SFGN's Bisexual Issue 2017 by South Florida Gay News

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CHECK OUT THE NEW

WMG

September 20, 2017 vol. 8 // issue 38

Begins on page 37

s o u t h

f l o r i d a

g a y

n e w s

One for the

Bisexuals Special Edition

It's Bisexual Visibility Week! Here's to you, the forgotten letter Pages 26 - 36

Prepping for the smart ride Pages 20, 21

SouthFloridaGayNews

Hurricane irma: Florida continues to heal Pages 2, 6, 9, 15, 42

soflagaynews

SFGN.com

Let The

Bi Shine

Brittany Ferrendi

But the truth is, their numbers are bigger than they seem...

ven if “Bisexual” is the third letter in LGBT, it tends to be an afterthought. After first mention, the initialism typically gets synonymized with "gay and trans communities." Bi social groups are few and far between unless lumped in with other sexual identities. In fact, bisexuals didn't even have their own themed pride parade until just this year in Tel Aviv, Israel. They are also often misunderstood. They face stigma from straight people and even members of the LGT community for "not being able to pick one" in terms of which gender they are attracted to. They are often accused of "actually being straight or gay, but not wanting to

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commit." People often falsely assume — with no help of media depictions — that bisexual people are promiscuous, they desire more than one partner, or that they cannot commit. For these reasons, many bisexuals prefer to stay in the closet. Their mental stability often suffers from being isolated from all sides. They are less likely to seek out help for sexually transmitted illnesses. But the truth is, their numbers are bigger than they seem. The UK 2012 Bisexuality Report asserts that people who have ever been attracted to more than one gender make up “a significant minority, or even a majority, of the population.” Family members,

neighbors, friends, celebrities — you may know many bisexual people without the slightest notion. Despite what people may falsely believe, bisexuals do exist. They are real. They are not all promiscuous. They do not all prefer more than one partner. They are not faking it to fit in. They deserve as much as the rest of the LGBT community. And they most certainly aren't going to let a hurricane stop their time to shine. Sept. 17 through 23 is Bisexual Visibility Week, with Saturday being 2017’s Bisexuality Day. Celebrate the visibility this week with South Florida Gay News. Welcome to the bisexual special issue.

How Visible Are Bisexuals in South Florida? It’s a hard question to answer but SFGN examines the issue Jason Parsley

lack of bisexual visibility is a common complaint from bisexual organizations and activists. Just including the B in LGBT isn’t enough. Bisexual programs need to stand on their own to increase awareness and visibility. It’s easy to say any program for gay men includes bi men. Any program for lesbians includes bi women. But often times bi men and bi women are stigmatized from both the LGBT community and the straight community. SFGN took a look at how often our local LGBT organizations promote and/or talk about bisexual awareness. So we looked at their Facebook postings over the course of one year from August 2016 to August 2017. The results weren’t encouraging. Of course Facebook and social media aren’t the be-all-end-all, but it’s good starting point since social media plays such an important part of our lives and how we communicate with each other.

“Shine a bright light in your social media feeds on Celebrate Bisexuality Day and Bisexual Health Month.”

- Robyn Ochs Bisexual Activist

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SFGN examined the postings from the Pride Center at Equality Park, Compass, Pridelines, Sunserve and Latinos Salud. These five organizations combined posted almost 2,500 times. And how often were bisexuals mentioned? They got 11 posts. We’re not including instances where bisexuals are lumped together under the umbrella term LGBT, or when the term was mentioned in a spelled out list like gay and bisexual men or lesbian, gay, biesxual, transgender. Nine of those 11 posts promoted bisexual related events, such as their social and support groups. Only two were in regards to bisexual visibility and awareness. Meanwhile Bisexual Health Awareness Month got zero posts. That’s right, not one of those Facebook pages mentioned the month-long event that takes place annually in March. One organization did mention LGBT Health Awareness Week with several LGBT health posts. LGBT Health Awareness week also takes place in March. Bi Visibility Day got one post and Bisexual Awareness Week got one post. To put that in perspective, Hump Day got mentioned five times, while even National Donut Day got it's own post. It’s important to note that this article isn’t discussing the resources these organizations offer to bisexuals. This article is just about the visibility of the bisexual community on their Facebook pages. For instance, Pridelines in Miami celebrated Bisexual Awareness Week for the two last years. One event they held last year was a forum on social and

