Bi Collective Delhi exists out of a need for individuals to have a safe space where they get to have discussions about their sexuality, attraction, confusion, and sometimes simply to be comfortable among friends.
There are issues around bi-erasure and bi-phobia that a lot people identifying as bi, pan, queer or any of the umbrella terms face. Having a space and people to talk to about these exclusively, especially those who give weight to these queries and understand by reflecting on their own experiences, is a huge step towards community building and being mentally healthy.
A lot of times, people who aren’t monosexual (people who get attracted to people of multiple genders) face a lot of ridicule, people’s ignorance, and stereotyping, which lead to them being described as ‘going through a phase’, ‘will definitely cheat’, ‘is hyper sexual’, ‘confused’, ‘hiding being gay/lesbian’, ‘wants to be cool’. And slowly, you are stuck among people who believe everything but not you.
At times there isn’t even an opportunity in front of you to defend your belief in your own sexuality—just a lot of disrespect, insult, and ignorance. One is not even taken seriously.
Losing one’s pride, and wanting to disappear or at least wanting a part of you disappear becomes so easy and relaxing. It’s something that surely eats away at one’s core, but who and what does one fight? What do you do when everybody just thinks you are ‘confused’? Anger can be fought against (not easily, for sure), but what does one do in the face of sheer ridicule? Such questions and many more add to the list of why it becomes highly essential to keep one’s pride in one’s identity and Bi Collective does, and always aspires to do exactly that for individuals from all walks of life who come across us and want to join hands.
Among the initiatives that the Bi Collective has taken along with regular meet-ups (support groups), are the ‘Bi Collective Library’ and ‘Sexuality and multiplicity: A comic making workshop’.
The Bi Collective library at present has a little over a 100 books ranging from academic theory to romance novels, research reports, and more. The collection is around the LGBTQIA+ community, but with a focus on bisexuality. Having such a collection physically present around us and available is of huge importance, for it not only makes for a very good resource, but also marks a presence and provides us with a sense of legitimacy. It acts as a physical marker and a milestone in time for us to reflect on.
The same is true for the comic making workshops, a project which is still in its nascent stages. One workshop on the same has been conducted as of now, and the plan is to conduct many more, helping people make and tell their narratives around sexuality through comics. This collection of comics will eventually be shared through a website where people can come and view other people’s experiences and narratives.
Having a creative way to express in a physical format and to create something that can reach other people is of high importance, No two experiences are the same and having as many narratives as possible to build a collection that is rich with emotion and vibrancy is the goal.
Archiving and building structures adds to the existing vocabulary and is what makes up a culture. The Bi Collective continually takes steps and thrives to create a culture of acceptance and understanding that is full of resources, allies, and friends.