Bisexual Awareness Month

That is very true

I am not pretending everything is OK etc, people are just too tied up in their own lives to do anything much to help. Every cause going knows full well you cannot force everyone to care or advocate for that cause but some causes are trying to force societal change very quickly. It is causing compassion fatigue because people have started to feel financially and socially threarened by it.

You don't seem to understand context. It does not matter in terms of an employer employee relationship.

An employer has no more business telling you what to think about sexuality or marriage or adultery than about vegetarianism or environmental justice.

This person is not your teacher or any kind of moral authority to you.

These awareness days are a misnomer. Its' nothing to do with awareness. Everyone is aware. It's about telling people what they are meant to believe.

I don’t want any of this shit at work. Its all virtual signalling, attention seeking bollocks.

Im bi. I’m a feminist. I’m a leftie. I’m not one of the ‘PC yawn maaaad’ brigade. But even I am sick to the back teeth of LGBT ‘awareness raising’, ‘visibility’, ‘celebration’ or (the worst) ‘history’ stuff in my workplace. And all the other stupid, pointless days or weeks or months (months for fuck sake!) of identity politics BS.

Just fucking let me do my job and act within the law as an employer, and we are good.

Bi Awareness Week can fuck right off.

1. it very much DOES matter if people are still biphobia or homophobic
2. employers can of course tell employees not to be biphobic, homophobic, racist, Islamophobic etc
3. As I mentioned before, yes, Christians - or anyone of any religion - should be welcome to host a ‘Christian Visibility Week’ if they too want to share their experiences. I’d happily participate in an event like this because being respectful of those we share society with, and making an effort to understand them and their experience, is part of being a grown up. I’d love that!
4. Just because bisexual awareness month isn’t important to you, or you don’t understand why it’s important to some people, doesn’t mean it’s not important! Unfortunately you don’t get to decide what other people consider important. You can simply choose to not participate and let others get on with it. Easy!

HTH 😌

The answer to what?

If people are acting within the law at work what's the issue?

All of these posts are talking about whether people are still biphobic or homophobic etc. It doesn't matter. The workplace is not an appropriate place to try and convince people of your ideological beliefs, no matter how dearly you hold them.

Some people will always walk the line of being antisocial or unprofessional or borderline rude. Some are jerks, some have poor boundaries, some aren't all that socially sensitive. Sometimes it's best to ignore them, or sometimes it's best to say something to them, sometimes it's serious enough to address with a manager. It's human nature. An employer can tell an employee to not behave a certain way, but it's none of their business what an employee thinks.

Do you think an employer who is an Orthodox Christian should be allowed to run programs about theology in the workplace, or it's intersection with politics? Or is it only some belief systems where your boss is allowed to do that?

This is a pluralistic society, people are meant to be protected from this in their workplace.

Do you have the same issue re: gay pride? Or is it just bisexuals that you think are cringe?

Oh, get over yourself. You really think there is a need for a bisexual month in the workplace? Jeesus, I'm bi as well but no need to be shouting about it on the rooftops because it's not or atleast shouldn't be interesting to anyone but myself.

I think the only time people really care is when the relationship is between colleagues

It depends what the questions are I suppose. If it’s a genuine question yes but if it’s a creepy bloke who gets off on two women getting together, not so great!

I do agree in part but sometimes attitudes are only changed by actions and visibility. I think it’s actually more unhelpful to pretend everything is okay, everyone is really tolerant and differences are accepted because no one cares anymore. That said, I also understand why there is a backlash to this kind of thing because it does feel like “what next!?”

I agree, I always answer the questions, I mentioned them because others have mentioned being upset by questions in the thread that it is phobic.

My thoughts are that if history tells us anything about a change of culture it is that it is slow, incremental changes to ordinary peoples lives that are set off by a catalyst along the way. Look at any timeline for change, womens rights, gay rights, the Childrens Act etc they all began to improve with slow small changes in attitude with the occasional scandal until it becomes the norm to accept it. No one has any patience, of course, it would be wrong of me to say it was otherwise in the past, it wasn't, we're an impatient species.

I played my small part by just being good at what I did and forging relationships with people and ignoring or calling out the BS along the way, that is when it is BS. We all have our differences but there is so much more that unites us as humans, shame we have lost sight of that.

I do understand these days, weeks and months lose impact. I’m not really sure what you mean about being offended by questions. If someone asks me a question I assume they’re interested in my life and I answer it. It doesn’t matter if it is about my sexuality. I therefore disagree that a culture of fear has been created.

What do you think the answer is if these events are pointless?

"Why isn't there a straight pride?"
appropriate username given your comment could have been lifted from the daily mail c.1970s....

And Sandra is checking out the organisation's DEI policies before she applies for the positions so she knows she would be working in an inclusive environment since she is a clever and intelligent woman. It still doesn't alter the fact that many employees wouldn't intentionally insult her anyway even if the culture is a touch on the tangy side.

I don't take anything as a given. I worked in male dominated industries since the late 80s and I am a motorcycle rider, I know about the culture of anything can be difficult for certain people depending upon the culture, I've been in that position myself many times simply because I am obviously a different shape to many of my colleagues.

Difference is, when I started in those cultures, only a few mad people were shouting phobia or ist at folk who might have the temerity to ask a simple question in those days. Now they do, even just for the slightest ill thought out comment, it makes people wary of engaging so they become disinterested.

Once you've alienated those who have dared to ask a question or said they don't care if someone has male and female partners by telling them what terrible individuals they are, you've lost them as an audience.

