Bidar: Breaking News
Prop 8 Upheld but same-sex marriages performed in the window between legalization and Prop 8  remain legal and valid marriages under state law.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/26/BAE017PTAD.DTL&tsp=1

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/california-supreme-court-upholds-prop-8-gay-marriage-remains-banned-in-state.html

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Bidar News: click here for articles with photos http://biwriters.livejournal.com/  or see below:

-MySpace page of murdered bi sailor revealed
-Bisexual Sailor Murdered
-Transcript of Robyn Ochs Keynote Speech from
National Summit on Putting the "B" in LGBT
-Bisexual poet appointed Poet Laureate of Britain
-Time Out article debunks bi myths--quotes bi activists



MySpace page of murdered bi sailor revealed

August Provost from his MySpace page:
I am in the military and I enjoy working and helping my country fight for its freedom. I hope to get married and have kids one day but if not the kids, at least get married to my soulmate.

The very first thing on his MySpace page is his love declaration to his boyfriend:
My LOVE of my life KAETHER

Photo of Kaether from Album entitled "My Loves Backgrounds" on August's MySpace page

Another pic:

"Me, My Sister, And Brother"

Provost's MySpace profile states:
Male
29 years old
Camp Pendleton, California
United States

Ironically, in his blogpost of 6/27 he is mourning the death of Michael Jackson
I miss Michael Jackson. R.I.P. my friend, never will die in my heart.
Mood: murning 

Eerily, his myspace notes:
Last Login: 6/28/2009
Which was only 1 week ago, but it will be the last ever

You can see his myspace page here http://www.myspace.com/a_provost with more pics etc.


Seaman August Provost, shown on his MySpace page,
was killed while on sentry duty at Camp Pendleton.

Bisexual Sailor Murdered

CNN) -- A sailor found dead earlier this week at California's Camp Pendleton was shot while standing sentry, and a fire was set in an attempt to cover up evidence, the U.S. Navy said. http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/03/california.sailor.death/


The death of Seaman August Provost of Houston, Texas, is being investigated as a homicide, Capt. Matt Brown told reporters on Thursday. A sailor is in custody in the case, Brown said.

Although at least one of Provost's relatives said she believes he was killed because of his sexual orientation and his race, Brown said there was no indication the killing was a hate crime. A U.S. congressman also said on Friday there are indications Provost may have been killed because of his sexual orientation.

Provost was killed while he was standing guard as a sentry for the Assault Craft Unit 5 compound at Camp Pendleton, Brown said. He had begun the shift at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, and his body was discovered by his replacement around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.
"Preliminarily, it appears that Seaman Provost suffered gunshot wounds and it appears that someone
attempted to destroy evidence by lighting a fire at Seaman Provost's assigned place of duty," Brown said.

Provost's aunt, Rose Roy, of Beaumont, Texas, said by telephone on Friday that her nephew had told her he was being harassed because of his sexual orientation and because he was African-American. She described him as bisexual.

"He mentioned it to me and a couple other family members," she said of the harassment, and said he had first told her about it sometime last year. "He was frstrated by it," she said.

She said she had advised him to speake to someone of higher rank, but said she wasn't sure if he had done so.

"He went to serve and protect, but he didn't get the protection," she said. Brown said Thursday that he had no information on claims of harassment.
Asked whether she believed her nephew was killed because of race and sexual orientation, she said, "In my heart, I do." She added, "it was like an execution-style killing, and nobody does that unless you have that kind of hatred in your heart."

The Navy has one sailor in custody who "has been linked to the commission of this crime through both physical evidence and his own statement," Brown said.  Watch Brown talk about the killing as a random act »

He did not identify the sailor, who has not been charged with wrongdoing. It is unclear if the sailor served with Provost in the same unit.

A second sailor whom authorities initially questioned has since been released, Brown said.

He said the Navy has no indication that Provost's death is a hate crime, although he emphasized the investigation is ongoing.

"What I can tell you, unequivocally at this point, based on the preliminary information that we have, is that regardless of the person standing watch in that sentry station, this crime would have most likely been carried out in the same way," he said.