health care disparities in the bisexual community. The center also hosts a monthly bi-plus community brunch on the third Saturday of the month, and there is a bi-plus support group on the first Thursday of the month. Compass hosts a twice-monthly bi support group. SFGN reached out to a leading national bisexual activist, Robyn Ochs, for ways to increase bi visibility. One of the most obvious ways – social media. “Shine a bright light in your social media feeds on Celebrate Bisexuality Day and Bisexual Health Month,” she said. She continued: “Support groups are an obvious service. And make sure to advertise them. Organize programs and cultural events: bring in bi+ speakers, musicians, artists, and make it clear that they identify as bi+.” Other ideas include covering the bi community in their newsletters, interviewing local bi folks, making sure there is adequate bi representation in the organization, and providing bi training for the board and staff.

This year Bisexual Awareness Week is taking place Sept. 17 to 24 while Celebrate Bisexuality Day (also known as Bi Visibility Day) is Sept. 23.

Online:

www.glaad.org/biweek2017 www.BiVisibilityDay.com

Hollywood's Bisexual Closet Film Historian Boze Hadleigh Tells Stories of Bisexual Stars David-Elijah Nahmod

small crowd of around a dozen people gathered at the GLBT History Museum in the Castro last month for Hollywood's Bisexual Closet: Marilyn Monroe and More, a talk given by out gay Hollywood historian and author Boze Hadleigh. Hadleigh's books include Conversations With My Elders and Hollywood Lesbians. Many Hollywood stars of the Golden Age were found to be gay after their time in the spotlight had faded. The most notable examples of this are William Haines, a top box office star who gave up his career in 1932 in order to live with his partner. Perhaps the best example is that of gay movie star Rock Hudson, whose homosexuality was common knowledge for decades — Hudson was officially outed by the press shortly before his death from AIDS in 1985. While homosexuality in Hollywood has long been a topic of discussion, the topic of bisexuality has often been kept quiet. "Indeed bisexuals are largely ignored in a polarized media and society that imagines everything is either-or instead of and-but," Hadleigh told Bay Area Reporter after the talk. "Rock Hudson told me he didn't ‘believe in bisexuals.’ Same with most heteros and gays, I'd say." Yet Hadleigh shared stories he's uncovered of stars who apparently were bisexual, even if they never came out as such. He notes that three of Liza Minnelli's four husbands were bisexual — including singer/songwriter Peter Allen, who died of AIDS. Allen wrote the song Quiet Please, There's A Lady

On Stage, a heartfelt tribute to Minnelli's mom, gay icon Judy Garland. One attendee at the talk was a fan of actor Farley Granger, who's best remembered as the star of Hitchcock's “Rope” (1948) and “Strangers on A Train” (1951). There was a dark, homosexual undertone in both of Granger's films for Hitchcock. In both films he played men who were plotting murders with other men — both films imply a strong sexual attraction between the two pairs of men. Decades later Granger consented to be interviewed for the 1995 documentary "The Celluloid Closet" in which he discussed the implications of homosexuality in classic Hollywood cinema. In his 2008 autobiography "Include Me Out," written

“Whether they had sex, no one can know but them. Marilyn questioned her own sexuality.”

- Boze Hadleigh Author and Historian

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with his longtime partner Robert Calhoun, Granger admitted to having affairs with both men and women. Hadleigh's research indicates that Marilyn Monroe was not heterosexual, though she did have several marriages to men. "She had a close fiveyear relationship with lesbian drama close Natasha Lytess," Hadleigh said. "Whether they had sex, no one can know but them. Marilyn questioned her own sexuality. While she was filming in London she was analyzed by Dr. Anna Freud — Sigmund Freud's daughter — who concluded that Marilyn was not heterosexual." Other actors named during the talk include Richard Gere and Marlon Brando, who loved many women but was quite open about being bisexual. Brando's son Cristian, according to Hadleigh, was named after actor Christian Marquand, Brando's male lover. Hadleigh noted that 1930s movie queen Marlene Dietrich, whose career continued into the 1970s, was perhaps the best known among Hollywood's female bisexuals. Hadleigh told Bay Area Reporter that he prefers books to the internet when researching his subjects. "The internet is not edited and abounds with myths and fabrications," he said. "For a celeb-quotes book like my Marilyn Forever, it helps that I speak five languages and travel a lot. Often the media outside the US is more frank about sexual topics — I get quotes from books, magazines, newspapers, and from personal interviews."

