Bisexual Awareness Month

Bisexual people face discrimination from all directions - heterosexual, lesbian & gay, the 'anti woke' etc

I can honestly say I can't think of an instance of being on the receiving end of something malicious specifically because of being Bi, but I did have a good chuckle at overhearing gossip about how I'd "come out as a lesbian" because they found out I'm in a relationship with another woman.

I don't know if that's inherently Biphobic, Homophobic, or just generalised ignorance, but I do think there are still a fair few people around who have such pre-set ideas about the nature of things that a wee reminder/refresher here and there isn't necessarily a bad thing.

And yes, the one thing that does really anger me, is the persistent notion that all Bi people are insatiable sex maniacs, destined to cheat purely because we have a wider pool of potential partners. It's especially risible coming from straight women given how straight men do actually behave. It never seems to occur to them that their hetero DH/partner is every bit as capable of shagging someone else as any Bi partner. I don't "crave" or "miss" sex with men just because I'm in a relationship with a woman. I have a perfectly fulfilling sex life with my partner. It's them I want to be with, not some hypothetical man just because he has a penis.

Having said that, yes biphobia is still prevalent both from straight people and gay people - I just don't see declaring another day is going to help...

Great! Then you don't need bisexual visibility month.

But as evidenced by the many people on this thread alone who have said some variation of "what you do in the bedroom is your business" it is still very much needed for many.

I'm LGBT+ but I swear even I am SICK to death of all the special days we have - Bi awareness, Lesbian visibilty, Pride, Pride month, History, trans this/that/the other - our work place has started in with asexual blah blah too...

It's too much. But the Pride group at work is run by a load of 20 somethings who love a label ( while declaring labels are over) and would rather spend time on this stuff than actual work.

And Vulvuary and Titmas to look forward to.

You could talk about getting married - whoever you're marrying, that's not an issue, not in our place anyway. You'd just be congratulated, you're a colleague and people would be happy for you.

Me too! 👏 👏 👏

This is what I was trying to say but you put it better than I did.

Well you could happily talk about that where I work, you'd probably be asked where you went, what you ate, etc. but there wouldn't be a ripple of interest in the sex of your partner - just what they ate and whether they enjoyed it. People in our office are obsessed with this.

Bedroom stuff has no place in the office, for anyone.

Biphobia is still very prevalent, as evidenced by this thread.

It is biphobic to conflate someone's sexuality purely with what genitals they prefer and what they do in the bedroom. When a straight person at work is very visible about their sexuality (eg a man talking freely about their upcoming wedding to a woman) nobody says "I don't need to think about you putting your penis in your wife's vagina, this is a workplace!!"

Visibility is purely about people feeling free to be who they are at work, whether that's bisexual or a Manchester United fan or into cycling. It's not about shoving anything anyone's face or talking about their sexual preferences in the cafeteria.

To the bisexual people on here who say that biphobia doesn't' exist- I'm glad you've never experienced it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

These things tend to be employee led in almost all cases. They happen because employees all for it because they want to confront prejudice and educate people who want to learn more.
My last employer used to regularly bring in interesting people to give lectures on their subject of interest which we the only meetings people actually choose to go to.

I meant if a straight person mentions going out for a meal or something with their partner. Not bedroom talk. But some people only see gay/bi relationships in terms of what they do in the bedroom.

The question here is why is this at work.

People have the right to any view they want to have.

They can be political lesbians that think women shouldn't speak to men. They can be Orthodox Jews, Catholics, or Zoarostrians, or even monks or nuns. They can be Marxists or Mormon polygamists. They can be people who write blogs about polyamory. They can be guys that cheat on their wives.

Why would their employer, whether they are working for an accounting firm, or MacDonalds, or a web design firm, think they should tell them anything about what to think about anything?

What kind of expertise or moral right do they have to do that?

I've changed my mind, this thread has convinced me that one month isn't enough. Let's make it two...

I'd rather people were just accepting of people without their sexuality coming into it.

If a colleague would mention something that they did with their partner it wouldn't cause a single ripple, same sex/opposite sex. Nobody cares. If they start talking about bedroom stuff in the workplace then yes, that would be frowned on and rightly so. It wouldn't matter who or what their partner was, it's not for work.

Keep that chat for your mates, colleagues don't need to hear it, not from anybody.

I would!

Why is there?

I really don't care what other people do in bed or who they are/are not attracted to (as long as legal)

Yeah I really don’t need to know the sexuality of my colleagues. Everyone is aware bisexuality is a thing, are they not? So why an awareness month?

It's very weird when you think about it. What makes them think they have any kind of moral or ethical expertise.

I'm almost 50 years old, I have a degree in philosophy and history, I've worked in the military, I have a pretty keen interest in politics, science, and ethics and read a lot around those subjects, as well as literature.

Some of my bosses are, while nice enough people and competent, basically idiots. A few others are just idiots and aren't even good at their jobs. My most direct boss is bright but 15years younger than me and very technically oriented. The leader of the company is probably the most well rounded but not more qualified to have an opinion on social issues than I am.

Where do they get off offering me anything about politics, ethics, or ideology? It's a fucking job, not where I look for moral guidance.

Omg, it's like you are so close to grasping the point of awareness events, just go up on your tippy toes and you might finally get it!

And let's put some facts in here. Bisexuality it's still one of the least understood areas of sexuality among the general public. I've been out for over 30 years now and my mum still insists on telling my partners she so glad I've grown out of my childish phase when she meets them.
For a website mainly for women which trades on its feminist credentials in assuming you are all aware that the single group who suffers the highest levels of domestic and sexual violence are bisexual women, and that's by a significant margin.
I did a quick search and 0 awareness or campaigning on the subject.

I think a lot of what gets tagged as biphobia is really just misunderstanding. But there are thousands of misunderstood groups, why does this particular one deserve a special month?

Black history month. World childless week. I think it’s up to the group concerned to decide how much time they want to devote to it.

And these “they can do what they like in the bedroom” are inherently phobic. If a straight person mentions they did something with their opposite sex partner no one says “why do I need to know what you do in the bedroom?”

This discussion comes up every year with pride or awareness and it's just tedious to hear the, I'm not racist, but. I'm not homophobic, but, etc. I did love the posters above saying that excluding all bi people from their dating pool isn't prejudical when the only thing different about them is they sleep with the same sex. Just admit you find same sex relationships icky and own the prejudice, there is no other quantifiable reason for not dating them.
As for the woman with the cheating bi ex, you'd better be careful about those heterosexuals 75 percent of men have cheated at one point (68% for women) and will over 20 percent have cheated on their current partner. Sexuality has nothing to do with fidelity, cheaters are cheaters.