I’ve read the argument that it “doesn’t matter” that bi organizations get little to no funding because the money given to gay & lesbian organizations will “trickle down” to help bi people and uh, thanks gay Ronald Reagan but your shitty opinion on this isn’t fucking needed while our community is suffering right now.
So before anyone say, “Are you sure? Prove it!” and “If bisexual people are the majority of the LGBT Community why is this happening?” here are two succinct citations to think about –
- “Show Us the Money: Funding for Bisexual Community Lacking” by Amy Andre
Funders for LGBTQ Issues … produce an annual report looking at who gets what … foundations gave out $97,189,139, to be exact. And out of that $97,189,139, some went to lesbian causes, some to gay, some to transgender, and some to LGBT in general. But, again, not one penny — of $97,189,139 — went to bisexuals, the largest subset of the LGB population. - “Transgender People and People of Color comprise large portions of the Bisexual Community” from HRC’s 2015 report “Health Disparities Among Bisexual People”
Transgender people and people of color comprise large portions of the bisexual community –– with more than 40 percent of LGBT people of color identifying as bisexual, and about half of transgender people describing their sexual orientation as bisexual or queer (according to various other research studies Bisexual is the largest self-identity for Trans people. Followed by percentages: Queer, Heterosexual/Homosexual, Other, and Asexual) –– making these groups vulnerable to further disparities that occur at the intersections of biphobia, racism and transphobia.
I think there’s kind of a feeling that bisexuals can “pass” and so they don’t need the support as much? Like I almost feel reluctant to identify because I’m bi but I’m also in a heterosexual marriage and nobody’s ever given me any shit for my sexuality so I feel like I’m not bi enough to ‘count.’ So when I think “who needs help here” even I would probably give money to a gay/trans organization before a bi one.
I know what you mean. Like, if you want to help trans women of color, give money to trans women of color. Cis bis don’t really need any help they can’t get from gay and lesbian organizations.
“Cis bis don’t really need any help they can’t get from gay and lesbian organizations.”
I’m not cis but PLENTY of cis people have said that help from gay and lesbian organizations is NOT enough.
I am not a TWOC either but lots of TWOC have told me that they, as a bisexual woman, have felt very unsafe in trans AND gay & lesbian spaces.
I am trans and bi and I could go on for days about how gay and lesbian organizations fail both trans and bi people.
Bi people have larger rates of suicide attempts, mental illness, poverty, food insecurity, health problems and more than straight, gay or lesbian people BUT we get almost no money even though are problems are larger.