Thursday, December 28, 2006

Check out this week’s Bay Area Reporter
This week I covered a reality check for the Bush administration about premarital sex: “Partial 'reality check' for premarital sex report” and provided an update about JROTC threats made to a student and members of the San Francisco Board of Education: “Threats may hinder efforts to revive JROTC.”
I also covered the Marijuana Legislation that passed earlier this month, but due to a glitch with the B.A.R. website the article is currently only available in the print edition of the paper.
Bi Women of Color Book
Call for Submissions and Participants
I am currently working on a book about the sociology and psychology of bisexual women of color in our culture. I am searching for volunteers to participate in this project in either one or all of the following areas:
  • Participate in an anonymous survey addressing psychological issues and bisexual women of color
  • Participate in an anonymous survey addressing sociological issues and bisexual women women of color
  • Submit an essay, 3-5 pages long, in your own words, addressing your experience as a bisexual woman of color, including your relationships, self identity, role as a parent, etc.
Each of the surveys will take about 20-25 minutes and can be done either by phone or email.

The essay will be a short testimonial and journal addressing several areas. I will provide all contributors with a guide of areas to address, but it will ultimately be up to you on what you would like to say and how you express yourself; the final version will not be published without your approval.

I am encouraging all bi women of color and different ethnicities to participate. The overall goal of this book is to effectively increase our visibility, educate others about our lives, and allow us a space in which we can talk about what is important to us today, and what we are hoping for the future and the future of our children. I am looking for women ages 18 and over, and transgender women are strongly encouraged to participate as well.I look forward to hearing from you and working with you. Thank you.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Please email me at brooklyntherapist@yahoo.com. I am based in New York and looking forward to hearing from my bi sisters in other parts of the country.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Rhymes with Snitch spreads aged lesbian and inaccurate gossip
Rhymes with Snitch’s author suddenly discovered renowned womanist author Alice Walker and her daughter, author Rebecca Walker, are queer. Google’s news alerts picked up on the blogger’s post “Did You Know Alice Walker Was A Lesbian?” on December 22.

Reading through the responses some posters are outright homophobic, most are amusing stating the obvious “duh!,” and one or two people got it right that Alice and her daughter,
Rebecca Walker, are both bisexual – which led to some comments about queers breeding queers.

As the name of the blog suggests, it’s a bratty bitching session where not only the author spews her (I’m assuming the author is female due to the author’s only identification being “bitch”) thoughts and opinions about celebrities, especially their most embarrassing moments, and encourages others to respond. It reminds me of high school, but that’s the point of this blog as the author states, “What you'll get here is the stuff found written on bathroom walls.”

Not only did the author suddenly discover Alice’s and Rebecca’s women loving women ways – but mislabeled them as lesbians when they are bisexual women – but she tried to present old news, that has long been six feet under, about the schuffle between Rebecca and her mother’s former partner, singer Tracy Chapman, as “new” news. Talk about regifting 10 years later…it’s out of fashion and it’s not going to be recycled.

It interests me that this tidbit of dried up well reported on gossip that isn’t really gossip since neither Alice or Rebecca have ever hidden their relationships with men or women is circulating again. Right at the moment Alice is promoting her new book,
We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Light in a Time of Darkness, and Rebecca’s book Baby Love, about her reflections on becoming a parent and her first year with her son, will be out late March 2007. Is “lesbian” or shocker “bisexual” supposed to be harmful to one’s celebrity and career? Outing someone who is already out…well I don’t know how that can be gossip.

What interests me even more though is that people continue to insist on foisting a binary societal image upon bisexuals. In the process we are invisible until we come “out” creating a constant cycle of “outing” ourselves, because if we don’t come “out” assumptions will be made and we slip right back into the abyss of one community or the other. Once we come “out” suddenly many people are confused or angry and often remain that way. They stubbornly want to hang onto stereotypes and myths about bisexuals that just aren’t true.

To combat the invisibility and biphobia within the queer and straight communities bisexuals are simply standing up to be counted. With books and media showing positive images of bisexuals and the public asking for more (it doesn’t hurt to have Angelina Jolie, Margaret Cho, or Alice Walker in our corner), bisexuals have the power to push for more and better images to combat misperceptions and misunderstandings. Visibility provides bisexual people more power as we stand up for social justice as Angelina did a few weeks ago when she stated that until all people can get married Brad and she aren’t going to tie the knot.