"In other words, another sailor could have been on that post and would have been the victim of this crime."

Rep. Bob Filner, a California Democrat, has called for a full and transparent investigation. Asked Friday if Provost was killed because of his sexual orientation, he said, "There are indications that that's the case. His family says he was harassed."

Filner said he was on Camp Pendleton hours after Provost's body was found, although no one told him of the killing.

"When I was on the base for another event, the commander of the base was sitting next to me and never mentioned a word, which I find very strange," he said.

He said he was asking for the "truth of what happened."

"We're going to ask, if I may coin a phrase, and we hope that they tell," he said.

Roy said her nephew was "a good kid," who didn't have a "bad bone in his body" and had loved the Navy. He joined the service in March 2008, according to Brown.

"He was a people person," Roy said. "If he could give you the shirt off his back, he would."
**********



In other reports, he is described as gay http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/01/ca-sailor-death-070109/ and http://rodonline.typepad.com/rodonline/august-provost/ .



Robyn Ochs at Summit                  Ron Suresha, Robyn Ochs & Renata Moreira
Photos by Barbara Fortune

Transcript of Robyn Ochs Keynote Speech
National Summit on Putting the "B" in LGBT

Robyn wowed the Summit with her Keynote speech and we're very pleased to have a transcript to share with you!  You can also listen to it on Robyn's website http://www.robynochs.com/Files/BiMediaSummitKeynote.mp3


I'm Robyn Ochs, and I identify as bisexual, and I most certainly exist. (laughter and applause) A big thanks to the conference organizers and volunteers and to the sponsoring organizations. And thanks to everyone here for choosing to take time out of your busy, overbooked lives to be inside on this beautiful, sunny day to listen, learn and to share your own thoughts.



The theme of this conference is putting the B into LGBT.



L..G..B..T.



I went to a trans conference a few years back, and one of the speakers made reference to the "LGB-fake T community." I thought, "Um, hum." I sat there in the audience thinking that our community could also be called the "LG-fake B-fake T community." And sometimes even the "G-fake L-fake-B-fake-T community." On our inclusion report cards, the box for "needs improvement" will certainly be checked.



So the B is not the only letter we have trouble with. But in fact, that is what we are here today to focus on. Keep in mind though, that almost everything I say about inclusion could be applied to other groups as well. But we are here today to focus on this particular letter. So in this keynote, I'll talk about why I think people have so much difficulty seeing and understanding bisexuality. The panels that follow will provide us with greater specificity and focus.



I'll start by laying out a few of my own assumptions so that you know where I'm coming from, and then I'll address some obstacles to fair and accurate representation of bisexuals.



Here are my assumptions:



Fact: Human sexuality exists on a continuum. Some people are exclusively homosexual, some are exclusively heterosexual, and some of us fall somewhere along the continuum. The sexuality continuum is a big one. It doesn't just have three points. There is a whole lot of variety between the poles.



Fact: We don't all have the same ideas about what these identities mean. There is no universally accepted definition of what it means to call yourself gay, or lesbian, or straight, or bi, or queer. In fact, this is something that is constantly being negotiated. There are many people with same-sex attraction and or behavior who nonetheless identify as "straight.".



Fact: There isn't a tidy line that can be drawn between people in one identity group and people in another. Some self-identified bisexuals are gayer than some self-identified gay people. And some self-identified lesbians and gay men are more bisexual than some self-identified bisexuals. And to further complicate an already complicated reality, our identities can change over time as we discover more about ourselves.



Fact: some people define their identities by their current behavior. If you're doing. (laughter, and Robyn blushes); others by their historical behavior or attractions. Others define their identities by their attractions, regardless of their behavior, seeing bisexuality as an embracing of one's potential.



Fact: you don't have to be "50/50" to identify as bisexual. The idea that you have to be 50/50 is really common. I have heard so many people say "I don't know if I qualify, you see, I have had some attractions toward people of one sex, but most of my attractions have been toward women but I haven't actually acted on . so I don't' know if it qualifies.



