Bringing bisexual voices together
Black Pride in a few pics.
1st pic is of Lady Phyll (middle), the creator of Black Pride!
3rd pic show two women in tartan, from the 1745 film - check it out! https://www.1745film.com
I haven't been to Black Pride for a few years after getting disheartened by biphobia I experienced there. However I am glad that I attended this year, as I was reassured that if I had any problems, I could speak to someone there.
There were an awful lot of short-shorts, gorgeous legs and fine outfits on display. The music was fun, and watching a whole crowd of folk doing the “Lean Back” dance was enjoyable.
There were a few community stalls, and a couple of merchandise tables, but the food stalls seemed to be the most visited, with the longest queues!
I had an enjoyable time at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. Black Pride felt very welcoming, and I look forward to returning next year. Maybe even having a bisexual stall this time…
Help me attend this bisexual conference!
I’ve been a bisexual activist for over 20 years. I’ve campaigned widely across the UK and Continental Europe for better treatment and visibility of bisexual people of colour. I’d love to go to BECAUSE, but airfare is ridiculously expensive from the UK to the US.
Please donate at Paypal.me/ACrystalGem and help me go! However if I don’t raise enough, all money will be put toward the B’is of Colour book fund http://bisofcolour.tumblr.com/post/152552451453/bis-of-colour-book-edited-by-asha-jacq-and-nila.
#BlackBiBeauty happened on the 25th March 2017 (Exactly 6 months before Bi Visibility Day! http://www.bivisibilityday.com )
The hashtag was the idea of @TheAngryFanGirl https://theangryfangirl.com who wanted to change the narrative on how black bisexuals are viewed.
What came through when people tweeted about their experiences was that cisgender black bisexual men are still being blamed for the rise in HIV in black communities, thanks to the awful Down Low misinformation. Black bisexuals who are also trans and nonbinary people are erased from sight. Black bisexual cisgender women are often hypersexualised. All these groups of black bisexuals face biphobia from lesbians and gays, as well as racism from white LGBT people. The alienation we live with from inside and outside of the bisexual communities can lead to a poor quality of life, adverse mental health and a feeling that we are the only ones who are like this. And that’s where #BlackBiBeauty succeeded - it showed the world that we are not alone. We exist and we are beautiful in our own unique ways. It was a pleasure to encourage this event into happening, and to see the positivity and friendships that it spawned in such a short time. I look forward to the next one!
Billie Prime
I’ve changed access to this story - now everyone can read it for FREE!
https://writteninshadows.wordpress.com/2017/03/21/billie-prime/
The story comes as a PDF, so I realise it’s not great for some screen readers. I’ll try to create other versions in MOBI and Kindle-friendly formats. But for now, I hope you enjoy my tale.
Synopsis
Billie has always had a love of science-fiction and fantasy. His dreams of aliens take a strange turn when shadows around him start coming to life to try to communicate with him. The apparitions continue when children who say they’re from Billie’s past come to visit him, making him question his sanity. When one of the children asks him to change history, Billie is forced to look at his own legacy of violence and neglect that he has buried in order to live a normal life. Billie has to question the possibility of time travel and the multiverse, in order to help one of the children escape a terrifying life of abuse. Billie also has to ask himself if any of this real or is this all in his head?You can now read this short story (20,000 words) for FREE. Survivors of Child Abuse and violence are likely to be poorer, so I wanted this to be available to them. Copy and distribute if you like, but this has a Creative Commons Non Commercial copyright filed. Please don’t go charging folks for reading this!If you have any comments, feedback or general questions about this story, please feel free to contact me at billieprime@gmail.com
Regards
Jacq A.
Synopsis
Billie has always had a love of science-fiction and fantasy. His dreams of aliens take a strange turn when shadows around him start coming to life to try to communicate with him. The apparitions continue when children who say they’re from Billie’s past come to visit him, making him question his sanity. When one of the children asks him to change history, Billie is forced to look at his own legacy of violence and neglect that he has buried in order to live a normal life. Billie has to question the possibility of time travel and the multiverse, in order to help one of the children escape a terrifying life of abuse. Billie also has to ask himself if any of this real or is this all in his head?
Billie Prime is available as a paperback at http://www.lulu.com/shop/jacq-applebee/billie-prime/paperback/product-23111819.html or as a FREE PDF if you send an email to BilliePrime AT gmail.com
I gave a talk recently about homelessness and minorities. A summary and my slides can be seen here http://www.neurofamilymatters.co.uk/news/2016/10/25/invisibility-and-homelessness
I was homeless 23 years ago, but its effects have never left me. The fear of being so vulnerable and alone as a black disabled sometimes-woman is something I’ll never be able to forget, as it was terrifying to me. More support is needed for homeless who are LGBT , disabled, People of Colour and/or very young or old. However much of the homeless initiatives I’ve seen tend to concentrate on straight white men. Things need to be so much better.
Also included in the link above is my partial zine on how to safely run away if you’re an adult. You can buy the complete zine on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/256116258/get-lost-a-guide-to-running-away-for?ref=shop_home_active_3
The myth that black men love fat women needs to get in a volcano
Is it easy
Being black and fat?
Do you enjoy random men telling you
“I’d hit that!”
Are you attracted to those who insult you on the street?
Or at family gatherings
When relatives you meet
Tell you nobody wants you when you’re fat.
But oh, black guys are supposed to love that!
Is it easy when you’re not thin
And black, like how do you even fit in?
Folks look away when I catch their eye
And don’t get me started when they find out
I’m bi.
I’m not butch, and I hate the styles of the 1950’s
So I have to learn to dress a little differently.
But it’s not easy, not easy at all.
You should hear the names I get called!
I’m not hourglass shaped or light-skinned at that.
My belly has rolls and I am fat!
So no, your racist ideas don’t help me one bit.
When you think I have it easier, you perpetuate a myth.
Fat liberation is blindingly pale;
Your racial oppression keeps me down on the scale.
The lines on my skin aren’t just stretch marks,
But self inflicted pain I cannot get past.
So sure, say it’s easy being black and fat.
Look the other other way as I deal with this crap.
And if liberation for fat folks
Don’t include queers of colour at the heart of it,
Then we’ll done, sister:
Your movement’s full of shit!
From Black Girl Dangerous
I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to realise this is me. This is me in bisexual communities. This is me in activism spaces. This is me in my friend groups. This is me in the whole damn world.
I’m not your Mammy.