Bi Community News bisexual magazine - August 2015

Bringing Bisexuals In Touch

Issue 132: August 2015 ISSN 1757-6938

B C N www.bicommunitynews.co.uk

Biphobia when it’s a hate crime ith W ps ou gr bi s st ing be st ’s s li UK nt e e th ev &

Label Wars

Holding us back?

Bi Community News

Issue 132 August 2015

Twitter: @bicommunitynews Facebook: facebook.com/bicommunitynews

Kissing in Cardiff Cardiff has made headlines this summer for a surprisingly retro reaction to two women kissing.

The city’s International Food & Drink Festival was in town and two queer women dancing and having a quick smooch proved too much for some festival-goers to stomach. When a couple of attendees complained to the stewards, rather than being told to catch up with the 21st century their protests were taken up and the two women – Mog and Freya – asked to stop showing affection.

Wales Online reported it as a “lesbian couple” and this was duly copied across the media from the Telegraph and Daily Mail to LGBT outlets like PinkNews. Though when Bi Community News caught up with them it turns out that, as so often, it might be two girls smooching but that doesn’t mean there were any lesbians involved.

As one of duo, Mog, tweeted: For starters, @pinknews , I'm not a lesbian.

Journo assumed I was because I have a girlfriend.

But y'know - LGwhatwhatwhat now? You suck.

Earlier Mog had told Wales Online, “We were dancing to the live music and I kissed Freya because she looked so beautiful and it was her birthday.

“The someone come up to us and told us it was disgusting and to stop because there were children around but this was a public place and we were not doing anything wrong. I am quite fierce and not a shy girl so I brushed it off. But it did leave me a bit shaky.”

The crowd clearly weren’t all offended: indeed when they heard about the complaints, two men started kissing too.

A spokesperson for Cardiff Council claimed that “the same course of action would have been taken regardless of the sexual orientation of the individuals involved.” As action was only taken following a complaint, it looks to us like one of those cases where the law might be applied equally when applied, but is less likely to be applied to some people than others.

We talked to Mog again after BBC Radio Wales covered the story on a phone-in show, where editorial decisions were interesting - mostly negative callers The Welsh capital is renowned for the “Ianto but lots of supportive texts. “Local radio being what memorial” at the site of the fictional Torchwood it is the presenter was edging on combative in order headquarters from the BBC’s scifi series, a high-profile to drive controversy - it was good that they put me bisexual landmark just yards from where the incident on with another queer activist”. happened. Sadly it seems bisexuality is invisible to “They said I was in yer face. I find kissing my reporters, even there. girlfriend on the lips to involve the face, but that’s as When we spoke to her, Mog told us, “the words ‘tone far as it went.” it down’ were applied – and ‘look girls, I’ve had two “It’s been interesting as a drive for my modelling separate complaints about you.” career - I now have the added casting description as She explained further: “We weren’t even snogging, it ‘do you fancy working with the face of the was literally a couple of pecks on the lips while unacceptable queers of the nation’?” dancing. For that we found ourselves subjected to a group of older women screaming hate speech and one People yelling abuse at you and screaming to your literally getting right up in our faces to tell us we face that you’re disgusting for being bi? To us that were disgusting. reads like a biphobic hate crime or biphobic hate “So the fact that a steward came over and then rather incident. If something similar happens to you and you than address the actual criminals in the situation, want to report it or need support, you might not asked us to “tone it down” instead was less than know where to go. See our feature on hate crime fun.” elsewhere this issue for some pointers.

Book Review Bisexuality: Identities, Politics & Theories

By Surya Monro, pub. Palgrave Macmillan, July 2015

spaces and moved on, as well as those who stayed.

Given the paucity, even more so then than now, of serious academic treatment of bisexuality this was a great boon.

It gets its facts right, where I know them, though with the odd exception of recording BCN as first publishing in 2007. We are a lot older than that.

This is then contrasted with the bi scene in Colombia, which provides an illuminating voter The academic quarterly Journal of Bisexuality part: more formal and recent, more engaged with started publishing in 2000 and for a few years mainstream politics, but perhaps even more detached from the lives of ordinary average published some editions both in academic bisexual people. journal form and as standalone books.

Surya Monro’s new book would have been a star in that series of academic texts, offering a broad scope review of the UK (principally) bi scene something to which the American published JoB would probably never devote an entire issue, but of much more interest to most BCN readers.

Monro looks across what bi spaces and projects there are and have been, who they include and exclude, and how they interact both with queer culture and wider society.

Interviews with a broad range of people are quoted briefly: you get the impression these are very honed quotes from much longer interviews.

Some names will be familiar to longstanding readers - Laurence Brewer, Meg John Barker while others may have less of a public "profile" but illuminating viewpoints to add. There are many voices of people who have gone to bi

I'm glad this book exists. In the case of researchers looking at bi spaces this is a great outline of how things look, perhaps best taken in combination with the Bi Research Guidelines. For activists from an academic background it might be helpful in easing them into the ways bi spaces work. I suspect that for the average punter it may be just a smudge too academic in its tone.

At £60 (£57 on the kindle) it's a pricey volume that shall probably mostly end up in university libraries. It would be good to see it in them though as the information in it will set out the state of British bisexuality circa 2015 clearly for researchers for a long time to come. If you've links to a university encourage them to get a copy.

Your Letters end to: Letters - s ews.co.uk ommunityn editor@bic e etters Pag Subject: L

Write:

BCN Letters B M Ribbit London WC1N 3XX

Public Health England to report report addressing good practice for on lesbian and bisexual women's LBWSW women's health interventions.

After the main PHE report is published, health inequalities Public Health England (PHE) is producing its first ever report on UK lesbian and bisexual women's health inequalities. The report will inform a national action plan to improve the health of lesbian, bisexual and other women who have sex with women (LBWSW). Writing will be completed by end-December 2015 and the report will be published on 8 March 2016 (International Women's Day).

