Bisexual Community

The bisexual community consists mainly of people who are bisexual, pansexual or queer-identified and their allies. Alternate terms include bisexual/pansexual community,

bi/pan/genderqueer community and queer-identified community. A common concern among people involved with the bisexual community is discrimination against bisexual people; two specific forms are biphobia and bisexual erasure.

People who identify as bisexual as well some who are genderqueer or pansexual are in the peculiar situation of receiving specifically directed hatred, distrust, stereotyping or denial called biphobia and bisexual erasure from both the straight and gay populations.

There are some elements of general anti-LGBT feelings along with misunderstandings against bisexuals; however, the unique discrimination faced by bisexuals include those who say bisexuals, genderqueers and pansexuals are unsure of their true feelings, that they are experimenting or going through a "phase" and that they eventually will or should "decide" or "discover" which sex they are attracted to. While other non-heterosexual orientations may face similar situations these instances are more commonly directed to the bisexual community.

However there is also increasing support, inclusion and visibility in both communities, especially in the LGBT community.

Defining the community

The social networks of some bisexuals, sometimes called gay- or lesbian-identified bisexuals, are heavily concentrated inside the LGBT communities. But others, sometimes called straight-identified bisexuals, may rarely participate in LGBT culture. And still others choose to maintain their primary social contacts mainly with other bisexual/fluid/pansexual and queer-identified people. There has been talk of and more of a movement to have a separate bisexual community.

A series of communities and groups have been working together and focusing on issues that are important to the bisexual community such as biphobia, dating, coming out, bisexuals in the news and entertainment and bisexual erasure, among several other issues. These are queer-identified and closely allied with the gay, lesbian and transgender communities, but their main focus is the bisexual community. There has also been a movement to combat biphobia and myths about bisexuals.

References

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Further reading

General

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• Bi Any Other Name : Bisexual People Speak Out by Loraine Hutchins, Editor & Lani Ka'ahumanu, Editor ISBN 1-55583-174-5
• Getting Bi : Voices of Bisexuals Around the World by Robyn Ochs, Editor & Sarah Rowley, Editor ISBN 0-9653881-4-X
• The Bisexual Option by Fritz Klein, MD ISBN 1-56023-033-9
• Bi America : Myths, Truths And Struggles Of An Invisible Community by William E. Burleson ISBN 978-1-56023-478-4
• Bisexuality in the United States : A Social Science Reader by Paula C. Rodriguez Rust, Editor ISBN 0-231-10226-7
• Bisexuality : The Psychology and Politics of an Invisible Minority by Beth A. Firestein, Editor ISBN 0-8039-7274-1
• Current Research on Bisexuality by Ronald C. Fox PhD, Editor ISBN 978-1-56023-288-5

Magazines

• Bi Magazine (USA)
• Bi Community News (UK)
• Bi Social News (USA)
• Bi News Magazine (Netherlands)
• The Fence (Canada)
• Bi Women Boston (USA)

Additional resources

Civil rights organizations

• BinetUSA (USA)
• Political Activist Group (USA)

Groups

List of USA Bisexual Groups UK Bisexual Groups Netherlands Bisexual Groups Binet Canada Toronto Bisexual Network Mexico Bisexual Network Bisexuality Wiki

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