There’s a lot going on in the world; we wanted to make sure you didn’t miss out on Bisexual Awareness Week #BiWeek fun (September 16 – 23)! Team TransLash celebrates our bisexual siblings year-round, so here are some TGNC-inclusive, bisexual-affirming resources to enjoy any time:
- “Sometimes I wonder if I am the only trans woman in the world who is attracted to masculinity, but not necessarily cis men.” – In Imara’s essay Embracing Your Sexy Is Vital To Trans Liberation, she shares a personal story of nuanced desire that centers trans people;
- On The L Word: Generation Q – Season 2, trans character Micah Lee (played by Leo Sheng) explores his bisexuality.
- Dive into the meaning of both bisexuality and pansexuality and why they shouldn’t be confused with one another;
- HRC Foundation, in partnership with the University of Connecticut, released the 2019 Bi+ Youth Report, a groundbreaking resource detailing the experiences of bisexual, pansexual, queer and sexually fluid (bi+) LGBTQIA youth;
- There is little data on the specific experiences of bisexual transgender people, but here is a September 2017 study: A Closer Look: Bisexual Transgender People from lgbtmap.org.
- According to the Williams Institute, studies suggest that about 50 percent of people who identify as either gay, lesbian or bisexual, identify as bisexual. This makes the bisexual population the single largest group within the LGBTQIA community.There are several national organizations that advocate specifically for bisexual people. These include the Bisexual Resource Center, the Bisexual Organizing Project, and Still Bisexual;
- Autostraddle.com is an independent publication and social network for lesbian, bisexual, and transgender queer women — and non-binary people;
- The Network/La Red is a survivor-led, social justice organization that works to end partner abuse in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, BDSM, polyamorous, and queer communities.
What does bisexual mean?
According to its Merriam-Webster entry, the first known use of the word “bisexual” was in 1798. At the time, it was defined as “possessing characters of both sexes.” Now, it’s usually defined as the sexual/romantic attraction to more than one gender – and it’s not just exclusive to those who sit within the male and female gender binaries. Some bisexual people might only be attracted to men and women, while others might be attracted to multiple gender identities. To this day, bisexuality can mean different things to different people, and one bisexual person may define their sexuality differently to another bisexual person.
Pansexual is a term that falls under the bisexual umbrella. Both labels mean sexual attraction to more than one gender. However, pansexual people are not limited in their sexual choice and can potentially be attracted to everyone, regardless of gender, whereas bisexual people may only find themselves attracted to a few genders, but not all of them.
Charlie Middleton, an ambassador for LGBTQ+ youth charity Just Like Us, says of his sexuality: “To me bisexuality means being attracted to more than one gender, it is more of a broader term and includes all genders. I prefer to use the word bisexual to describe my sexuality as this term is more common and easier to define. The one thing I love about being bisexual is that there is no one way to be bisexual, there is so much flexibility and diversity!”
Submit any useful (and trans-affirming) Bisexual Awareness Week resource links that we may have missed here.
Where did Bisexual Awareness Week come from?
Bisexual Awareness Week was co-founded by GLAAD and BiNet USA to educate people on obstacles faced by the bisexual community, as well as to set policies that ensure bisexual acceptance and social integration. #BiWeek is an extension of Celebrate Bisexuality Day, held annually on September 23.
[Image Description: Four people stand and sit below a Bisexual Pride flag. Text over the Bisexual pride flag reads, “Happy #BiWeek”.]
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