“
I suppose it’s not a social norm, and not a manly thing to do — to feel, discuss feelings. So that’s what I’m giving the finger to. Social norms and stuff…what good are social norms, really? I think all they do is project a limited and harmful image of people. It thus impedes a broader social acceptance of what someone, or a group of people, might actually be like.
”
”
Jess C. Scott (New Order)
“
I think choosing between men and women is like choosing between cake and ice cream. You'd be daft not to try both when there are so many different flavors.
”
”
Björk
“
She liked to ignore the fact that I had made love to men and enjoyed it. She liked to ignore it until the very moment she decided to be threatened by it. That seemed to be her pattern. I was a lesbian when she loved me and a straight woman when she hated me.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo)
“
Whether it's men, women—it doesn't really matter. The human race is filled with passion and lust. And to coin terms like heterosexuality, homosexuality or even bisexuality makes no sense to me. You are human. You love who you love. You fuck who you fuck. That should be enough—no labels. No stigmas. Nothing. Just be to be.
But life isn't that kind. People will always find things to hate.
”
”
Krista Ritchie (Kiss the Sky (Calloway Sisters, #1))
“
I've had more difficulty accepting myself as bisexual than I ever did accepting that I was a lesbian. It felt traitorous. A few years ago, I admitted to myself that I was still interested in men in more than a "Brad Pitt is slick hot sexy" kind of way. But I worried what my friends, exes, and the Community would think. I never even broached the subject with my parents. Because what bothered me the most was that people would think that being a lesbian had been a phase for me, when that was so very not the case. What I feared was that I would no longer be part of a community, that I might be seen with my boyfriend and not be recognized as something not the same.
”
”
R. Gay
“
If you are a woman, if you're a person of colour, if you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, if you are a person of size, if you are a person od intelligence, if you are a person of integrity, then you are considered a minority in this world.
And it's going to be really hard to find messages of self-love and support anywhere. Especially women's and gay men's culture. It's all about how you have to look a certain way or else you're worthless. You know when you look in the mirror and you think 'oh, I'm so fat, I'm so old, I'm so ugly', don't you know, that's not your authentic self? But that is billions upon billions of dollars of advertising, magazines, movies, billboards, all geared to make you feel shitty about yourself so that you will take your hard earned money and spend it at the mall on some turn-around creme that doesn't turn around shit.
When you don't have self-esteem you will hesitate before you do anything in your life. You will hesitate to go for the job you really wanna go for, you will hesitate to ask for a raise, you will hesitate to call yourself an American, you will hesitate to report a rape, you will hesitate to defend yourself when you are discriminated against because of your race, your sexuality, your size, your gender. You will hesitate to vote, you will hesitate to dream. For us to have self-esteem is truly an act of revolution and our revolution is long overdue.
”
”
Margaret Cho
“
Giovanni had awakened an itch, had released a gnaw in me. I realized it one afternoon, when I was taking him to work via the Boulevard Montparnasse. We had bought a kilo of cherries and we were eating them as we walked along. We were both insufferably childish and high-spirited that afternoon and the spectacle we presented, two grown men jostling each other on the wide sidewalk and aiming the cherry pits, as though they were spitballs, into each other's faces, must have been outrageous. And I realized that such childishness was fantastic at my age and the happiness out of which it sprang yet more so; for that moment I really loved Giovanni, who had never seemed more beautiful than he was that afternoon.
”
”
James Baldwin (Giovanni’s Room)
“
Right now, all men seem overwhelmingly unattractive - except the ones on the Netflix shows I watch.
”
”
Adiba Jaigirdar (Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating)
“
This is was what their mothers would say if she and her cousins ever told them the things they folded inside their hearts. Twice as many paths to trouble, their mothers would whisper. As though their daughters loving both men and women meant they wanted all of them in the world. There was no way to tell their mothers the truth and make them believe it, that hearts that loved both boys and girls were no more reckless or easily won than any other heart. They loved who they loved. They broke how they broke. And the way it happened depended less on what was under their lovers' clothes and more on what was wrapped inside their spirits.
”
”
Anna-Marie McLemore (Wild Beauty)
“
I don't love just men. I love people. It's not about a gender. It's just about the spirit that exudes from that other person.
”
”
Kesha Sebert
“
Wilem: 'What is the word for that here? A man who is intimate with both women and men?'
'Lucky?' Denna suggested. 'Tired? Ambidextrous?'
'Ambisextrous,' I corrected.
”
”
Patrick Rothfuss (The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2))
“
People sometimes tells me that they're baffled by bisexuality. They are convinced that having sex with women is totally different from having sex with men. But it isn't. No more than having sex with anyone is totally different from having sex with anyone else.
”
”
Ariel Levy (The Rules Do Not Apply)
“
When I date women now, I have learned to simply not care what they think about it. I’m the same person I always have been. Faithful. Dependable. Kind. Sweet. Funny. Awesome. And if they want to discount me because of something as insignificant and irrelevant as me experiencing attraction to men as well, then they don’t get me in their lives. They don’t deserve me.
”
”
Dan Pearce (Single Dad Laughing: The Best of Year One)
“
For me sexuality is about attraction. Whether it’s men, women—it doesn’t really matter. The human race is filled with passion and lust. And to coin terms like heterosexuality, homosexuality or even bisexuality makes no sense to me. You are human. You love who you love. You fuck who you fuck. That should be enough—no labels. No stigmas. Nothing. Just be to be. But life isn’t that kind. People will always find things to hate.
”
”
Krista Ritchie (Kiss the Sky (Calloway Sisters, #1))
“
FELIX: He's bisexual?
STANLEY: I would say he's more like . . . tri.
FELIX: Trisexual.
STANLEY: Yes.
FELIX: Well let's see now—there's men, and women, and what?
STANLEY: Well . . . vegetation.
FELIX: He fucks cabbages?
STANLEY: No-no, he loves them.
”
”
Arthur Miller (Resurrection Blues: A Prologue and Two Acts)
“
I don’t want to be labeled as one thing or another. In the past I’ve had successful relationships with men, and now I’m in this successful relationship with a woman. When it comes to love I am totally open. I don’t want to be put into a category, as in ‘I’m this’ or ‘I’m that.