One of my favorite jokes is the following: we'd make up an official bisexual identity card, which would be a card that the Bisexual Authority would issue to you when you come out as bisexual. It would have two lines: one for a male lover, one for a female lover, and you'd have to get it signed and dated (laughter) by a male and a female lover. Once you got both of those lines signed and dated, you would qualify. You would be an official, card-carrying bisexual. But of course, like most memberships, there'd be an expiration date. Now we can argue about how long that would be: 10 years, 5 years, 6 months, two weeks, one day, whatever. Everytime you have a new lover you would get the appropriate line of your card re-signed and re-dated, and if you didn't get both of those lined re-signed and re-dated before the expiration date you would no longer have the right to call yourself bisexual. Simple.



But needless to say, that's not really the way it works. In fact, by any of these expiration standards, I would no longer "count" as bisexual. In fact, most researchers wouldn't count me as bisexual because I haven't had sex with a man in one year, two years, five years, or even ten years. But I still identify as bisexual. But I've had people say "No you're not, because a bisexual is defined as someone who blah blah blah. But I'd say "You're not the Biseuxal Authority. I am!" (laughter and applause)



So, now to my next to last fact:



Fact: all of the above facts make a lot of people uncomfortable because they require people to embrace complexity. Ick. And that's part of the "ick factor thing - you've heard that expression. Part of it is sex-phobia, and part of it is complexity-phobia. The ick factor is about a resistance to sex AND a resistance to complexity."



Final fact: Bisexuality is - for some people - a long-term and stable identity. I know this to be true. I know it from experience, as I have identified as bisexual for 33 years - my entire adult life. So if in fact bisexuality is just a phase, then for me it has been one hell of a long phase, that I look forward to continuing.



Photo by Amanda Morgan             Photo by Barbara Fortune


SO WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES TO BISEXUAL VISIBILITY?



There are several powerful and longstanding challenges to bisexual visibility. Here are 5:



1. The first is that WE'RE SIMPLY NOT SEEN. Let me explain what I mean by this: One of the particular challenges that bisexuals face is that for the most part, bisexual people are not recognizable to others as bisexual. We are assumed by other people to be either gay or straight.

Think about it: .

            If I walk into a restaurant with my arm wrapped around a man, other people see a straight couple, 2 heterosexuals.

If I walk into a restaurant with my arm wrapped around a woman, what do other people see? (a lesbian couple, 2 lesbians - wow, they look awfully femmy, but they're two lesbians. Of course, what else could they possibly be?)

What kind of behavior would I have to engage in to get other people to see me as bisexual? I could walk into the room with a man and a woman and engage in a little bit of tongue work to make it obvious that we're sexual partners. "Ooh, look at those bisexuals"



Which leads me to #2:

2. TO BE IDENTIFIED BY OTHERS AS BISEXUAL, I'D HAVE TO DO SOMETHING TO MAKE ME VISIBLE. I could come into the restaurant with 2 partners (1 on each arm?). Or be known to have 2 or more partners of various sexes; or leave someone for someone of a different sex, or get caught "cheating" on my partner with someone of a different sex, or talk about going to sex parties. Or kiss a girl at a party I'm attending with my boyfriend.

Or I could go on a talk show like Jerry Springer. But then, I've been turned down by a number of talk shows because they said I wasn't bisexual enough. (laughter) I know, 33 years of service, but because I don't have a boyfriend and a girlfriend, that's the thanks I get.

Or I could be 17 years old, go to a party and make out with another girl, and they might see bisexual chicks making out.

            And if you think about it, these examples mirror the most common stereotypes of bisexuality. And that's not a coincidence. Because of this, many people equate bisexuals with promiscuity, with polyamory, cheating, deception, and untrustworthiness, with horniness. And by the way, I'm not saying bad about any of those things except dishonesty and cheating. Think about the prevailing stereotypes about bisexuals: that we are hypersexual; that we are bad relationship material and will leave our partners for someone else; that we are not to be trusted; that we are all involved with multiple partners.

            Is it true that some bisexuals behave in ways that are consistent with some of these stereotypes? Of course it's true. We run the gamit from asexual to a little bit sexual, to moderately sexual, to mega-multi-very-super-sexual. And that's not a problem.

