Bi Visibility Day 2015 – Wednesday 23 September

23 Sep

There’s a whole day dedicated to raising awareness of the issues and stigma still faced by bisexual people. But what is it, and why is it needed?

Bisexuality is still widely misunderstood, misrepresented and stigmatised.

Bisexual people are too often perceived as uncertain, confused or simply ‘greedy’. These offensive myths are often perpetuated to such an extent that it is hard for bisexual people to be listened to or regarded with respect from the wider populace. These myths also impact on bisexual individuals’ access to vital public and health services, as well as their performance in the workplace.

Bisexual identities, experiences and stories are also often condensed, conflated or often altogether erased within the umbrella of ‘LGBT’.

So this day is a way of bringing these issues out into the open – challenging them, shining the spotlight on bisexual champions and role models and showing how we can become a more inclusive society.

What is Bi Visibilty Day?

Back in 1999, three American activists came up with the idea to celebrate bisexuality, as a response to the prejudice and marginalisation of bisexual people by heterosexual and other LGBT communities. It has since grown to be acknowledged annually and on a worldwide scale. [Wikipedia]

Stonewall CEO Ruth Hunt stated in 2014 via Pink News that Bi Visibility Day is about breaking down barriers for bisexual people and challenging the prejudices they face, from within their own community and outside it.

“Few bisexual people are open about their sexual orientation to healthcare professionals and many have had negative experiences of the NHS or healthcare providers”.

She goes on to point out that “at work we see stereotypical assumptions and beliefs about bisexual people and their lives, from both straight and gay people.” This ultimately leads to bisexual people feeling unable to bring their ‘whole selves’ to work.

#sheffieldissuper

So what do we do in Sheffield?

Sheffield has experienced a growth in recent years of the annual celebration of ‘IDAHO’ (to use its former alias) – like most places, it is now known as ‘IDAHOBiT’ – International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. This evolving of the acronym symbolises efforts to challenge the erasure of biphobia and transphobia from LGBT+ discourse.

On 17 May each year, Sheffield sees the various communities come together for a minutes noise. Check out the 2015 minutes’ noise via YouTube at https://youtu.be/5w8z5HEGWVQ

Find out more about IDAHOBiT 2015 here.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Sheffield-based E.D.E.N Film Productions and their project group E.D.E.N Action! recently produced a fabulously cinematic look at the myths of biphobia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zNWzpEDSg4

You can find out more about these amazing people and their projects here.

What do we do at SHU?

September 23 is a perfect opportunity for us to welcome new and returning students to Sheffield Hallam University, and an even better opportunity to show our commitment to LGBT+ equality on campus.

We have a stall located in the atrium on Level 4 of Owen Building featuring general SHU LGBT+ information and specifically regarding bisexuality awareness and Bi Visibility Day.

There is a host of information aimed at LGBT+ students, including a deconstruction of the aforementioned myths and a Bi-Timeline on the Hallam LGBT+ blog – http://lgbtsh.weebly.com/bi-visibility-day.html

We’ve also signed up for the Bi Visibility Day 2015 ‘thunderclap’ tweet! Check out the campaign at https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/29455-it-s-bi-visibility-day-2015

Keep an eye out for it via @SHU_Signal_LGBT on 23 September and give us some love via favourites and re-tweets!

There’s a whole host of further information and links below. Follow them to keep up to date!

#wearehallam

LINKS

Bi Visibility Day

Facebook – http://www.fb.com/bivisibility

Twitter – @BiVisibilityDay

Web – www.bivisibilityday.com

Tumblr – http://bivisibilityday.tumblr.com

Sheffield Hallam University

LGBT+ Staff

SIGNAL Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/SignalatSHU