The bells are ringing though. It is starting to look like 2007 will be bisexuals’ year. Nicole Kristal and Mike Szymanski kicked off the year early in November with their book,
The Bisexual's Guide to the Universe: Quips, Tips, and Lists for Those Who Go Both Ways, a hilarious must have read for queer, straight, and people questioning all things in this world, just in time for those stockings and other sparkling packages under the tree and for Hanukah. Jennifer Baumgardner’s Look Both Ways: Bisexual Politics is scheduled for release around the same time Rebecca’s book hits the market.

Hmmm…things are quickly going to become more complicated in the bisexual image category. We are no longer lusting nymphos and sex addicts spreading diseases. No, we are having children and creating families. That’s right Jennifer is a mother too. The Christian Right and any other biphobes might as well run and duck for cover. These women are intelligent bisexual third wave feminists parents raising future socially intelligent men. Add a check mark next to the box that says, “this is what a bisexual looks like” just to begin creating that “bidar” so we don’t fall back into the shadows. It will be interesting what Jennifer and Rebecca have to say about being bisexual mothers raising boys and I’m sure this is exactly the image “W” and the Christian Right have when they tout “family values.” No worries though, Nicole and Mike will help ease the pain of the sting with their fun and witty ways.

The diversity Nicole, Mike, Jennifer, and Rebecca represent for our community in terms of the way bisexuals live is only the beginning. Sexologist and bi femme activist
Amy AndrĂ© is pushing Frame Line, which hosts the annual International LGBT Film Festival in San Francisco, to include more films with positive bisexual images (see October for “call for films”). The lovely women at AfterEllen.com have been tracking hot sassy intelligent bi women in media for several years and continue to fabulously represent us. And of course, yours truly is bringing more visibility to the Bay Area Reporter and all of the publications I write for. I’m also continuing to seek a publisher to move forward with the bisexual women anthology to demonstrate the beautiful simple complexity of our lives and how we navigate hard and shifting lines between social ideology and reality.

So, a tip for Bitch at Rhymes with Snitch, if you’re going to cover celebrity gossip first of all do a fact check, it will save you some embarrassment and will validate your efforts so you don’t cover ancient news and try to “out” someone who is already very much open about their sexuality and sexual orientation. Second don’t assume that commenting about romantic and familial relationship troubles or “outing” someone is good celebrity gossip journalism – it’s just so Star and Enquirer tacky. Third if you aren’t willing to be out in the open about your identity and take the heat you’re trying to dish – that’s just cowardly.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Check out this week’s Bay Area Reporter where I cover a homeless LGBT youth: “Spotlight on homeless LGBT youth”; a surprise drug check at Laguna Honda Hospital’s AIDS ward: “Grinch at Laguna Honda's AIDS ward”; and reappointments to the Human Rights Commission: “Mayor reappoints two LGBTs to SF Human Rights Commission.”

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Fun stuff for book sluts

Some of you might be aware that I am a book slut. You just can't take me into a bookstore without a) having to get a search and rescue team to find me and b) getting out alive without a minimum of one to two books being rescued and adopted by me.

I have gotten better though. I don't buy on the spot as much as I used to: I take down the information I need for future purchases. I've also gotten better about not hanging onto my books once I've read them...they provide a nice bit of change for my mochas.

So, thanks to other book sluts, geeky girls I love, and other publishing sites I thought it might be fun to post a few sexy hot book-lusting women blogs for your page turning entertainment:


http://babeswithbooks.blogspot.com/
http://www.bookslut.com/blog/
http://storms.typepad.com/booklust/2005/05/biblioqueria_5.html

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Check out this week’s Bay Area Reporter where I cover the opening of the San Francisco office of Jewish Mosaic: “Jewish Mosaic opens San Francisco office” and challenges for being LGBT and getting older: “Study offers snapshot as gays deal with aging issues.”

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Check out this week’s Bay Area Reporter where I covered the launch of the first Healthcare Equality Index survey by the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association: “Healthcare Equality Index is launched”; San Francisco is leading the way once again by requiring family diversity curriculum in elementary schools: “Family diversity required in SF schools”; women take over leadership of the San Francisco Pride Celebration Committee: “New Pride executive board leaders named”; and breaking news about New York City’s decision about the birth certificate proposal to correct birth certificates for transgender people: “Mixed decision on NY TG proposal.”
Breaking News!

NYC Birth Certificate policy for transgender people to have their birth certificates reflect their correct gender: "Mixed decision on NY TG proposal."

For other queer community news check out the Bay Area Reporter.

Friday, December 01, 2006

Check out this week’s Bay Area Reporter where I follow up on the Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (JROTC) threats to anti-war student protester, Mara Kubrin: “Anti-JROTC student receives threats” and dental care for low-income HIV-positive people is coming to two San Francisco clinics awarded two separate $2 million dollar grants over the next two years: “Tenderloin Health receives funding for HIV dental care.”