Emily Dievendorf, Director of Policy at Equality Michigan, writes in the Huffington Post:

“The first time I was called "greedy" it was by a drag queen at the Michigan Pride Festival. She wasn't talking to me directly. She was calling out audience members in the unapologetic, hilarious, and crass way only a drag queen can, asking one attendee if she was a lesbian. The woman said, "No, I'm bi." The drag queen responded, "Oh, you're GREEEDY." Everyone laughed, myself included. But I also left thinking, "So that's how it is."

I could never be "greedy." I have terrible luck with women. But I probably wouldn't date you, male or female, regardless of luck. I'm very particular, maybe to the point of delusion, and my interest rarely has to do with physical attraction above all else. You would need to be funny, clever, overly literate, cultured, and committed to social justice. I'm also a serial monogamist and loyal to a fault, unable to focus on more than one person at a time. I'm not your stereotype, but few of us are.

I believe sexuality, as a continuum with no easy boxes to fit into, is the most logical explanation for the variations we see in human sexuality. Labels are vile and unrealistic to me, an attempt to satisfy others' need for simplicity when life just isn't so. I have struggled with how I would explain myself, resentful that I had to at all. My partners have always known me to be fluid and I hadn't considered it anybody else's business. At a certain point I decided that I had to claim my place in the community because my own invisibility would be part of the perpetuation of others pretending I don't even exist. I wrote 'bi' across my forehead and wore it proudly….

The stigma, or biphobia, that comes with being bisexual has serious consequences. Bisexuals have higher incidences of depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts, alcohol and drug abuse, and poor physical health in general than their heterosexual, gay and lesbian counterparts. Bisexuals most often don't come out to their health provider and as a result receive incomplete information regarding their sexual health. Bisexual women with monosexual partners have an increased rate of domestic violence compared to every other female demographic. Compared to lesbians, bisexual women are twice as likely to live in poverty. Discrimination against bisexuals is greater in the workforce. While lesbians earn 2.7% less than straight men, bisexual women earn nearly 11% less.

There is an acute stress that comes from feeling like you are not a legitimate member of a community. In nonurban areas lesbians and bisexual women experience comparable levels of frequent mental distress, but in urban areas distress decreases for lesbians and nearly doubles for bisexual women. Resources and support are more likely to be available for lesbians in urban areas, and still likely to be nowhere to be found for bisexuals. Regardless of established need, projects addressing issues related to bisexuality are the least funded among programs for the lesbian, gay, bi, and transgender communities….”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emily-dievendorf/bisexual-invisibility-has_b_1370079.html 

 

 

Emily Dievendorf, Director of Policy at Equality Michigan, writes in the Huffington Post:

“The first time I was called "greedy" it was by a drag queen at the Michigan Pride Festival. She wasn't talking to me directly. She was calling out audience members in the unapologetic, hilarious, and crass way only a drag queen can, asking one attendee if she was a lesbian. The woman said, "No, I'm bi." The drag queen responded, "Oh, you're GREEEDY." Everyone laughed, myself included. But I also left thinking, "So that's how it is."

I could never be "greedy." I have terrible luck with women. But I probably wouldn't date you, male or female, regardless of luck. I'm very particular, maybe to the point of delusion, and my interest rarely has to do with physical attraction above all else. You would need to be funny, clever, overly literate, cultured, and committed to social justice. I'm also a serial monogamist and loyal to a fault, unable to focus on more than one person at a time. I'm not your stereotype, but few of us are.

I believe sexuality, as a continuum with no easy boxes to fit into, is the most logical explanation for the variations we see in human sexuality. Labels are vile and unrealistic to me, an attempt to satisfy others' need for simplicity when life just isn't so. I have struggled with how I would explain myself, resentful that I had to at all. My partners have always known me to be fluid and I hadn't considered it anybody else's business. At a certain point I decided that I had to claim my place in the community because my own invisibility would be part of the perpetuation of others pretending I don't even exist. I wrote 'bi' across my forehead and wore it proudly….

The stigma, or biphobia, that comes with being bisexual has serious consequences. Bisexuals have higher incidences of depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts, alcohol and drug abuse, and poor physical health in general than their heterosexual, gay and lesbian counterparts. Bisexuals most often don't come out to their health provider and as a result receive incomplete information regarding their sexual health. Bisexual women with monosexual partners have an increased rate of domestic violence compared to every other female demographic. Compared to lesbians, bisexual women are twice as likely to live in poverty. Discrimination against bisexuals is greater in the workforce. While lesbians earn 2.7% less than straight men, bisexual women earn nearly 11% less.

