GLAAD

With the third annual #BiWeek (co-founded by GLAAD) underway, we wanted to take time to amplify the voices of those living at the intersection of the bi+ and trans* communities–voices that are often erased or ignored in mainstream media. This is a quick look at just a few influential bi+ and transgender activists and advocates who are making change and accelerating acceptance today.

Jen Yockney

(Photo Credit: Jen Yockney)

Jen Yockney is a bi+, trans, and non-binary activist who lives in the United Kingdom. Jen is the editor of Bi Community News, and has undertook numerous projects about bisexuality. Jen wrote an academic paper in 2003 called, “Bisexual Life in Manchester: A Needs Assessment,” and also runs a blog, which gives access to their current work. 

Jen has spoken about the impact of bi+ erasure how they see bi+ people often excluded from the broader LGBT community, though they believe this is improving over time. “In the 80s I was a teenager…still in the closet about gender and sexuality, both to others and myself. I started to come out and get engaged in community organizing and LGBT politics in the 90s, with student groups and the like. I found that they were very ‘LG’ in their ‘LGBT,’ with bi people, voices and experiences silenced and sidelined.”

Shiri Eisner

(Photo Credit: Shiri Eisner)

Shiri Eisner, a self-proclaimed Bi Radical, is a bi, genderqueer, and disabled writer and activist who lives in Tel Aviv and authored the renowned book, “Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution.” Blogging regularly, Shiri’s writing covers a range of issues relating to the bi+ and transgender communities. 

Shiri has written about the intersection of bi+ and trans communities: “In bisexual texts, I’m erased as a transgender person, and in transgender texts, I am erased as a bisexual person. I’ve seen very few texts that successfully incorporate the two – it’s usually either one or the other.” Shiri continuously calls for reducing cissexism within the bi+ community.

Zeam Porter

Zeam Porter is a 17-year-old gender-neutral teenager who has advocated for better inclusion of trans athletes, including in this above video, where they testified for improved inclusion of transgender athletes in their home state of Minnesota.

Zeam calls upon their experience as an athlete, saying: “Constantly being misgendered and called the wrong name took away my soul. I already feel like I don’t have my body — now I am soulless” and asking that state to “not take basketball away from me.” Zeam also runs a twitter account that can be found here.

Angel Haze

(Photo Credit: Angel Haze)

Angel Haze is a rapper and singer who is agender and pansexual.
To kind of identify as pansexual, to me, means  to just want love. To have a connection with anyone you can find it with.” Haze has also said, “Love is boundary-less. If you can make me feel, if you can make me laugh—and that’s hard—then I can be with you.”

Cecilia Chung

(Photo Credit: Transgender Law Center)

Cecilia Chung is an LGBTQ+ advocate devoted to HIV, AIDS, and health advocacy. The first transgender woman to act as a health commissioner in San Francisco, as well as the first openly HIV positive person and first transgender woman to serve as chair of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, Cecilia is now a Senior Strategist at the Transgender Law Center in California.

She has written about her hope that other groups will join in the movement for cultural acceptance of and legal equality for transgender people, writing on her blog, “We have stood with every movement from anti-racism to feminist to labor to Stonewall to #BlackLivesMatter and NOW we call on our families, friends, colleagues and allies to stand by us to call out our oppressors to end violence against us. Because #TransLives are not disposable. Trans women deserves a life free from fear as much as everyone.”

Julia Serano

(Photo Credit: Julia Serano)

Author of numerous books, including the widely-read Whipping Girl, Julia Serano, along with being a writer, is a performer of spoken word, dealing with queer and feminist subject matter, as well as a biologist and an active blogger.

Julia has covered the impact of sexism within the transgender and bisexual communities. “When you’re a trans woman,” Julia wrote, “you are made to walk this very fine line, where if you act feminine you are accused of being a parody, but if you act masculine, it is seen as a sign of your true male identity. And if you act sweet and demure, you’re accused of reinforcing patriarchal ideals of female passivity, but if you stand up for your own rights and make your voice heard, then you are dismissed as wielding male privilege and entitlement.”

Jazz Jennings

(Photo Credit: Jazz Jennings)

Jazz Jennings is a young trans advocate and the star of reality series I Am Jazz.

“Being pansexual basically means to me that you are attracted to anyone, no matter their sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, everything. There’s no limits. I’ll date anyone. It’s more that I love someone for their soul. Physically, I think I’m more attracted to boys but sometimes I’m attracted to girls too,” Jazz told Cosmo.

Kayley Whelan

(Photo Credit: The Task Force)

Kayley Whelan is a mixed-race Latina/white woman who works for the social media/digital communications department for the National LGBTQ Task Force, and is also an award-winning writer for her story, “Talk Derby To Me.”

In her article for last year’s #BiWeek, Kayley wrote about learning to accept and embrace herself: “I am a bisexual woman, and being understood that way meant a world of difference. However, I needed to accept my gender identity before I could fully explore and accept my sexual orientation. It is incredibly freeing to be able to date or fall in love with someone of any gender without a sense of social expectations or coercion. I have been able to embrace the full range of my sexuality, and that is so empowering.”

Lacey Kennedy

An advocate with AIDS Alabama, Lacey Kennedy is dedicated to making schools safer and more inclusive in Lacey’s home state. They advocate for LGBT-inclusive local and state policies, as well as for LGBT-inclusive sex education within schools. Lacey plans to become a physician and provide “culturally competent” care for LGBTQ patients.

GLAAD had the opportunity to interview Lacey, where they talked about growing up as both bi and trans in the U.S. South. “I think it was difficult for sure growing up, realizing I was bisexual there and really keeping that from my peers, my teachers, and my family. I didn’t feel comfortable being out till I was in college. I am still not really out at home…It’s really like a culture of silence where we don’t talk about it both within my family and at school. And for sure I remember people saying negative things, homophobic things, definitely bi-phobic things stung me a lot because at the time I was really femme presenting so all the stereotypes about bisexual women being just curious or not really serious or not really queer, those sort of things or just seeking attention. I guess that’s the one I heard most often. I think people have this perception that like kids here at school throw out “they’re so gay” like slurs and things like that but it’s also specifically bi-phobic things too. That’s true of my experience at school.”

David J. Cork

David J. Cork is a bisexual writer, actor, and producer. He runs the production company BiUSTV, and has written, starred in, and produced the web series, “Bi,” since 2014.
In the above video, David presents the story of how he learned that he was bi and how he grew to accept himself. While David realized that he was neither straight nor gay when he was 13, he didn’t learn to accept his bi identity until he was in his 20s with the help of art.

Kris Hayashi

(Photo Credit: Transgender Law Center)
Kris Hayashi is the executive director of the Transgender Law Center, lives in the San Francisco Bay area, and has advocated for inclusive policies for transgender and gender nonconforming youth. Kris has worked to make numerous important policies reality, one of which they are most proud was for New York City’s welfare agency to pass one of the first and strongest nondiscrimination policies.

Kris has spoken about the intersection of his gender identity and their race, saying, “From an early age, I understood that the world was not set up for gender nonconforming Asian kids like me to survive. Justice for transgender and gender nonconforming communities is close to my heart—and I won’t rest until it is achieved.”

 

The people spotlighted in this blog have dedicated themselves to accelerating acceptance, as have many more trans* & bi+ leaders working every day to make the world a more equitable place. Those looking to get involved can participate in #BiWeek by showing support on social media using #BiWeek, and learning more about the celebration, as well as other ways to take action. GLAAD also offers numerous resources on bisexuality as part of the organization’s year-round commitment to accelerating bisexual acceptance.