Bisexuality pages from ‘Freaky Queer,’ a punk, anti-war, working queer zine published in Cardiff in 1992. Transcript below.
Sources (that they used in these pages of the zine):
Off Pink Publishing, Bisexual Lives, London, 1988.
Lorraine Hutchins & Lani Ka’ahumanu ed. Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out, Alyson Publications, USA, 1991.
This whole copy of ‘Freaky Queer’ is available to read here.
PAGE 1: clippings of quotes on a photo of a man.
Bisexuality
“I’d rather be bisexual half the time than heterosexual all the time.” ♀️
“It is entirely for me as an individual to decide exactly where my attraction may lie and for nobody else to insist that I conform to their specifications. Bisexuality for me has nothing to do with ‘swinging’; it is about the ability to respond to someone without the obligation to leave well alone because of gender.” ♂️
“We must not think of ourself as second class gays, but as first class people. No bisexual I have ever known though of themselves as a second class straight.” ♂️
“We are not sitting on the fence - we are building a new garden.” ♂️
“If people could only accept that sexuality is infinitely variable and that it was never meant to be confined to the parameters it has been, then not only would MY life be easier but the world would become a much better place.” ♂️
“Like many people I was so scared of my own gay feelings that I found it easier to dislike in others what I disliked in myself. Looking back I must not criticise myself because the anger I felt then was protective in keeping safe a part of me I could not handle. I found that liking men did not alter my feelings towards women. In fact I got on better with women because I was more relaxed.” ♂️
“A heterosexual lover once said that she would always love the part of me that could belong to her, but she understood that to possess me entirely would be to smother the essential ‘me’ that made me so dear.” ♂️
“I feel VERY bisexual at the moment and very positive. I just wish there were more bisexuals around and that non-bisexuals would accept my choices more.” ♀️
“So what if I WAS sexually attracted to men as well as women? Did it make me any less of a human being? Was my friend any less of a human being for being gay? Why did I feel that intolerence towards gays was intolerance towards me? I wasn’t gay. I loved women too,
[CONTINUED ON THE SIDE OF THE PAGE:]
but if you loved men at all, you were a ‘poof’ or a ‘queer’ and that meant you were dirty and that you couldn’t love women. I mean, NO ONE is going to believe you can like both and not be ‘confused’. I’ve fantasised about men and women so much that I wouldn’t know which I preferred.” ♂️
“For me, being bisexual is a part of being open to myself. I have always tried to see things from both sides. I don’t understand why more people don’t acknowledge that both men and women can be sexy. I guess it’s because I like people.” ♂️
“I’ve always seen myself identified as loving both sexes. Until I came across the term bisexual I was a long time without a label. I’ve very ambiguous feelings about labels but despite the misconceptions about bisexuality, saying I’m bisexual seems less of a non-statement than saying I’m neither straight nor lesbian.” ♀️
“Since heterosexuality is so ingrained in the prevailing consciousness, it becomes almost impossible to get some heterosexuals to recognise that any valid alternatives exist. I think the word ‘normal’ was created by those people who are afraid to say ‘heterosexual’ just because their fear of the body is such that they dare not admit to sexual feelings.” ♂️
Handwriting at the bottom of the page:
“1st Bit: Nicked from “Bisexual Lives” (off Pink Press)
2nd Bit: Nicked-> ‘Bi Any Other Name’
PAGE 2: Clipping: ‘Myths/realities of bisexuality’ by Sharon Forman Sumpter (from Bi Any Other Name)
“Sexuality runs along a continuum. It is not a static “thing” but rather a process that can flow, changing throughout our lifetime. Bisexuality falls along this continuum. As Boston bisexual activist Robyn Ochs says, bisexuality is the “potential for being sexually and/or romantically involved with members of either gender.”
“MYTH: Bisexuals are promiscuous/swingers.
TRUTH: Bisexual people have a range of sexual behaviours. Some have multiple partners, some have one partner; some go through partnerless periods. Promiscuity is no more prevalent in the bisexual population than in other groups of people.”
“MYTH: Bisexuals are equally attracted to both sexes.
TRUTH: Bisexuals tend to favor either the same or the opposite sex, while recognizing their attraction to both genders.”
“MYTH: Bisexual means having concurrent lovers of both genders.
TRUTH: Bisexual simply means the potential for involvement with either gender. This may mean sexually, emotionally, in reality, or in fantasy. Some bisexual people may have concurrent lovers; others may relate to different genders at various time periods. Most bisexuals do not need to see both genders in order to feel fulfilled.”
