lgbt – Page 4 – BiBloggers

The B in LGBT+ doesn’t stand for Blank. Yet so many times I see…

The B in LGBT+ doesn’t stand for Blank. Yet so many times I see events big and small, who have the acronym LGBT, but with zero bisexual input.

“We don’t ask our guests/panelists/speakers sexual orientation,” is something that’s only ever said in response to questions about the lack of bi representation.

“No bisexuals approached us,” is only said when all the letters except B are represented at events.

I can’t imagine a world where someone would run a Pride event, and say “Sorry, no gay groups contacted us, so there won't be any marching in the parade. Yet this is exactly what London Pride has done (2 years after they let the hate-group, UKIP march).

Pride used to be something that excited me, but it hass joined the long list of places that are racist and biphobic - places I don’t want anything to do with. And as an isolated alienated person, that just stinks.

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bisofcolour: For those who need screen readers, the poster…

bisofcolour:

For those who need screen readers, the poster reads:

Still unheard Out There

Making Rainbows through the prism of LGBTQI+ diversity

Friday 30th June pm, LVSC, 200a Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP

An event about under-represented LGBT voices. The stories and priorities of intersex, bisexual, pansexual and intersectional LGBTQI+ people in London. WWE have a small budget for speakers.

Email HEARcampains@reap.org.uk for information and to book your place.

This will be a free event!

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bisexual – Bi's of Colour 2017-06-20 10:44:34

The B’is of Colour History Report has been reprinted as a full-colour A5 booklet, just in time for Pride season! If you would like some free copies for your stall at Pride or any other event that needs bisexual visibility, email us at bis.of.colour@gmail.com and we can send some out to you. We have a … Continue reading →

Ageing black people csa disability lgbt qtipoc Tattoo

I know why the caged bird sings by Maya AngelouThe caged bird…

I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill;

Of things unknown but are longed for still,

And her voice is heard on a far-off hill

For the caged bird sings of freedom.

I have loved this poem for a long time. As a fellow survivor of child abuse, I can connect with what Maya said in these words. I have many scars on my body as a result of the first 22 violent years of my life, and whenever I saw them I would remember the incident that caused it. I see tattoos as positive scars, and with the bird tattoo I’m especially happy as it’s the first colour tattoo I have. Sometimes I feel like I’m wasting my time as an activist - that I’m shouting into the void. But I shout for freedom - for disabled, survivors of abuse, the ageing, people of colour, and LGBT+ people to be treated better than they currently are. Freedom shouldn’t feel like an impossible dream to me. I hope this tattoo will remind me to keep going; keep on singing.

The tattoo was done by Tracy at Pride Tattoos, http://pridetattoos.webeden.co.uk

P.S - the snowflake above the bird was my first ever tattoo done in 2005.

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Structural issues with BiCon. Or why I’m not returning unless I…

Structural issues with BiCon. Or why I’m not returning unless I see some changes.

BiCon is run by volunteers in the bisexual community. Every year the organisers change. If an organiser screws up, often nothing is done, cos they won’t be there next year (usually). Last year an organiser made paedophile jokes during the cabaret, mocked non-binary people & was generally inappropriate. Very little was done, even though lots of people complained & were in tears (including me) at the Paedophile thing. There’s nothing to guarantee the same won’t happen this year or the next, because they’re never held accountable. The same guy who caused the upset last year (breaking several BiCon Code of Conduct rules in the process) wasn’t thrown out of the Con. If an attendee had done that, they’d be told to leave immediately. It’s been almost a year since that incident, but I haven’t heard or seen anything on BiCon website apologising about it, or even mentioning it.

When I’ve brought up problems in the past, I’ve often been told “We’re just volunteers! We don’t get paid to do this!” This is a silencing tactic, which minimises the power that these volunteers have. It’s like saying, “Shut up and be grateful!”

Another issue is the constant lack of engagement with bisexuals of colour. The highest attendance (20+) we had was the year a donor gave BiCon funding to subsidise free places for People of Colour, disabled and working class. The next year there was nothing, and the attendance went down to about 5 bi’s of colour. Nobody on organising teams wants to look at the fact that bi’s of colour are more likely to be unemployed or on low wages - due to racism. If we can’t get subsides places, we simply can’t go. I’ve been saying this since 2008, and nobody seems to listen. At the same time, I keep getting asked how BiCon can become more accessible and diverse. This just feels like the minimum amount of lip service.

I’ve been a bisexual activist for years. BiCon has been the highlight of each of those years. BiCon needs to look at the structure of organising the event. BiCon Continuity could possibly include this in their remit too. Because until things change, and I feel safer attending, I’m not going back.

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Billie PrimeI’ve changed access to this story – now everyone can…

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.

black csa csa tw Fiction lgbt sci-fi & fantasy scifi

SynopsisBillie has always had a love of science-fiction and…

Synopsis

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

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This photo was taken by Barry Boubah to show how diverse New…

This photo was taken by Barry Boubah to show how diverse New York is. It was a celebration, however, a far-right group used it to mock them instead. This in turn made people say that this is indeed the kind of future they want, where different people can exist in peace together. I started thinking of the future bisexual people in the U.K may want, with all the silly/serious things that involves. So I wrote a poem about it.

The future bisexuals want

By Jacq A.

Late night cake, biscuit and sex toy shops.

Gripping drama on tv where bi characters don’t get shot.

Cheesy discos around the clock:

The is the future bisexuals want.

For OKCupid to stop being so shit.

Bi’s of all genders on magazine covers looking fit.

LGBT organisations remembering bi people exist!

This is the future bisexuals want.

Bigoted lesbian & gays to stop being tiresome.

Straights to stop asking us for threesomes.

Constant Torchwood Seasons 1 & 2 re-runs!

This is the future bisexuals want.

We’re not asking for very much you know?

Just cake and sex and good sci-fi shows.

And basic respect - it should’nt be too hard to think of.

Cos that’s the future bisexuals deserve and want!

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They don’t need to kill us, when we want to kill ourselvesThey…

They don’t need to kill us, when we want to kill ourselves

They never think of me when they say LGBT.
They spy young and thin and so, so white
And if their vision widens to invite my body, big and brown,
I will never be named:
I am not one of the queer crowd.

My human shell contains a beating bisexual heart.
But my sound and my shape are scrubbed
Until only a white dream remains,
And bisexuals are left at the back of the Pride parade.
We will never be named.

Whose tears are these? Whose dreams are gone?
Are questions never asked.
Bisexual erased right off this planet
Gay rainbows as a mask.
The very last thing to cross your mind
As darkness and silence puffs out my flame:
My identity is hated first and last;
A terrible mark of your shame.

Who will listen when I am gone,
To discover an echo on the microphone?
A smudge where a human might have sat:
Bisexual and alone.
My old words will form an image of me.
Incline your ear to my remains.
The silence is never ending now.
Marked in stone, yet never named.

bisexuality black disability disabled homeless lgbt poc qtipoc Women

I gave a talk recently about homelessness and minorities. A…

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