            The fact is that some people in EVERY identity group run the same gamit. We are pretty much like everyone else in that we're all different. But it's only for us that our sexuality gets seen as causing supersexuality. Are there any gay men who are very, very sexual? Yes, I've met one or two. Any straight men?   (laughter) But people don't say, "Oh he's straight, that's why he's that way." (laughter)

            Some of us are monogamous, some of us are polyamorous, and some of us are celibate. Just like everybody else. And I have nothing against monogamy, polyamory, or celibacy or any of the other -ogamies or -amories. In fact I'm totally pro-choice on this. I just don't want to have my own identity group given full credit for any one particular behavior.

            But it pisses me off that only for bisexuals is our sexual orientation seen to be causal or predictive of any of these behaviors.  Bisexuals are just like everybody else. And I don't mean that in an "oh, we're normal kind of way." I mean that - just like people in every other identity group, we run the gamit from outrageous to boring.



#3. EXISTING LINGUISTIC CONSTRUCTIONS REINFORCE BINARIES. (How's that for academese?) This one is really simple. We love our binaries. Gay or straight. Black or white. Democrat or Republican. Man or Woman. These binaries are great for soundbites, if you only have one sentence. But each of these binaries obscures a whole lot of complexity.



Interestingly, I was just doing a speaking engagement where I used the political binary as an example. And I was thinking Democrat/ Republican. And I was thinking of the way in which this binary leaves out people who might be registered one way and vote the other. Then someone shouted out "Green Party." And I thought, "Oh dear, it's not even just that it's a continuum, even if we spanned that entire continuum we'd still be leaving people out! And that's true for a lot of our binary constructions. It's not just that we things exist on a continuum, but that there are many different continua. So we have to be really careful that we don't oversimplify everything.



#4. This one is "special": the very mention of bisexuality often generates outright hostility, as though our existence is an annoyance or - even more - a challenge or threat to the social order. We are often perceived as a threat. You say you're bisexual and people recoil as though you're attacking them! I have a pin that says, "I act this way to piss you off." Well, the reality is that I don't. My identity is about ME.



#5. INTERESTINGLY, BISEXUALS FACE THE UNIQUE CHALLENGE OF HAVING TO LISTEN TO PEOPLE SAYING THAT WE DON'T EXIST. Sometimes I feel like a leprachaun, or a tooth fairy or something, popping around corners and surprising people. How many of you have ever heard someone say that bisexuals don't exist? (all hands go up). I was hoping that none of you would raise your hands, but of course you all did. It's really weird. And if you don't believe me, I present you with a short quote from the usually fabulous Dr. Ruth:



"Everyone is either straight or gay," Westheimer wrote in a 2005 column. "Some people go through an in-between stage where they are perhaps not sure, but eventually they fall into one category or the other, so that there really is no such thing as being bisexual."



And she is someone whom I would like to respect. But I feel very disrespected by that statement. But mostly I feel defensive and irritated.



#6. And finally: All of the above factors result in A SERIOUS SHORTAGE OF POSITIVE IMAGES OF BISEXUAL PEOPLE. How many bisexual people can you think of, fictional or real? Not many, I predict.

And most of the ones that come immediately to mind are people like Tila Tequila. I don't know about you, but when I look at her, I don't see a reflection of myself. And it's not just that she is shorter than me. For many reasons, she doesn't represent me.





WE HAVE SEVERAL CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF US.



One is to respond to the negative statements about bisexuals made by media stars - let me call them out - Michael Musto, Dan Savage, Dr. Ruth, Michael Bailey, Oprah - Oprah, who gets lesbian and gay people so well, but has a real resistance to seeing bisexuals. She's said many things that are very dismissive. Interestingly, everyone I've mentioned has done other work that I really respect, but then they go and say these negative and dismissive things, and I just want to get them in a room for two days and educate them!



We face the challenge of challenging negative stereotypes and also of being proactive, of creating positive, affirming images of bisexuals.



