I’m of the belief that failure to allow a bisexual person to so identify is really a matter of the internalized homophobia of the person judging. Both of these persons confront the notion held by many straight persons as well as many lesbian/gay persons, that you are either one or the other- gay or straight.
Let’s stop feeding into the false truths of those who seek to oppress us and reframe the dialogue around sexual orientation. Let’s begin to work against heteronormative privilege, rather than for Gay Rights where we exclude those who don’t identify as gay.
One aspect of the “sexual orientation” discussion in general, is that it often gets condensed into a binary of gay or straight when sexual orientation is far more fluid running between these two different ends. Kinsey knew this, yet because of how political the issue has become, and how it has been framed by the most vocal advocates of change, this binary seems to have taken hold,and most everyone frames the issue in their head as gay or straight.
one group that has been a part of the rainbow coalition for a long time has also been a silent part, and may not be silent any more. The “B” for Bisexual, is ga Inge a larger voice within the whole of the LGBTQ community.
To many gays, he might be seen as a closeted gay living a double life, but as I have begun to get to know him, I don’t think that is a fair assessment at all. If he identifies as Bi, why not accept that, rather than make value judgements? Self identification, is just that, self identification. It may be true that some people label themselves as Bi during a part of their journey towards self acceptance as gay or lesbian, and it is also true that there are others who simply understand their orientation as bi.
The link below is to the Bilerico Project, and the post was entitled, “Lady Gaga is not an ally to our community.” As I first read it, I thought, OK, what did she do now- like remember the flack when she announced partnering with Target? I thought, how in the world could anyone see her as anything other than an ally? But a smile crossed my face, as I read the post, for the writer[Read More…]
If a police officer comes to take a report, and you feel that she or he directly ignores evidence or facts, then that itself should also be reported. If you ever feel that a police officer doesn’t treat you acceptably, at least in zone 5, the commander wants to know about it, because he expects all of his officers to treat everyone with dignity, respect and the full attention of the law.
The method for dealing with lies and misinformation has to be to counter them by calling out the lies and offering real information instead. L+G+B+T matters when we all raise our voices together against any of the weapons of lies and misinformation directed at any of us individually.
Too often, activists like me are pushing for legislative change which is good, but may not be the only thing needed for things to improve. There may be an enormous amount of new work that needs to be done surrounding self-dentification and identity.
By focusing on the issue of “rights,” we have rightfully framed a part of the issue, while ignoring the fact that this very frame masks a bigger underlying issue. Sexuality, isn’t about being gay or being straight. Sexuality is far more complex and fluid than that.