Anna Paquin (Credit: Press Media)
There’s nothing better than seeing more bisexuals or bi stories in the news, web or in media, so we continue to showcase happening stories throughout the month. Continue reading »
Bi in Media: Bi Softball, New Bi Campaign Kicks Off, Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer
October 9, 2011 By
Bi’s in Media: Lady Gaga, Evan Woods, Qaddafi’s Son and Bi Social Network
September 20, 2011 By
We are starting a few projects here at Bi Social Network to showcase what else bisexuality. The beginning of this week we rolled out “Bi Quotes of the Week,” where we featured celebrity quote from Evan Rachel Wood. The goal is to showcase us in the media from celeb news, politics, or the strange and bizarre on bisexuality. If it’s about us, we will share it. It might be a rant on biphobia, or maybe just highlighting a coming out story.
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Bisexual: It’s Just A Word
April 8, 2011 By
Why Is It People Will Use Just About Any Word Except Bisexual? (Image Credit:) Wikimedia.com/Nevit
What are some of the words most of us have heard before that have been used instead of bisexual? There’s omnisexual, the ambiguous fluid, polysexual, multisexual, and for some people, pansexual (although many people do use that as a distinct orientation, which it can be). With the exception of pansexual, many in the bisexual community (including me) have often felt that these are just “excuse words” for not using the word bisexual. This has always been puzzling; after all, bisexual is just a word. What is so scary about it? All it means is the capacity to be attracted to both genders (and in many cases everyone in between them as well). Yet too many people in the bisexual, lesbian, gay, and transgender community (BLGT), including some bisexuals, do not seem to want to use the word. I understand that the concept can be uncomfortable for some people, and that sometimes we bisexuals get so tired of dealing with all the stupid questions and comments that we don’t say the dreaded “b word” and just go along with whatever the new cover up word is. But covering up the word doesn’t make the meaning of it go away. People who are attracted and fall in love with more than one gender have always existed, and words aside, they are not going anywhere. Recently, I had noticed the word bisexual being used a bit more, so I thought we were making progress. Then I saw CNN’s latest sexuality report—on “Flexisexuality.”
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Who is Jessie J? (Video)
February 26, 2011 By
Is she the New 'Lady Gaga?' Exotic, Sexy, is she the new 'IT' bisexual? (credit: jessiejofficial.com)
If you’ve been perusing the list of headlines tagged with the word “Bisexual” a single headline has been very common over the last few days: Jessie J admits she’s Bisexual. There is also a quote to go along with every rendition of this story. “I’ve never denied it. Whoopie doo guys, yes, I’ve dated girls and I’ve dated boys – get over it.” This British pop star has been called “The New Lady Gaga” due to her outrageous look, her explicit lyrics and—it would seem—her bisexuality. Just who is Jessie J, though, and why did her announcement make headlines?
Jessie J is a popstar, born in England that has been performing since childhood—she was cast in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Whistle Down the Wind. After time in a girl band and a record deal gone wrong—she recorded an album for the Gut Records Label, but the label went bankrupt prior to releasing her work—she began to gain notoriety as a songwriter. She has penned songs for Chris Brown, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, and Christina Aguilera. Now signed worldwide to Universal Music Group she inked a deal with Lava/Universal Republic Records in the US and Island Records in the UK. Jessie has been gaining steady ground on the pop charts in the UK—her single “Price Tag” remained at number one through the release of Lady Gaga’s single “Born this Way.”
Regarding her sexuality, Jessie J has deemed it “no big deal” stating that the rumors regarding her romantic life are boring and that the media has nothing better to say about her: “It’s not a secret, but it’s the only thing they can grab onto – they’re like, ‘She never drinks and she comes out of the party looking like she did when she went in, damn her!’” Regardless of her sexuality, her music is turning heads—her hit “Do it Like a Dude” has certainly gained attention—one thing is certain, Jessie J is someone worth keeping an eye on.
Lady Gagy goes All ‘Alejandro’ in Art Video
June 8, 2010 By
Lady Gaga goes all miliary erotic on lost love in her latest video called”Alejandro,” directed by Steven Klein. The CD is under Interscope Records.
I see a little Madonna workshop in the style of this video—with pointed beast cups, and vogue like dance moves—weather it’s subconscious or not! Well it’s Lady Gaga, so just enjoy the Bi Candy!
Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s Hot New Bisexual Video
April 1, 2010 By
Lady Gaga and Beyonce Driving
Everyone’s been talking about Lady Gaga’s new song and video Telephone, which features Beyonce and Heather Cassils. It’s been labeled risqué and “too hot to handle”, so much so, that there was even a rumor that MTV had banned it, which turned out not to be true. Of course the video is all over YouTube and other sites, and it’s full of bisexual, genderqueer, gay, and trans themes. Commenters all over are using the word bisexual to describe this video, and/or to describe Lady Gaga, who in interviews has talked about the themes in the video and what she wants them to mean. She herself says the words “queer”, “homosexual” and “transsexual” when talking about it. I wish she would say the word bisexual more, but if she isn’t, it’s good that so many others seem to be picking up on it. One of the main messages she was trying to get across in the video was was that sexuality isn’t a choice , and that binaries of gender and sexuality need to be broken down more. Encouraging people to think outside of the box can only be good for the bisexual community. There is also the added bonus of the visibility that an out bisexual performer brings. Lady Gaga has also did an interview where she said that both she and Beyonce “liked women”, so, naturally, now people are asking if Beyonce is bisexual (as nice as that would be, playing a character in one video doesn’t make you a different orientation!).
Telephone starts off where the video Paparazzi left off. In Paparazzi, Lady Gaga had poisoned her boyfriend, and Telephone starts with her being brought into jail for murder. The jail is full of women who very obviously straddle the gender line, including the guards who bring Lady Gaga in, both of whom seem to be trans. They undress her to find out if the rumors about her being intersex are true (they confirm they are not). Having previously had a boyfriend, Lady Gaga goes on to find herself a prison girlfriend, played by Heather Cassils, who in real life is a personal trainer who admits she straddles the gender line in both appearance and attitude. They share a kiss in the prison yard. The sequence is complete with several scantily clothed women, including Lady Gaga, and dancing.
Lady Gaga then gets a call from her girlfriend, Beyonce, who bails her out of jail. They go for a ride in a car called the Pussywagon (from the movie Kill Bill Volume 1 ). They drive to a diner where Lady Gaga is the cook and Beyonce meets up with what seems to be her boyfriend; she also appears to have both a boyfriend and a girlfriend. Lady Gaga and Beyonce proceed to poison everyone in the diner, including Beyonce’s boyfriend. There are a lot of genderqueer visibility and bisexual themes here as well, such as dating both men and women, and having a lot of people in the video straddle the gender line in appearance and attitude. The video ends with the police chasing Lady Gaga and Beyonce, who ride off together and promise each other they will never come back. At the very end there is a female power symbol.
One of the best qualities of the video, and probably what is making so many people both love it and hate it, is that it shows a wide range of human sexual behavior, orientation, identity, and expression, including bisexuality, and has them all come across as normal and accepted. Some artists do this just for shock value, but it seems that Lady Gaga really is trying to send a message and get people to think outside of the many preconceived notions that society has; the biggest being that sexuality and gender identity are somehow a choice.
Love it or hate it, Lady Gaga’s video Telephone has definitely pushed the envelope in entertainment and music, and opened some doors for sexual expression in popular culture. And of course-the song itself is pretty catchy!
Bisexual Conundrum
January 24, 2010 By
Angelina Jolie
Everyone has fantasies. In fact—everyone has sexual fantasies. For bisexual people those fantasies include any variation of men and women that is pleasing – because of that fact, when someone comes out as being bisexual it is sort of a big deal. A celebration is held that maybe, just maybe, the subject of our most intimate fantasies is—to use the vernacular—batting for “our” team. Why does this matter? What possible consequence could there be behind Angelina Jolie, Pink, Billie Joe Armstrong or Daniel Radcliffe are attracted to members of either sex? Beyond the fantasizing outlined above, the only possible reason there could be is—what other people think.
When it comes to men, bisexuality is probably just as common as it is in women. Though there isn’t much research to that effect. While Alfred Kinsey estimated that nearly 46 percent of the male population had engaged in both heterosexual and homosexual activities—there is research from only a few years ago citing that bisexuality simply doesn’t exist in men. Rumors have arisen surrounding the sexual orientation of our favorite celebrities for years—some complete with facts and quotes. Pink, Lady Gaga and Angelina Jolie are all bisexual and the information comes from some very reliable sources. Gerard Butler, Robert Downey Jr. and Billie Joe Armstrong are also reportedly bisexual—though the sources of this information are far less credible than a Barbara Walters special. All of these people may be bisexual.
