CHICAGO — Karen McReady, president of Bisexual Queer Alliance Chicago talks with Bi Talk Radio’s host Adrienne Williams from Bi Social Network. Topics include bisexual activism, bisexual transgender issues and partnering with the LGBT community. 

Listen to what McReady is doing at BQAC in Chicago and how you can support this new bisexual nonprofit.

To learn more about Bisexual Queer Alliance Chicago, please visit their Facebook page.

Up Next Part 4, Center on Halsted’s Bisexual Liaison Chris Pierce…

This is a Chicago pride five part series on what’s going on in Chicago in the bisexual community. This event is sponsored by Center on Halsted which is a partner of Bi Social Network. 

Image: by Ed Negron - All Rights Reserved. 

Bi News Alert! Frank Ocean Confirms Bisexual Rumors. Bi Social Network is happy that Hip/Hop Rapper Frank Ocean has made it official and has come out as a proud bisexual black man. 

We have been following this story for over a week now, and wanted to make sure that it was real before we bring out the Bi News Alert in support.

Four summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Everyday almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide. Most of the day I’d see him, and his smile. Sleep I would often share with him. By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. There was no escaping, no negotiating to the women I had been with, the ones I cared for and thought I was in love with. — Frank Ocean

Industry leaders such as powerhouse Russell Simmons, has been quoted with his support.

Today is a big day for hip-hop. It is a day that will define who we really are. How compassionate will we be? How loving can we be? How inclusive are we?

When we see more bisexuals in key positions of pop culture, it makes everyone’s journey easier for others to move forward.

Bi Social Network,

So the baby pictures, with bi families, bi women and celebrations abound all over Facebook. But who are these people? Well, If you don’t know all the personals, and why they got the invite, read below all the brilliant things folks are doing to make a different in the bi community! 

Emily Drennen has been an outspoken bisexual advocate since appearing on a live CNBC show to talk about her undergraduate research on bisexuality in young women. She has been a leader in the Bay Area Bisexual Network for many years, as well as working at cornerstone LGBTQ organizations LYRIC and the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade. Much of her activism has focused on pushing mainstream “lesbian and gay” organizations to become more bi- and trans-inclusive.

Emily met her wife of 14 years, Lindasusan Ulrich, at a BiFriendly New Year’s Eve Party only a couple of weeks after moving to San Francisco in 1997. Married three times to each other, Emily and Lindasusan have been vocal spokespeople in the same-sex marriage movement. They have been featured in stories by Reuters, the San Francisco Chronicle, American Public Media’s “Marketplace Money,” and numerous other newspaper, radio, and tv outlets. She is enjoying being a new mom to their newborn foster-adopt son, RJ.

Emily is a transportation policy analyst by trade, earned her master’s degree in Public Administration from San Francisco State University, and has served as an appointed official on multiple local and regional government committees. A graduate of the Emerge program, she has been involved in San Francisco politics, including working at City Hall, serving on the board of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, and running for public office. She is currently a member of the Board of Trustees at her church, the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco.

Estraven has been an activist since she attended her first March on the Pentagon in 1967. She has been facilitating the Bisexual Group at The LOFT, the LGBT Center in Westchester, since 2006, and helping to provide bisexual programming there. A therapist for 31 years, she has been developing a specialization in working with the LGBT community for the last 12 years. She is a bi blogger and public speaker, and was on the Board of BiNET USA for 3 years. Currently she is affiliated with NYABN, and tirelessly defends bisexuals and LGTQIA people from attacks all over the Internet, working to increase bi visibility, decrease prejudice against bisexuals, and to build a bi community.

Chiquita Violette : “I’m a 27 year old bi activist and student from Dallas, Texas. I began participating in activism in  the summer of 2009 and have really been marching ever since. I mainly started with local direct action groups helping organize marches and protests. Later, I volunteered in the Bi Suite when Creating Change Conference came to Dallas in winter of 2010 and two years later, I found myself in Baltimore co-facilitating it’s Day Long Bi/Pan/Fluid Institute with many Bi activists that I look still up to. In between parades and protests, I enjoy writing for the Bi Women Newsletter and have been voted from volunteer to board member of BiNet USA. Not quite exactly where I thought I’d end up when I was just documenting my first protest three years ago but I’m happy to be here and have enjoyed the trip.”

Regina Reinhardt, PhD has been serving the bisexual community for 28 years. As a community service she became the coordinator/facilitator of the the Bisexual Forum, a support group for bisexual people, while at the same time serving the LGBT community as a psychotherapist. She gave workshops and lectures on bisexuality at conferences in the US, Germany and the Netherlands. She is the Managing Editor of the Journal of Bisexuality, which is now in it’s 12th year of publication. She was honored in 2008 by the Lambda Archives of San Diego as a Hero, Pioneer and Trailblazer for committing her life to advancing the rights for the LGBT people. She received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Susan A. Davis, Member of Congress and a Special Commendation from Council member Todd Gloria, City of San Diego. She is on the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Bisexuality (AIB), a Non-Profit Organization, created by Dr. Fritz Klein, her dear friend, who died in 2006. Regina is dedicated to continue to enhance public knowledge and awareness about bisexuality. 

