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FREE PALESTINE

There is an ongoing genocide, please speak up about it

Reblog posts about Palestine, make art about palestine, wear a keffiyeh, attend protests, boycott israeli companies, mourn the dead, and fight like hell for the living.

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Apparently today is bisexual visibility day!

I think it's definitely part of my bisexual experience to have to assert my sexuality and my existence at various times, and sometimes it has felt easier to be quiet and hidden - especially when in a het relationship.

But bisexuality is an awesome, amazing thing and it's not something we should need to keep hidden or have to argue about over and over. We exist. My attraction is real. I'm not a lesbian in denial, I'm not a curious straight girl.

There are also times when I've felt guilty for being a bad stereotype. I am slut, I do have threesomes (and moresomes), I'm kinky and at times I've been very promiscuous. But, you know, I also had a lot of fun. My ideas of attraction and relationships don't follow societal norms, and that's okay too.

Anyway - it might sometimes feel easier to hide your bisexuality, but it's good, it's valid and you deserve to be seen

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You are loved.

You are needed.

You are wanted.

You are missed.

You are someone's reason to live.

You may not know it. People show their love in different ways. Not everyone says it, but many people feel it. Many people have loved you in the past. People love you now. You will be loved by countless people in the future, but only if you let yourself make it there.

You may be saying to yourself, "Yeah right, you don't know me," or something like that. Even though I don't know you, I love you. I have cried over so many people that I don't know, people that I've never even met or heard of. You are no exception—no human is an exception to love.

People love you, so let them.

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Would you like to donate?

You can support our work by donating directly on our website or by shopping on our Redbubble site. Your donation or purchase will help us continue to provide actionable information on anti-trans legislation in the U.S.

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Happy Pride Month

This June, remember that the first Pride was a Riot. Asking nicely never got us anywhere. Take direct action: protest, offer resources to trans people, make bigots afraid to be openly prejudiced, and have fucking fun while doing it!

Dear transgender folk, I love you.

Most of the people who will read this I will never meet, and yet I still care for them all. The bisexual and the transgender communities are historically inherently intertwined and I am so proud to embrace their intersectionality and nuances.

I especially want to reach out to young trans/gnc/questioning people living in states or countries that are becoming increasingly unsafe to live in. I am Oklahoma and I am deeply troubled by the overwhelming feeling of powerlessness, and still I refuse to back down. I will not be complacent just because I, as a cisgender woman, may not be personally affected.

I have a voice and so do you, and they are meant to be used. One protester with a sign is always better than staying quiet and staying quiet—for those of us who are safe enough to do so; your safety is the priority, after all. United we cannot be suppressed. We will rise up in solidarity stronger than ever. We will make selfish fascists fear for their lives as much as they have made my friends' fear for their own. I know that living in this era is a struggle for myriad reasons, and I also know that change for the better is possible, but only if we try harder than our oppressors.

I love you. I may never have the honor of meeting you personally but please know that I fucking love you and I want you to live authentically, joyously, and downright hedonistically. If so many people can devote their lives to hating people that they don't know, then I will devote my life to loving the people that I don't know.

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I just realized how long it has been since I've posted on this blog when I saw my age written as 19 in the pinned post... Life really does not wait for you to catch your breath.

#PosbiPersonal

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Shout Out to Trans Bisexuals

Shout out to y'all for putting up with people who spread the misconceptions that bisexuality isn't trans-inclusive or that it's binary.

Shout out to y'all for putting up with the idea that people need to use a different label if they're attracted to you, as if trans is a separate gender.

Shout out to y'all for putting up with that as if not everyone (who isn't aroace) has the potential to be attracted to trans people, including enben.

Shout out to y'all who have had your sexuality unironically be called transphobic by people who can't be bothered to listen to bisexuals, or to even look up any LGBT history.

You have played a huge role in building this community. All of you. You are loved, appreciated, and you are needed. Thank you.

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Some of the alternative terms are gender neutral while others are specific to nonbinary people.

Remember: you should talk to your nonbinary friends to discuss what terms they are personally comfortable with. Don't assume that enben will always use these terms.

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Dear transgender folk, I love you.

Most of the people who will read this I will never meet, and yet I still care for them all. The bisexual and the transgender communities are historically inherently intertwined and I am so proud to embrace their intersectionality and nuances.

