Write to the Lords

Write to the Lords

With less than a week until the Lords begins to debate same-sex marriage, I used WriteToThem.com to write to a random Lord. I got given Lord Kalms, and here is the email I sent him.Dear Lord Kalms,Life is sometimes difficult. This is true for everyone,...
Equal marriage: why we need equal civil partnerships too
Posted inbi civil partnership equality Equality & Inclusion fairness gender lgbt Marriage sexuality UK Politics

Equal marriage: why we need equal civil partnerships too

Tim Loughton MP, the sponsor of yesterday evening’s amendment to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill which would have introduced Civil Partnerships for opposite sex couples, does not have a record of supporting LGBT equality. Indeed, his motives in putting forward the amendment may not have been entirely straightforward, but that doesn’t take away from […]
Welcome to my life…  I came up with this bingo card as a…
Posted inbisexual 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.

Will being bisexual affect my career?

Will being bisexual affect my career?

This post is inspired by my last few weeks considering my third year (next year). It will be my last year of my vocational honours degree, and so comes with a few extra things on the to do list. A work placement, a 2500 words self-evaluation essay, and...
Will being bisexual affect my career?

Will being bisexual affect my career?

This post is inspired by my last few weeks considering my third year (next year). It will be my last year of my vocational honours degree, and so comes with a few extra things on the to do list. A work placement, a 2500 words self-evaluation essay, and...
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Public Health Outcomes Framework Companion Document
Posted inbisexual

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Public Health Outcomes Framework Companion Document

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Public Health Outcomes Framework Companion Document is a resource for all those commissioning and delivering healthcare services in order to support the delivery of an equitable public health system.

http://www.lgf.org.uk/phof

The LGB&T PHOF Companion Document is intended primarily for Health and Wellbeing Boards and public health teams, as well as local authorities, the NHS, and voluntary and community organisations that commission and provide services, as a resource to improve the health and wellbeing of the diverse LGB&T communities they serve.

The report includes bisexuality throughout, though usually with bi and gay men together and lesbians and bi women.

Bi specific bits:

pg. 8:
There is limited research into bisexuality. However, there is evidence for bisexual men and women of increased
risk of eating disorders, mental ill health and increased alcohol consumption compared to lesbians and their
heterosexual peers. Although bisexual women are more likely to have tested for sexually transmitted diseases than
lesbian women, significantly fewer bisexual men have ever been for an STD or HIV test than gay men.

pg. 11:
The national Integrated Household Survey included sexual orientation as a dimension in 2010. This found that
self-reported health was slightly better among lesbians and gay men than heterosexuals, but much worse among
bisexuals and those identifying with another non-heterosexual identity.
and
pg. 36:
The Healthy Life Expectancy section on page 11 includes data
on self-reported health, which suggests that self-reported health is slightly better among lesbians and gay men
than heterosexual people but much worse among bisexuals and those identifying with another non-heterosexual
identity.

pg. 13:
It is important to remember the increasing number of LGB&T identifying parents: an estimated 8% of lesbian and gay
people and 30% of bisexuals live in a household with one or more dependant children.

pg. 15:
2 in 5 lesbian women, 1 in 3 gay men and 1 in 4 bisexual men have experienced negative or mixed reactions from
mental health professionals.

pg. 27:
There is a lack of data on smoking amongst LGB&T people aged 15 in the UK, although US research found that
bisexual young people are twice as likely to smoke regularly as their heterosexual and homosexual peers.

pg. 31:
LGB people demonstrate a higher likelihood of being substance dependent, with between 4 and 13% of drug users
scoring as dependent. Dependence is highest amongst gay men and bisexual men and women.

pg. 47:
Bisexual and queer identified people are more likely than lesbians or gay men to have thought about and
attempted suicide in the past five years.

The report is referenced throughout. Bi specific references:

15 Jeffries, W.L, Dodge, B and Sandfort, T.G.M. ‘Religion and spirituality among bisexual Black Men in the USA’,
Culture, Health & Sexuality, 10:4, 2008, 463-477.

18 Guasp, A and Taylor, J. ‘Bisexuality – Stonewall Health Briefing’, London, Stonewall, 2012. http://www.healthylives.stonewall.org.uk/lgb-health/briefings/bisexuality.aspx

93 Saewyc, E. M., Homma, Y., Skay, C. L., Bearinger, L. H., Resnick, M. D., & Reis, E. (2009). Protective Factors in the Lives
of Bisexual Adolescents in North America. American Journal of Public Health, 99, 110-117

166 Count Me In Too: Bisexual Lives Community Summary, University of Brighton, 2009


I recognise and respect a number of the authors of the document and it seems pretty comprehensive. Do we have any more bi stuff to add to a companion to the companion document?

comment count unavailable comments
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Public Health Outcomes Framework Companion Document
Posted inbisexual

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Public Health Outcomes Framework Companion Document

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Public Health Outcomes Framework Companion Document is a resource for all those commissioning and delivering healthcare services in order to support the delivery of an equitable public health system.

http://www.lgf.org.uk/phof

The LGB&T PHOF Companion Document is intended primarily for Health and Wellbeing Boards and public health teams, as well as local authorities, the NHS, and voluntary and community organisations that commission and provide services, as a resource to improve the health and wellbeing of the diverse LGB&T communities they serve.