The report is being researched and written by PHE staff, guided by an expert advisory steering group. This group has met twice so far, to discuss current knowledge, terminology, scope and suggested methodology. A systematic review of 23,000 initially identified publications is currently under way.

the LGBT Partnership will hold a workshop in spring 2016 to communicate report findings to local LGBT community groups, and explore how the report can be used to improve local services.

I'm on the expert steering group and aim to ensure the report represents bisexual women's concerns as well as it can. I'll publicise details of the information-gathering workshops as soon as they're available. I want as many bi people as possible to attend these workshops and make their voices heard.

This is the first time a governmentsponsored report has addressed UK bisexual and lesbian women's health concerns. Public Health England wants bi women's health issues to be well represented. The report will feed into The next step is an academic action to improve bi and lesbian symposium to discuss the initial women's health. Let's make the most of literature review findings, on Monday 14 this great opportunity!

September 2015, 2–4 p.m., Warwick Lisa Colledge University. This is open to academics See you in Preston? and service users with expertise in lesbian and bisexual women's health From the team that bought you BiCon and wellbeing issues. If you have 2014 (winner of the coveted Bristol expertise to contribute, please attend – ShoutOut Radio’s Best Event for contact the project lead Dr Heema Bisexuals award) comes BiCon 2016!

Shukla (Heema.Shukla@phe.gov.uk).

Subject to DMP approval, BiCon 2016 Alongside the PHE literature review, the will be held at UCLan, Preston campus LGBT Partnership is organising autumn from the 4th to the 7th August. You can workshops with LGBT community groups find us on Facebook (“BiCon 2016”) to gather evidence on LB women's other social media platforms soon! health interventions, especially best practice. Workshops will happen in the Have a fabulous time at BiCon 2015, North England, Midlands, South England and if you come away burning with and London regions, working with local ideas for sessions, or wanting to help with BiCon 2016, please drop us a line partners (e.g. LGBT Foundation, Birmingham LGBT, Consortium, London either on the Facebook or at bicon2016@gmail.com Friend, Metro and East London Out Project). Information gathered at these (Potential) Team 2016 workshops will feed into a separate

Cover: Mog (see p3), photographed

by Lilith In Bloom-Alt Photography

Future BCN Copy Dates: #133 August 30th 2015 #134 October 15th, 2015 Please note that these dates are always subject to change!

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. © 2015 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 Submissions, letters etc - email: editor@bicommunitynews.co.uk Moved house? Tell us by emailing: subs@bicommunitynews.co.uk Editor & Layout: Jen Yockney Finance: Katie M Contributors this issue: Emily, Grant, Jacq, Jen, Kirsti, Penny, Sali, Seran. They’re all wonderful.

We’d still like more contributors to spread the load, though, so please do get writing (also cartooning, photographing & more!)

Hate Hate

Hate crime. As bisexuals we might find ourselves on the receiving end of biphobic hate crime, or indeed of homophobic incidents where we are 'read' as gay even though we aren't. We can also be on the receiving end of other hate crimes motivated by other characteristics such as race.

With a new collaborative project from national umbrella group the LGBT Partnership just launching around biphobic, transphobic and homophobic hate crime I met up with Jessica White, the Community Safety Co-ordinator at LGBT Foundation.

Tell me about this new project?

The Equalities and Human Rights commission have chosen to fund nationwide work on LGBTphobic hate crime. It's common and under-reported, so they want to raise awareness of what constitutes a hate crime, encourage reporting and raise awareness of the range of channels for reporting. In particular there is an aim to encourage awareness among people who might not feel they can trust the police, to know that they have other routes for reporting. There is also support you can get even without reporting - you are still deserving of support after victimisation regardless of whether you reported an incident or whether there was police follow-up.

People need support to see some things that happen as being wrong as well - there are things we just accept "that's the way the world is" that aren't really OK. Exactly. One of the things on our campaign materials is "recognise it, report it" - you need to recognise that it is wrong, to be shouted at in the street like

that is a hate crime not just an acceptable part of life.

So what counts? What's "hate"? And there's this terminology of hate crimes and hate incidents, which sounds very similar to me.

There are hate crimes and hate incidents. A biphobic hate crime is absolutely anything that constitutes a hate crime, that is perceived by the victim or a witness to be motivated by someone's perceived bisexuality. That's important- its still a biphobic hate crime if you are abused for being seen as bisexual when you're not.

Similarly a lot of bisexuals may experience homophobic hate crime.

Yes, there's a kind of venn diagram overlap - trans people receiving homophobic hate crime if they are read as gay rather than transgender for example.

Hate crime could be any crime. Most commonly it will be verbal or physcial abuse - people yelling at you in the street, being assaulted. Then also damage to property, like vandalism of where you live. If it's because you are bisexual or perceived to be bisexual, that's the criteria.

Hate incident - that is where you are mistreated because you are bi, but it might not in itself count as a hate crime. A lower level thing.

So like being socially excluded by your peers as opposed to actively attacked?

Yes, such as if someone is saying things that don't count as direct verbal abuse but are still biphobic.

If you report a biphobic incident, the police have to record it as a crime, and it's worth noting because if it happens more than once it might be part of a pattern that constitutes a hate crime. I find it hard to speak in absolutes here - what happens in everyone's life is so different. But if you are being mistreated because you are bisexual, you have a right to go to police, have that recorded, taken seriously and it should be acted on appropriately.

So hate is in the eye of the beholder. If someone yelled "effing queer" it would depend on the receiver whether it's read as transphobic or homophobic or biphobic?

there and as with the phone reporting option you can be anonymous or not and what level of follow up will depend on what you say.

You can use third party reporting centres - so here in Manchester LGBT Foundation and Afflecks palace, and across the country lots of community centres and again, if you give your details you can get a follow up call from the police force but that's entirely up to you. Your local police force website should have where the third party reporting centres are in your area.

And you were saying about support whether people report incidents or not?

Yes - and when you are reporting it you should state to the police if possible and if you are comfortable that it is that kind of hate crime so it is more fully recorded.