”
”
Amber Heard
“
Twice as many paths to trouble, their mothers would whisper. As though their daughters loving men and women meant they wanted all of them in the world.
”
”
Anna-Marie McLemore (Wild Beauty)
“
People were just starting to talk about the idea of bisexuality, but I’m not sure I even understood that the word referred to me then. I wasn’t interested in finding a label for what I already knew. I loved men. I loved Celia. I was OK with that.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo)
“
In the etymology of Kertbeny’s “heterosexual,” “hetero” comes from the Greek heteros which means another, while homos means same, and both are melded with the Latin word sexus. Not long after this, bi, or two, started to be used to refer to people who had both homosexual and heterosexual desires. A way that bisexual researchers often talk about this is that the bi in bisexual means two, but the two are not men and women, they are same and other.
”
”
Julia Shaw (Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality)
“
Mmm, not prefer, as such, I'm not a dedicated seeker of flowers. I'm attracted to women and I'm attracted to men and sometimes I'm attracted to people who aren't either. I don't care as much about what a person is, I care about who they are.
”
”
Scarlett Gale (His Secret Illuminations (The Warrior's Guild, #1))
“
[...] the rapport between two men or two women can be absolute and perfect, as it can never be between man and woman, and perhaps some people want just this, as others want that more shifting and uncertain thing that happens between men and women.
”
”
Patricia Highsmith (Carol)
“
I like some men a lot, but from the start, before I knew anything, it was always girls and women who lit me up.
”
”
Julie Phillips (James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon)
“
A way that bisexual researchers often talk about this is that the bi in bisexual means two, but the two are not men and women, they are same and other.
”
”
Julia Shaw (Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality)
“
She dates some - women and men. She has slipped into bisexuality without needing to make a big thing about it. She is seventy, and she believes you try new things or you may as well die.
”
”
Gabrielle Zevin (The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry)
“
And to think, she'd once had the hots for him, back in the old days (six months ago) when razor-thin men with noses like Durante and an encyclopaedic knowledge of de Niro movies had really been her style. Now she saw him for what he was, flotsam from a lost ship of hope. Still a pill-freak, still a theoretical bisexual, still devoted to early Polanski movies and symbolic pacifism.
”
”
Clive Barker (Books of Blood, Volume Three (Books of Blood, #3))
“
Boston loves the queers. North Dakota… not so much.” “I resent that,” I mutter. “Harley, how many bisexual men does your dad know?” He shoots me a look. “Trick question,” I reply, then mumble, “He doesn’t believe in bisexual…” “I rest my case.
”
”
Nyla K. (Joyless (Alabaster Penitentiary #2))
“
(at age thirteen) I think sharks smile like women dad. Like Jenny's smiling at you right now.
...
But have you ever noticed how porpoises smile like effeminate men? They're bi-sexual, you know. Me, I'd rather have sex with a porpoise than a shark.
”
”
William Rooney (Rooney's Shorts)
“
Twice as many paths to trouble,' their mothers would whisper. As though their daughters loving men and women meant they wanted all of them in the world. There was no way to tell their mothers the truth and make them believe it, that hearts that loved boys and girls were no more reckless or easily won than any other heart. They loved who they loved. They broke how they broke.
”
”
Anna-Marie McLemore (Wild Beauty)
“
Take some time to get over her, to get back to town, and maybe then you can think about girls. Or boys.''
I wrinkled my nose. ''Think I’ll pass on the boys.''
He arched an eyebrow. ''What happened to being bisexual?''
''I am attracted to men,'' I said. ''And I choose to do nothing about that attraction.
”
”
Lily Seabrooke (The Simple Answer (An Ember Grove Romance, #1))
“
Honey, wake up. Gender and sexuality are different things. I can be bi and trans*!
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
I needed to risk being unapologetically authentic, even in the face of potential rejection.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
However you identify, I promise to respect whatever label currently describes your identity but, please, return the favor.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
but the truth is that I’m bi, and I want people to know it. I want them to know that they know someone like me.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
LGBT youth still need as much support as we can provide, so I encourage each of us to share our stories, so that we can be real together.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
My sexuality is something that is not completely obvious. It is something that I could hide and keep a secret.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
My sexuality is a gift that allowed me to explore the bounds of my humanity and, finding answers, to move joyously beyond either/or.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
Gay men and gay women, meanwhile, have a famous amount of suspicion towards people who claim to be ‘bisexual’. The ‘B’ in LGBT
”
”
Douglas Murray (The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity)
“
My sexuality has always been on a need-to-know basis and for the larger part of my life, since I’ve come to understand who I am, I learned that most people don’t or didn’t need to know.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
Were we dealing with a spectrum-based system that described male and female sexuality with equal accuracy, data taken from gay males would look similar to data taken from straight females—and yet this is not what we see in practice. Instead, the data associated with gay male sexuality presents a mirror image of data associated with straight males: Most gay men are as likely to find the female form aversive as straight men are likely to find the male form aversive. In gay females we observe a similar phenomenon, in which they mirror straight females instead of appearing in the same position on the spectrum as straight men—in other words, gay women are just as unlikely to find the male form aversive as straight females are to find the female form aversive.
Some of the research highlighting these trends has been conducted with technology like laser doppler imaging (LDI), which measures genital blood flow when individuals are presented with pornographic images. The findings can, therefore, not be written off as a product of men lying to hide middling positions on the Kinsey scale due to a higher social stigma against what is thought of in the vernacular as male bisexuality/pansexuality. We should, however, note that laser Doppler imaging systems are hardly perfect, especially when measuring arousal in females.
It is difficult to attribute these patterns to socialization, as they are observed across cultures and even within the earliest of gay communities that emerged in America, which had to overcome a huge amount of systemic oppression to exist. It’s a little crazy to argue that the socially oppressed sexuality of the early American gay community was largely a product of socialization given how much they had overcome just to come out.