Denise Penn, MSW: Denise Penn is currently a Director with the American Institute of Bisexuality (AIB) a non-profit foundation supporting research and education. Prior to that, she was President  of BiNet USA, the oldest and best known Bi-Activist group in the nation. She is a clinical social worker, writer and editor who has been working as an advocacy journalist covering issues for the LGBT and HIV affected community since the early nineties. She has presented numerous workshops and interviewed many experts on bisexuality. In addition, she has appeared on many talk shows discussing bisexual issues. As a Producer and host of The Gay & Lesbian News Magazine, a weekly live cable television program serving the Long Beach community, Denise reported the news and issues for over twelve years. She has been a news reporter, columnist, and contributing editor for several LGBT publications. She currently is the News Editor of The Lesbian News. She has also served on the Boards of the Free Clinic of Orange County, AIDS Walk Orange County, The Sexual Assault Network, and the Elections Committee of the County of Orange.

Denise is also a member of the Executive Board of the California Democratic Party and  an officer of the California LGBT Caucus. She is also on the Orange County Central Committee and serves as Co Chair of the local LGBT Caucus. She has also served on the Boards of the Free Clinic of Orange County, AIDS Walk Orange County, The Sexual Assault Network, and the Elections Committee of the County of Orange. Covering politics, Denise has been at the last three Democratic National Conventions in Los Angeles (2000) , Boston (2004) and Denver (2008) and covers many statewide and local political events. She was named “Outstanding Woman of the Year” in 2008 by Long Beach Lambda Democratic Club.

Do you know anything about who is going to the 2012 LGBT White House Reception this year? As a past attendee in 2011, I know firsthand how exciting this time can be. Travel plans, who to take, what hotel to stay, can I afford a hotel stay! Meeting up with local bi peeps—the list can be endless. 

So I wanted to let folks know a little bit about each person going. Check out their bios and what they are doing for the bi community to move our bi visibility forward! 

Get to Know the  2012 Bisexual Leaders at the Upcoming LGBT White House Reception

Lauren Beach has been proudly out to the world as a bisexually identified progressive bi* and queer activist for the past 10 years. During the past decade, Lauren has held many leadership positions in both university student organizations and in community 501(c)(3) LGB*T*QQIAA nonprofits. Some highlights of her work in bi* communities include serving as Chairperson of the Minnesota bi*sexual non-profit the Bisexual Organizing Project (BOP), helping to organize BOP’s BECAUSE Conference on Bisexuality, and co-founding the University of Minnesota’s Bisexual, Pansexual, Fluid Sexuality Inclusion Project. Much of Lauren’s service to broader queer communities has focused on improving health and wellness in LGB*T*QQIAA populations and on advocating for the inclusion of gender expression and gender identity in university-wide anti-discrimination and inclusion policies. Lauren has developed and given numerous educational workshops about the inclusion of LGB*T*QQIAA individuals and communities in diverse settings including Creating Change, the MBLGTACC, the Minnesota OUT! Campus Conference, Target, the University of Minnesota, Michigan State University, Augsburg College, Americorps, the Point Foundation, and many others. You may have seen Lauren featured as one of the founding voices in Bi Social Network’s “I Am Visible” campaign, where in her posting, “Straight in Disguise or Lesbian in Denial: Reflections on Life and Love from a (Bi)-Sexual Traitor,” she speaks out about the importance of bi* visibility. Recently, Lauren also began developing her own website dedicated to exploring issues of bi*sexual activism, www.midwestbiactivist.org. In addition to her activist pursuits, Lauren is also a NIH and Point Foundation funded candidate in the University of Minnesota’s Joint Degree Program in Law, Health, and the Life Sciences, where she simultaneously pursues a Law Degree and a Ph.D. in Genetics, in the lab of Dr. Louis Mansky.

Lindasusan Ulrich is a writer, musician, and activist dedicated to a vision of radical inclusion in both language and action. She served for eight years as the Communications Manager/Writer for Horizons Foundation (the world’s first LGBT community foundation) and is a former member of the LGBT Advisory Committee of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, where she was the principal author of “Bisexual Invisibility: Impacts and Recommendations.” This report was the first of its kind released by a governmental body in the US, and has since made its way to activists on five continents and inspired a similar report in the UK. 

Lindasusan has led workshops and participated in panels about bi issues, including at the UCSF LGBTQI Health Forum, UC Hastings OUTLAW Conference, and AIDS Health Project. She is a recipient of the Maggi Rubenstein Leadership Award from the Bay Area Bisexual Network.