In terms of LGBT-specific support, the website www.lgbthatecrime.org.uk offers details of charities within the partnership who can provide direct support around LGBT hate crime - on social media their So, if something happens and I don't want to go to hashtag is #lgbthatecrime. the police, what are my other options for I would also recommend Victim Support reporting? Going and finding the police can be a (www.victimsupport.org.uk), who have a helpline on long way out of my way, and when something bad 0808 16 89 111, and offices around the country, and has just happened I want to get to a place that is whose staff and volunteers have been trained in safe and away from what's happening, not wander supporting LGBT victims of hate crime. around looking for a police officer.

Thanks Jessica!

Well, the first option is to phone 101 or the local If you've got a personal story about biphobic hate police station's number. Alternatively, you can call crime and are happy to share it the campaign always Galop for hate crime advice, support or reporting on want case studies to share - it makes the mainstream 020 7704 2040 or Stop Hate (www.stophateuk.org) on press a lot more willing to run stories. Local papers 0800 138 1625, a national charity which will take you love stories about local people, whether the outcome through the reporting process. You can keep it was good or bad. anonymous, in which case the data will be logged onto a national statistics database to help address the Also, the LGBT Hate Crime campaign is keen to hear problem and perhaps find if there are other incidents your stories because they are developing training happening in the same area. Or if you want they can materials for police officers and other materials to also arrange for the local police force to contact you, help people to deal with hate crime, and they are developing tools to deal with biphobia. Get in touch and then it will follow usual police procedure. You with Surya Monro (of BiUK) at s.monro@hud.ac.uk can also not decide then and there.

There's a webapp - it’s a website really - online at www.report-it.org.uk. You put the details in to a form

Photo: awareness stall at Manchester Pride.

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Battle has raged on the internet over the meaning of ‘bisexuality’ and whether ‘the b word’ is adequate for all the people who experience attraction to more than one gender.

Here some bi and pan people explain how it works through their eyes.

What about gay and straight?

Coming out as bisexual in the late 80s, when I first came across the label pansexual it didn’t involve any kind of gender nuance: it was how someone explained their bisexuality feeling interwoven with their Pagan beliefs.

Back then the “bi” in bisexual didn’t get talked about as having some great limiting weight of “two”, it was an “and” in a world that saw things as strictly either/or. As I was pushing at boundaries of discussion around gender and sexuality with people in the 90s I’d sometimes quip that I was “bisexual, I just haven’t decided which two genders yet”. When I started to come across people saying that bi was limiting because it meant two, a bit of me did think: oh lord, were they taking me seriously?

I like having more words for bi. As there’s no real defining line between bi and pan that doesn’t depend on first redefining bisexuality, I tend to explain the difference as “bi is to pan as lesbian is to gay woman”. Some people are fervently one or the other, but it’s more about how individuals feel about words than two distinct, discrete groupings.

I worry at the double-standard in discussion around terms for bisexuality when we don’t also take apart the notions of hetero and homo. Whether we have 3, 4, 84 or 7 billion genders to differentiate in our attractions, different (hetero) and same (homo) attractions face serious redefinition. When we talk about big ranges of gender nuance, heterosexuality becomes “attraction to everyone but myself” and homosexuality a Narcissistic sense of only being sexually interested in yourself.

Even if we conceptualise a “small but bigger than two” range of genders to acknowledge in labelling, and consider the “bi” in bisexual to mean strictly two, then taking those two attractive genders as being cisfemale and cismale feels to have a bias as to what is attractive: to be saying “if you were attracted to two types obviously you’d be attracted to the cis people”. That can get stuffed as a notion, to put it mildly.

Jen

What Pansexuality means to me I came out to my friends as bisexual when I was 15. This was back in 1999, the only terms I knew then were gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans; and bisexual was the best way to describe who I am attracted to. It wasn’t until part way through university that through the internet I discovered the term pansexual, and after some research figured that yes, this is the term I’m most comfortable with.

See, for me, pansexuality is finding people attractive, regardless of their gender. It’s not finding males, females and everyone in between, outside or both, attractive. Gender, for me, isn’t even part of the equation. I’ve always seen the person and personality first before seeing their gender – if at all, and the same is true of the person I’m in a relationship with. I’m in love with a funny, lovely, witty and very cute, silly person.

She just happens to be a woman with a vagina.

I knew I could fall in love with anyone, and I called myself bi. When I researched pansexual, it just seemed to be a better fit. It was good to find a term that was still all-inclusive, but away from the gendered way of labelling and seeing things at that time.

I’m capable of falling in love with anyone, regardless of gender. That’s all really.

But I still also refer to myself as bi sometimes.

Occasionally, that’s because outside of the LGBT+ community it’s not a well-known sexuality and bi is; but it’s also because I consider pansexual to come under a bisexual umbrella. Bisexuality to me is attraction to more than one gender.

Pansexuality sits with it, just minus gender. I’m also aware that many bisexual people use the definition I use for pansexual as their definition for bisexual, and that works. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t. It’s not a comparison with bisexuality; it’s just a different label for a type of attraction.

Seran

Don’t redefine me As awareness of non-binary gender identities has developed, some members of the queer community have chosen to identify as pansexual rather than bisexual. Non-binary, also known as genderqueer, refers to the whole spectrum of gender identities outside of the male/female binary. I'm not transgender or genderqueer; I'm cisgender. This means my gender identity does match the gender I was assigned at birth.

Pansexuality is sometimes defined as attraction to people of all genders, which is also the experience of many bisexual people. More often than not, however, people define their pansexuality in relation to bisexuality. In response to the question: “What does pansexual mean?” I’ve seen countless people reply: “I’m attracted to people of more than two genders.

Not bisexual.” The implication is that bisexual means binary attraction: men and women only.

just queer. Being forced to pick a closet by both the straight and gay communities results in bi people having significantly higher rates of mental health problems than straight and gay people. This is why it’s so upsetting to see internalised biphobia leading many pansexuals, many of whom until recently identified as bisexual, telling us we’re still not queer enough.