If, however, one works off the assumptions of our model, this pattern makes perfect sense. There must be a stage in male brain development that determines which set of gendered stimuli is dominant, then applies a negative modifier to stimuli associated with other genders. This stage does not apparently take place during female sexual development.
”
”
Simone Collins (The Pragmatist's Guide to Sexuality)
“
(...) I think your definition changes based on your experiences." (age twenty-two, bisexual)
Six years later, this same woman noted:
"I date both men and women, but i don't like the word "bisexual", because I think it implies polarity. I guess I started thinking about this around 4 1/2 years ago, when I was involved in a long-term committed relationship with a man, but a queer man. And it made me redefine things, because I didn't believe that a queer man and a queer woman together in a relationship like ours was conventionally heterosexual." (age twenty-eight, bisexual)
”
”
L. B. Diamond (Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's Love and Desire)
“
History teaches us that when an economic crisis hits, the process of scapegoating becomes more intense and more violent. African-American, Latino, Asian, and Arab peoples, lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals, feminists, trans people - and others who have been in the forefront of progress - will increasingly find themselves in the crosshairs. And the gains we made will all be under siege, as well.
”
”
Leslie Feinberg (Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue)
“
Although I’ve experienced many curious and dubious reactions when I’ve mentioned my bisexuality, every person in my life who matters has validated me. What ultimately matters, though, is how I perceive and bless my own process.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
As a friend of mine, a Black gay man in his sixties, recently told me when we were discussing his life during the AIDS crisis, “I have whole phonebooks of people I lost.” He said it so matter-of-factly. Every time I think of this conversation a profound sadness overcomes me. The unfairness of it, the tragedy. When I meet gay people now, and specifically gay men who are old enough to have been teenagers or adults through the 1980s and the 1990s, I have an immediate sense of respect. It’s possible that this is a similar feeling that others get when they meet a war veteran. Many of our queer elders fought for their lives, and for our rights, and only some survived to tell the tale.
”
”
Julia Shaw (Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality)
“
I will not put up with some punk belittling what I do, no matter how hot. Just because I include magical beings and sexual moments doesn’t mean it is worthless drivel. Women have been belittled about their sexuality for far too long. They’ve been brutalized for it. I’m proud that I celebrate women, and sometimes bisexual men, having choices and claiming their sexual selves. And I will not sit there and make apologies for empowering myself and possibly others.
”
”
Yve Vale (Bewitching Her Monsters (Bewitching Monsters, #1))
“
Rather than being “this not that,” I am this and that. . . . I’ve felt like a blossoming flower. As I become more fully me and as I’m more comfortable with each petal of my identity, I open myself up and look into the sun . . . as someone who identifies as bisexual and does see the world on a multitude of planes, my intellect and creativity, my head and my heart, are just further parallels of how I am able to find myself attracted to and love both men and women.
”
”
Julia Shaw (Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality)
“
Many bisexuals might indeed feel comfortable and well represented by [creating images of 'stable, monogamous, appropriately sexual' bisexuals], but what of the many people who don't fit in this standard of the "normal" or "good" bisexual? Some bisexuals are sluts (read: sexually independent women), some bisexuals are just experimenting, some like people of certain genders only sexually and not romantically, some like to have threesomes and perform bisexuality for men, some are HVI and STI carriers, some don't practice safer sex, some are indeed indecisive and confused, some cheat on their partners, some do choose to be bi, as well as many other things that the "myth-busting" [or simplifying/sanitizing] tries to cast off. A very long list of people is being thrown overboard in the effort to "fight biphobia." In this way, the rebuttal in fact imposes biphobic normative standards on the bisexual community itself, drawing a line between "good" and "bad" bisexuals.
Either way, benign docility and unthreatening citizenship are not exactly what I would want my bisexuality to be associated with.
”
”
Shiri Eisner (Bi: Notes for a Bisexual Revolution)
“
When I tell people I am bisexual, I get asked certain questions. The one I am most often asked is, “How can you be attracted to more than one gender?” I reply, “How can you only be attracted to one gender?” The response to that question is “That is who I am.” Exactly! Me being attracted to more than one gender is who I am.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
Rather than being 'this not that' I am this *and* that... I've felt like a blossoming flower. As I become more fully me and as I'm more comfortable with each petal of my identity, I open myself up and look into the sun... As someone who identifies as bisexual and does see the world on a multitude of plains, my intellect and creativity, my head and my heart, are just further parallels of how I am able to find myself attracted to and love both men and women.
[Participant quote from the study 'The positive aspects of a bisexual self-identification' in Psychology and Sexuality 1 (2) by S. Scales Rostosky, D. E. Riggle, and D. Pascale-Hague pp.131-44]
”
”
Julia Shaw (Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality)
“
Woman-identified women, whether straight, bisexual, or lesbian rarely make garnering male approval a priority in our lives. This is why we threaten the patriarchy. Lesbian women who have a patriarchal mindset are far less threatening to men than feminist women, gay or straight, who have turned their gaze and their desire from the patriarchy, away from sexist men.
”
”
bell hooks (Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics)
“
[Bisexuality] is seen as threatening the homosexual/heterosexual and male/female dichotomies, or binarisms, which underpin our gender and sexual identities to such a large extent. In the case of the first three stereotypes, there is a refusal even to acknowledge the existence of bisexuality. It is simply wished out of existence. You can either be homosexual or heterosexual but anything else is just a phase, just playacting, not real. As Udis-Kessler argues [‘Challenging the Stereotypes’, in Rose and Stevens (eds), Bisexual Horizons: Politics, Histories, Lives. 1996. London: Lawrence and Wishart, pp. 45-57], this reflects an ideology of essentialism which dismisses the idea that sexuality may be fluid, not fixed, and that its forms can change over a person’s lifetime. This ideology assumes that there is a ‘true’ sexuality which we are working our way towards and that bisexuality is not really ‘true’ or ‘serious’ because it is a transition towards that other state… As Udis-Kessler points out, transitions are not a rehearsal for life. Life is a series of transitions: points of arrival become new points of departure, and vice versa. So why should we assume that the way we experienced our sexuality ten or twenty years ago is necessarily less ‘true’ or important than the way we experience it now, or that the way we experience it now will necessarily be the same in ten or twenty years time? Obviously this applies not only to bisexuality, but it is an argument which those - including some lesbian and gay activists - who accuse bisexuality of being a sort of ‘false consciousness’ seldom get to grips with… lesbians and gay men, anxious to create safe spaces where they are not subject to homophobic rejection or oppression, may (consciously or unconsciously) seek to exclude bisexuals[…].Unfortunately, as soon as this happens, as with every oppressed or stigmatised group, it can lead to others being oppressed or stigmatised in turn.