Who are awareness months, weeks, days for? A lot of activists of all kinds have shut down the discussions and reduced an audience that might have been bigger if they hadn't been so quick to take offense even when none was offered? They only seem to be for those who are tolerant and curious and those who live with the subect as an aspect of their life.

Awareness days, weeks, and months are all about taking light into the light. There is no point to that.

The thread wasn’t about not employing NB people. It was how announcing your NB status and pronouns as you introduced yourself at an interview was NOT a good thing and might put off some employers.

In exactly the same way as introducing yourself as “ I’m Bob and I’m Muslim / a Scientologist / an out and proud gay man / a vegan / a menopausal woman is a bad idea , because it implies that these things are Very Important and need to be taken account of by your employer and your colleagues. And that they are much more important than other peoples’ characteristics and that you are Special and will need Special Treatment.

They are only relevant if it’s related to your job eg you have diabetes and the job is working for a charity that support diabetics.

Otherwise it makes everyone think that you are going to be moaning about everyone else eating cake on Fridays and complaining that it’s discrimination and should Be Stopped and that everyone needs to do penance by raising money for diabetic charities. When your company makes widgets and have supported a local environmental charity for decades.

The normal thing to do is to wait until you are offered the job, then disclose that you are type 1 diabetic and ask if you can have access to a fridge to keep your meds ( I’m just making this up BTW I don’t know if that’s actually needed but you get my drift ).

Personally I can’t eat cake because I’m intolerant of gluten, but I don’t get annoyed every time someone in the office offers me a biscuit or a cake. I don’t complain that they are discriminating against me and deliberately trying to exclude me by offering something I can’t eat. I don’t insist that HR run a coeliac awareness scheme or send some of my colleagues for compulsory reeducation.

I just assume that they haven’t remembered and they’re trying to be nice.

The NB thing is exactly the same as most people are saying here about “ bi awareness “. your colleagues and employers don’t give a stuff who you shag , when you shag them, what you eat and what you believe.

What they DO care about is hiring competent people who will get along with others in the team and not bang on about their dietary or sexual preference / religious or cultural beliefs and insist that everyone else cater to them, lay attention to them and centre them in everything . Most people have some sort of private life and they don’t want to hear about yours and why it makes you Special and deserving of Recognition and Awareness.

No one wants to hire a snowflake. It not about your sexuality ,it’s about your snowflakeness.

Nobody does in any case.

Some people consistently seem to think anyone is upset because someone mentions a non-hetreosexual partner.

No, no one gives a shit. And generally they are happy to be polite in a general way.

What they object to is being told, by their employer, that they are obliged to have certain thoughts about sexuality, or any other issues.

People are allowed to think what they like, and it's none of their employers business.

Do you understand that your workplace could potentially have people who come from conservative religious backgrounds, and that they are supposed to be protected, by law, in their workplace against being told that their religious views are not ok?

Nor should they need to be put in a position of avoiding these kinds of education events.

How are you going to square that with the employer telling people they need to think a certain way?

If you want to run a biphobia campaign fill your boots, but it's totally inappropriate in a workplace. No differernt than an employer deciding to run a program on why people should be pro-euthanasia.

People are allowed to think what they like, having employees does not give anyone the right to subject them to indoctrination of any type.

Yes, and apparently the best people to manage and enforce it is our bosses.

Jesus.

No one is doing that, or saying people can't mention their wedding.

They are saying their workplace shouldn't be subjecting them to "education" about what they are supposed to think, and there should be pressure to accept, or not accept, certain things.

What difference does them being employee led make?

It is no different than people bringing in speakers on being a good Baptist ally, or Marxism, it has no place in a workplace.

People can go to meetings about politics, religion, and social issues outside of work if they want to. No one should feel any kind of pressure around their religious and ideological beliefs at work.

I worked in a place where there were a lot of gay people (and an openly bi as they’d had relationships with both sexes at the same place of work). No one batted an eyelid and in the three years I was there I never saw any kind of ‘awareness’ days, weeks or months. It didn’t seem necessary as it was obviously a place where acceptance was the norm but in an understated way and everyone just getting on with their jobs.

So does this mean it should be acceptable? If someone was making racist comments in the workplace, or saying "women are at it again, trying to get out of the kitchen", are we supposed to just not care because it is 'human nature'?

I'm not saying this necessarily needs to be a full month, but the whole idea of these things is to show that the place you work is accepting and inclusive, and that you can count on them having your back if you are being harassed, excluded or bullied because you are bisexual. Which does happen. You don't have to talk about your sex life, a simple comment might give it away:

"My wife and I divorced a few years ago, but my current boyfriend is really nice."

(When married to a man) "Oh, my ex girlfriend was a bit like that haha"

These are all standard casual conversations you might have with colleagues that will 'give away' that you are bisexual. And you can totally get harassed or bullied for it in the work place. Sure, you can just not share these things, but a lot of people actually want to feel like they belong, and that they can connect with people on a basic level. I have had to hide from people that I am bisexual because they would not take it well - if I was outed in the workplace, I appreciate knowing that I work somewhere safe.

This isn't about converting bigoted people. It is about letting people know that harmful comments and harassment are not part of the workplace culture and will not be tolerated, that HR won't 'look the other way' because that's just how it is.

Isn’t it! I’ve certainly learned a lot about myself, my experiences and my personal motives from some of the strangers on this thread 😂

Just because you don’t understand WHY what you’ve said is upsetting and offensive, doesn’t mean it isn’t. 🤦‍♀️

I think it's amazing that someone can tell you about their lived experience and how other people's behaviour has negatively impacted it, and people with no understanding of that lived experience can think they know better.

No - you are making a bigger deal out of something that doesnt need to be.