Gay and straight people aren’t being pressurised into giving up the language they use to describe their attractions and neither should they be. As usual it’s only bisexuals being shamed into erasing our identities and our history.

The most frustrating thing to me about the current bi vs pan discourse is that it’s framed as a cisgender vs genderqueer debate. This has never been the case. In reality, many genderqueer people identify as bisexual. At least three of the most influential bi activists, researchers and academics are genderqueer. Meg John Barker, founder of BiUK; Jen Yockney, longstanding editor of ‘Bi Community News’; and Since I came out in the late 90s, I haven’t seen Shiri Eisner, author of ‘Radical Bi: Notes For a one bi activist organisation define bisexuality as Bisexual Revolution’, are all non-binary. They’ve spent years at the forefront of campaigns, attraction solely to men and women. Bi and lobbying for queer rights. To say bisexuality is trans* issues began to grow in recognition at binary erases the identities of these the same time. When I use ‘bi’ to refer to two revolutiona ry bisexual genderqueer activists, and types of attraction, I mean attraction to people it erases the identity of every marginalised of my gender and attraction to people of other genderquee r bisexual they’re fighting for. genders.

I also frequently see cisgender pansexuals managing to be both transphobic and biphobic in their definitions. They say pansexuals are different to bisexuals because pansexuals are attracted to “men, women and transgender people,” as if binary trans people aren’t really men and women, and bisexuals couldn’t possibly be attracted to them anyway.

Despite the presence of bisexuals at every queer demonstration since Stonewall, we’ve always been told by the lesbian and gay community that we’re somehow not queer enough. This pushes many bi people who are active in the queer community to identify as lesbian, gay or

I have no problem embracing more labels to better describe our attractions and our gender politics. We all have every right to use the labels that fit us. Some people identify as both pan and bi depending on context, but I can’t consider doing this before the implicit and explicit biphobia within the pan community is rejected. If your definition of pansexuality relies on redefining my bisexuality and negating it, I can’t support that. If you need to prove your queer credentials by vehemently clarifying that you’re not bisexual, you’re doing to me exactly what the lesbian and gay community does to both of us.

Sali

What do you think?

Want to add your voice in this debate? Drop us a line (or twenty) with your thoughts on the bi, pan, multi sexuality label debate for our next issue at www.bicommunitynews.co.uk/contact

Newsbites Are you blogging about bisexual life in the UK or Ireland? Join BiBloggers!

A fab website bringing together many writers’ different ideas and experiences under one roof.

Also good for just reading. www.BiMedia.org/blogs

What’s the Dutch for BiCon? Turns out it’s BiCon. They have one too, and this year it’s on 25-27 September.

US follows Ireland In the USA, the country’s Supreme Court has ruled that state bans on same-sex marriage are in breach of the country’s constitution.

The ruling was by a narrow 5 votes to 4 margin, but at a stroke legalised same-sex marriage across the country.

civil rights. It’s a victory for their children, whose families will now be recognised as equal to any other. It’s a victory for the allies and friends and supporters who spent years, even decades, working and praying for change to come.

President Obama said, “This ruling is a victory for Jim Obergefell and the other plaintiffs in the case.”

“And this ruling is a victory for America. This decision affirms what millions of Americans already believe in their hearts: when all Americans are treated as equal we are all more free.”

“It’s a victory for gay and lesbian couples who have fought so long for their basic

37 states of the 50 had already introduced same-sex marriage recognition.

www.hollandbicon.nl

Nation Asked To Throw New Light on England’s LGBTQ Heritage

from the private houses of trailblazing individuals; to the much loved local gay bar; to the first venue in town to host Historic England is about to embark on equal marriage and all sorts else. The ‘Pride of Place’, a new research project to result will be a map of England that plots map the untold queer histories of the multitude of buildings across the buildings and places people have lived country that hold a sometimes hidden, alongside for generations. sometimes public, LGBTQ history.

Led by a team of historians at Leeds I hope there’ll be bi content in that Beckett University’s Centre for Culture mapping. You can contribute at and the Arts, people can give examples of www.mapme.com/prideofplace the buildings and places special to them;

Bi Show goes to the Fringe

of the bisexual community, but works to celebrate the beauty and individuality of its members. It is not only a show, but a proactive step forward in the movement for social equality. Audience members have called it “a beautiful tribute to difference, and an anthem for the bisexual community”.

Past BCN cover stars Blazing Change Players, will bring their bisexual performance piece By the Bi to the Edinburgh Fringe BCP was co-founded by American actors Festival for five days this August, and to London just Morgan Barbour (pictured) and Caroline Downs September 2014. They are both bisexual as this year’s BiCon ends. women and are very passionate about the Told through a series of fifteen vignettes opportunity to shed a light on issues within utilizing a unique cohesion of music, dance, their community. and spoken word, By the Bi unpacks how August 16-19: 10:30pm daily, Hen and society's isolation of bisexual culture perpetuates harmful and hurtful stereotypes of Chickens Theatre, 109 Saint Paul's Road, London N1 2NA bisexuality, including confusion, greediness and promiscuity.

August 24 - 28: 10:20am daily, Spotlites, Venue 278, 22 Hanover Street, Edinburgh.

It’s intended as an open platform that not only discusses the oppression and invisibility Tickets £7.50 - £10.00. www.spotlites.co.uk

Bi & Proud Pride season stretches nearly halfway round the year these days, and we love your photos of bis at Prides.

While Brighton’s bi group took a year out from Pride this time the bis were back in both Liverpool and Leeds - each have new bi groups blossoming at the moment.

London had a big marching group again, and it was brilliant to see about sixty people assemble under the bi colours in Dublin.

Oldham Pride had a set of queer flags leading the parade including the bi flag: wouldn’t it be great if they all did that?

Cardiff’s event is the same weekend as BiCon but will still have a bi stall. Manchester (stall & marching group), Chester, Bolton & more are still to come.

