A lot of bisexual history has been erased so I figured Iād remind you all of some quotes and clear up any misunderstandings about bisexuality.
Bisexuality has been described as attraction regardless of gender for decades
āI am bisexual because I am drawn to people regardless of genderā
-āThe Bisexual Community: Are We Visible Yet?ā, 1987
āIn the midst of whatever hardships we [bisexuals] had encountered, this day we worked with each other to preserve our gift of loving people for who they are regardless of gender.ā
-Elissa M., āBi Conference,ā Bi Women, 1985
āTo be bisexual is to have the potential to be open emotionally and sexually to people as people, regardless of their gender.ā
-Office Pink Publishing, āIntroduction,ā Bisexual Lives, 1988
āBeing bisexual does not mean they have sexual relations with both sexes but that they are capable of meaningful and intimate involvement with a person regardless of gender.ā
-Janet Bode, āThe Pressure Cooker,ā View From Another Closet, 1976
āOver the past fifteen years, however, [one Caucasian man] has realized that he is āattracted to people ā not their sexual identityā and no longer cares whether his partners are male or female. He has kept his Bi identity and now uses it to refer to his attraction to people regardless of their gender.ā
Ā
-Paula C. Rust, āSexual Identity and Bisexual Identities,ā Queer Studies: A Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Anthology, 1998
āIn the midst of whatever hardships we [bisexuals] had encountered, this day we worked with each other to preserve our gift of loving people for who they are regardless of gender.ā
-Elissa M., āBi Conference,ā Bi Women, 1985
āTo be bisexual is to have the potential to be open emotionally and sexually to people as people, regardless of their gender.ā
-Office Pink Publishing, āIntroduction,ā Bisexual Lives, 1988
Bisexuality doesnāt have to mean a person āsees genderā
ā[S]ome bisexuals say they are blind to the gender of their potential lovers and that they love people as people⦠For the first group, a dichotomy of genders between which to choose doesnāt seem to existā
-Kathleen Bennett, āFeminist Bisexuality, a Both/And Option for an Either/Or World,ā Closer to Home: Bisexuality and Feminism,1992
āSome bisexual respondents bypass the issue of ādegreesā of attraction to women and men by defining bisexuals as a humanistic, gender-blind way of relating to others. They see bisexuality as a way of loving the person, not their sex, or being nondiscrimintory in their attractions to others. For example, Ludwica wrote, 'I feel as if Iām open to respond to the person, not just the gender.ā ā
-āBisexuality and the Challenge to Lesbian Politics: Sex, Loyalty, and Revolutionā by Paula C Rust 1995
āI believe that people fall in love with individuals, not with a sex⦠I believe most of us will end up acknowledging that we love certain people or, perhaps, certain kinds of people, and that gender need not be a significant category, though for some of us it may be.ā
Ruth Hubbard, āThere Is No āNaturalā Human Sexuality, Bi Womenā ,1986
āSome women who call themselves ābisexualā insist that the gender of their lover is irrelevant to them, that they do not choose lovers on the basis of gender.ā
-Marilyn Murphy, āThinking About Bisexuality,ā Bi Women, 1991
āSome of us are bisexual because we do not pay much attention to the gender of our attractions.ā
-Bisexual Politics, Quiries and Visions, 1995
Bisexuality is inclusive of all genders
āWho is this group for exactly? Anyone who identifies as bisexual or thinks they are attracted to or interested in all genders⦠This newly formed [support] group is to create a supportive, safe environment for people who are questioning their sexual orientation and think they may be bisexual.ā
-āComing Out as Bisexual,ā Bi Women, 1994
āItās easier, I believe, for exclusive heterosexuals to tolerate (and thatās the word) exclusive homosexuals than [bisexuals] who, rejecting exclusivity, sleep with people not gendersā¦ā
-Martin Duberman, 1974
āThe bisexual community should be a place where lines are erased. Bisexuality dismisses, disproves, and defies dichotomies. It connotates a loss of rigidity and absolutes. It is an inclusive term.ā -āEssay for the Inclusion of Transsexualsā, Kory Martin-Damon, 1995
āBisexual ā being emotionally and physically attracted to all genders.ā
-The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, āOut of the Past: Teacherās Guideā 1999
āBisexuality is much more than, and different from, the sensationalized 'third choice, best of both worldsā phenomena itās made out to be. Bisexuality is an inclusive term that defines immense possibilities avalable to us, whether we act on them or not.ā
-āBi Any Other Nameā, Loraine Hutchens and Lani Ku'ahumany, 1991
āBisexual consciousness, because of its amorphous quality and inclusive nature, posed a fundamental threat to the dualistic and exclusionary thought patterns which were- and still are- tenaciously held by both the gay liberation leadership and its enemies.ā
-āThe Bisexual Movementās Beginnings in the 70sā, Bisexual politics, Naomi Tucker, 1995
Bisexuality historically and currently includes transgender and nonbinary people
āWith respect to our integrity as bisexuals, it is our responsibility to include transgender people in our language, in our communities, in our politics, and in our livesā
-Bisexual Politics: Theories, Queries, and Visions by Naomi S Tucker, 1995
āBisexuality is here defined as the capacity , regardless of the sexual identity label one chooses , to love and sexually desire both same - and other - gendered individuals . The term other-gendered is used here deliberately and is preferable to the term opposite - gendered , because other - gendered encompasses a recognition of the existence of transgendered and transsexual individuals , who may embrace gender identities other than [male and female]ā
-āBisexuality: The Psychology and Politics of an Invisible Minorityā by Beth A. Firestein and Dallas Denny, 1996
āFrom the earliest years of the bi community, significant numbers of TV/TS [transvestite/transsexual] and transgender people have always been involved with it. The bi community served as a kind of refuge for people who felt excluded from the established gay and lesbian communities.ā
-Kevin Lano, āBisexuality and Transgenderism,ā Anything That Moves, 1998
āBisexuality means having the capacity to be attracted to people of both major genders ( donāt forget: there are gender minorities, too) .ā
āAs with the word Bisexual, they usually also imply that relations with gender minorities are possible.ā
-āBisexuality: A Reader and a Sourcebookā, 1990
āThere were a lot of transvestites and transsexuals who came to [the San Francisco Bisexual Center in the 1970s], because they were not going to be turned away because of the way they dressed.ā
-David Lourea in āBisexual Histories in San Francisco in the 1970s and Early 1980s,ā Dworkin, 2000 Journal of Bisexuality
āThe actual lived non-binary history of the bisexual community and movement and the inclusive culture and community spirit of bisexuals are eradicated when a binary interpretation of our name for ourselves is arbitrarily assumed.ā
-āBi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Outā by Lani Kaāahumanu
āIn the bisexual movement as a whole, transgendered individuals are celebrated not only as an aspect of the diversity of the bisexual community, but, because like bisexuals, they do not fit neatly into dichotomous categories.ā
-āBisexuality and the Challenge to Lesbian Politicsā by Paula C. Rust, 1995