I especially want to reach out to young trans/gnc/questioning people living in states or countries that are becoming increasingly unsafe to live in. I am Oklahoma and I am deeply troubled by the overwhelming feeling of powerlessness, and still I refuse to back down. I will not be complacent just because I, as a cisgender woman, may not be personally affected.

I have a voice and so do you, and they are meant to be used. One protester with a sign is always better than staying quiet and staying quiet—for those of us who are safe enough to do so; your safety is the priority, after all. United we cannot be suppressed. We will rise up in solidarity stronger than ever. We will make selfish fascists fear for their lives as much as they have made my friends' fear for their own. I know that living in this era is a struggle for myriad reasons, and I also know that change for the better is possible, but only if we try harder than our oppressors.

I love you. I may never have the honor of meeting you personally but please know that I fucking love you and I want you to live authentically, joyously, and downright hedonistically. If so many people can devote their lives to hating people that they don't know, then I will devote my life to loving the people that I don't know.

#i am going to be just as loud and obnoxious about my love and respect for trans people as i am about my bisexuality & gender non-conformity #lgbt #lgbt pride #lgbt positivity #transgender #trans #transsexual #nonbinary #transgender pride #transgender positivity #trans pride #trans positivity #nonbinary pride #nonbinary positivity #mtf #ftm #ftx #mtx #mtf pride #mtf positivity #ftm pride #ftm positivity #bisexual #bisexual pride #bisexual positivity #bi pride #bi positivity #anti trans legislation #dont say gay #pride month

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we have to fight against them together or die there's no choice at this point.

if you're a cis lgb and think you're safe you're not. they're coming for all of us.

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I never know what to post on here anymore because my mental health has been down the drain which is not conducive for spreading positivity but here is my daughter Persephone

#PosbiPersonal #Persephone

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The Lavender Clinic is the ONLY source for gender affirming healthcare in the state of Hawaii.

They have less than 48 hours remaining to raise the funds they need in order to stay open.

Please join me in donating if you can, and PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD. They are in immediate need!

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The Lavender Pride Flag

A decent quality version of the 9-stripe LGBT flag for once. More information below.

This flag, made by Gilbert Baker, was created in 2017, which is 40 years after he made the original 8-stripe LGBT flag.

Hot Pink — Sex

Red — Life

Orange — Healing

Yellow — Sunlight

Green — Nature

Turquoise — Magic/Art

Indigo — Serenity

Violet — Spirit

Lavender — Diversity

Bonus heart:

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I used to be afraid of the word bisexual.

I used to let the potential judgement of others dictate my confidence and self-worth. It was mostly the prefix because I didn't understand what it meant at the time. It felt like a reminder of the fetishization of bisexuality and it put a dirty taste in my mouth. I figured it was better off to stay out of conversations about bisexuality in some communities and to just say bi in others. Bi is fine, but better off for who? I'm not doing it for my own convenience. I'm doing it because I am afraid of others, and that small bit of power that they held over me pissed me off.

I began saying bisexual and bisexuality more often than bi, then I tried to find more reasons to say it. Now, seeing people say bisexual fills me with pride and joy. It is a pride in overcoming a fear and becoming stronger than hatred. It is a joy that I feel the need to pass on. I hope every bisexual person can feel this way about their bisexuality some day, regardless of how similar or different their journey is from mine.

Our bisexuality is an integral part of us that is deserving of our acknowledgment and respect. All of our attractions—same and other gender attractions—are valid and important. They make us who we are.

Your bisexuality is beautiful. Your bisexuality is true. Your bisexuality is wholesome or sensual or sexy or all or none of these. Your bisexuality is yours. Your bisexuality is enough.

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Butch and Femme History

Butch and femme are subcultures and identities denoting a sapphic woman's style, behavior, and oftentimes role in sapphic relationships.

Firstly, let's discuss the words "sapphic" and "lesbian." Sapphic refers to a relationship or attraction involving only women. Both modern day lesbians and bisexual women are sapphic. However, when "lesbian" was first coined, it encompassed bisexual women as well—since "bisexual" did not yet exist as an identity—unless stated otherwise. "Lesbian" meant in the past what sapphic/sapphist still means today, although it began as a term to describe a tribade (a woman who has sex with other women via rubbing). This is why writing about history from this era is tricky. We're using a word that did not have the same meaning in the time period that we're discussing. It is imperative to disclose the antiquated definition in order to avoid miscommunication.