Fixation

Bi Short fiction

part three

The golden ship tumbled slowly down over St Peter’s Square and evaporated into a puff of glittering dust over the Metrolink stop. As the cloud subsided, I could see someone emerging – tall, wearing a triangular hat and a floor-length coat, with a cutlass sticking out from the side of it.

‘I thought you just said you were from the seventeenth century,’ I said. ‘Pretty sure they didn’t have pronoun badges back then.’

‘I travelled the long way round,’ xe said. ‘I can’t say I’m particularly fond of the twenty-third century, but at least everybody has these.’

'This is great,’ I said, deciding that it was time to break through the pretence. ‘What’s it all in aid ‘What?’ My brother raised his head from the of? Is it for a film?’ I spotted a chance for Robbie flagstones. to pick himself out of the loveless gutter. ‘My brother’s in animation,’ I said, exaggerating the ‘Come on, stop moping… A pirate just fell from truth – he loves to draw but works in a call the sky!’ centre – and pushing him forward. ‘If you’re in Everyone else, even those who’d stopped and the industry, he’d love to discuss his portfolio pointed when it happened, seemed to have with you.’ I tried to sound like I knew what I was forgotten almost immediately and were carrying talking about, and glared at Robbie, willing him on with their journeys towards the shops. I could to join in. almost believe I was the only one who could see ‘I am uncertain of your meaning.’ Pop adjusted anything out of the ordinary. xyr three-pointed hat. ‘My calibrometer has It was probably a high-tech promotional stunt for ceased functioning and is missing a vital part. I a new film – I couldn’t remember which Pirates am uncertain whether it is even available in this of the Caribbean we were up to by now, although era.’ the figure ahead didn’t look much like Jack I couldn’t help but think of the many-symbolled Sparrow. Taller. Darker skin. Cooler boots. compass from Northern Lights. Some kind of Today was a weird day, I decided, what with quest, then. A family treasure hunt with the Hatshepsut, the cat who reads books, and now winners getting tickets to the film’s release. At this. So it could hardly hurt to make it weirder. least it would keep Robbie busy.

‘Hi,’ I said, walking up to the pirate, who still ‘Morgan!' look disorientated, and dragging Robbie behind I spun around. Arabella Bishop, she of the me. ‘I’m Morgan. Welcome to Manchester.’ talking cat, was watching me with piercing eyes ‘Greetings, fellow travellers. My name is Popravit, and twisting a strand of dark hair around her but you may call me Pop. Which year is this?’ finger.

‘Twenty-fifteen,’ I said, smiling. Good play-acting ‘Fancy seeing you here!’ I said, walking towards from the pirate, I thought. A real olde-worlde her, then flinched, hoping Robbie hadn’t heard turn of phrase. his least favourite word. ‘Arabella, right?’ I asked, although I knew it was. I couldn’t shake the ‘Most grateful. I have misplaced myself in an feeling she might have followed me. attempt to return to the seventeenth century.’

‘I meant to ask,’ she said. ‘I’ve got something I This time even Robbie looked incredulous. think you might be able to help me with.’

‘In my bones,’ the pirate – Pop – continued, Stupidly, my first thought was the dripping tap. turning to face the Central Library, ‘I sense that it is this way.’ On the back of the long frock coat No, it was probably something to do with her was a hand-stitched white cotton patch bearing computer – she’d have taken the hint from my t-shirt, where else? I turned back to Robbie, a twist of roses and the message, “My pronouns expecting him to give me a nudge and a wink are: xe / xyr / xem”. and tell me to go for it.

I laughed. Caught you. Perhaps it was some sort But Robbie and the pirate had gone. of Pride marketing getting started early.

‘Holy crap,’ I said to Robbie. ‘Did you see that?’

This Spring I went along to a fun evening of talks about gender and sexuality at Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry.

I couldn’t help noticing the likes boys ones had all been taken.

Yet a fun interactive Kinsey Score wall (see photo) with attendees writing post-it notes about their As a habitual spotter of things pink, purple and blue (and related) sexuality and placing them on a line of numbers from zero: I was intrigued that as people arrived they were invited to don a completely heterosexual to six: completely homosexual. The wristband to indicate their romantic or sexual interests. Four pattern of sticky notes suggested most people there were somewhere options on offer: likes both; likes in the slightly-straighter end of the girls; likes boys; rather not say. murky middle ground of likes both.

By the end of the evening, as the If only I’d had a bundle of bi flyers photo above reflects, plenty of to hand out to folk as they left. wristbands were left unclaimed: but

The Kinsey wall came later on in the evening for most attendees after a mixture of talks, games involving sketching genitalia, the “Genderbread Person”. And for many a bit of wine or beer.

So maybe the simple labels people reached for as they arrived and were offered wristbands broke down a little through the course of the evening while they thought about where on that scale of preferences they belonged. Or could just talking about it cause bisexuality?

It can’t be good for your health Stonewall have published the results of a Yougov survey of 3,001 health and social care workers across Britain, which found 10% of health and social care workers directly involved in patient care have witnessed colleagues expressing the belief that bisexual, lesbian & gay people can be ‘cured’; a figure that rises to 22% among those healthcare workers in London.

bisexual people, do not report it and a quarter (26%) of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) staff said they have personally experienced homophobic or biphobic bullying from colleagues in the last five years.

A quarter of staff say they haven’t had any diversity training at all, while 72% of patient-facing staff hadn’t had any training on health issues or appropriate language around LGBT people such as same-sex partners.

And one in seven LGB staff had been the target of bullying or negative treatment by patients over their sexual orientation in the past year.

