BiCon 2015

Inclusivity has always been at the heart of my values.  I’ve felt like I don’t belong, been actiely erased, dismissed and ignored for years.  BiCon, and the Bi’s of Colour group has helped combat the loneliness and isolation and otherness I’ve felt in a big way.  It’s why BiCon is the highlight of the year for me and so many others.

This year I gave a presentation with two other bisexuals of colour on what we have been up to as a group for the last five years, since the group’s formation.  It was wonderful to see how things had changed, and how much more of an accepting place BiCon has become.  But more needs to change.  During the weekend, I was spoken to in a really harsh manner by a few people who treated me like a research subject, instead of a human being.  The middle-class, white, academic bias many attendees have ingrained in their psyche, was something I found disappointing.  This came to the fore, both in casual meetups over lunch and dinner, and also in a few workshops (especially the nonbinary gender one).

There were some wonderful things that eclipsed the bad this year: there were 19 bisexuals of colour in attendance at the Bi’s of Colour session.  We raised £190 for the Bi’s of Colour History Project www.gofundme.com/bochistory , and the Steven Universe Sing-along was one of the most enjoyable sessions I’ve taken part in!

BiCon 2015 took place in Nottingham University.

BiCon 2016 will be at the University of Preston.