The report includes bisexuality throughout, though usually with bi and gay men together and lesbians and bi women.

Bi specific bits:

pg. 8:
There is limited research into bisexuality. However, there is evidence for bisexual men and women of increased
risk of eating disorders, mental ill health and increased alcohol consumption compared to lesbians and their
heterosexual peers. Although bisexual women are more likely to have tested for sexually transmitted diseases than
lesbian women, significantly fewer bisexual men have ever been for an STD or HIV test than gay men.

pg. 11:
The national Integrated Household Survey included sexual orientation as a dimension in 2010. This found that
self-reported health was slightly better among lesbians and gay men than heterosexuals, but much worse among
bisexuals and those identifying with another non-heterosexual identity.
and
pg. 36:
The Healthy Life Expectancy section on page 11 includes data
on self-reported health, which suggests that self-reported health is slightly better among lesbians and gay men
than heterosexual people but much worse among bisexuals and those identifying with another non-heterosexual
identity.

pg. 13:
It is important to remember the increasing number of LGB&T identifying parents: an estimated 8% of lesbian and gay
people and 30% of bisexuals live in a household with one or more dependant children.

pg. 15:
2 in 5 lesbian women, 1 in 3 gay men and 1 in 4 bisexual men have experienced negative or mixed reactions from
mental health professionals.

pg. 27:
There is a lack of data on smoking amongst LGB&T people aged 15 in the UK, although US research found that
bisexual young people are twice as likely to smoke regularly as their heterosexual and homosexual peers.

pg. 31:
LGB people demonstrate a higher likelihood of being substance dependent, with between 4 and 13% of drug users
scoring as dependent. Dependence is highest amongst gay men and bisexual men and women.

pg. 47:
Bisexual and queer identified people are more likely than lesbians or gay men to have thought about and
attempted suicide in the past five years.

The report is referenced throughout. Bi specific references:

15 Jeffries, W.L, Dodge, B and Sandfort, T.G.M. ‘Religion and spirituality among bisexual Black Men in the USA’,
Culture, Health & Sexuality, 10:4, 2008, 463-477.

18 Guasp, A and Taylor, J. ‘Bisexuality – Stonewall Health Briefing’, London, Stonewall, 2012. http://www.healthylives.stonewall.org.uk/lgb-health/briefings/bisexuality.aspx

93 Saewyc, E. M., Homma, Y., Skay, C. L., Bearinger, L. H., Resnick, M. D., & Reis, E. (2009). Protective Factors in the Lives
of Bisexual Adolescents in North America. American Journal of Public Health, 99, 110-117

166 Count Me In Too: Bisexual Lives Community Summary, University of Brighton, 2009


I recognise and respect a number of the authors of the document and it seems pretty comprehensive. Do we have any more bi stuff to add to a companion to the companion document?

comment count unavailable comments
Jessie J the bisexual

Jessie J the bisexual

"I've never denied it. They say how my sexuality isn’t “exclusive”, but I’ve never hidden it – even in the early days. I’m not afraid to say I’m very comfortable with who I am and I love who I love.’ Whoopie doo guys, yes, I've dated girls and I've dated boys – get over it. It’s the person, not the genitals. The frustrating thing is that if I was with a guy right now, I’d be [considered] straight. But if I was with a girl, I’d be “gay.” When I was with my ex-girlfriend, I used to take her around and say, “This is my girlfriend.” People would be comfortable with it because I was. That’s what annoys me about the media. The bisexual label irritates me. They'd never write 'Adele – the straight singer', but that's how the world works. I don’t drink or smoke, so this is what people like to talk about. I’ve never tried to make [my sexuality] something that’s going to put me in newspapers or magazines. I’m never, ever going to let it be something that sells my music. Sexuality shouldn’t define you. It should be part of who you are."
- Jesse J.

For me, she and Anna Paquin are my favourite popular culture bisexual role models. They have different stories - Jesse never came out to the public as such, she just was, whereas Paquin did a public announcement in support of an LGBT equality campaign - but there's something about their breeziness about their sexuality, and their candour, that I really like.

By not making a big deal, by getting exasperated at the media's obsession with it, by being entirely honest and unapologetic about who they, by being successful as themselves, and by claiming the right in their public presence to be a full member of society as a whole, rather than sticking with being only a queer public presence, they are what pop culture needs, what we need in pop culture, to elbow our way to normalising bisexuality.

They are my role models, and I was honoured enough to be told today that I'm like a role model to a woman thirty years older than me, for exactly the same reasons - how casual, unapologetic, comfortable, and open I am about who I am and who I fall in love with. But I can't take all the credit - it would be harder if I wasn't encouraged by the examples of those bisexual celebrities who are not exactly Out & Proud bisexuals, but Out & So What? bisexuals. More please, popular culture.