I want to leave you with a question. When writing press releases, when blogging or reporting LGBT news, when creating sound bites, some activists and journalists often choose to use the simplest language possible, choosing terms that are easy to digest and also choosing to economize by choosing the shortest, simplest message. They do a little bit of polling to see what words are most digestible. But of course the result of this is often erasure. "Terms such as the gay community," "gay marriage," are examples this. Writing "gay marriage" is of course so much shorter and simpler than saying "marriage equality for same-sex couples." And some people don't like to use words like "same-sex marriage because it has what word in it? (sex!) Yes, sex. But I'm in a marriage that is not a gay marriage. In fact, our marriage doesn't have its own sexual orientation and neither of us identify as gay. One of us identifies as bisexual, and one as a lesbian.



But think about what is being rendered invisible when we simplify. Sometimes one benefit has the unintended outcome of creating harm.



I often hear people talk about the value of simplicity in messaging, and of choosing language that resonates best with focus groups. I do understand the importance of doing research to find out what words "read" better. I'm on the board of MassEquality, Massachusetts' statewide equality group, and we have used focus groups. When you're in the middle of a battle, you want to get to a legislative victory. But it comes sometimes at great cost. But what to do if, for example, the phrase "the gay and lesbian community" tests slightly better than "the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community"? What to do if we learn that the more people respond positively to white, middle class professional-looking gay men and lesbians than they do to bi or trans people or to people of color or working class or poor people of any orientation? Do we then choose only easy-to-digest spokespeople? What's the right thing to do? We know the answer. We need not to choose only easy to digest messages and easy to digest people.



Here I visualize a circle. When we choose simple language and images to make our reader or listener comfortable, we are maximizing our chances that we'll get our legislative victory, and that we will be listened to and understood. But on the other hand, we are reinforcing a false simplicity and therefore perpetuating an illusion. The snake is swallowing its own tail. Until we step outside the circle, the frame will never change.



In all honesty, I believe that the challenges facing us will never be fully resolved, that we will need to keep on creating images of bisexual people and images of complexity, and challenging the sexual orientation binaries over and over and over again, reminding people that we exist. Binaries are like magnets, we are drawn to simplicity.



But I am willing to keep on doing this work, over and over, smashing and challenging binaries for as long as it takes, with as much patience as I can muster. We have to do this work because it matters. I once heard Raven Kaldera say "every time you draw a line it cuts through someone's flesh."



The flip side of this dynamic is that every time you challenge binaries, every time you insist that people use inclusive language and images, every time you make space for complexity, you are engaging in an act of healing,



You are expanding vision,

You are putting more oxygen into the room,

You are creating for yourself and for other people more space to be complex and complete.

So make a commitment to get out there and challenge binaries.



Think about what types of resources you wish were out there. Think about what would have made it easier for you. Think about what would have and does make it easier for you. And now get out there and create some more of that!



I'll end by saying that my name is Robyn Ochs. I identify as bisexual, and I'm here to recruit YOU to challenge binaries.




Openly bisexual poet Carol Ann Duffy appointed Poet Laureate of Britain

Beside being the first openly bisexual poet to hold the post, she is also both the first woman and the first Scottish poet to do so. She is also an acclaimed playwright. Duffy is a single mother who lives with her 14 year old daughter Ella and has a pet spaniel. The post has been held by literary luminaries William Wordsworth and Alfred Lord Tennyson.

Duffy took the position on condition that she not be obligated to write poems for royal or state occasions, the original purpose of the post. And her first poem as laureate entitled "Politics" blasted parliament with a cutting commentary on the MPs' expenses scandal, in the form of a 14 line sonnet.

You can read more about her in the Daily Mail  and Wikipedia.  Schizophrenically, in both articles, she is referred to as both bisexual and lesbian. Probably because of a recent same-sex relationship.


