Fuck Yeah! Bisexuals!

Q: As a bisexual person yourself, you’re known for being outspoken on bisexuality and gender fluidity. How do you explain bisexuality to people who still don’t get it?

Alan Cumming : I’m not here to change people’s minds about whether they believe in bisexuality. All I’m saying is that I think my sexuality and most people’s sexuality is gray. And yeah, I like c@ck. I love c@ck. But I also feel that I have an attraction to women. I’ve never lost it, actually. I’ve always been attracted to both sexes, and whether I act on it or not is not anyone’s business, really. I’m not going to close myself off to the possibility of experience just because society says we must stick within these rigid boundaries.

I find it really self-hating that the gay community, which has been so bullied, are especially the ones who might be chiding people about their bisexuality. I think, let everyone be who they are.

The point I’m making is that it seems more ironic for a gay person to chide someone about their sexuality—they’re chiding all of us at heart. It seems particularly galling that that would be coming from a fellow LGBT person. I really do believe people today, especially young people, have a much more fluid idea about sexuality and gender, and I should think we’re in a really great place with the youth of today. It’s people who are a bit older who are still struggling with it.

Q: Reflecting on your early days as an activist: Why was it so important for you to start speaking out on LGBT issues?

Alan Cumming: I have a voice. I have a platform. I have a great life. I have a really great life, and I live the way I want to live. I am the person I want to be, and I feel like it’s my duty to take care of people who don’t have those opportunities. I have a personal connection to people who have been prejudiced against who are gay or bisexual or transgender.

 I’m Scottish and I grew up with fairness and justice. Where I come from, it’s very important that we adhere to making sure that everyone is looking after each other. So, it’s partly my genetic makeup (laughs), but also in the privileged position that I am in, I feel it’s my duty to give back and help other people along. 

Being an artist is understanding other people and wanting to reach and connect with other people, so helping other people is absolutely a part of that. When there’s injustice and persecution, I can’t really live in a society with that going on and not do something about it.

The historic Stonewall Inn in New York already has landmark status, but this week the Obama administration announced they are planning to make the site a national monument in honor of the LGBT rights movement. 

Federal officials, including Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis, are traveling to New York for a May 9 meeting about the proposal, according to the Washington Post. City officials are still looking into the land’s title, but barring any complications, Stonewall should be declared a national monument as early as next month — just in time for Pride Month and New York City’s famous parade.

The Stonewall Inn was the site of a police raid in June of 1969 — when patrons fought back and stormed the surrounding streets, they sparked protests in New York City and around the country that are largely seen as the start of gay-rights activism. President Obama mentioned the bar in his 2013 inaugural address when he said the principle of equality should guide the country, “Just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall.” (His was the first mention of gay rights in an inaugural address, according to the AP.)

Bowie & Prince were two of the most significant men separating gender expression from sexuality. Men as a group owe a debt to their legacies.

Male femininity is confusing & challenging—a liminal space it takes strength & energy to occupy. They walked that line, with grace, in heels.

Okay, so I was at my brothers 18th birthday party and I overhear a group of my brothers friends talking about Legend of Korra.

I’ve only seen the first season, but thanks to this website I know the plot and ending, so I listened in.

So, they’re all talking about it and one of the guys says, “And that ending! man that ending was beautiful! The way Korra and Asami held hands and walked away! They totally together now.” and another guys like “Nah, come on they’re just friends right?”

So the two of them are bickering about it and second guys like, “Okay, but lets be honest. Korra could TOTALLY be a lesbian, but Asami? No way, not a thing. What about all that stuff with Mako?” and I mean these poor kids were seriously struggling with this debate.

So, I take this opportunity to say, “hey you guys. Guess what?” They all at once turn to look at me and I loudly whisper,

“They’re bisexual.”

And it was like all at once I unlocked the secrets to the universe. Everything suddenly made perfect sense. All the puzzle pieces fell perfectly into place and created one big, huge, Korrasami picture.

“He’s so sexy,” he said, “that you want to stand near him, because you’re hoping a little of what makes him so attractive will splash onto you, and then it will work for you.” Black, white, gay, straight, male, female – it seemed everyone I knew either wanted to sleep with Prince or wanted to be him, or both…

I can’t stop laughing because…