Bisexual Individuals at Higher Risk for STIs

Biphobia, identity affect how people treat sexual relationships Ryan Lynch

eing attracted to both men and women doesn't necessarily mean that a person will have more sexual partners. But bisexual individuals, especially males, are facing higher risk for sexually transmitted disease than in the past. According to the most recent data from the Center for Disease Control, bisexual and gay males account for 83 percent of syphilis cases where the sexual partner is known. That comes with a rise in the disease’s rates nationally, from an all-time low of 2.1 cases per 100,000 people in 2000 to 5.3 cases per 100,000 people in 2013. According to Mara Gambineri, the communications director for the Florida Department of Health, the local area has been slightly better than the state itself at staying healthy through syphilis cases. For their 2016 study of in-state cases by gender of sex partners, 3.9 percent claimed both male and female sex partners for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. For the state as a whole, five percent of all respondents with the STI claimed both male and female partners. Gambineri said that the male and female individuals did not have to self-identify as bisexuals but did say they had both sexes as partners. But it’s not just Syphilis rates that are on the rise. Men who have sex with both have higher rates than heterosexual males when it comes to the human papillomavirus (22 percent to 3 percent,) Gonorrhea (11 percent to 2 percent) and Herpes (5 percent to 3 percent).

Epidemiologist for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention William Jeffries IV said in his research “Beyond the Bisexual Bridge” that males who have sex with both male and female partners face different risk factors because of their identity. Those include, according to him: “unprotected sex, early sexual debut, forced sexual encounters, increased numbers of sexual partners, substance use, exchange sex, risk behaviors of their male and female partners and pregnancy-related considerations.” “These factors uniquely shape MSMW’s vulnerability to HIV/STIs and other sexual health problems,” Jefferies said. “Anti-bisexual sentiment, socio-economic marginalization, culturally specific masculine ideologies, and sexual identity can negatively influence their sexual partnerships and likelihood of disease acquisition.”

“These factors uniquely shape MSMW’s vulnerability to HIV/ STIs and other sexual health problems.”

- William Jefferies

Epidermiologist for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 32

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Jefferies said that biphobia can often be a reason why members of community have lower rates for getting tested and often higher rates for drug use and amount of sexual partners. He also pointed out that because some people will call bi individuals “a closeted gay person” or say their identity is not real, it causes people to try and prove their sexuality by having more sex with more partners. Their identity can also shape how willing they are to getting help, as a lack of an affirming community can hurt bisexual individuals. “MSMW’s sexual identities have important sexual health implications,” Jefferies said. “ MSMW largely lack access to a well-defined bisexual community and are less likely than MSM to participate in the gay community.In the absence of sexually affirmative communities, MSMW’s sexual identities may reflect how they wish others to perceive them and may influence MSMW’s receptiveness to public health interventions..” The CDC recommends that those who are sexually active regardless of partner should regularly be screened for STIs and always use a condom. The organization also recommends being open with your doctor about your sexual history. “Sexual health promotion for MSMW should not be limited to HIV/STI prevention alone,” Jefferies writes in his study “Recognition of MSMW’s unique sexual and social experiences can lay the foundation necessary for ensuring that these men have healthy and fulfilling sexual experiences.”

Double Discrimination Pressure to Follow Binaries Puts Bi Individuals At Higher Risk For Mental Health Issues Tucker Berardi

he members of the LGBT community are by no means strangers to isolation. For many the fear of coming out to friends and family is justified: you run the risk of loved ones shunning you for who you love or how you identify yourself. We have our own loved ones and our own safe spaces for when those relationships fail — our brothers and sisters in the LGBT community who love us regardless of who we are. For many bisexuals however, those safe spaces are just as hostile. Bisexuals often experience isolation felt by neither straight nor gay communities. Deemed immoral by heterosexuals and noncommittal by gay communities, many bisexuals have to fight for a place to fit in, and no one is offering a space. “Double discrimination is a wellknown experience for bi people which definitely impacts on mental health, especially for those who expected to be welcomed in LGBT communities having been rejected by straight communities, only to find they’re not welcome there either,” Meg-John Barker wrote SFGN in an email. Barker is a doctoral Psychology in Social Sciences researcher at Open University who has studied bisexual mental health and the unique positions of bisexuals between heterosexual and LG (Lesbian and Gay) communities. “Of all the larger sexual identity groups, bisexual people have the worst mental health problems, including high rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidality,” Barker wrote. “This has been found bother internationally and in the UK specifically, and has

