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AUTHOR: William E. Burleson
PUBLISHER: Harrington Park Press (The Haworth Press)
LANGUAGE: English
DATE: 2005
PAGES: 270
ISBN: 1560234784

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Bi America: Myths, Truths, and Struggles of an Invisible Community

by William E. Burleson

There are at least five million bisexual people in America, generally invisible to straight society, the gay community, and even to each other. While the vast majority of these five million live within the straight or gay world, there are a few who have formed a community of their own. Bi America: Myths, Truths, and Struggles of an Invisible Community offers an inside look at the American bisexual community and gives an understanding of the special circumstances unique to being bisexual. The book takes the reader to bi community events from picnics, to conferences, to support groups, to performances in order to expose the everyday trials of the bisexual community.

Bi America includes very personal stories that let the voice of everyday bisexuals be heard through interviews, the “Bisexual History Project,” in which ten bisexual people tell their life stories, and the “Online Support Group,” a group of about 75 people who meet in cyberspace to talk about their lives and challenges. The book also includes the findings of a 2002 survey of about 300 bisexual people conducted via the Internet, an appendix that offers a concise list of resources for further study and personal enrichment, and an unabridged transcript of the “Bisexual History Project.”

Bi America is a fascinating resource that exposes the challenges, struggles, and triumphs of bisexuals in America. Bisexuals, especially those newly coming out, can use this book to help understand their identity, and family members and friends seeking some insight into the unique circumstances faced by their loved ones will also find it helpful. This book will interest those concerned with the sociology of deviance or with subcultures in general. It is also appropriate for undergraduate sociology and cultural anthropology, as well as feminist studies and LGBT studies classes. This book offers one of the few accessible, nonacademic looks at this unique and interesting community.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreward
Acknowledgements
Introduction
- My Own Story
- Sources
- Who and What This Book Is About
Chapter 1: BECAUSE
- Welcome to BECAUSE
- The Workshop
- Chapter 2: Relating Bisexuality to the World
- “Bring Out the Bisexuals”: The Jerry Springer Show
- The Invisible Bisexual
- The Relationship Between the Bi and lesbian and Gay Communities
Chapter 3: Bisexuality Defined
- “Something Men Just Do”
- Sex, History, and Culture
- Models of Sexual Orientation
- Perspectives on Bisexuality
- Bisexuality as an Orientation
- Bisexuality as an Identity
Chapter 4: In Search of a Bisexual Community
- The Picnic
- Who Are They?
- Is There a Bi Community
- Meet the Bi Community
- Back to the Picnic
Chapter 5: Women’s and Men’s Experiences: Penthouse Bisexuals and Support Group Men
- Kiss the Girls
- Bisexual Women
- Bisexual Men
Chapter 6: The Transgender Community
- Bi Cities!
- What is “Transgender”?
- Transgender History
- Bisexual and Transgender
Chapter 7: What Is the Relationship Between Nonmonogamy and Bisexuality?
- The Wog
- Bisexuality, Monogamy, and American Society
- Styles of Nonmonogamy
- Last Thoughts About Monogamy
Chapter 8: Bisexuality in the Time of AIDS
- Safer Sex Sluts
- HIV/AIDS 101
- HIV Risk and Bisexual Women
- HIV Risk and Bisexual Men
- AIDS and the Bisexual Community
Chapter 9: The History of the Bisexual Community
- Boston, June 2002
- The Seeds of Bi Activism i the 1960s and 1970s
- The 1980s and the Second Wave of Activism
- The 1990s and Conference Culture
- Where Does That Leave the Bi Community Today?
Chapter 10: The Future of the Bi Community: GLBT Identity versus Cyberspace
- The College Workshop
- Into the Future
- Bisexual Inclusion
- Here Comes the Internet
- Do We Want to Have a Community?
- What is the Future of the Bisexual Community
Chapter 11: BECAUSE Reprise
- Back to the Workshop
- Sunday Morning Breakfast
Appendix A. The Survey
Appendix B. The Bisexual History Project
Appendix C. Resources and Further Reading
Notes
Bibliography
Index