”
”
Richard Dunphy (Sexual Politics: An Introduction)
“
In each club we went the dancers had the same moves, none nearly as sensuous as mine on any dance floor, but because they are scantily clad and stripping off the men go nuts and throw money at them. In the largest club and the last we went to I watched one pretty girl with big boobs pull a handful of twenties in one set. I followed her to the ladies-room to learn she only danced a few rounds per night and averaged $250 every night and with my face and body she said I would bank much more.
”
”
Darwun St. James (Angel Sins)
“
What the wife doesn’t know is that her husband’s need for men was always greater than his need for her, and that his sexual desire for his wife was much more emotional than physical. Ironically, if there is a common personality trait among wives of gay men, it is the fact that they are usually more supportive and understanding while being less demanding than other women. This is what attracts gay men to them—their belief that their wives’ accepting personalities will extend to their hidden homosexuality if the truth does get out.
”
”
Bonnie M. Kaye (The Gay Husband Checklist for Women Who Wonder)
“
You’re bisexual,” he says a long minute later. I nod again. Another beat passes. “Is that why Diana—?” “I never cheated on her,” I tell him. “I wasn’t even tempted. We were pretty happy, or so I thought. But I didn’t want to marry her without telling her the truth.” “The truth,” he echoes. “Meaning that you’ve…” “Been with men before. Yes.” He goes quiet again. My stomach is wound so tightly I’m afraid to move for fear of rupturing something. “Wait, you said you didn’t cheat. You mean she left you because you told her… because you—” “Because I came out to her, yes,” I say. The sheer outrage on his face makes me want to kiss him. A tiny spark of hope flickers in the back of my mind. Maybe I won’t lose my friend after all. “That’s some serious sack of bullshit,” he says.
”
”
Whitley Green (Sizzle (Sizzle TV #1))
“
Consider: Anyone can turn his hand to anything. This sounds very simple, but its psychological effects are incalculable. The fact that everyone between seventeen and thirty-five or so is liable to be (as Nim put it) “tied down to childbearing,” implies that no one is quite so thoroughly “tied down” here as women, elsewhere, are likely to be—psychologically or physically. Burden and privilege are shared out pretty equally; everybody has the same risk to run or choice to make. Therefore nobody here is quite so free as a free male anywhere else. Consider: A child has no psycho-sexual relationship to his mother and father. There is no myth of Oedipus on Winter. Consider: There is no unconsenting sex, no rape. As with most mammals other than man, coitus can be performed only by mutual invitation and consent; otherwise it is not possible. Seduction certainly is possible, but it must have to be awfully well timed. Consider: There is no division of humanity into strong and weak halves, protective/protected, dominant/submissive, owner/chattel, active/passive. In fact the whole tendency to dualism that pervades human thinking may be found to be lessened, or changed, on Winter. The following must go into my finished Directives: when you meet a Gethenian you cannot and must not do what a bisexual naturally does, which is to cast him in the role of Man or Woman, while adopting towards him a corresponding role dependent on your expectations of the patterned or possible interactions between persons of the same or the opposite sex. Our entire pattern of sociosexual interaction is nonexistent here. They cannot play the game. They do not see one another as men or women. This is almost impossible for our imagination to accept. What is the first question we ask about a newborn baby? Yet you cannot think of a Gethenian as “it.” They are not neuters. They are potentials, or integrals. Lacking the Karhidish “human pronoun” used for persons in somer, I must say “he,” for the same reasons as we used the masculine pronoun in referring to a transcendent god: it is less defined, less specific, than the neuter or the feminine. But the very use of the pronoun in my thoughts leads me continually to forget that the Karhider I am with is not a man, but a manwoman. The First Mobile, if one is sent, must be warned that unless he is very self-assured, or senile, his pride will suffer. A man wants his virility regarded, a woman wants her femininity appreciated, however indirect and subtle the indications of regard and appreciation. On Winter they will not exist. One is respected and judged only as a human being. It is an appalling experience. Back
”
”
Ursula K. Le Guin (The Left Hand of Darkness)
“
While the overall systems of heterosexism and ableism are still with us, they have adapted in limited ways. These adaptations are held up as reassurance to those who fought long and hard for a particular change that equality has now been achieved. These milestones—such as the recognition of same-sex marriage, the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title 9, the election of Barack Obama—are, of course, significant and worthy of celebration. But systems of oppression are deeply rooted and not overcome with the simple passage of legislation. Advances are also tenuous, as we can see in recent challenges to the rights of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and intersex) people. Systems of oppression are not completely inflexible. But they are far less flexible than popular ideology would acknowledge, and the collective impact of the inequitable distribution of resources continues across history. COLOR-BLIND RACISM What is termed color-blind racism is an example of racism’s ability to adapt to cultural changes.3 According to this ideology, if we pretend not to notice race, then there can be no racism. The idea is based on a line from the famous “I Have a Dream” speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King in 1963 during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. At the time of King’s speech, it was much more socially acceptable for white people to admit to their racial prejudices and belief in white racial superiority. But many white people had never witnessed the kind of violence to which blacks were subjected. Because the struggle for civil rights was televised, whites across the nation watched in horror as black men, women, and children were attacked by police dogs and fire hoses during peaceful protests and beaten and dragged away from lunch counters.
”
”
Robin DiAngelo (White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism)
“
Like speaks to like, I guess. I’m bisexual but in the closet too. I guess I just felt it. That and college is the perfect time to figure yourself out, so I took a stab in the dark. Don’t worry though. I know I said you’re pretty, but I’m a chubby chaser. I like my men with something to grab onto, you know?” Braedon stared at Dane, but cracked up laughing not long afterward.