Illustration: Eward McGowan
Setting the record straight
Make way for Bi Visibility Weekend.  [Time Out New York / Issue 713 : May 28-Jun 3, 2009]
By Beth Greenfield

We're a full 40 years into the queer-rights struggle, and still bisexuals are getting bad raps from both the straight and gay worlds-most recently and publicly in an April blog post, "Ever Meet a Real Bisexual?" by Michael Musto. "I'm just wondering how real a phenomenon this is, as opposed to a smoke-and-mirrors cover-up designed to keep antsy gays in the closet," he wrote, to the chagrin of bi readers everywhere. But this weekend, bisexuals strike back with a series of events at the Center being called the Bi Visibility Weekend, which includes a dinner, a brunch, a Bi Lines writers event with readings and performances, and "Putting the 'B' in LGBT Summit," a daylong Saturday event of workshops and panel discussions.
"As bi activists, we've always been frustrated with the lack of visibility and the attitude that basically we don't exist," says event organizer Sheela Lambert. She adds that last year's national discussion over the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act-which raised transgender awareness but forgot, somehow, to mention bisexuals-was the impetus for the event, which aims to educate journalists, improve visibility and debunk the many prevailing myths about bisexuality. Here, a preview of the mythbusting from some Summit speakers.




Myth No. 1 Bisexuals are fence-sitters
Debunked by Robyn Ochs, marriage activist and Bi Summit keynote speaker

"The fence exists only in our imagination. We're all individual people with individual experiences, and the categories we create are artificial. The idea that there's a wall between gay and straight is a myth.. I don't think there's any one person out there who can meet all of our needs, no matter what the gender. When I think about the things [my wife] Peg doesn't do for me, it's not about what's between her legs. Gender is just one of the many, many, many things about a person..But silly, silly humans love their binaries."





Myth No. 2 Bisexual men are really gay
Debunked by Ron Suresha, bi activist and writer

"The notion that anyone is 100 percent anything is just not true. The scientific research categorically refutes that. That kind of assertion usually reflects a really narrow view of sexuality of the person speaking. Most bisexuals are really quite comfortable with both sexes over the course of their lifetime.. Still, people say, 'Oh, you can't be bisexual.' I mean, people tell you that! It's like telling you you can't like chocolate and vanilla, that you have to choose. It's a real narrow-mindedness."





Myth No. 3 There's no such thing as a bisexual
Debunked by Sheela Lambert, bi activist and writer

"If we don't exist, does that mean we don't have to pay taxes? People have a hard time imagining bisexuality because they don't have those feelings. Maybe for a few weeks in their coming-out as gay they thought they might be bisexual, but that's it. I think the problem is because of this binary thinking we get into-that everything has to be straight or gay, black or white, good or bad. I guess people have no imagination.. We are accused of being in the closet, but often, in the LGBT community, what people are in the closet about is being bi, because they want to fit in and they want to be taken seriously."





Myth No. 4 Bisexuals will always cheat
Debunked by Dennis Slade, Bi Request organizer

"That one infuriates me. In gay relationships and in straight relationships, people are cheating all the time. Open communication is what's going to sustain a relationship. When we as bisexuals own our sexuality, then we can talk about it, and a lot of these problems and worries will go away."

Bi Visibility Weekend events are Sat 30 and Sun 31.
Link to article on Time Out NY http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/gay/74904/bi-visibility-weekend-in-new-york-city

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Bidar News: For full articles with videos click here http://biwriters.livejournal.com/

1.Bi Visibility Digest from Living the Bi Life blog-Alan Cumming bi safer sex video, dancers on Bi Pride Float video, bi writer/activist in India, TV clip with bi character + more
2. Bisexual Art Show: Call for Submissions


Bi Visibility Digest from Living the Bi Life blog
for you commie, homolesboswitchhittertranny-lovin' sons-of-guns
by BWA member Max the Communist

Bringing Out Bi/Pan/Queer Pride
I have yet to receive photos from Chicago Bi/Queer Meetup's participation in Chicago's Pride Parade last Sunday.  All of Noel's efforts generated a sterling and enthusiastic group of bi, pansexual, queer, and polyamorous activists to march with our bi/poly truck.  As promised, I showed up as Anita Bisexual, love-child of Anita Bryant and Camille Paglia.   Although the wicked wind tossed my wig into a hot mess, the crowd really responded positively to us and to Anita, especially her sign, "A Day Without Queers Is Like a Day Without Sunshine."   
I did go searching for other evidence of bi-ness within LGBTQ Pride celebrations.  Here are a few results:





Polys and bisexuals in San Francisco Pride Parade.