Gerard Butler
The fact remains, however, that this hot button issue will be met with a decided difference of opinion—seemingly based on gender. Regardless of being a man or woman we all have social standards we’re brought up to believe and for every Barbara Walters interview that makes it safe for a celebrity to come out, there is an article in a reputable newspaper such as Newsday with the headline “Anti-Gay Jock Tells it Straight” making it completely unsafe for a male celebrity to come out. The bias itself isn’t limited to gender. In fact, many women would prefer not to think of their favorite heart throbs as being bisexual and to that end the search begins to refute the “rumors”—sometimes with success. Gerard Butler (Actor of 300), for instance, in fact never stated that he was bisexual and the article that reported it was confirmed as a fake. Regardless of the reasons why, the question of sexual orientation regarding celebrities will likely never go away. Their life in the public eye marks them as the elite of society. Their portrayal of our heroes on television, in sports, in film and on stage make them the role models for ourselves and our children – as such society places importance on their personal live
As long as there is a question of morality a celebrity’s sexual orientation will be questioned. As long as society as a whole believes that same sex relations, particularly between two men is a sign of weakness, a detriment to virility then the question of male sexuality specifically will continue to be a cause for concern. In the face of these concerns, however, there will always be those that admire those in the public eye for being brave enough to be who they are in the face of excessive scrutiny.
Barbara Walters: A Kiss is Just a Kiss? (Video)
December 13, 2009 By
Walters' interview with Palin aired on "Good Morning America," November 17. (AP Photo/ABC, Steve Fenn)
Barbara Walters is a name that is almost synonymous with news. Throughout her career she has blazed the trail for all female journalists that would come after her. Her early career is especially noteworthy for breaking down the walls of the male dominated journalistic world. When Walters started her journalistic career as a writer at CBS News, she was extremely limited by gender politics:
According to Walters, she was not allowed to write for the male correspondents or to ask questions in “male-dominated” areas such as economics or politics, and she was forbidden to interview guests on-camera until all of the men on Today had finished asking questions. Source: Museum of Broadcast Communications
She went on to be the first official female co-host and regular on The Today Show for fifteen years. She joined Hugh Downs as co-anchor of the prime time news show 20/20 and she created and produces the morning magazine show The View. These are only her more well known accomplishments. Seeing her in this trailblazing light makes it even more difficult to understand what has happened on the most recent Barbara Walters Special “The Most Fascinating People of 2009”.
The aforementioned “Most Fascinating People” were: Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Glenn Beck, Tyler Perry, Kate Gosselin, Adam Lambert, Sarah Palin, Brett Favre, Jenny Sanford, and Michael Jackson’s Three Children. Walters’ interviews were handled with her usual penchant for asking “hard questions” that have been known to make guests squirm – as well as a controversy that is no stranger to Walters.
Two of Walters’ interviewees happen to be a part of the BLGT community – Lady Gaga, who stated in her interview with Walters “I’ve certainly had sexual relationships with women, yes.” and Adam Lambert, who states in his interview, “I’m a homosexual, deal with it.” and “It doesn’t really matter who I’m sleeping with. What matters is I’m singing, it’s my voice.” While there is no controversy in the interviews themselves, both straightforward pieces of journalism, the controversy lies in the handling of each of the star’s sexuality.
In Lady Gaga’s interview, Walters includes a statement notating that “kissing women and scantily clad outfits are not exactly a father’s dream for his little girl.” This statement is augmented by video clips of Lady Gaga’s video “Love Games” including a clip in which Lady Gaga shares a very steamy, suggestive same sex romp with another woman dressed as a police officer.
Check out her video:
By contrast, in Adam Lambert’s interview, Walters chose to show a clip of Lambert’s controversial performance at the American Music Awards of his song “For Your Entertainment.” And as in Lady Gaga’s interview, Walters made a statement about the performer “You groped a female dancer, you kissed a male musician, why did you do this?” though in this interview, she chose to forego the clip in favor of another statement: “He also turned the music industry inside out doing things we won’t show you here.”
Check out his full video:
If you missed out on the guy on guy kiss, don’t think you can just pop over to YouTube and see it – the full AMA performance is blocked there. A low-res video does exist, however.
This latest example of the saying “same sex relationships are okay as long as both women are hot” is the last thing to be expected from a journalist of Walters’ integrity and reputation – the journalist herself having shared a same sex kiss with Julianne Moore, not once but twice, most recently on The View. It has been immortalized in song that a kiss is just a kiss. Madonna, Lady Gaga, Julianne Moore and several other women have made it okay for women to kiss each other on television and in movies, but Barbara Walters “Ten Most Fascinating People of 2009” leaves us with the knowledge that a kiss is not simply a kiss when shared between two men. Adam Lambert himself put it best in his interview with Walters “Freedom of expression should be alive and well, and sadly its not.”