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Bi Lines
Introduction: So who is this new Bi Lines person?
This column appeared in Siren: irresistibly tempting for queer women, vol. 7 issue 1 (March/April 2002), page 14.
I am a bisexual-identified bisexual. Although I write with a bisexual, lesbian and trans audience in mind, I feel that I am accountable first and foremost to other bisexuals, and I get my energy from my bisexual community.
I sometimes describe myself as a "bisexual activist." One of the reasons I do this is because it sounds less distinguished to me next to terms such as "lesbian activist" or "feminist activist." Also, I believe that visibility is important. Bi activist history is usually hidden, absorbed or denied. Unless I am out as a bisexual activist I find that organizations assume I am lesbian.
I joined the Dyke March Committee in 1999. My intention was to discover the source of the biphobia I experienced in the Dyke March and bombard it with bi-positivity until it became benign. I expected to meet biphobic lesbians. Instead I met welcoming lesbians, dykes, and transfolk. I soon discovered that the source of the march's anti-bi vibe was not in the committee, but in the "community." Systemic infections are much harder to fight. From 2000 to 2001 I served as Dyke March Co-Chair.
The classic breakup formula goes like this: total time in the relationship ÷ 2 = total time it takes to get over the relationship. After burning out with Dyke March and Pride Toronto I needed a year to recoup. Despite making some great friends I found the experience of working within a predominantly gay and lesbian organization draining as a bisexual. Bisexual issues are still subordinated to gay and lesbian parity for the most part. Like many organizations in the "lesbian and gay" community, its bisexuals are often in the "gay closet," only coming out to one another. But I'll rant about coming out issues another time.
Race In The Space
My experience as a biracial woman informs the way I look at bisexuality. Just as I can't identify which parts of my body or my psyche are Scottish and which are Micmac, I can't compartmentalize my sexuality into lesbian and straight. Questions such as "are you more gay or more straight?" ignore my reality, which I experience as wholeness. So you might say my approach tries to be holistic. I try to be self-reflective about how my own race shapes and influences the way I experience my sexuality, so sometimes my Bi Line columns will touch on how racism affects the way we relate to ourselves and our lovers.
Affix Label Here
I consider myself sex-positive. I've been in monogamous, open, and poly relationships, and I value the ability to choose. I've practised BDSM as a switch, but found my real kink was for high femme fashion and sex-positive environments. In general, I find that sexual expressions such as polyamory or monogamy are as good or as bad as the people engaged in them. I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to expressions that aren't supported by large social institutions.
Bi Theologian
I spend a lot of my energy on school. Yes, I am yet another bisexual academic. I have a Masters Degree in Theology and I am currently working on a Doctorate at the University of Toronto. I am out in all my classes. I try to create a specifically bisexual theology with my writing. I consider myself spiritual rather than religious.
Clerks
When I'm not at school I work in a video store. I'm a clerk. I love my job, but I'm not one of those people who work for fun. I work to pay my rent, tuition and to buy food. I guess that makes me working class. It certainly doesn't make me poor. I grew up poor and it didn't look like this. I've been out at my last three jobs. I guess when you put "Dyke March Co-Chair" on your resume it helps to break the ice. Although the way people can fail to take the hint will surely be a topic for future columns. Since I now watch a lot of films for free, I'll probably write about bisexual representation (and misrepresentation) in the movies as well.
It's exciting to follow in the Bi Lines steps of Karol Steinhouse and Krista Taves. I met both previous Bi Lines columnists through Bisexual Women of Toronto, and they served as mentors, crushes, and role models at various times in my life (and sometimes all at once). It's important to me to have a bisexual history and a bisexual community. It helps me discover who I am and gives me the courage to be upfront about it. I'm looking forward to making a contribution.
