poc – Page 3 – BiBloggers

Stage 2* of the Bi’s of Colour History Project is…

Stage 2* of the Bi’s of Colour History Project is underway. I aim to interview bisexual people of colour on their lives and on the common themes that arose in the Bi’s of Colour survey report. I also want to include photographs of the interviewees, alongside ephemera relating to bi/pan/fluid people of colour.

I am based in London, but I am able to travel to carry out interviews in the following places: Brighton, Manchester, Nottingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Bristol, Cardiff, Dublin and Belfast. For interviewees outside of these cities, I can email a list of questions.

This is where your help is needed. I’ve set up a Go Fund Me page where you can donate for this campaign: http://www.gofundme.com/bochistory

Individuals: I know money is tight for all of us, but if you can donate even a small amount, it will help this campaign.

LGBTIQA organisations, you can help me to complete this work. If you’ve read the Bi’s of Colour Report, you will know how vital this is. Your assistance will be added to the Stage 3 exhibition/display. You’ll get publicity for supporting a very marginalised group of people.

Your donations will help to pay for travel, and to reimburse participants for their time. I need to pay for photography and printing. I cannot do this without your help. There is currently nothing like this out there. It doesn’t have to be like that.

If anyone wants to contact me to discuss how to get involved with this project, email me at bis.of.colour@gmail.com

*Stages

Stage 1: Bi’s of Colour survey and report

Stage 2: Oral history interviews

Stage 3: Travelling exhibition/display of Bi’s of Colour History

Stage 4: A published book of the project!

poc pride ukip

London LGBT Pride, Part Two: The rubbish bit

UKIP, a fascist political party has its own LGBT group. They applied and were accepted to march with the Pride parade in June. However, there was a bit of a backlash from LGBT PoC and others, who said a hate group had no place at Pride. Pride had accepted the inclusion of this group without telling anyone on their Advisory Board about it, including me as the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic member’s representative. I was so disgusted at this underhand tactic that I resigned my post. I wanted nothing to do with an even where UKIP would appear.

As a result of this, and heaps of bad publicity, London Pride issued a statement saying that UKIP’s LGBT group would no longer march in the parade, due to “safety concerns”

All of this came to nothing when UKIP’s LGBT group crashed the parade, pushing their way past the Lesbian and Gay Immigration group. For more info on this see: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/ukip-sneaks-march-pride-london270615

I would never have attended Pride if I had known a hate group would be in the march, that wants to see people like me dead. I feel as if London LGBT Pride has once again, screwed over People of Colour, in allowing this entire debacle to happen. There were hundreds of stewards and police along the parade route; why did they do nothing when this incident occured?

Because they don’t care about us.

At the start of the parade, a man protested over Barclay’s Bank being present (and at the front). He was wrestled to the ground by a Pride steward, and then arrested by the police. The same people did nothing when UKIP barged in. That group hadn’t paid a marching fee, and they hadn’t signed the code of conduct agreement. Many small charities had to pay to be part of the parade, but UKIP got in for free by shoving black people out of the way.

I am incredibly upset about this. So I’m going to cheer myself up by looking at Part One of this, over on the Bi’s of Colour site: http://bisofcolour.tumblr.com/post/122742976253/london-lgbt-pride-part-one-nice-bits-i-attended

bisexual black color lgbt lgbtiq poc pride trans

It’s the start of the 2015 LGBT Pride season. Here’s a request…

It’s the start of the 2015 LGBT Pride season. Here’s a request from me to all of you who like to take photos of these events (especially if you’re a journalist).

Old people who are LGBTIQA belong at Pride

People of Colour who are LGBTIQA belong at Pride

Disabled people who are LGBTIQA belong at Pride

TAKE THEIR PHOTOS TOO!

Year after year, all I see are pics of white, cis gay men and lesbians, or white Drag Queens. Every bloody year! We are out and proud and happy to be part of Pride. Please reflect that. Pride shouldn’t just be pale and stale.

For a list of many UK LGBT Pride events, see http://prideinlondon.org/pride-uk-2015/

bi bingo british culture game of thrones geek nerd poc queer racism steampunk

The updated bingo card for hanging out with geeky/nerdy white…

The updated bingo card for hanging out with geeky/nerdy white folks. Still quite British, but now 20% more clueless, privileged and racist!

The original bingo card is here

I’m still bisexual. I’m still hanging around with geeky/nerdy white folks. I love my friends most of the time, but they also manage to piss me off on a regular basis. Hence the extended bingo card. It is still my major resource to surviving interactions with them with my brain intact. And without being incredibly lonely.

I’m going to concentrate on the centre four squares, because I actually have a job, and it ain’t this. No further explanations of the outer boxes will be given. Please don’t ask.

Game of Thrones

This show manages to tick every single box of what it is like to be on the outside of popular culture, watching horrified at the world around you. It manages to be racist, misogynistic and triggering to survivors of violence and/or abuse. http://smokeandstir.org/2013/06/22/game-of-thrones-racism-and-white-saviors/

So many white geeky/nerdy folks love this show, and will not shut the hell up about it. Dare you complain about any of this, and you will encounter the next square on the bingo card.

No other black people around

You’ll probably notice how alone you are if you try to speak up about anything. Not all white folks are racist, but the cluelessness and privelige that many have can leave you flummoxed. Get used to explaining why things are hurtful, insulting and racist, because that will be your major contribution, whether you like it or not.

Steampunk

Or what happened when Goths discovered the colour brown. Never mind that steampunk is a fictional concept, it’s a case of history repeating itself and ignoring people of colour. Do an internet search of “Steampunk images of people” and try to find more than three people who are black. Scroll down a good few pages. Go on, I’ll wait for you to come back. Not much luck? Yeah. I thought so.

Racism Apologists

I wish this wasn’t on here. I wish I didn’t have to encounter this in almost every conversation I have with white geeky/nerdy white folks. But I do. Some examples I’ve personally had to grit my teeth through…

“X isn’t racist, it’s artistic.”

“X isn’t racist, it’s an accurate portrayal of the time period (even if it’s set in the future)

“X isn’t racist, because Islam isn’t a race.” (seriously, do not get me started on this one)

“X isn’t racist, because Scottish/Welsh people get called names too. Nobody starts a riot about that.”

Gah.

Things that didn’t make the card: Esperanto, Torture Garden club night, Richard Dawkins.

Things I removed from previous card: Slutwalk, Referencing the Guardian newspaper.

And lastly…

Bitcoin. Seriously? Everyone has way too much time on their hands.

bisexual bisexuality burlesque cthulhu dr who poc slutwalk

Welcome to my life… I came up with this bingo card as a…

Welcome to my life…

I came up with this bingo card as a way to keep sane whilst hanging out with white geeky folks. If you’re bisexual and you live in the U.K, hanging out with white geeky folks will be an unavoidable fact of life.

I’ve learned how to nod and look appreciative when people blather on about the focus of their lives, when their lives actively ignore anyone who is black, poor, not a programmer, or entrenched in a very specific range of British-isms. So instead of feeling sad, I can have fun shouting BINGO! at random moments during the evening.

This basic bingo card is very British-specific, so if you live elsewhere, go forth and make your own regional specialty.

P.S - Linux totally needs to go on the next expanded bingo card.