Bisexual+ people are sometimes referred to as the ‘invisible majority’ of the queer community, even though they comprise 52%, about half of LGB people, in the United States.
It has been well-documented, how Bisexual people experience a plethora of physical and mental illnesses as a result of experiencing ‘double discrimination’ by queer and heterosexual people. Well-documented and yet, not talked about enough. So, for Bisexuality Awareness Week, we decided to talk about it!
Bi Collective Delhi hosted a talk with Glitter Cymru, a Cardiff-based queer collective of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic people. It featured Rania and Mujib from Glitter, with me and Garima representing Bi Collective.
Rania grew up in Athens, in a Turko-Egyptian family. She’s now a Doctoral Researcher at Cardiff University, focusing on queer asylum in the UK. Mujib is a support worker in Cardiff, and he is a refugee from Nigeria. Garima has a Master’s in Gender Studies and is currently pursuing a fellowship. I am a news reporter and a published poet. We are all bisexual+.
We spoke about the intense biphobia we experience within, and without, the queer community. We spoke of how biphobia shapeshifts depending on our gender, but speaks the same language of rejection across nations. We also spoke of how we feel the pressure to ‘play gay’ at queer events and ‘straight’ when dating straight people.
But, we also shared the joy—the intense joy that comes from knowing and accepting all of yourself. How it makes other norms and barriers of life feel like they’re made of sand and are bound to topple if we flick our fingers. It was very difficult to stop talking!
My intention behind organising this talk was not to explain ourselves ad nauseum like we usually do. The intention was only to find community among ourselves. I feel grateful to have hosted the Media Representation panel on Bi Pride UK during Pride Month.
Bi Collective Delhi is the friendliest collective I have found. Our weekly video calls stretch on from evenings into the early hours of the morning, and I’m not exaggerating! But, it is still very rare for bisexual people to collectivise independently. I believe it is the only way forward, as biphobia is actually killing us.
In the interest of bi-visibility, keep an eye on Bi Collective Delhi’s social media. I am doing a second Biconic Chat with bisexual+ people from The Queer Muslim Project,Dalit Queer Project, and Xomonnoy .Have a very bi+ day!
Note: Bisexuality+ is an umbrella term inclusive of pansexuality, polysexuality, omnisexuality and all non-monosexualities.