< RETURN TO bi, pan, & m-spec nonfiction

EDITOR: Faith Beauchemin
PUBLISHER: On Our Own Authority! Publishing
LANGUAGE: English
DATE: 2016
PAGES: 128
ISBN: 0990641821

PURCHASE on AK PRESS

How Queer! Personal Narratives from Bisexual, Pansexual, Polysexual, Sexually-Fluid, and other Non-Monosexual Perspectives

edited by Faith Beauchemin

How Queer! collects fourteen short autobiographical essays—not written by sociologists or professional activists, but by ordinary bisexual, pansexual, and sexually-fluid people from diverse backgrounds, sharing their experiences and telling their own stories. These personal narratives explore themes of bisexual and pansexual visibility, activism, confrontations with homophobia, and non-monosexual experience in the LGBT community.

Alongside these stories, Faith Beauchemin offers commentary in the form of an introduction and five reflective essays that place these writers’ experiences in the context of broader movements for radical social change. She argues that the common trend toward bisexual erasure in LGBT activism functions only to serve the interest of patriarchy, sexism, and homophobia. In contrast, the stories collected in this book help to subvert oppressive hierarchies by highlighting the perspectives of people who refuse to fit neatly into categories like “gay” or “straight.”

INCLUSION CRITERIA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements
Glossary
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
- A Note on the Title
- Preface
- “Placing the Personal Narrative in Context: an Introduction” by Faith Beauchemin
PART TWO: NARRATIVES
- “The Invisible B” by Faith Beauchemin
- “Not Straight… or Anything Else for That Matter” by Hugh Goldring
- “Flying in the Face of Everything” by [Kieryn Darkwater] published under previous name
- “(Un)Seen” by J
- “What You See Isn’t What You Get” by Lucas
- “I Could Pick a Side… But I Won’t” by Liam H. Smith
- “Call the Doctor” by M
- “Landmines” by Marie
- “Life, Take 2” by Courgette
- “I Am More Than My Sexual Orientation” by Beth Desmontagnes
- “To Be or Not To Be” by Danielle Hamilton
- “It Shouldn’t Have to Be a Secret” by Grace Carrol
- “So Tell Me About Your Childhood: How Therapy Saved My Sexuality and Sense of Self” by Johnnie Stevens
- “Mother of Pearl” by Sophie Unruh
PART THREE: REFLECTION AND ANALYSIS
- Bisexuality and Culture
- Bisexuality in Queer Politics and the Changing American Family
- A Personal Look at Bisexuality
- Bisexuality in the “LGBT” Community
- The Bisexual Community, Allyship, Activism, and Revolutionary Potential
Bibliography