Call for Personal Stories from Bisexuals (San Francisco Human Rights Commission)
From the LGBT Advisory Committee of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission:
CALL FOR PERSONAL STORIES FROM SAN FRANCISCO BISEXUALS
Too often, bisexuals are ignored, demonized, or rendered invisible by both the heterosexual world and the lesbian and gay communities. Too often, the entire sexual orientation is branded as invalid, immoral, or irrelevant. Despite years of activism and a population twice the size of gays and lesbians, our needs still go unaddressed and our very existence is still called into question. This erasure has serious consequences on our health, our incomes, and funding for our organizations.
The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Advisory Committee (LGBTAC) of San Francisco’s Human Rights Commission is currently working on a report that will address the issue of bisexual invisibility and recommend changes that the city can implement. Past reports include groundbreaking work on issues such as transgender discrimination, LGBT aging, and the medical “normalization” of intersex people. (For more about the Human Rights Commission and the LGBTAC, go to www.sfgov.org/sfhumanrights.)
As part of the “Bisexual Invisibility” report, we’d like to include personal stories from bisexuals to give a voice to a population regularly left out. Please note that because the LGBTAC’s official scope is limited to the City and County of San Francisco, we’re looking for authors who live, work in, or spend significant time in San Francisco.
Submission guidelines:
~ Stories should be 500 words or less. Your entry may be edited for length, grammar, or clarity. Even if you don’t consider yourself a “writer,” we want to hear your story, too! (Please note that we may not be able to include all entries in the report.)
~ Authors should identify as having attractions to more than one sex (whether or not you call yourself “bisexual”).
~ Stories should be grounded in personal experience rather than focusing solely on philosophical or political analysis.
Possible topics (you do NOT need to address all of these):
~ What do you feel are the particular gifts, perspectives, experiences, etc. that bisexuals bring to the broader LGBT community?
~ When did you come out as bisexual? Have you ever identified as lesbian or gay?
~ Have you ever felt excluded (or welcomed) specifically because you were bisexual?
~ Do you feel your healthcare needs as a bisexual are taken into account by mainstream health services? By LGBT-focused services?
~ In your experience, how well do LGBT organizations that include the “B” in their names also address the needs of bisexuals in their programs? Does a particular experience stand out?
~ How/when do you disclose your bisexuality when dating? Do you choose to talk about it at all? Why or why not?
~ Does your bisexuality conflict with other aspects of your life? Would you choose a different orientation if you could?
~ What is your relationship to the label “bisexual”? Why do you apply it to yourself (or not)?
~ How does bisexual space differ for you from mixed settings or primarily monosexual spaces?
~ What is the best part about being bisexual? The most difficult part?
Submission contact information:
Please send your piece to bivisibility@gmail.com with the text IN THE BODY OF THE EMAIL ONLY. (To protect against viruses, messages with attachments will be deleted.) Please include your name, address, email, and phone number.
To ensure that we can include stories from a diverse cross-section of bisexuals, please include the following information:
Age:
Race/ethnicity:
Gender:
Are you a parent?
Entries are due no later than FEBRUARY 15, 2009.
If you have any questions, please email bivisibility@gmail.com.
CALL FOR PERSONAL STORIES FROM SAN FRANCISCO BISEXUALS
Too often, bisexuals are ignored, demonized, or rendered invisible by both the heterosexual world and the lesbian and gay communities. Too often, the entire sexual orientation is branded as invalid, immoral, or irrelevant. Despite years of activism and a population twice the size of gays and lesbians, our needs still go unaddressed and our very existence is still called into question. This erasure has serious consequences on our health, our incomes, and funding for our organizations.
The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Advisory Committee (LGBTAC) of San Francisco’s Human Rights Commission is currently working on a report that will address the issue of bisexual invisibility and recommend changes that the city can implement. Past reports include groundbreaking work on issues such as transgender discrimination, LGBT aging, and the medical “normalization” of intersex people. (For more about the Human Rights Commission and the LGBTAC, go to www.sfgov.org/sfhumanrights.)
As part of the “Bisexual Invisibility” report, we’d like to include personal stories from bisexuals to give a voice to a population regularly left out. Please note that because the LGBTAC’s official scope is limited to the City and County of San Francisco, we’re looking for authors who live, work in, or spend significant time in San Francisco.
Submission guidelines:
~ Stories should be 500 words or less. Your entry may be edited for length, grammar, or clarity. Even if you don’t consider yourself a “writer,” we want to hear your story, too! (Please note that we may not be able to include all entries in the report.)
~ Authors should identify as having attractions to more than one sex (whether or not you call yourself “bisexual”).
~ Stories should be grounded in personal experience rather than focusing solely on philosophical or political analysis.
Possible topics (you do NOT need to address all of these):
~ What do you feel are the particular gifts, perspectives, experiences, etc. that bisexuals bring to the broader LGBT community?
~ When did you come out as bisexual? Have you ever identified as lesbian or gay?
~ Have you ever felt excluded (or welcomed) specifically because you were bisexual?
~ Do you feel your healthcare needs as a bisexual are taken into account by mainstream health services? By LGBT-focused services?
~ In your experience, how well do LGBT organizations that include the “B” in their names also address the needs of bisexuals in their programs? Does a particular experience stand out?
~ How/when do you disclose your bisexuality when dating? Do you choose to talk about it at all? Why or why not?
~ Does your bisexuality conflict with other aspects of your life? Would you choose a different orientation if you could?
~ What is your relationship to the label “bisexual”? Why do you apply it to yourself (or not)?
~ How does bisexual space differ for you from mixed settings or primarily monosexual spaces?
~ What is the best part about being bisexual? The most difficult part?
Submission contact information:
Please send your piece to bivisibility@gmail.com with the text IN THE BODY OF THE EMAIL ONLY. (To protect against viruses, messages with attachments will be deleted.) Please include your name, address, email, and phone number.
To ensure that we can include stories from a diverse cross-section of bisexuals, please include the following information:
Age:
Race/ethnicity:
Gender:
Are you a parent?
Entries are due no later than FEBRUARY 15, 2009.
If you have any questions, please email bivisibility@gmail.com.
Labels: bisexual, bisexuality, Human Rights Commission, LGBT, LGBTAC, San Francisco
posted by Lindasusan at 10:22 AM
2 Comments:
My name is Lorin Bagley and I identify as a bisexual male. I have lived in San Francisco for over 8 years. Really came out at work one day because I was getting fed up of one of my co-workers harassing another co-worker who was gay and was using derogatory remarks. I was wrong in my approach but since I felt it was wrong what he said I used the "n" word and he got angry with what I said. I wanted to make a point to see how it feels when a person says nasty things to someone. I identify as Bi but have primary feelings for men however, I feel that when I am with a woman I would focus my love and feelings on her. if you need more info you can contact me lorinbagley@comcast.net
PLEASE NOTE: Comments left on this blog will *not* get forwarded to the LGBTAC for inclusion in the "Bisexual Invisibility" report. If you're interested in submitting a personal story, please follow the submission guidelines. I'm just posting the call here as a way to spread the word.
Thanks!
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