A Feast for the Bis By Bill Burleson
As we relax in the oh-so-trendy dark dining room of Azia on Nicollet, I asked Teri Kline, the new chair of BOP: the Bisexual Organizing Project, about why the great turn-out: “People are seeing it come back to life and want to get involved again.” Over the years the one place bis could find community was at Bis Eat Out. Tonight I’m part of a group of 14 people, all trying to read the menus in the dark. “I don’t know what it is, BOP does really good with this eating stuff,” according to Lou Hoffman, a long time bi activist and now another key person for BOP. It’s not all about the food. “I’m not sure how to put this. It’s nice to hang out with a bunch of people I don’t have to explain it to. A bunch of people who understand.” BOP has suffered some hard times over the past few years. The dirty little secret of small organizations is that they come and go. Groups too small for paid staff count on one, two, three, or, if they are very lucky, a handful of committed people to work hard for no pay. That may work for a while, but unfortunately, too often these leaders burn out in a couple years and move on. BOP is, or was, a case study in this. I was involved in the early days of the group, back in 2001. We got as far as having an office at Lyndale and Lake in Minneapolis, with regular groups, activities, a hotline, the whole nine yards. But over time it began to lose energy, and eventually it was as close to dead as an organization can be. Sad. But not any more. BOP is back. Even though it was once declared dead publicly by some ass who was too quick to pull the plug (that ass being moi), the organization
stuck around long enough to find new energy and new direction. “Next year we are planning to do at least the four Prides we did this year, and maybe several more,” says Kline, supplier of a good deal of that new energy. Now they are getting calls again about speaking gigs, they’ve hosted get-togethers for beading (think a bisexual stitch-andbitch), and are even planning to bring back the newsletter. This Lazarus routine for BOP is great news. Organizations like this are how many of us first become involved in the GLBT community, and being involved in community is the one thing many bisexuals crave. “I get lonely. I need more community in my life,” say Douglas, a long-time member of BOP. All dressed in black, I tell him he looks like Jonny Cash with a beard. “I get that a lot,” he says. “It’s a west coast look.” According to Douglas everyone assumes he’s gay. “I’ve been out 33 years, but you’re never completely out. You’re always coming out, unless you’re wearing a billboard.” That is the reality for lots of bi people: people assume your orientation to be straight or gay, but never bi. Issues like this is why a bi community is so important. According to Tina, Bis Eat Out “is a gateway” into the community and becoming involved with BOP. As the person who arranges Bis Eat Out, Tina’s been involved with BOP from the beginning. “It’s a great way to have a fun, social time. A lot of people don’t want to be an activist,” She says. Take for example Sara and Randy. A married couple in their early thirties, they recently moved to the Twin Cities from Duluth. I asked Sara what brought them here. “We’re trying to get out and meet new people.” According to Randy, when they moved
here, “we knew no one.” Then Sara saw BOP’s booth at the Twin Cities Pride Festival. They see it as a chance to “be really open. Whoever knows, knows.” David and Nancy have been to a few of these. David, 41, says that this group “talks about anything and everything.” Nancy, 48, agrees, and adds, “It’s because people come from all walks of life.” “What I like about this group,” according to David, “is that there’s no social politics. They joke, they talk, they have a good time. It’s more grown up.” As we relax after dinner, Kline tells me, “Everybody comes for their own reasons, for the community, the friendships.” The only requirement is that “they just have to be open-minded.” New energy and new direction: that’s what BOP has found, mostly thanks to Kline and Hoffman. But what’s in it for this new leader and this veteran of GLBT politics? According to Kline, “It’s nights like this that make it worth while.”
Information about Bis Eat Out and the Bisexual Organizing Project (BOP) can be found at www.geocities.com/tcbop1/. Want to read past columns from For Whom the Bill Tolls? Visit www.forwhomthebilltolls.org .