“What’s so funny?” Dane asked. “A big jock like me can’t like chubbies?”
“I just didn’t expect to ever have a conversation like this with you. Do you also prefer chubby women?”
“You bet your ass I do. Women are supposed to be soft.” Dane flashed a grin and Braedon chuckled, preparing his bag for the day.
”
”
Quinn Ravenlea
“
bi·sex·u·al adj. sexually attracted to both men and women. [BIOLOGY] having characteristics of both sexes. n. a person who is sexually attracted to both men and women. bi·sex·u·al·i·tyn.
”
”
Oxford University Press (The New Oxford American Dictionary)
“
Trust was the sexual clincher for Dolores Alexander, the once-married early NOW member from chapter 3. "Once I had had sex with a woman," says Alexander "it was mind-blowing, it was so much better than with men. [My sexuality] just never became a question, I just stayed there. The issue was trust. I felt I could trust women so much more than I could ever trust a man. You are dealing on a truly peer level with women and you are not with men - or at least I wasn't.
”
”
Jennifer Baumgardner (Look Both Ways: Bisexual Politics)
“
But God gives us certain gifts and attraction is one of them. I, like you, am drawn to the men and wouldn’t have it any other way. But Stumpy was drawn to both sexes.”
“Bi-sexual?
“I wouldn’t say that. Neither would he have, because labels are so confining. They don’t define us. We define us.
”
”
Edward C. Patterson (Mother Asphodel)
“
As evil has attempted to take control, political correctness has become a higher value in the USA than righteousness and truth. Right and wrong are consistently being redefined to cater to certain special interest groups. Companies today will pay a huge price if they go against the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) agenda, including possible crippling legal fees if they choose to stand on biblical standards. As I alluded to earlier, disagreeing with the new norms of our society has now been labeled “hate.” No longer are you allowed to debate the leading moral issues of our day without being called a hater (or being ridiculed on social media)—complete with potential lawsuits under hate-crime legislation. Am I out of touch with reality, or have we not entered into the days when men are calling good evil and evil good?
”
”
Paul Wilbur (A King is Coming)
“
That sexuality and gender are different is a simple fact and confusing to a wide swath of the population.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
I hope that what I do here as a pastor makes a difference in the lives of bi kids in this community who are wrestling with who they are.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
I can assure you that you won’t find a single mention of Jesus Christ denouncing being gay in the New Testament. But you will find him teaching love, compassion, charity, peace and many other positive equality-based teachings.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
But who are we to assume someone is straight or gay?
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
That’s love, my love, entwining us upon the operating table,
Siamese twins joined at the groin, the despair of the hovering surgeon.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
Looking back, as a teenager, I understood I was attracted to women. All the other boys were too. We talked about it, we kissed girls – it was behaviour that was normal. Being surrounded by straight men and doing straight things made me believe I was straight. But what of my attraction to men? Turns out, it was there. I just misinterpreted it. Looking back, it is now obvious there were boys at school I was attracted to, but at the time I mistook this for wanting to be like them or wanting to be best friends with them. Really, I just wanted to kiss them.
”
”
Lewis Oakley (Bisexuality: The Basics: Your Q&A Guide to Coming Out, Dating, Parenting and Beyond)
“
Many people don’t discuss the victimization bisexuals can suffer at the hands of other LGBTQ+ people. I’ve lost count of the number of gay men who have attacked my bisexuality over the years. People don’t realize how much this can hurt – to be rejected by your own tribe. For a gay-identifying man coming out as bisexual, there is a real fear, not just of being mocked by your chosen family but of being kicked out of the ‘gay tribe’ altogether. ‘You’re no longer one of us.’ ‘We are bound by our sexuality and we no longer share that sexuality.’ If you lost friends or family coming out as gay, you’ll be all the more nervous that coming out again could cost you even more this time around.
”
”
Lewis Oakley (Bisexuality: The Basics: Your Q&A Guide to Coming Out, Dating, Parenting and Beyond)
“
Maybe you’re bisexual,” I told him. “I’m not bi, Campbell. I’m gay. I’ve spent my whole life trying to be straight…trying to be bi, because at least then I had a choice. I’ve spent years in denial, telling myself that I did find women attractive, that I didn’t find men attractive, that I didn’t crave the feel of a man beneath me, but I did, I always have, and no amount of drinking and fucking women will make it go away.” He ran his hands through his dark hair, fisted it, tugged. “I don’t know how to do this, Campbell. I don’t know how to be gay.
”
”
Riley Hart (Fired Up (Fever Falls, #1))
“
Ari Onassis was a Greek shipping magnate, a billionaire, an antisemite, a vulgarian, and a bisexual with a string of bought-and-paid-for young men that he savagely beat after sex. On October 17, 1968, he and Jackie Kennedy, thirty-nine years old to his sixty-two, announced they would marry in three days’ time.
”
”
Maureen Callahan (Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed)
“
Effective immediately, homosexuality and bi-sexuality are outlawed, and all gay men and women will be administered with a sense elixir at their next medical checkup. Those who are aged seventeen are required to immediately participate in the pageant. Anyone found to be engaging in homosexual activity will be immediately imprisoned without trial.
