|
 |
|
|
|
Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out edited by Loraine Hutchins & Lani Kaahumanu
Reviewed by TammyJo Eckhart
I’m thinking that most people who are considering buying this book define themselves as, or may wonder if they are, bisexual. You know, that sexual orientation that Kinsey talked about but which until recently wasn’t discussed much outside of comments about being a fence-sitter or a hedonist, or simply being immature. Loraine Hutchins and Lani Kaahumanu’s book Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out gives bisexuals a chance to speak for themselves without being interrupted.
Hutchins and Kaahumanu collect 75 pieces for this book, which is organized into four sections. Most of the pieces are essays — personal essays discussing how the author discovered bisexuality or discovered the words necessary to explain it to others. There are also a handful of poems and interviews, and even a short series of letters. Two photographs and seven other graphics add to various pieces.
Section 1 looks at the process of coming out to yourself about your sexual orientation. 22 articles make up this section. As Hutchins and Kaahumanu say in their introduction, there are more women than men, and the women seem further along on their journey of self-acceptance. Some of the pieces are a bit sad to read; others offer successful examples. Not every article is about the author, though; some are written by family members who became supportive.
Section 2 has only 8 very personal pieces focused on learning to accept bisexuality. This is different from coming out of the closet because it relates to overcoming negative images in yourself and from your culture. Culture here is not just het but also gay and lesbian, each one sometimes attacking the newbie bisexual for various reasons. The good thing about these 8 accounts is that they offer a sort of “how-to” approach.
Section 3 is the longest section and includes 23 pieces. The focus here is on making a viable bisexual community and the struggle to create it. Again, both the straight and the queer communities are seen as potential allies and oppressors. At the end of the book there is a list of resources for bisexuals; the fact that it includes only four listings is evidence of a very small community in 1990 when the book was first copyrighted.
Section 4 digs more deeply into the political issues that seem to plague bisexuals. 22 articles discuss how coming out as bisexual could be seen as a threat to other political fights but also as questioning the identities of those you allied with. This section gives new intensity to the idea that the personal is political, a radical feminist idea from the 1960s that seems more justified with each news item I see or article I read about someone’s sexuality.
Finally the book ends with a brief history of sexual activism in America, the previously-mentioned resource list, a glossary of terms used, and an index. The book is over a decade old now, and I have to wonder how much has changed for the bisexual community and how much has remained the same. A second edition or a new collection on this topic would be greatly appreciated by bisexuals and anyone studying sexual orientation today.
As a historian who studies gender and sexuality let me say that the idea of being bisexual is newer than the categories of gay or straight, both products of the 19th century’s drive to study the world in a scientific manner. Today we see studies and television shows that deal with homosexuality in a variety of ways, but bisexuality is still mostly fodder for jokes, even if studies suggest that it is very, very common. This book goes a long way toward making this orientation valid and understandable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
