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A Year of Living Dangerously: Bisexual Visibility in 2011
A Year of Living Dangerously: Bisexual Visibility in 2011
A Year of Living Dangerously: Bisexual Visibility in 2011
By Stephanie Smith-Browne | Contributing Writer – January 4, 2011Posted in: Biphobia | Bi-erasure News
Visibility and sexuality are a curious match. Think about it—for the most part, human beings in most societies around the world have long worked on the assumption that it’s key to our happiness to limit the exposure of the most intimate parts of our lives. Hell, that’s the meaning of intimate: to keep something close, near and dear, cherished and warm, private and confidential, away from prying eyes. To be visible, on the other hand, means to be seen and obvious. When you are visible, you put yourself forward as evidence in the court of public opinion and your neighbours, teachers, colleagues, your judo instructor, hairdresser, tattoo artist, dog walker, your book club, band mates, Facebook friends, the guy behind the counter when you buy your next frozen pizza… everyone is going to have something to say.
When it comes to queer sexuality there are a lot of risks to being visible. It can be downright dangerous. But what lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have learned over the past few decades is that these are risks worth taking for the greater rewards of sexual and emotional freedom, psychological health, civil recognition, political participation and the shaking off of stigmas that warp our sense of ourselves and our ability to enjoy life (in some cases, to even remain alive) and to pursue our own happiness. Being visible for LGBT people, and those who love and support us, is one of the most significant personal, political and social issues of the last one hundred years.
Bisexual visibility is a new kid on the block—relatively speaking, that is. Bisexuals have, of course, been around throughout the history of the modern ‘Gay’ civil and human rights movements. Fighting alongside our lesbian, gay and transgender brothers and sisters since the 1960s, the modern bisexual movement worked to put the B into the LGBT coalition. But while we have been there on the front lines, from Stonewall to It Gets Better, our efforts are often overlooked and our presence erased. Reporters, politicians, educators and spokespeople regularly begin by speaking of all “LGBT people” but then slip into the easy pseudo-synonyms of “gay community” or “lesbian and gay people,” eliding the existence of the B and the T altogether.
So here we are in 2011 and bisexuals worldwide are announcing: “we are visible.” We are here, we are queer, get used to us. Get used to our stories, our faces, our voices, our opinions, our presence, our differences, our similarities. Over the past year, among a slew of other activities on the bisexual calendar and in media, education and social networking, the first international BiReCon (the international conference on bisexual research) took place in London. It brought together researchers, writers, organisers and activists. These are the people that write the blogs, books and news articles, who open the community centres, run the outreach programs, coffee klatches, student societies, you name it, coming together at a time that, as one reporter Jane Fae put it, “may eventually go down in history… as the year when the B in LGBT finally stretched its wings and took to the skies. The bisexual community is coming of age—and they believe it is time that government[s] and other sexual minorities took them seriously.”
As this new year dawns, the ‘I Am Visible’ campaign takes up that baton and runs with it. I, for one, am really glad to be part of this. I am only one voice, one woman with one set of experiences that some people may jibe with and some may not. Bisexuals are not a monolith, anymore so than any other group of individuals. This campaign will showcase many voices, faces and stories. Each of us who are willing to put ourselves forward to embrace and enjoy this new level of visibility will also face the risks that come with being visible. In our public and personal lives, things may get precarious—this may well turn out to be our own personal Year of Living Dangerously. But like all the bisexual and other LGBT social warriors who have come before us (some of whom I hope to speak about in future posts) we’ll do our part. And when we are more visible, things will indeed get better for us all. By that I mean all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, for while this has not always been an easy coalition (again, to discuss in future posts), I for one believe in it. And I believe that when each part of that coalition is stronger, more visible, heard and understood, we are all better off in the fight for our human and civil rights.
So, here’s to 2011—here’s to living dangerously and here’s to being visible.