There is an acute stress that comes from feeling like you are not a legitimate member of a community. In nonurban areas lesbians and bisexual women experience comparable levels of frequent mental distress, but in urban areas distress decreases for lesbians and nearly doubles for bisexual women. Resources and support are more likely to be available for lesbians in urban areas, and still likely to be nowhere to be found for bisexuals. Regardless of established need, projects addressing issues related to bisexuality are the least funded among programs for the lesbian, gay, bi, and transgender communities….”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emily-dievendorf/bisexual-invisibility-has_b_1370079.html 

 

 

Eleven months ago, I published a post called ‘Bisexevil’ ~ Uganda: hate in focus, which spoke about the murder of Ugandan LGBT activist, David Kato, and about the fight of the entire Ugandan LGBT community for their full human rights. During the discussion in the comments section, it emerged that the most well-known bisexual activist organisation had ominously gone silent. All my attempts to reach the organisation or individuals came to nothing. To be honest that I feared for them, but hoped that maybe it was all just due to it being a student organisation and maybe the students just graduated with no one in the classes behind them to take up the reigns.

Well, almost a year on, and we have heard back from Bisexual Movement Uganda.

We are very pleased they have been able to re-group and to continue on, but we hold them in our thoughts and prayers, as they are forging ahead in a hostile environment.

---

Their mission statement:

Bisexual Movement Uganda was Established in 12th February 2007 by a group of Bisexual Men and women who were constantly harassed, insulted and discriminated against by a misinformed society and they were moved to form an Organization which can advocate for their sexual rights and fight for Their sexual orientation and gender identity in Uganda.

 

Eleven months ago, I published a post called ‘Bisexevil’ ~ Uganda: hate in focus, which spoke about the murder of Ugandan LGBT activist, David Kato, and about the fight of the entire Ugandan LGBT community for their full human rights. During the discussion in the comments section, it emerged that the most well-known bisexual activist organisation had ominously gone silent. All my attempts to reach the organisation or individuals came to nothing. To be honest that I feared for them, but hoped that maybe it was all just due to it being a student organisation and maybe the students just graduated with no one in the classes behind them to take up the reigns.

Well, almost a year on, and we have heard back from Bisexual Movement Uganda.

We are very pleased they have been able to re-group and to continue on, but we hold them in our thoughts and prayers, as they are forging ahead in a hostile environment.

---

Their mission statement:

Bisexual Movement Uganda was Established in 12th February 2007 by a group of Bisexual Men and women who were constantly harassed, insulted and discriminated against by a misinformed society and they were moved to form an Organization which can advocate for their sexual rights and fight for Their sexual orientation and gender identity in Uganda.

 

 Europe’s Pink News reports: “A new study in the US says bisexual women are more likely to suffer from depression and to binge drink than men.

“George Mason University found that there was a high likelihood of depression and alcohol abuse for bisexual teenagers regardless of gender.  However, men appeared to experience a reduced risk of abuse as they aged. Women’s chances remained static. Researchers found that women identified as straight or gay were less prone to depression than those who were bisexual.”

Lead researcher Lisa Lindly said: “There tends to be this expectation or standard that a person picks one sexual identity and sticks with it. I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding about bisexuals. I think their risk has a lot more to do with stigma”.

As the Times of India reports: “ Looking closely at the survey data, Lindley noted, both bisexual girls and boys were more likely to be high-risk for depression, stress and alcohol abuse when they were teenagers. She found that the odds dropped for men as they got older, but not so for women. In addition, women who were strictly identified as straight or gay didn't have the same risk factors that bisexual women had, according Lindley. Men didn't report feeling as depressed or stressed as women did. They also didn't binge-drink or smoke as much as bisexual women. ‘I don't know is the honest answer. Perhaps it's because men, if gay or straight, have a stronger connection to their community. Bisexual women may not feel as if there is a community for them’, Lindley concluded.”

 

  See also Bisexual Women, More Likely Than Bisexual Men, to Be Depressed And Abuse Alcohol, New Study Finds

See also Lies, Damned lies, Statistics & Suicide.

 

 Europe’s Pink News reports: “A new study in the US says bisexual women are more likely to suffer from depression and to binge drink than men.