Naturally, it’s not all bad, so to end on an upbeat quote:

The region reporting the lowest rates of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation was Pressure on a bi worker to ‘conform’ to the lesbian the East Midlands - good news if anyone gets taken ill lifestyle of another worker took the form of bullying at Nottingham BiCon this summer. and was dealt with satisfactorily by two managers, Workplace bullying was also found to be commonplace myself being one of them. - Jamie, Practice Manager, London in health and social work. Three in five (60%) staff directly involved in patient care, who hear discriminatory remarks about lesbian, gay and

Read the full report at www.stonewall.org.uk/ documents/unhealthy_attitudes.pdf

I'm Jacq, the co-founder of the social and support group, Bi's of Colour. I wrote the Bi's of Colour History report, which is the first of its kind, and available to download for free: bisexualresearch.wordpress.com/ 2015/06/22/new-report-bis-ofcolour/

Individuals: I know money is tight for all of us, but if you can donate even a small amount, it will help this campaign.

LGBTIQA organisations, you can help me to complete this work. If you’ve read the Bi’s of Colour Report, you will know how vital this is. Your assistance will be added to Stage 2 of the Bi’s of Colour History the Stage 3 exhibition/display.

You’ll get publicity for supporting a Project is underway. I aim to interview bisexual people of colour very marginalised group of people. on their lives and on the common Your donations will help to pay for themes that arose in the Bi’s of travel, and to reimburse Colour survey report. I also want to participants for their time. I need include photographs of the to pay for photography and interviewees, alongside ephemera printing. I cannot do this without relating to bi/pan/fluid people of your help. There is currently colour. nothing like this out there. It doesn’t have to be like that.

I am based in London, but I am able to travel to carry out If anyone wants to contact me to interviews in the following places: discuss how to get involved with Brighton, Manchester, Nottingham, this project, email me at Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bristol, Cardiff, bis.of.colour@gmail.com Dublin and Belfast. For interviewees outside of these cities, Stages I can email a list of questions.

Stage 1: Bi’s of Colour survey and report This is where your help is needed.

Stage 2: Oral history interviews I’ve set up a Go Fund Me page Stage 3: Travelling exhibition/ where you can donate for this display of Bi’s of Colour History campaign: Stage 4: A published book of the www.gofundme.com/bochistory project!

Share your bi story Ever considered writing for BCN?

planning something more than 1800 words then please do get in touch with us beforehand. Also, Bi Community News welcomes your bi-related writing, note that we don’t print poetry. photographs & illustrations – whether a one-off or as a series piece. If you’re not an experienced writer Researcher? don’t be put off: we’re happy to help with proofing We’re happy to print, tweet etc to help with research and fine-tuning. that explores bisexuality and bi life. When contacting We welcome articles and press release items: this us about such please first check over the Bi Research includes news, comment, film, book and theatre Guidelines and let us know whether you’re working reviews, fiction, real-life stories and interviews, and with those: for example how / whether you intend to reports on and about the bi community or bi share outcomes or findings with the community. You individuals. Clippings, soundbites from radio and TV don’t have to be working with the guidelines, but it and other quotes also very welcome. helps to give us a better background to your research Articles submitted should be in rtf file format if you (and makes for more useful and accurate findings!) can. Word’s many versions can do terrible things to a file between one computer and the next. If you are

So what are you waiting for! Drop us a line via our website or on editor@bicommunitynews.co.uk

It’s been a while

Nottingham’s first BiCon in more than twenty years is set to be huge with 400+ people expected: maybe the biggest BiCon we’ve had in the three decades the event has been running.

It was last there in 1993 when the Press Association produced a salacious report headlined “Bisexual Conference Turned Into Orgy”, explaining that, “a conference for bisexuals at a university turned into ‘one long weekend orgy’ with some delegates sleeping three to a bed, it was claimed today.

“Angry cleaners at Nottingham University are refusing to clear up at future gay and lesbian conferences after finding masks, used condoms and explicit leaflets on gay sex in delegate's rooms.”

Ah well, as BiCon isn’t a ‘gay and lesbian’ conference they’ll probably still be happy clearing up behind us this summer. It beggared belief even then that cleaners in student halls of residence had never stumbled across a used condom, though it’s interesting to note they had enough time to browse the literature in attendees rooms.

We should reassure (or disappoint) readers attending BiCon for the first time this summer by noting that it wasn’t one long weekend orgy back in 1993, and that we expect the workshops and stalls at Nottingham this time will again stretch the definition of that word past breaking point.

September 23rd, from the twitter accounts of everyone who has signed up to take part.

Bi Visibility Day will be given a massive splash on Twitter this year with a pair of “Thunderclap” tweets. If you’re on twitter why not sign up for both?

For Bi Visibility Day 2013 there were 147 twitter supporters on a thunderclap tweet, reaching up to 96,355 People - fantastic! That day included the first ever meeting on bi issues at the White House in the USA and for the first time a ministerial message of support in the UK, alongside loads of local events big and small and bi flags flying around the world.

A year later in 2014 it was even bigger - two thunderclaps, one timed for Europe and one for the Americas, with a combined social reach of about 750,000. There were events in more places than ever Bi Visibility Day, also known by other names like Bi Pride Day and International Celebrate Bisexuality Day, before - with countries like Russia, Serbia and Croatia has been marked on September 23rd every year since being added to our event guide for the first time.

1999.

Again this year later in the day there’s a second The last few years it's really started to take off and more and more LGBT and mainstream organisations have been getting involved. On twitter, the #BiPride tag will help people find other bi events and resources around the world.

If at least 100 people join in, a “Thunderclap” mass tweet will go out at 9.30am, London time, on

Thunderclap, timed for twitterers in the USA and other parts of the Americas who will mostly sleep through the one that goes live in the morning here.

Join in either (or both!) here: www.bivisibilityday.com/tweet

Photo:BBC

Bi Media Watch Googly eyed and proud

A bit of a thin Bi Media Watch this issue as we have lots else to report.

Over on the telly, Doctor Who is back in September: I do hope there’ll be more of the special relationship between lizard Madame Vastra, her human wife Jenny Flint, and their sidekick Strax, which has queered up the show greatly in a way that’s been missing since the days of Jack Harkness. As usual the Beeb are being tight-lipped about it.

sex with whomever we are attracted to regardless of their status."