been strongly linked to experiences of biphobia and bisexual invisibility.” According to the UK Bisexuality Report released in 2012, biphobic heterosexuals often see bisexual people as “amoral, untrustworthy, hedonistic spreaders of disease and disrupters of families.” At the same time, some LG people may feel that “the existence of bisexuality ‘muddies the water’ in a way which calls into question the basis which they have fought for their rights.” “Bisexuality has been acknowledged to be an ‘invisible,’ ‘excluded’ or ‘silent’ sexuality within several domains including: mainstream media, lesbian and gay communities, sex research, psychology and psychotherapy, policy and legislation,” The Bisexuality Report states. “It has been argued that bisexual invisibility is the main problem comforting bisexual people accessing services.” Bisexuality is often left out of the rhetoric in many LGBT spaces and groups. After the initial use of the inclusive acronym, talk more than usually devolves into phrasing like “the gay community.” Sometimes bisexual individuals themselves identify as gay or lesbian for the sake of brevity — even in LGBT spaces. “If someone points out a pretty girl and I turn round, they all crow at me not to look ‘cos I’m supposed to be gay. I’m fed up. It’s all gay this and queer that at school,” one of the report’s subjects told the study. “There isn’t a word for people like me, so I guess I’m on my own. I’d say I was bisexual, but you have to be 50-50, right?” Alfred Kinsey, a social researcher

“Bisexuality has been acknowledged to be an ‘invisible,’ ‘excluded’ or ‘silent’ sexuality within several domains.”

- The UK Bisexuality Report 34

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that studied human sexuality, found that sexuality was not black white or otherwise, but fell on a spectrum. There is a large population of heterosexuals, a smaller population of homosexuals, and a significant number of individuals in the middle with varying amounts of attraction to either sex. According to Kinsey, there are a large number of bisexuals, but only a comparative few of them are truly 50/50 in terms of attraction. The rest of them may prefer one sex over the other, and settle for an either gay or straight classification. Barker and associate Christina Richards discuss the unique state of bisexual isolation in their text, “Sexuality and Gender for Mental Health Professionals: A Practical Guide.” While isolation from heterosexual populations may not come as a surprise to bisexual individuals, many are met with surprise and hurt when they turn to LGBT-friendly spaces only to find that they are discriminated there as well.

Fortunately, not all LGBT and straight groups or communities are biphobic. There are plenty of biinclusive spaces, both online and off, that provide social and therapeutic opportunities for bisexuals. “I’d suggest seeking out online and offline bisexual spaces where they can get support and meet like-minded people,” Barker wrote. “It definitely helps to hear from others with similar stories.” There are new therapies in development that specifically deal with bisexual issues. But work can be done throughout the LGBT community and beyond to establish a more bi-inclusive culture. More and more bisexual characters and media depictions are presenting themselves on TV. But more bi-positive depictions and discussions are a great way to benefit bisexual peers. “It’d be wonderful to see more positive social media depictions, as well as media reporting about bi experience, and about sexuality as a spectrum," Barker wrote.

Six Bi Musicians You Can Hear On The Radio Right Now Emily Bloch Kesha. Photo credit: Jeff Denberg.

op singer Aaron Carter was one song into his nostalgic set at the LGBTQ nightclub Hamburger Mary’s when he made a bold statement. “Yes, I am a bisexual man,” he told the crowd. The early Aug. performance marked Carter’s first since coming out to his followers on social media. It was an emotional night according to the Tampa Bay Times. At one point, Carter started tearing up. "I just want to say thank you for believing in me again," he told the crowd. The newspaper reported that his voice was quaking and his eyes were filling with tears. But the audience’s support got him through the rest of his performance, which included a mix of old hits like “I Want Candy” and newer songs. Carter may be one of the more recent musicians to come out as bisexual, but he’s definitely not the first. Davie Bowie was already doing interviews about being bisexual in the 70s. And by pursuing a string of lovers throughout the 60s, some laud Lou Reed as one of the first out bisexual musicians. But bisexual musicians aren’t a thing of old-school glam rock. Here’s a look at six out, bisexual musicians that you can hear on the radio at any given moment: 1. Halsey