“George Mason University found that there was a high likelihood of depression and alcohol abuse for bisexual teenagers regardless of gender.  However, men appeared to experience a reduced risk of abuse as they aged. Women’s chances remained static. Researchers found that women identified as straight or gay were less prone to depression than those who were bisexual.”

Lead researcher Lisa Lindly said: “There tends to be this expectation or standard that a person picks one sexual identity and sticks with it. I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding about bisexuals. I think their risk has a lot more to do with stigma”.

As the Times of India reports: “ Looking closely at the survey data, Lindley noted, both bisexual girls and boys were more likely to be high-risk for depression, stress and alcohol abuse when they were teenagers. She found that the odds dropped for men as they got older, but not so for women. In addition, women who were strictly identified as straight or gay didn't have the same risk factors that bisexual women had, according Lindley. Men didn't report feeling as depressed or stressed as women did. They also didn't binge-drink or smoke as much as bisexual women. ‘I don't know is the honest answer. Perhaps it's because men, if gay or straight, have a stronger connection to their community. Bisexual women may not feel as if there is a community for them’, Lindley concluded.”

 

  See also Bisexual Women, More Likely Than Bisexual Men, to Be Depressed And Abuse Alcohol, New Study Finds

See also Lies, Damned lies, Statistics & Suicide.

 

Re:searching for LGBTQ Health! is a team of researchers in Canada who “focus on understanding how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, Two-Spirit, and queer (LGBTQ) people experience physical and mental health, and how they access health services.”

They have found that research, in both Canada and the US, has shown that bisexuals have poorer mental health and use mental health services more often than heterosexuals, gays, or lesbians (1-7). “One possible reason for this may be experiences of stigma, prejudice and discrimination that create a hostile social environment. These experiences can trigger mental health problems or make existing problems worse.”

The organisation’s own research on bisexual people in Ontario reported that discrimination negatively affected bi people’s mental health on multiple levels, “a finding backed up by other research in the field (7-10). Bisexual people in the pilot study reported several types of stressful experiences”:

1. being discriminated against for being bisexual (biphobia).
2. being labelled as “really” straight or gay/lesbian and having their bisexuality regarded as illegitimate (monosexism).
3. feeling that they have to constantly explain and justify their sexual identity to others (monosexism, biphobia).
4. the media not portraying bisexuality as a legitimate and healthy sexual identity (marginalization, erasure and invisibility).

“While experiences of stress makes us sick, relationships with friends, family, partners, and the LGBTQ community help keep us healthy. Research has found that belonging to the LGBTQ community can reduce the effects of minority stress. However, due to biphobia and monosexism, bisexuals may lack access to this support (2, 9, 11).”

       

 

Re:searching for LGBTQ Health! is a team of researchers in Canada who “focus on understanding how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, Two-Spirit, and queer (LGBTQ) people experience physical and mental health, and how they access health services.”

They have found that research, in both Canada and the US, has shown that bisexuals have poorer mental health and use mental health services more often than heterosexuals, gays, or lesbians (1-7). “One possible reason for this may be experiences of stigma, prejudice and discrimination that create a hostile social environment. These experiences can trigger mental health problems or make existing problems worse.”

The organisation’s own research on bisexual people in Ontario reported that discrimination negatively affected bi people’s mental health on multiple levels, “a finding backed up by other research in the field (7-10). Bisexual people in the pilot study reported several types of stressful experiences”:

1. being discriminated against for being bisexual (biphobia).
2. being labelled as “really” straight or gay/lesbian and having their bisexuality regarded as illegitimate (monosexism).
3. feeling that they have to constantly explain and justify their sexual identity to others (monosexism, biphobia).
4. the media not portraying bisexuality as a legitimate and healthy sexual identity (marginalization, erasure and invisibility).

“While experiences of stress makes us sick, relationships with friends, family, partners, and the LGBTQ community help keep us healthy. Research has found that belonging to the LGBTQ community can reduce the effects of minority stress. However, due to biphobia and monosexism, bisexuals may lack access to this support (2, 9, 11).”

       

  Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish actor, singer, writer and director, starring most recently in The Good Wife. Cumming, who is one of the few out bisexual men in Hollywood, married to commercial illustrator Grant Shaffer, is also a long-time acti...

  Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish actor, singer, writer and director, starring most recently in The Good Wife. Cumming, who is one of the few out bisexual men in Hollywood, married to commercial illustrator Grant Shaffer, is also a long-time acti...