Los Angeles says "Biphobia Is So Last Year."



Birmingham Bisexuals making love count.

Here's a quick clip of the Toronto BiNet Float.

Send me your links to other Bi/Pan/Queer and Poly Pride images for your city or town.  You know I will do my best to post them here.

However, I don't think anyone here in the States was prepared for . . .

India's Queer Explosion!

Here are some great pics of New Delhi's Pride Celebrations, a very daring thing to take part in, given the social conservatism of the country.   I, for one, was very moved by the blatant bisexuality . . .



and the lovely hijras . . .





But parades in New Delhi, Kolkata, and Bangalore were just the beginning of India's LGBTQ explosion.   A day after I found these images, I got the news alert that, in a landmark decision, India's High Court ruled against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalized same-sex behavior.  The ruling is India's equivalent of our Lawrence v. Texas, which declared sodomy laws unconstitutional in the US.

Since then, more news has leaked out regarding bisexual, pansexual, and queer involvement in the fight against 377.   An activist from the BIACT-L listserv reported that she heard an Indian bi activist being interviewed on NPR.  Then Robyn Ochs, Boston bisexual activist, speaker, and editor of Getting Bi:  Voices of Bisexuals from Around the World, informed me that two contributors to her book took part in the campaign against 377--Apphia K. and Rajiv Dua.

Here is another story:  Indian bi activist Manohar Elavarthi is running for office, building on a coalition across social and economic strata, as well as sexual orientation and gender identity.   The article first identifies him as a gay man, but further down it acknowledges him as bisexual.  He is currently with a male partner.

Finally, bisexual Indian author Vikram Seth, a member of Voices Against 377, spoke out that more needs to be done for India's LGBTQ community: 

Go to BWA blog for video http://biwriters.livejournal.com/85579.html

Vikram Seth has long addressed gay and bisexual issues in his novels and poetry.  Gay and bisexual characters are centrally featured in novels like The Golden Gate  and  A Suitable Boy.  (Supposedly, Seth is working on a sequel to the latter, called A Suitable Girl.)   In an early poem, "Dubious," he states, "Some men like Jack and some like Jill/I'm glad I like them both but still/I wonder if this freewheeling/Really is an enlightened thing,/Or is its greater scope a sign/Of deviance from some party line?/In the strict ranks of Gay and Straight/What is my status:  Stray? Or Great?"

I focus on the switchhitters, but all Indian LGBTQ and allies should absolutely take pride in their hard work and courage.  I worry about a backlash.  Still, they made it this far.  Go India!

Bisexuals Sneak Into the White House

Okay, they really didn't really sneak in, but BiNet didn't receive an official invitation to the White House's LGBT Pride soiree.  So Robyn  Ochs and her partner Peg Preble got in under the wire with their Task Force connections.   Other official bisexuals in attendance were Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown.

It was a big deal of sorts.  Obama included bisexuals and transgendered people in his address commemorating June as LGBT Pride Month, which is somewhat more than Bill Clinton did.  But come on--after hundreds of LGBT military personnel thrown out under Obama's watch; after that horrendous DOJ brief on DOMA, comparing same-sex relationships to incest--WTF, Obama? 

Yeah.  Thanks for the wine and cheese.  Now, where are my rights?

A few bi politicians issued some Happy 4th of July statements.   Interesting to read these and news from across the pond where Labour competes with the Tories over who is more gay-friendly.  It's like a blurry vision from an alternate universe.  Their conservatives try to prove how much better they are for queers; our conservatives wear homophobia like a badge of honor.   Helping us through the looking-glass is Peter Tatchell, longtime gay activist who got arrested with Chicago GLN's Andy Thayer at Russia's Pride events earlier this year.  Again--Gordon, David--where are our rights?

Alan Cumming is Bi-Safer-Sexy!


Go to BWA blog for video http://biwriters.livejournal.com/85579.html

Alright Mr. Three-way, did you really do the ad to promote safer sex and condom use, or are you just bragging about your sex life?  Damn him for bogarting all the bi chic.