Uh-oh. We've seen this one before, haven't we?

(I'm skipping over the lack in the original text of whether the other person is consenting.

Subeditors can do terrible things to hone down a word count, after all).

I think it conflates two ideas, one which is useful, one which is not. Some day, yes, I hope whether you are bi, gay, straight or asexual More rewardingly, in the Scottish Daily Record won't matter: we won't need safe spaces as an escape from biphobia and so forth. That way recently Nicole Heaney wrote eagerly how we that the first gay pubs I went to had blackedare living in a world where, out windows for the safety of patrons will be a "having an attraction to the same sex in long forgotten horror. If you find out someone some eyes does not make you homosexual fancies you, you'll only have to think: do I and it does not make you bisexual. Thus fancy them back? Are we both single or meaning you can be in a relationship with a otherwise available? Great! Let's do something female and be attracted to males but not about it then! necessarily be bisexual. The reason for this The other idea, though, is the idea that when is because you could simply not envision prejudice and queerbashing are behind us as a yourself in a relationship with the same society, labels - bi, gay, straight - will no sex." longer be needed. I think that's a duffer. Just Woah there. This is a special redefining of because it's safe to be bi or gay won't make all bisexual to mean "attracted to more than one the people who never experienced same-sex gender and interested in relationships with attraction suddenly realise how delicious the everyone to whom you are attracted". people they never fancied before are. We'll still Let's consider that "not really the sexuality in be bi, gay, straight, asexual. We just won't be question" clause applied for gay or straight raised to beat ourselves up about it. And when people: if you were, say, going out clubbing, someone turns you down because they just pulling people and having casual sex six or aren't into girls, they'll still need words that seven nights a week, and happy with this and express that. Terms like bisexual may lose their not wanting anything "more" in your life right loaded values, but they are still vital concepts now... you're just kidding yourself and are about how humans and human sexuality work. really asexual. Hmmm. No. Those people are Then again, the Daily Record article begins by definitely gay or straight. Once you stop observing that "It’s hard to believe that only having a double-standard for bi, Nicole's some 20 years ago it was a crime to be definition of non-bi-bis comes unstuck quickly. homosexual". It is indeed. Not least because Then she turns to the future, which will be... it wasn't - homosexuality was decriminalised in Scotland in 1980, thirtyfive years ago.

"A time when sexuality won’t be pigeon holed. A time where gay, straight, male or We should probably have stopped reading female will not matter and we will just have there.

Last summer BiCon came to Leeds, complete with a workshop for local bisexuals to talk about getting a group off the ground.

12 months of a bi group

routes, it fit most of what we needed - and meant we were immediately on the radar of the biggest LGBT organisation in Yorkshire.

days - and leant on neighbouring bi groups for advice and support.

News from local bi groups around the country.

Then with a few days to go the Pride team got in touch and Meeting twice monthly gives the asked if we could nominate There was lots of enthusiasm if group an alternating dynamic as someone to speak on the main not many actual Leeds area stage. That was amazing people along to the workshop - one meeting we focus on more apparently only about three but there were just enough of us of a bi themed discussion, the next on social stuff like playing Prides around the world had bi to make it happen, and with a card games or jenga, and speakers on the stage this year few flipchart sheets’ worth of sometimes watching a film. so a big coup for us, and great ideas about what did or didn’t for getting the message that we need to be done.

As we close in on our first are here out to loads of people. birthday it’s just been Leeds Leeds Bi Group was born a Pride, and we were there with a It was a great day out and we couple of months later after marching group (not the first were in lots of photos as well as some venue-searching, with a ever bi group on Leeds Pride, our banner making it - fleetingly solution being found when local but very exciting both as our - onto the local ITV news report. sexual health charity Mesmac first time as a group and the kindly offering us meeting space first Pride for many of the in their building.

We feature a different bi group group’s members). each issue: whether it’s new or As it is close by the main train twenty years young, tell us how We had a banner printed station and good for lots of bus they’re surprisingly cheap these your bi group is going!

Bi Life Down Your Way

A year after BiCon

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Starting a new group?

Local Groups & Lists Remember to let us have any changes to existing groups info, or new listings!

6:30pm. facebook.com/ biandbeyond

BEDFORDSHIRE Bedfordshire Bi Group- an informal friendly social group for bisexuals, bicurious and bi-friendly people in the Bedfordshire area. Contact Helen on 01234 401687 or email bedfordbigroup@yahoo.co.uk

UPDATED GLASGOW Bi Glasgow - 1st Tuesday of month, 7pm-9pm, at THT, 134 Douglas Street. wordpress.biscotland.org

BIRMINGHAM Bi Coffee Every 4th Sunday from 13:30 onwards. Downstairs, Coffee Lounge on New Street: look for the lion! Follow @BrumBiCoffee on Twitter for latest news, updates etc.

Birmingham Bi Group - meeting 2nd Tues of each month. Social /campaign group for bis in the Birmingham area. Meets every 2nd Tuesday of the month at LGBT Centre 146. Find us at 38/40 Holloway Circus B1 1EQ from 7.30. www.brumbigroup.org.uk

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 catchment 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” which has advice from people who’ve been there about some of the things you need to consider in getting a group up and running. See www.bicommunitynews.co.uk/resources Just let us know you need help!