Lindasusan also brings her passion to a variety of issues beyond the LGBTQ movement, such as embodied spirituality, progressive politics, and the well-being of children in foster care. She received her undergraduate degree in nuclear fusion from MIT, an MA in English from UC Berkeley, and currently attends Starr King School for the Ministry on the path towards becoming a Unitarian Universalist minister. She lives in San Francisco with her wife, fellow bi activist Emily Drennen.

More to come… 

Happy PRIDE Month!! My name is Adrienne Williams, Founder of Bi Social Network. We’ve been on a three and a half year journey. In December 6, 2008, we started working on creating diverse content in entertainment and opinion news for the bi community. In 2010 the ‘I Am Visible’ campaign kicked off, where we highlighted the face of fear in biphobia, with the goal to give it a voice; adding a few celebrities along the way. Bi people connected and made a difference through that effort, and I’m grateful to those who contributed videos, songs, stories, and love, in order to make a difference.

A New Journey!

Fast-forward to the middle of 2012. I wanted to start the first issue of the digital magazine with the biggest group I felt was lacking in content—bisexual Men. It was the start of Bi Social Network, when a young friend of mine, continued to get labeled as gay even though he stated continuously he was a bisexual male. This is why we wanted to embark on a special journey: a project to create a bi magazine called “Bi Social.” with you in mind.

Special Men’s Edition

We know this has been long in coming and we hope that you support this effort at its completion. What better way to support June 2012 i.e., PRIDE MONTH with your very own personal digital copy of 52-pages of full-color digital magazine for only $4.95!

To the contributing writers, our editor and our special photographer, we thank you, and the special people that interviewed for this issue. (Paul We love you!) Also to the members who will buy this special edition, we appreciate you helping a bi business see a dream completed. When you purchase your copy and read it, send me a note and tell us what you think. We love to hear from you.

PS. When you get your copy, tell a friend to come to the site and purchase one too! With your help this can be a successful project with more to follow!

Cheers,

Adrienne, Williams, Publisher & Web Producer

AJW Media | Bi Social Network

Where do I begin, Should I be outraged that a bi study yet again, has not talked about bisexual men and women together? Should I be enraged that media like Your Tango is reporting that bisexuals would be better off not identifying themselves at all; because of mental health stresses, or just the overall sadness of bi people wanting to hide in the shadows?

From what I can tell, using terms like “queer” is a better way to go because after all, we don’t want to be singled out and called into question, right? Let’s just use a great umbrella term that gives you no demographics for health care, mental health care, services for homeless youth, the poor and elderly who are bisexual. After all bi’s are just lumped into the gay and straight populations anyway, what’s the use of non-profits that support bi causes needing the money to help fight change—because, if you remove yourself—trust me you might as well not exist!

And let’s just make our lives easier, because after all, why should we not study the real reasons behind the mental health issues surrounding bi people. Lack of support—not being accepted on all fronts or understood and removed from the earth as we know it. I think my step-mom who is Jewish could say something about out of mind out of sight on history, right? Please, these issues are large, we get it. The bisexual population has a major issue with self-hatred (internal phobia), and until we get this one point, these studies we continue to say. Let’s do away with terms “bisexual label” because it just makes our life a whole lot better for me and my partner (s), the family and for everyone…and well, that’s just a great compromise? Hell no!

It’s raining [bi] men? Not in this study

And I’m just want to scream at all my bi male peeps that are not getting much love in these studies? Do bi men want to use the queer term? Do we know? Luckily, we are a couple of days away from the first ever, (that I know of) Bi Men’s Edition Mag, for my male gender friends. We love you and I see you. Bi Women peeps should read it too!  Wink.

Using Terms You feel Comfortable With

Listen, if you want to use other terms that define you, I’m all for it! Great. Why not…but when an article and study tells me, I would be better off NOT being black, or NOT being bi or NOT being a woman, because well life is just too hard to deal with that baggage, then we need to look at the very root of what’s going on in the bi community. Do we want to run for cover in the “queer” label because it would just be better for mental Health and living?

Sorry, when I think of queer I think it’s talking about gay or lesbian people. Why? Because it was marketed, branded and given the gay seal of approve; so we can think of it that way! It omits everyone else! Well that’s how I see it.

 I guess the bi flag is next. Food for thought.

Bi Social Network want to congratulate the 2012 White House LGBT Reception selected attendees, for doing great advocacy work and being leaders in the bisexual community.

We know this is a honor and few are chosen. The winners have decided to also take someone as a guest who has contributed to the community in powerful ways. 

1. Lauren Beach (Bisexual Organizing Project (BOP) + Chiquita Violette 
2. Regina Reinhardt + Denise Penn (The American Institute of Bisexuality)
3. Estraven  + Morgan Goode (GLAAD, Bi Activist)
4. Lindasusan Ulrich (2011  Bisexual Invisibility Report ) + Emily Drennen 

*This story is breaking news and will be updated as news comes in.