Bi America: Myths, Truths, and Struggles of an Invisible Community

Description

Gain an in-depth understanding of the unique struggles of the bisexual community! “To me the gay and straight worlds are exactly the same; equally limited, judgmental, and bourgeois . . . just mirror images of each other. I truly like and overlap with some of the gay world, but my roots refuse to take hold there and grow. Unfortunately, my well-established roots in the straight world are... Read more

Gain an in-depth understanding of the unique struggles of the bisexual community!

“To me the gay and straight worlds are exactly the same; equally limited, judgmental, and bourgeois . . . just mirror images of each other. I truly like and overlap with some of the gay world, but my roots refuse to take hold there and grow. Unfortunately, my well-established roots in the straight world are simultaneously shriveling and dying too, leaving me feeling extremely unstable.”
—“Cool,” a bisexual woman involved in a support group

There are at least five million bisexual people in America, generally invisible to straight society, the gay community, and even to each other. While the vast majority of these five million live within the straight or gay world, there are a few who have formed a community of their own. Bi America: Myths, Truths, and Struggles of an Invisible Community offers an inside look at the American bisexual community and gives an understanding of the special circumstances unique to being bisexual. The book takes the reader to bi community events from picnics, to conferences, to support groups, to performances in order to expose the everyday trials of the bisexual community.

Bi America includes very personal stories that let the voice of everyday bisexuals be heard through interviews, the “Bisexual History Project,” in which ten bisexual people tell their life stories, and the “Online Support Group,” a group of about 75 people who meet in cyberspace to talk about their lives and challenges. The book also includes the findings of a 2002 survey of about 300 bisexual people conducted via the Internet, an appendix that offers a concise list of resources for further study and personal enrichment, and an unabridged transcript of the “Bisexual History Project.”

Get the answers to these questions in Bi America:

What is bisexuality?
Is there a bisexual community?
What is the culture of the bisexual community?
What are commonalities and differences between the experiences of bi men and bi women?
What is the special relationship between the bisexual and the transgender community?
How have bisexuals and the bi community been affected by HIV/AIDS?
What is the future of bisexual activism, if any?
and many more!

Bi America is a fascinating resource that exposes the challenges, struggles, and triumphs of bisexuals in America. Bisexuals, especially those newly coming out, can use this book to help understand their identity, and family members and friends seeking some insight into the unique circumstances faced by their loved ones will also find it helpful. This book will interest those concerned with the sociology of deviance or with subcultures in general. It is also appropriate for undergraduate sociology and cultural anthropology, as well as feminist studies and LGBT studies classes. This book offers one of the few accessible, nonacademic looks at this unique and interesting community. Visit the book's Web site at http://www.bi101.org Read less

Foreword (Fritz Klein, MD)
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
My Own Story
Sources
Who and What This Book Is About
Chapter 1. BECAUSE
Welcome to BECAUSE
The Workshop
Chapter 2. Relating Bisexuality to the World
“Bring Out the Bisexuals”: The Jerry Springer Show
The Invisible Bisexual
The Relationship Between the Bi and the Lesbian and Gay Communities
Chapter 3. Bisexuality Defined
“Something Men Just Do”
Sex, History, and Culture
Models of Sexual Orientation
Perspectives on Bisexuality
Bisexuality As an Orientation
Bisexuality As an Identity
Chapter 4. In Search of a Bisexual Community
The Picnic
Who Are They?
Is There a Bi Community?
Meet the Bi Community
Back to the Picnic
Chapter 5. Women’s and Men’s Experiences: Penthouse Bisexuals and Support Group Men
Kiss the Girls
Bisexual Women
Bisexual Men
Chapter 6. The Transgender Community
Bi Cities!
What Is “Transgender”?
Transgender History
Bisexual and Transgender
Chapter 7. What Is the Relationship Between Nonmonogamy and Bisexuality?
The Wog
Bisexuality, Monogamy, and American Society
Styles of Nonmonogamy
Last Thoughts About Monogamy
Chapter 8. Bisexuality in the Time of AIDS
Safer Sex Sluts
HIV/AIDS 101
HIV Risk and Bisexual Men
HIV Risk and Bisexual Women
AIDS and the Bisexual Community
Chapter 9. The History of the Bisexual Community
Boston, June 2002
The Seeds of Bi Activism in the 1960s and 1970s
The 1980s and the Second Wave of Activism
The 1990s and Conference Culture
Where Does That Leave the Bi Community Today?
Chapter 10. The Future of the Bi Community: GLBT Identity versus Cyberspace
The College Workshop
Into the Future
Bisexual Inclusion
Here Comes the Internet
Do We Want to Have a Community?
What Is the Future of the Bisexual Community?
Chapter 11. BECAUSE Reprise
Back to the Workshop
Sunday Morning Breakfast
Appendix A. The Survey
Appendix B. The Bisexual History Project
Appendix C. Resources and Further Reading
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Reference Notes Included

Author(s)

Biography

William Burleson

Bi America Myths, Truths, and Struggles of an Invisible Community

Description

Table of Contents

Author(s)

Biography

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