HAMPSHIRE BiWessex - Regular social meet-ups around Hampshire, see facebook.com/BiWessex or email biwessex@yahoo.co.uk LEEDS Leeds Bi Group - 2nd & 4th Wed of month, 7pm at Mesmac centre. See facebook.com/leedsbigroup or www.leedsbigroup.org.uk

7:30pm in the Lord Roberts pub, see twitter.com/NottmBiTopia Nottingham Bi-Women email list groups.yahoo.com/group/nbwg/ or call Margret on 0115 956 8810 SHEFFIELD Sheffield Bi Group - currently only on facebook, but for the latest news see fb.com/groups/242100959262106/

LONDON & SURROUNDS Bi Coffee London - bi.org/bicoffeelondon meet 1st Sat of the month, 3-6pm, Leon SOUTHAMPTON cafe, Spitalfields Market nr Liverpool Soton Bi Group - meetings on hiatus at BRIGHTON Street Station. Twitter: @bicoffeelondon present. For latest news about the group Brighton Both Ways - monthly social see twitter.com/SotonBiGroup Bi Meetup - 4th Thurs, a regular pub meet coffee meets, and Talky Space meets at once a month in a Soho pub. Web: SWANSEA community centre venue. See facebook lgbtfriends.meetup.com/145/ Bi Swansea - meets 3rd Tuesday every group “brighton bothways”, phone or text month, 7:45pm, front bar, Mozarts, Walter 07505 385094, or see Bi Underground - monthly bis and friends Road. Ask for Ele at the Pagan Moot in the www.brightonbothways.org.uk pub night. Second Tuesday of each month main bar. Coffee meets last Sunday from 6pm. For more info see BRISTOL monthly, at The Kindercafe (except bank www.bisexualunderground.com BiVisible - meet 2nd Tues of month at holidays), 12 noon -2pm, families Cafe Kino, 7pm. Follow @bivisbris on welcome. Email: BiSwansea1@yahoo.co.uk twitter or see bivisiblebristol.wordpress.com Over 50s - meet on the third Monday of Text: 07982 308812; or join us on each month from 6 to 8pm at Opening Facebook.

Doors, Tavis House, 1-6 Tavistock Square, CARDIFF London WC1H 9NA Bi Cardiff meets 1st Thursday every TELFORD month, 6:30pm, Quaker Meeting House, Bis Around The Wrekin. Facebook page MANCHESTER Charles Street. Open socials from 7.45pm www.tinyurl.com/wrekinbis in The Prince of Wales (Wetherspoons), St. Bi Brews BiPhoria’s coffee meet third Sun 1pm at Vienna Coffee House, Mosley St. WALES Mary's Street. For details contact Bi Cymru / Wales – the all-Wales social bicardiff@yahoo.co.uk, text: 07982 308812 Look for the lion. support network for bisexual people and or join us on facebook.

BiPhoria! - bi social/support group, meets those who think they may be bi. Also runs 1st Tues monthly, 7.30pm, at Lesbian & COLCHESTER campaigns, training on bi issues for Gay Foundation, 5 Richmond Street, Group has now closed down. organisations in Wales, events such as Manchester M1 5HF. Write: BiPhoria!, c/o BiFest Wales. Email: bicymru@yahoo.co.uk LGF, 5 Richmond St, Manchester M1 3HF. DUBLIN Text: 07982 308812. Email list: Email: info@biphoria.org.uk; web page: Dublin Bi Group / Bi Irish - see uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/biwales/ www.biphoria.org.uk Twitter: @biphoria www.facebook.com/DublinBiIrish Post: c/o Diverse Cymru, 3rd Floor, Alexandra House, 307-315 Cowbridge Road Bi Drinks BiPhoria’s pub meet third Tues EAST MIDLANDS 8pm at the Waterhouse. Look for the lion. East, Cardiff, CF5 1JD. East Mids Bi Network - email network, with social meet-ups arranged through the WOLVERHAMPTON BCN magazine - meetings and stuffing email list - to join send a blank email to Third Way meets 3rd Tues of month 7pmnights for the mailouts are in the city. embn-subscribe@yahoogroups.com 9pm at LGBT Network, 4 Salop Street.

Join us? editor@bicommunitynews.co.uk Contact: Andy 07969 132 310 or Martha EDINBURGH 01902 425 092. Online: NOTTINGHAM Bi & Beyond - meets 9 Howe St, on the www.facebook.com/thirdwaybigroup BiTopia meets 2nd Thursday of month at 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month

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 Bi Research Group network for bi academics and those interested in conducting or analysing bi research groups.yahoo.com/group/Bi-BLIO/ BiCon - National Bisexual Conference permanent web & email addresses. email: bicon@bi.org; web page: www.bicon.org.uk Bi Helpline The helpline has closed down, however there is a national network of people interested in working on the issue of bis and bi/LGBT helplines. Email UK_biphonelinesubscribe@yahoogroups.com Bi History Project uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/UK-BHAP/ 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 BiTUPA bisexuals in trades unions & political parties groups.yahoo.com/group/bitupa/ 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. 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 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 MonThurs, 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

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.tinyurl.com/getting-bi-2011 Both Directions - forerunner of Getting Bi... 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 18 (Summer 2015) 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

Terrence Higgins Trust Helpline HIV/AIDS info available daily, noon10pm; tel: 020 7242 1010

Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World is an international anthology with 220 essays from 42 countries. www.biresource.net

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

A-Z of Running a Bi Group - 26 things to consider before you start a local group. Can be downloaded from our website: see www.bicommunitynews.co.uk/resources

SM & BISEXUALITY See www.bi.org/uk-smbi 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. LGB&T HELPLINES London 0300 330 0630 daily 10am-11pm UPDATED Manchester 0345 3 30 30 30 10am-10pm (staffed - automated info system out of hours) Scotland 0300 123 2523 Tu/We 12-9pm

Bisexuality & Mental Health - service users perspectives to help inform NHS practice.

Mostly an educational resource. See www.biphoria.org.uk under ‘publications’.

Blogging BiBloggers ‘Blog syndication’ site bringing together blogs by bi people across the UK and Ireland. Add yours to the roster! www.BiMedia.org/blogs

Diary Dates BiCon 2016 August 4-7 Preston tbc See 2016.BiCon.org.uk Bi Visibility Day Worldwide, 23rd September every year.

Known by a host of names - Bi Pride Day, International Celebrate Bisexuality Day and more. A great excuse for a local event, launch of a local group or what have you. New website address: www.bivisibilityday.com

ber 23rd?

Making plans for Bi Visibility Day this Septem Tell us! Web: www.bivisibilityday.com