Before the mid-twentieth century, LGB (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) societies were underground and thus very little LGB history was recorded. While "butch" and "femme" were either nonexistent or unknown terms back then, it is evident that butch–femme relationships have been around longer than the subcultures. The risque 1903 photograph above tells us that butch–femme-resembling relationships existed in those times. The 1928 novel The Well of Lonliness by Radclyffe Hall tells the tale of a woman who wishes to live a gentleman's life in order to fight in World War I as well as marry the woman she loves.

If we go back farther, in Charles Gilbert Chaddock's 1892 translation of Richard Von Krafft-Ebing's 1886 Psychopathia Sexualis, there are many accounts from patients included. Fun fact: it is the first book to coin terms for homosexuality and bi[-]sexuality in the English language! It is of my personal belief that not only does the book contain accounts of transgender people existing back then but also roles that patients take on that can be compared to butch–femme dynamics.

The popularization and possible creation of the butch and femme roles are directly tied to working-class gay/lesbian bar culture. Before the 1940s, it was particularly hard for sapphic women to socialize. Not only could they not go in bars alone or with another woman, but many gay bars also had methods of excluding women. The gay bars that did allow women had small female populations anyway. Bars finally opened in the 1940s specifically for sapphic women and the butch–femme subcultures thrived between the 1940s and 1960s.

Keeping in mind the old terminology that we're working with, it is then clear that lesbian bars were never exclusive to lesbians of modern day meaning. It is the same as if we called them sapphic bars today. Further evidence of bisexuals attending gay and lesbian bars can be found in the book Creating a Place For Ourselves: Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community Histories. Lesbian and female bisexual histories have always been intertwined. Ultimately, butch–femme dynamics were often used for survival in a heteronormative society and, ultimately, women in sapphic relationships were in danger whether or not they also had the potential to be attracted to men.

Bisexuality was reclaimed as an identity somewhere around or before the 1960s (but definitely after 1948) which also happened to be when lesbian separatism began to rise in the United States (while it developed in other countries typically in the 1970s). Radical/separatist lesbianism began in order to address lesbians being excluded from the gay liberation movement and feminism although it can't wholly be defined. Women like Louise Turcotte used the movement to oppose men and anything to do with them, including women who were involved with men. This was called feminist separatism.

These separatist lesbians saw men and heterosexuality as the enemy with lesbianism as the goal. That was when political lesbianism started. Not only is there an issue in implying that you can choose your orientation, but this also isolated many women. Bisexual people have often been considered too straight to be in gay/lesbian communities and they were too gay/lesbian to be accepted by straight society. There is a chance that the movement was also an attempt to distance the lesbian community from transgender inclusivity, something that the bisexual community often embraced. However, they didn't only attack other communities. Radical lesbian feminists in the 1970s pushed butch–femme dynamics underground for a decade or two by enforcing the claim that they are heteronormative and cannot coexist with their idea of feminism.

While it is true that sapphic couples have had to mimic heterosexuality plenty in the past, the equal relationships between androgynous women that the movement encouraged was not for everyone. To say that a masculine–feminine dynamic is regressive is ignorant of the fact that butches and femmes both challenge heteronormativity. Butches are masculine sapphics who challenge the gender roles and expectations of their culture. In the 19th century, their butchness was a signal of desire for other women. Femmes are feminine sapphic women who subvert heteronormativity in that they defy others' perceptions of them as straight women. They undermine the stereotypes and expectations that a heteronormative society holds for sapphic women.

When butch–femme relationships became more accepted in the LGBT community again in the 1990s, a lot had changed. Sapphic women were no longer seen as confused—"kiki"—if they weren't butch or femme. It was no longer as taboo for femme–femme and butch–butch relationships to exist. Communities separated, giving way to a new definition of lesbianism and a new identity for those forced out. While lesbianism is different now from what it used to be, the butch–femme dynamic has not magically altered itself to be lesbian-exclusive because it doesn't need to change. Bisexual women are just as much a part of the subcultures as lesbians because the subcultures were created and utilized by both groups for the same reasons—from survival to simply having an identity to describe how you express your womanhood to other women.

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Your attraction to all genders does not negate your love for your partner

Your love for your partner does not negate your attraction to all genders

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Some of the alternative terms are gender neutral while others are specific to nonbinary people.

Remember: you should talk to your nonbinary friends to discuss what terms they are personally comfortable with. Don't assume that enben will always use these terms.