”
”
Siobhan Davis (True Calling (True Calling #1))
“
No, they were," Avery said, clearly confusing her. As he waited for someone to answer the phone, he gave Janice his most cocky grin, a very clear watch-me-get-what-I-want expression. "La Bella Luna, can I help you?" The deep rich timbre turned him on instantly, and his gaze strayed to the corner of his desk, Janice completely forgotten. "Good Morning, this is Avery Adams. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?" He already knew the answer, he just wanted to hear Kane's voice again. Avery thought about Kane's hands and how competently he'd handled that bottle of wine. He imagined them using the same care as he picked up the phone from the cradle. The air in the room sizzled, his heartbeat picked up, and his body grew hard with need. He had never in his life been so immediately taken with another. Avery prayed Kane might be at least bi-sexual. Straight men were much harder to work into his bed—not impossible, but harder—and he definitely wanted Kane Dalton in his bed. "Hello, Mr. Adams. This Kane Dalton, would you prefer I transfer this call to someone else?" The soothing voice on the other end of the phone became tense. "No, you're who I was hoping to speak with. It seems you and I may have gotten off on the wrong foot, and I'd like to set things right between us," Avery said, adjusting his gaze to stare out the open window. "I have no issue with you, sir," Kane responded back immediately. "There's a large bouquet of rather expensive lilies sitting in my office that might say otherwise." He cut his eyes back to the flowers on the small conference table. Kane didn't respond this time, there was just silence. Good. Kane got a taste of his own medicine. "Listen, I'd like to book a regular table in your restaurant a couple of days a week. It doesn't have to be the same days each week, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself a few nights ago and got reacquainted with several families from my youth." He was met with more silence, then he heard the rustle of pages being turned. "Sir, I'm sorry, but I just don't have—" "I'll make it worth your while." Avery cut him off, his eyes still on the flowers, but seeing the man who sent them instead of the lovely blooms. "It's not that, sir. We're just incredibly booked." Kane started with the excuses again, but Avery wasn't taking no for an answer. "Please lose the sir. My name's Avery. I'd like you to use it." Avery's voice turned lower and huskier as he spoke from his deepest desires. "Avery," Kane said as if testing the word. "We don't have the space available. We're booked solidly for several months." "No one's that booked," Avery called him on the lie, and left it right there between them. After a long extended pause, Kane finally answered, "You're right, let's get you in Monday and Wednesday evenings. Does that suit you?" "You sure do," Avery said. Now that he'd managed a firm reservation, it was time to draw Kane in. Not surprisingly, he was met with silence. "I'll take whatever days you offer." In fact, I'll take whatever you are willing to give. As the thought faded, Avery realized those were actually terrible days to be seen out and about. "Seven o'clock?" Kane asked, ignoring everything he said. "Whatever works," Avery replied. "All right, would you like to come in tomorrow night?" Kane asked. His tone was back to all business. "Absolutely!
”
”
Kindle Alexander (Always (Always & Forever #1))
“
I’ve been so dishonest with Bradley about the depth of me and Veronica’s relationship because Bradley adamantly denounces men who allow their significant other to have bisexual relationships. He says cheating is cheating, be it with a man or woman.
”
”
Jessica N. Watkins (Love, Sex, Lies)
“
I don’t know what I was thinking trusting Sapphire’s ass when I met him back in Jersey. I had just gotten out of a bad relationship and I had sworn myself off men for good. I was bisexual; I loved the feel of being penetrated but the taste and the feel of a woman as well.
”
”
Myiesha (A New Jersey Love Story 4: The Finale)
“
I just never had a friend who cared as you do. My best friend Destiny doesn't understand me, she has a husband and a child. A life I have always wanted, but unfortunately, tables have turned to where I can't find that one guy I could love."
Angel felt bad for feeling lust for the straight woman. She should have known better.
"Jana, men have no idea what they are missing. You are as beautiful as they come and I would appreciate you more than any man would.
”
”
Amber M. Kestner (Jana & Angel Volume 1 (A Girl For Her #1))
“
Myth and history alike, I discovered, were full, if not of precedents, at least of parallels—men who lived as women, women who lived as men, hermaphrodites, transvestites, narcissists, not to speak of homosexuals or bisexuals. There is no norm of sexual constitution, and almost nobody has ever conformed absolutely to the conventional criteria of male and female
”
”
Jan Morris (Conundrum)
“
Yet there was still an ugly stigma hovering around being a bisexual man in the modern-day, even as acceptance of gay men was shaping up to being the norm.
”
”
Romeo Alexander (At My General’s Command (Men of Fort Dale #4))
“
I affirmed that fucking men years before did not make me less of a lesbian now, but she always remained a fraction dubious.
”
”
Valentine Glass (Jarring Sex)
“
There are several telltale signs of flawed gender theories. First, we should beware of any gender theory that makes the assumption that there is any one "right" or "natural" way to be gendered or to be sexual. Such theories are typically narcissistic in nature, as they merely reveal their designers' desire to cast themselves on top of the gender hierarchy. Further, if one presumes there is only one "right" or "natural" way to be gendered, then the only way to explain why some people display typical gender and sexual traits while others display exceptional ones is by surmising that one of those two groups is being intentionally led astray somehow. Indeed, this is exactly what the religious right argues when they invent stories about homosexuals who recruit young children via the "gay agenda". Those who claim that we are all born with bisexual, androgynous, or gender-neutral tendencies (only to be molded into heterosexual, masculine men and feminine women via socialization and gender norms) use a similar strategy.
”
”
Julia Serano (Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity)
“
Queer, in all senses of the word, is probably the best word to describe me. Queer is political. Queer is something “off the norm.” Queer is sexual and gender minorities. Queer rejects traditional sexual and gender identities. Queer is outside the bounds of normal society. Queer is breaking the rules for sex and gender. One can be queer and bi. For that matter, one can be queer and straight.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
It’s not easy being an out bi pastor in rural Missouri. It has many challenges, and can be lonely and isolating. But if just one person sees from my example that even a pastor can be bisexual and a faithful Christian and that it’s possible to own both of these identities at once then it’s all worth it.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
Hopefully this inspires someone to live a more authentic life as well, or at least not to want to kill him or herself for being different.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
So, how do we make things better? Given so many obstacles, both internal and external, discussed above, how can a bisexual person come to a positive bisexual identity? Understand the social dynamics of oppression and stereotyping. Get support and validation from others. Join a support group. Subscribe to an email list. Attend a conference. Read books and blogs about bisexuality. Get a good bi-affirming therapist. Find a friend (or two or twenty) to talk to. Silence kills. I encourage bisexual people to come out as bisexual to the maximum extent that you can do so safely. Life in the closet takes an enormous toll on our emotional well-being. Bisexuals must remember that neither bisexuals nor gays and lesbians created heterosexism and that as bisexuals we are its victims as well as potential beneficiaries. Although we must be aware that we, as bisexuals, may—because of the gender/sex of our partner compared to our own gender/sex at a given point in our lives—be accorded privileges that are denied to gays, lesbians and to transgender people of any orientation, this simply calls for us to make thoughtful decisions about how to live our lives. We did not create the inequities, and we must not feel guilty for who we are; we need only be responsible for our actions.
