUK 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 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 UK Bi Activist Network UK bi activists network, compares notes on current bi issues and projects we’d like to work on groups.yahoo.com/group/uk-bi-activism NON-BI-SPECIFIC ACTIVIST GROUPS UPDATED Consortium of Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Voluntary and Community Organisations. Tel: 020 7064 6500 Web: www.lgbtconsortium.org.uk information@lgbtconsortium.org.uk Equality Network - Scotland LGBT campaigns group, publications include the Complicated? bi report. See www.equalitynetwork.org Pride London - write: London LGBT Community Pride CIC, PO Box 71920, London NW2 9QN. Web: www.PrideInLondon.org email: info@PrideInLondon.org
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. Quaker Lesbian and Gay Fellowship bi-positive organisation. Write: Roy Vickery, 9 Terrapin Court, Terrapin Road, London SW17 8QW. Web: www.qlgf.org.uk LGBT HELPLINES 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
Publications of interest Getting Bi in a Gay / Straight World Glossy colourful 28-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 BiCon Leeds. 13-16 August 2020. Returning to the 2017 venue of Leeds Beckett University. See 2020.bicon.org.uk for details. Bi Visibility Day Worldwide, 23rd September every year. See www.bivisibilityday.com for UK listings and submit events in your area there too (there’s a special form!) The site lists Bi Vis Day events since 1999 if you’re struggling for ideas.
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