When “New Americana” artist Halsey penned a bisexual love song, her label asked if she wanted Katy Perry to collaborate on it. That was a hard no. “I was like: ‘I’m not putting an artist on this song unless they’re f***ing gay,’” she told Vulture in an interview. The singer’s latest full-length album, “Hopeless Fountain Kingdom,” already has two songs that are being praised as “bisexual anthems.” Hasley recorded the love song, “Strangers” with Fifth Harmony singer Lauren Jaurequi — who came out as bisexual last year in an open letter to Donald Trump. “It’s a whole space that no one’s ever really touched upon before,” Jaurequi told Elle Magazine about the song. “I feel like representation in music is so important.” “Strangers” is the first song Halsey has written with lyrics addressing female pronouns. The album — which was released June — also features “Bad At Love,” a song about failed love that switches between male and female pronouns when addressing the love interest.

2. Billie Joe Armstrong Green Day

In 1994, punk rockers Green Day brought its third studio album, “Dookie,” into the world. The record was a gamechanger for the three-piece, with hits like “Basket Case,” “Welcome to Paradise” and “She.” A year later, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong sat down with LGBT magazine, The Advocate. “I think I’ve always been bisexual,” he told the magazine. “I think people are born bisexual and it’s just that our parents and society kind of veer us off into this feeling of ‘oh, I can’t.’ They say it’s taboo. It’s ingrained in our heads that it’s bad when it’s not bad at all. It’s a very beautiful thing.” Since then, the band put out nine additional studio albums, including its latest, “Revolution Radio,” which came out last Oct. Green Day also continues to tour — they hit West Palm’s Coral Sky Amphitheatre on Sept. 3.

“The funny thing is that I was very open and honest about that from the beginning,” the artist said. “Go back four or five years, people, and you’ll see the same answer.”

- Fergie 36

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3. Kesha

A pop artist known for all things grunge and glitter, Kesha — formerly known as Ke$ha — has been in the music scene since her first single “Tik Tok” took over the airwaves in 2009. Within a year, she was interviewing with Out Magazine. “I wouldn’t say I’m gay or straight,” the singer said. “I don’t like labeling things anyway. I just like people.” And a few years after that, she opened up about her sexuality again to The Huffington Post. “I don’t just love men,” she said. “I love people. It’s not about gender. It’s just about the spirit that exudes from that other person you’re with.” Now, after four years without new music and a long legal battle against her former producer, the pop artist has released “Praying,” a song about new beginnings. She also announced that her third studio album, which will be called “Rainbow,” isn’t far behind.

4. Lady Gaga

There’s almost nothing more pure than watching Lady Gaga, the mother monster herself, discussing the song lyric “bluffin’ with my muffin” from her single “Poker Face” with Barbara Walters. But that’s what happened in a 2010 interview when the world was just starting to get to know Gaga. “I do like women,” the now six-time Grammy winner told Walters. “That’s what the song was about … I was fantasizing about women.” Since that early interview, Gaga’s represented the LGBTQ community through her advocacy work — like speaking at the National Equality March — and through her music. Her 2011 single “Born This Way” continues to be an anthem for the community.

5. Fergie

The “Fergalicious” singer and former Black Eyed Peas singer said she’s never kept her bisexuality a secret. In 2009, she spelled it through an interview with The Advocate. “The funny thing is that I was very open and honest about that from the beginning,” the artist said. “Go back four or five years, people, and you’ll see the same answer.” She later received an Always Next, Never Now award for her work with the LGBT community from LOGO TV. With and without the Peas, Fergie’s had plenty of singles, including “Glamorous,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and more recently, “M.I.L.F. $.” Her new studio album, “Double Dutchess” is scheduled to drop this month.

6. Sia

Before songs like “Chandelier” and “Cheap Thrills” made Sia a household pop name, she was making indie pop records and dating both men and women. She was relatively private about it — until an interview with Attitude Magazine revealed that she was having relationship issues with a woman. "I’ve been talking to my love interest about what I am,” Sia told After Ellen about the interview. “And she’s like, ‘Are you going to come out?’ And I said, ‘I guess I already did.’” Later in 2013, Sia told her own story. “I’m queer,” she tweeted. “I don’t really identify as lesbian because I’ve dated predominantly men. But I’ve certainly dated women.” A year later, she was performing at the LGBT Gala. The artist plans to release a Christmas album according to Billboard.