I would change the hot dog/penis graphics.  They're a little too dizzying.  If you'd like to read more on how this zany thing was created, never fear.  I am your total bi connection.

The Hidden Queerness of "Jersey Boys"

It's been running in Chicago since forever, but I've never been interested enough in the musical Jersey Boys to go see it--at least not until I saw this article. Apparently, the Four Seasons' producer, Bob Crewe was bi and Jersey Boys covers that story in the plot.  A songwriter as well as producer, Bob's crafting of the hit "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" came as an inspiration from his gay lover.  It's one man's love song to another man.

Go to BWA blog for video http://biwriters.livejournal.com/85579.html

Tila Tequila Gets Political



Okay.  I never, ever, ever thought I would see the day, but bi porn celeb Tila Tequila, former star of MTV's "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila," has expressed a desire to turn activist.  Her latest Tweets have revealed a plan to unleash her 3,833,688 MySpace friends on President Obama for not halting Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell.  Some gay guys over at queerty.com think she's just looking for attention.  But I think she is truly inspired by LT. Dan Choi.  Can you blame her?

Go to BWA blog for video of LT. Dan Choi.   http://biwriters.livejournal.com/85579.html


That man is one righteous ball of gay fierceness.  I say, Tila, whatever sets you on fire.   How much more convincing does the President need?  Colin Powell has joined over 100 generals in calling for an end to DADT.  It's not about taking heed from "more respectable authorities" on the subject anymore--Obama certainly isn't listening to people I'd respect.

So, go for it, Tila!  Unleash the hounds!

Bisexual Navy Man Shot Dead "Execution Style"



Really, because how much more of this crap are we going to put up with? Much as that is a rhetorical question, service members like Seaman August Provost deserve better than to be thrown out like trash or executed in the dark of night while they are just performing their duties.

Provost's murder was the most depressing news alert I scavenged from last month, but there was more.  Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Stonewall--and yet police are still raiding gay bars in this country!  Chad Gibson received an injury in that raid and could still die due to a blot clot from that injury.  At 29.  Insane!   Apparently, queers still need to fight the cops, given that the police are bashing lesbians in Brooklyn and queer activist conventioneers in Chicago.

Is this how far we've come?  Are we going to have to party like it's 1969?

Because it isn't just the nut jobs who make you tear your hair out, like Oklahoma's Sally Kern and her "Proclamation for Morality."  It's incidents like this one, where the security at a No Doubt concert harassed a couple of young women for kissing.  Really?  For kissing?  At a No Doubt concert?  In Canada?

Well, those last stories were real downers, so here's a little pick-me-up:  Zachary Quinto as Smudge in the series "Off-Centre"--a WB sitcom that ran from October 2001 to October 2002.  *sigh*  I discovered it a bit late, but better late than never.


Go to BWA blog for video http://biwriters.livejournal.com/85579.html

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Bisexual book author E. Lynn Harris dies at 54

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-17829-NY-Bisexual-Relationships-Examiner~y2009m7d25-Bisexual-book-author-E-Lynn-Harris-dies-at-54

See also the column on the controversy surrounding E. Lyn Harris' use of bisexual villians in his books
E. Lynn Harris was controversial author of bisexual book

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-17829-NY-Bisexual-Relationships-Examiner~y2009m7d25-E-Lynn-Harris-was-controversial-author-of-bisexual-book

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Bisexual Documentary Bi the Way premiere's on Logo!

Check out  interview with Bi the Way co-director Josephine Decker on the making of Bi the Way.

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-17829-NY-Bisexual-Relationships-Examiner~y2009m7d28-Bi-the-Way-director-interview-with-Josephine-Decker


By the Way premieres on Logo Sat Aug 1 and will be screened at the Anthology Film Archives on Aug 17. in NYC. Plus backstory on the original 1992 Bi the Way documentary.
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-17829-NY-Bisexual-Relationships-Examiner~y2009m7d28-Bisexual-Documentary-Bi-the-Way-on-TV--in-NYC

The link for all Examiner columns:
http://www.examiner.com/x-17829-NY-Bisexual-Relationships-Examiner

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