”
”
Robyn Ochs (REC*OG*NIZE: The Voices of Bisexual Men)
“
For trans* people, the designation of heterosexual or homosexual is based upon gender identity. So a trans* woman who is attracted to men would be considered heterosexual, while a trans* woman who is attracted to women would be considered homosexual or lesbian. A trans* woman attracted to both sexes would be bisexual. Likewise, a trans* man who is attracted to women would be heterosexual, a trans* man attracted to men would be homosexual or gay, and one who is attracted to both would be bisexual.
”
”
Tara K. Soughers (Beyond a Binary God: A Theology for Trans* Allies)
“
I surveyed 350 gay men and asked all of them the same question: “If you could take a pill tonight that would make you straight by morning, would you take it?” I received a resounding “yes” from 337 of those surveyed. Ten of them were not sure, and three said no. The overwhelming response came not out of shame, but out of a sense of reality.
”
”
Bonnie M. Kaye (The Gay Husband Checklist for Women Who Wonder 2nd edition by Kaye, Bonnie (2008) Paperback)
“
So here’s the deal. About family, you have to make it up. Seriously. I know amazing single women and their children who are families. Gay men and women with kids who are families. Bisexuals and transsexuals who family up all over the place. People who don’t have partners create families in everyone they touch. I know women and men from a multitude of sexual orientations without any children just doing their lives who create families that kick the can down the street. The heterosexual trinity is just one of many stories.
”
”
Lidia Yuknavitch (The Chronology of Water)
“
I didn’t know why Josh looking at Dani made me so on edge, but then again, did I really need a tangible reason to be afraid of men?
”
”
Andrea Mosqueda (Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster)
“
When you meet a Gethenian you cannot and must not do what a bisexual naturally does, which is to cast him in the role of Man or Woman, while adopting towards him a corresponding role dependent on your expectations of the patterned or possible interactions between persons of the same or the opposite sex. Our entire pattern of socio-sexual interaction is nonexistent here. They cannot play the game. They do not see one another as men or women. This is almost impossible for our imagination to accept. What is the first question we ask about a newborn baby? Yet you cannot think of a Gethenian as "it." ... A man wants his virility regarded, a woman wants her femininity appreciated, however indirect and subtle the indications of regard and appreciation. On Winter they will not exist. One is respected and judged only as a human being.
”
”
Ursula K. Le Guin (The Left Hand of Darkness)
“
X-Men producer Brian Singer admitted that the mutant characters’ struggle for acceptance in the film was a metaphor for homosexuals seeking to be accepted. In the movie, the mutants are seen as superior to humans, having evolved into the next phase of evolution, similarly to how the gay mafia portrays bisexuality.
”
”
Mark Dice (The Illuminati in Hollywood: Celebrities, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies in Pop Culture and the Entertainment Industry)
“
Take some time to get over her, to get back to town, and maybe then you can think about girls. Or boys.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Think I’ll pass on the boys.”
He arched an eyebrow. “What happened to being bisexual?”
“I am attracted to men,” I said. “And I choose to do nothing about that attraction.
”
”
Lily Seabrooke (The Simple Answer (An Ember Grove Romance, #1))
“
Blackness is not just black straight men. There are gay men in this work doing amazing work. There are queer folks. There are trans folks. There are gay and lesbian folks, bisexual…. There are atheist black people.
”
”
Sikivu Hutchinson (Humanists in the Hood: Unapologetically Black, Feminist, and Heretical)
“
Grizzled white men poured drinks and dispensed dubious wisdom. Young white women in tight clothes delivered the food and the smiles and said "sorry" all the time. Short brown men cooked it all and cleaned it all up, and still managed to rise above the racial oppression of the United states to make kissing sounds at us waitresses whenever we were in the kitchen.
”
”
Jennifer Baumgardner (Look Both Ways: Bisexual Politics)
“
He's bisexual,” Chase said. “He likes men and women … equally.” “Like you,” Danni said. Chase drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. “I love women.” “But, you're also attracted to men.” “Yes, Danni, I am, but I'm not going to act on it.” “Maybe you should,” she said. “What? No! I couldn't do that.” “Why not? I'm out here for two months, Chase. It's not like I'll be there to stop you. Maybe you should act on it and get it out of your system.” “I don't think it works like that, Danni.
”
”
Ann Lister (Take What You Want (The Rock Gods, #2))
“
There is something odd, suspiciously odd, about the rapidity with which
queer theory–whose claim to radical politics derived from its anti-assimilationist
posture, from its shocking embrace of the abnormal and the marginal–has been
embraced by, canonized by, and absorbed into our (largely heterosexual) insti-
tutions of knowledge, as lesbian and gay studies never were. Despite its im-
plicit (and false) portrayal of lesbian and gay studies as liberal, assimilationist,
and accommodating of the status quo, queer theory has proven to be much
more congenial to established institutions of the liberal academy. The first step
was for the “theory” in queer theory to prevail over the “queer,” for “queer” to
become a harmless qualifier of “theory”: if it’s theory, progressive academics
seem to have reasoned, then it’s merely an extension of what important people
have already been doing all along. It can be folded back into the standard practice
of literary and cultural studies, without impeding academic business as usual. The
next step was to despecify the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or transgressive
content of queerness, thereby abstracting “queer” and turning it into a generic
badge of subversiveness, a more trendy version of “liberal”: if it’s queer, it’s
politically oppositional, so everyone who claims to be progressive has a vested interest in owning a share of it. Finally, queer theory, being a theory instead of
a discipline, posed no threat to the monopoly of the established disciplines: on
the contrary, queer theory could be incorporated into each of them, and it could
then be applied to topics in already established fields. Those working in En-
glish, history, classics, anthropology, sociology, or religion would now have
the option of using queer theory, as they had previously used Deconstruction,
to advance the practice of their disciplines–by “queering” them. The outcome
of those three moves was to make queer theory a game the whole family could
play. This has resulted in a paradoxical situation: as queer theory becomes
more widely diffused throughout the disciplines, it becomes harder to figure
out what’s so very queer about it, while lesbian and gay studies, which by con-
trast would seem to pertain only to lesbians and gay men, looks increasingly
backward, identitarian, and outdated.