“MYTH: Bisexuals spread AIDS to the lesbian and heterosexual communities.
TRUTH: This myth legitimizes discrimination against bisexuals. The term “bisexual” simply refers to sexual orientation. It says nothing about sexual behaviour. AIDS occurs in people of all sexual orientations. AIDS is contracted through unsafe sexual practices, shared needles, and contaminated blood transfusion. Sexual orientation does not “cause” AIDS.”
“MYTH: Bisexuals are confused about their sexuality.
TRUTH: It is natural for both bisexuals and gays to go through a period of confusion in the coming-out process. When you are an oppressed people and are constantly told that you don’t exist, confusion is an appropriate reaction until you come out to yourself and find a supportive environment.”
“MYTH: Bisexuals are not gay.
TRUTH: We are part of the generic definition of gay (see Don Clark’s Loving Someone Gay.) Nongays lump us all together. Bisexuals have lost their jobs and suffer the same legal discrimination as other gays.”
“MYTH: Bisexual women will dump you for a man.
TRUTH: Women who are uncomfortable or confused about their same-sex attraction may use the bisexual label. True bisexuals acknowledge both their same-sex and opposite-sex attraction. Both bisexuals and gays are capable of going back into the closet. People who are unable to make commitments may use a person of either gender to leave a relationship.”
“MYTH: Bisexuals can hide in the heterosexual community when the going gets tough.
TRUTH: To “pass” for straight and deny your bisexuality is just as painful and damaging for a bisexual as it is for a gay. Bisexuals are not heterosexual and we do not identify as heterosexual.”
“MYTH: Bisexuals are in “transition.”
TRUTH: Some people go through a transitional period of bisexuality on their way to adopting a lesbian/gay or heterosexual identity. For many others, bisexuality remains a long-term orientation. Indeed, we are finding that homosexuality may be a transitional phase in the coming out process for bisexuals(?). It is important to remember that bisexual, gay, lesbian and heterosexual are labels created by a homophobic, biphobic, heterosexist society to separate and alienate us from each other. We are all unique; we don’t fit into neat little categories. We sometimes need to use these labels for political reasons and to increase our visibilities. Our sexual esteem is facilitated by acknowledging and accepting the differences and seeing the beauty in our diversity.”
PAGE 3: Bisexual Groups and other Contacts
BRITAIN
BI-MONTHLY - the magazine for bisexuals. Write to: LBG, BM-BI, London WC1N 3XX. Obtainable from alternative bookshops nationwide.
MEN’S ANTI-SEXIST NEWSLETTER exists as a forum for exchange of news, ideas, thoughts, feelings and information who are challenging sexism and particularly for people who wish to find for men alternative roles to those which society casts for them. Write to: MAN, 60 Rhymney Street, Cathays, Cardiff.
THE FEMINIST LIBRARY AND INFORMATION CENTRE works to provide information facilities on subjects of importance to women and the Women’s Movement. The possess many facilities including a newsletter every two months. The library is open to non-subscribers but membership is necessary to borrow books. Subscriptions vary according to income. Write to: Hungerford House, Victoria Embankment, London, WC2 6PA. Tel 01-930 0715.
IN HANDWRITING: WE AREN’T ALWAYS WAT WE SEEM!!! NICKED FROM “BI-LIVES” (OFF PINK PRESS)
LONDON BISEXUAL WOMEN’S GROUP, write to: BM Box LBWG, London WC1N 3XX.
BISEXUAL AND MARRIED GAYS GROUP, Phone: Nigel 01-558 5203 (5.30-10pm.)
SIGMA is a support group for relationships where one partner is gay or bisexual. Details from Gay Switchboard 01-837 7324.
BISEXUALS IN NALGO, write to: BM-BI, London WC1N 3XX.
EDINBURGH BISEXUAL GROUP meets every Thursday, 8pm, at the Lesbian and Gay Community Centre, 58a Broughton Street, Edinburgh EH1 3SA (no disabled access). Write to this address for further information or send an sae to join the Pen-Pal Scheme. The Bisexual Phoneline (see above) operates a contact serice.
MANCHESTER BISEXUAL GROUP, Write to: Box 153, Manchester, M60 1LP or Phone: Paul Owen, 061-228 3554 (2-4pm.)
‘Freaky Queer was a queer zine that came out of Cardiff in 1992. Leftist in outlook and punk in its aesthetic, this issue contained an interview with Alice Nutter from Chumbawamba. Up the queer working class, indeed.’
‘I like this queer brigade recruitment poster in Freaky Queer. 1992.’
