Tag Archives: bisexual visibility day

Caron Lindsay

Happy Bisexual Visibility Day!

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 23rd September 2021 - 8:24 pm

Today is Bisexual Visibility Day, a day to celebrate bisexual people and raise awareness of the particular problems that they face.

In an article on Pink News today, Lois Shearing highlights the effects of the discrimination that bi people face – and this can come from within the LGBT+ community:

Despite the prevalence of biphobia, it’s common to read or hear comments about bisexual people having privilege or not facing any real oppression. But this is provably false: it is well documented that bi people face higher rates of mental illness, due in part to biphobia and double discrimination. Bi+ men are less likely to get tested for HIV due to social stigma and biphobia within healthcare settings. Bi+ people are also more likely to suffer from addiction or abuse drugs and alcohol. Yet bi people are still seen as deserving targets of cruel jokes or comments.

Labour MP Rosie Duffield, added biphobia to her transphobia on national radio earlier this week, when she accused bisexual men who are married to women of “appropriating gay culture.”

There’s a real culture change from government, too. Silence from Liz Truss, the Women and Equalities Minister, in contrast to a previous holder of that office:

Jo said then:

I welcome Bi Visibility Day which helps to raise awareness of the issues that bisexual people can face and provides an opportunity to celebrate diversity and focus on the B in LGB&T.

The Party marked the day with a tweet:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | 6 Comments
Alan Collins Rosell

A post for Bisexual Visibility Day

By Alan Collins Rosell | Wed 23rd September 2020 - 8:55 am

As I hurtled uncontrollably towards my 30th birthday at the beginning of January and felt as though I was stuck in a rut, I decided that this milestone year would be the year my life would change – and that would start with me finally being open and proud of who I am.

I realised that I was bisexual when I was a teenager, thinking first that I was straight, and then gay, before finally recognising that I did not fit into either monosexual identity. I told some of my friends at the time, while for others it was an “open secret”. For the most part, though, my sexual identity was, at best, something I did not speak about – and, at worst, something I have since actively repressed.

However, on 26 January this year, I finally came out as bi with the help of the above heavily-Photoshopped (or, rather, as a good Lib Dem, heavily-Photoplussed) photo.

Today I am marking my first Bi Visibility Day since coming out in the only way possible – by spending all day at work and the evening in a local party executive meeting.

Bi Visibility Day is not just about the bi community celebrating our identity. It is about raising awareness and challenging bisexual and biromantic erasure.

Sadly, not everyone who identifies as bi is lucky enough to have had a positive experience since coming out – while many do not feel able to come out at all. Indeed, according to Stonewall’s 2018 LGBT in Britain – Health Report, 30 per cent of bi men and eight per cent of bi women said they were unable to be open about their sexual orientation, compared to just two per cent of gay men and one per cent of lesbians.

Similarly, 38 per cent of bi people are not out to any of their work colleagues, compared to seven per cent of gay men and four per cent of lesbians, while in 2016 it was reported that bi men earned 30 per cent less than their gay colleagues. Although published four years ago, this does suggest that bi men are at the rough end of the LGBT+ pay gap which was revealed last year.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 3 Comments
The Voice

Why bi-visibility day is important

By The Voice | Sun 23rd September 2018 - 2:15 pm

Today is Bisexual Visibility Day. Even now, bisexuals come in for a fair bit of prejudice even from other parts of the LGBT community. LGBT+ Lib Dems have put out a statement to mark the day:

Today we are marking the twentieth annual Bi Visibility day, which aims to raise the profile and visibility of bisexual people within our society – a society which so often overlooks them. Whilst great progress has been made in advancing rights and acceptance for gay and lesbian people (although of course, there is more to be done), bisexual people often suffer from assumptions based on the gender of their current (or last) partner and the prejudices of their peers. Media portrayals can trivialise their experiences, treat them as curiosities, or suggest that their sexual appetites are greedy and promiscuous. In such a climate, young bisexuals can feel pressured to “pick a side” and this is part of the reason why bi people suffer from far worse rates of mental illness than either gay or straight people. On top of this, the needs of bisexuals are often overlooked in the provision of health and social services.

Their chair Jennie Rigg added:

As Liberals, we stand against conformity and judging people based on their gender or the gender of their sexual or romantic partners. As a bisexual woman, I refuse to be put into a box by others because of the gender of the person, or people, I form relationships with. Today I celebrate Bi Visibility day by being even more visible than I normally am, and stand up for my bi siblings who do not yet feel able to be as visible as I am. My fellow bis are valuable and valid whether they are out or closeted, and I will continue to fight for their rights.

Follow the LGBT+ Lib Dems Twitter account for useful resources throughout the day. Here are some other Lib Dems marking the occasion on Twitter:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 1 Comment
Caron Lindsay

Bi-Visibility Day – How Lib Dems can make a difference

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 23rd September 2017 - 9:42 pm

Today is Bi Visibility Day. This is the day that the B in LGBT+ is emphasised. Sadly, it is too often the only day when bisexual people are even thought about.

It is wonderful to see Stockport Town Hall lit up to mark the occasion:

This did not happen by accident. It was Lib Dem Councillor Lisa Smart who put a motion to Council earlier this month. She said:

As a society, we have definitely made progress on LGBT+ Equality over the past few decades but there is still a distance to travel. On Thursday evening we will be talking about the barriers still faced by those members of our community who are bisexual.

More than one in four bisexual employees hide their sexuality at work, compared with one in six among gay and lesbian employees. Bisexual people are more likely to experience mental health problems in general and are twice as likely to experience depression and/or anxiety.

Often in the council chamber we can have robust debates and strong disagreements about issues. My hope is that we can unite and come together to support the bisexual members of our community, take some steps to celebrate the bisexual community and let them know that they are valued in Stockport.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | 3 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Jo Swinson marks Bisexual Visibility Day

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 23rd September 2014 - 6:55 pm

Bisexual Pride Flag23 September every year is Bi Visibility Day. Why, I hear you ask, do we need such a thing in these tolerant and accepting times? Didn’t we just pass same sex marriage?

Well, actually, there is still a fair amount of homophobia around. And if you are bisexual, you can actually experience  discrimination even from within the LGBT community.

A couple of years ago, The Bisexuality Report produced by the Open University and contributed to by LGBT+ Lib Dems’ Jen Yockney gave a snapshot of what life can be like for bisexual people in the UK. Many of its recommendations aim to tackle marginalisation of bisexual people and to promote a wider understanding of the specific problems they face.

Last year on Bisexual Visibility Day, LGBT+ Lib Dems’ Dave Page wrote an excellent post in which he outlined why this day is needed:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | Leave a comment
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Jenny Barnes
    I'd be interested to know if Daisy Cooper thinks that just cutting taxes will create economic growth. Would that growth increase activity enough to compensate...
  • Nigel Jones
    Likewise the many passages in both Old and New Testaments that show God's strong care for the poor. Then there are the prophets' attacks on leaders who don't ca...
  • Nigel Jones
    We read in Luke's gospel that a group of Jewish people attempted to kill Jesus because he preached a message about occasions when prophets working under God aid...
  • Peter Davies
    @Roland Absolute poverty in India has dramatically declined since 1993. A new rich and a large middle class has emerged but the poor are better off too....
  • Roland
    >” witness India’s miserable economic progress from 1947 until the Manmohan Singh reforms of 1993.” Shame the economic benefits seem to have benefited...