”
”
David Halperin
“
From this we learn that when the soul is in a female incarnation it will function negatively in Assiah and Briah, but positively in Yetzirah and Atziluth. In other words, a woman is physically and mentally negative, but psychically and spiritually positive, and the reverse holds good for a man. In initiates, however, there is a considerable degree of compensation, for each learns the technique of both positive and negative psychic methods. The Divine Spark, which is the nucleus of every living soul, is, of course, bisexual, containing the roots of both aspects, as does Kether, to which it corresponds. In the more highly evolved souls the compensating aspect is developed in some degree at least. The purely female woman and the purely male man prove to be oversexed as judged by civilised standards, and can only find an appropriate place in primitive societies, where fertility is the primary demand that society makes upon its women, and hunting and fighting are the constant occupation of the men.
”
”
Dion Fortune (The Mystical Qabalah)
“
Randy didn't really believe in people being bi. The few men he'd met who proclaimed they were bisexual were really gay men in denial. Men trying to hedge their bets so they could have the traditional wife and family and still fuck other men.He wasn't going to share that belief with Darren. It wasn't worth making an issue about it.
”
”
Amber Kell (Blood Signs (Blood, Moon and Sun #1))
“
1) “How did I end up down this rabbit hole of being obsessed with men on the DL (down-low)? Why did I prefer playing more in the straight arena with the closet cases (as they were called in my day) and the bisexual men over the gay ones?”
2) “We didn’t identify in my day; you were either gay, bisexual, or straight. People will always label others or pigeonhole them without even knowing for sure who they really are. They presumably stereotype and judge just by your outward appearance.”
3) “It wasn't until the seventh grade that Sister Gloria would be my social studies teacher, and I began leaning more towards being an extrovert than the anxious introvert that I was. All the accolades go to her. She lit the flame under my ass that would be the catalyst for my advocacy. Her podium, located front and center of the classroom, became ground zero for me and where I found my voice.”
4) “Their taunting was my kryptonite. My peers hated me for no other reason than the fact that they thought I was gay. I was only thirteen and often wondered how they knew who I was before I did.”
5) “Evangelical Christian Anita Bryant (First Lady of Religious Bigotry), along with her minions, led a crusade against the LGBTQ community back in 1977 and said we were trying to recruit children and that ‘Homosexuals are human garbage.’ My first thoughts were, how unchristian and deplorable of her to even say something like that, not to mention, to make it her life’s mission promoting hate.”
6) “Are there any more Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. kind of Christians in this country today? Dr. King knew about his friend’s homosexuality and arrest. Being a religious man and a pastor, Dr. King could have cast judgment and shunned Bayard Rustin like so many other religious leaders did at the time. But he didn’t. That, to me, is the true meaning of being a Christian. He loved Bayard unconditionally and was unbiased towards his sexual orientation. Dr. King was not a counterfeit Christian and practiced what he preached—and that, along with remembering what Jesus had said, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ is the bottom line to Christianity and all faiths.”
7) “We are all God’s children! That is what I was taught in Catholic school. God doesn’t make mistakes—it’s as simple as that. Love is love—period! I don’t need anyone’s validation or approval, I define myself.”
8) “You will bake our cakes, you will provide us our due healthcare, you will do our joint tax returns, and yes, you will bless our unions, too. Otherwise, you cannot call yourselves Christians or even Americans, for that matter.”
9) “The torch has been passed. But we must never forget the LGBT pioneers that have come before and how they fought in the streets for our lives. Never forget the Stonewall riots of 1969 nor the social stigma put upon us during the HIV/AIDS epidemic from its onset in the early 1980s. Remember how many died alone because nobody cared. Finally, keep in mind how we were all pathologized and labeled in the medical books until 1973.
”
”
Michael Caputo
“
Serial killers usually choose vulnerable victim types, such as senior citizens, children, women, or people who live high-risk lifestyles. Dahmer’s victims were different. These were healthy, physically fit young men who only became vulnerable through intoxication and drugging. These men were young, athletic, social, and, in some cases, gay or bisexual, but not people normally perceived as physically vulnerable, and who didn’t perceive Dahmer as a threat. He incapacitated these otherwise capable men by drugging them until they passed out, therefore always creating a completely vulnerable victim.
”
”
Patrick Kennedy (GRILLING DAHMER: The Interrogation Of "The Milwaukee Cannibal")
“
What message is implied by a masculine man’s sexual power to want women and men? Is the fear that he cannot be easily tamed, punished or rewarded?
”
”
Ross Victory (Panorama: The Missing Chapter: From the Memoir Views from the Cockpit)
“
It had occurred to me, while looking over the data, that this is about the same proportion of the male population that identifies as gay or bisexual – a coincidence, according to the Brownmiller model, but highly suggestive if we move beyond it, given that gay and bisexual men commit rape about as often as straight men do, but the victims of these rapists, of course, include other men and boys.
”
”
Louise Perry (The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century)
“
the group’s reluctance to discuss lesbianism did not especially faze her because she was not, in 1969, at all eager to label herself a lesbian. While an undergraduate at Barnard, both she and her steady girlfriend from CUNY thought of themselves as bisexuals. Though that particular relationship ended at about the time Karla graduated, and though it was followed by a series of casual affairs with women, she had several prolonged affairs with men during the same period. Her boyfriends ranged from an upstairs neighbor, to a Swiss body builder (who also self-identified as bisexual), to a countercultural printer. What she liked about these men was not their conversation—“I didn’t like men’s patriarchal heads,” she later said—but their ability to give her physical pleasure.
”
”
Martin Duberman (Stonewall: The Definitive Story of the LGBT Rights Uprising that Changed America)