Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out

Bi Any Other Name is an anthology of writings by people who identify as bisexual, published in the early 1990s. At the time, I’m sure it was on the ground-breaking edge of a movement: giving voice for the first time to the many different kinds of people who came together around a common identity

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of being bisexual. There was power in the words, and power in the recognition of a shared, emerging identity, with little precedent to hold on to.

Today, though, the book feels like a historical document. The place most of the authors were writing from no longer exists: a feminist movement where many still believed that “feminism is the theory, lesbianism is the practice,” a country where a burgeoning AIDS epidemic was rapidly spreading biphobia and quashing the sexual revolution, a gay movement that was still trying to segregate itself from mainstream America rather than arguing for integration and equal rights. I felt little connection to most of the writers, which may be why I think the same book written now would be very different. In today’s world, there still isn’t a ‘bisexual movement’ to speak of, but it seems that gay culture and the main-stream are no longer at such polar opposites that coexisting in both seems an impossible task. Perhaps a more modern edition of this book would turn more toward queer theory.
All in all, an interesting read for the historical content, but not very relevant to a broader audience.

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I read this a bit longer ago, actually, but went out and bought it last year. Some of the stories are tough to read, but I really liked a couple of them - it made me feel less alone.

Bi Any Other Name was one of the first and remains one of the best books on bisexuality. This anthology has over seventy bisexual contributors with a broad spectrum of backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures. The essays themselves are also very diverse, from academic works and journal articles to

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personal stories and poetry. This book dispels the stereotypes of being a bisexual while revealing the immense diversity of those who claim the identity. A very engrossing and important book, I would highly recommend it.

Experiments in Reading

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I read this a bit longer ago, actually, but went out and bought it last year. Some of the stories are tough to read, but I really liked a couple of them - it made me feel less alone.

When I finally got a chance to read this classic bisexual anthology, I was surprised to find that what stood out to me most wasn't the aspects of the writers' stories that personally resonated with me but rather how clearly this anthology painted a picture of early bi+ history. Although most of the

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writing in this collection was very personal, I found the writers also often described the historical contexts shaping bi communities at that time (e.g. AIDS, the development and expansion of bi groups/organizations, reactions towards bi+ folks from lesbian and gay organizations). This historical aspect quickly became my favorite part of the book and even inspired me to start developing presentations on bi+ history.

Some modern readers have complained that it was too dated or didn't address certain topics inclusively (notably gender and gender politics), but I think those criticisms ignore the beauty of being provided such an authentic snapshot of bi experiences from a different era. Just because the ways of thinking and talking about bisexuality have changed since the 80s and 90s, doesn't mean that it's not important to understand how it was being talked about back then. I believe that the bi+ community and the overall LGBTQ+ community are always made stronger by knowing and understanding our history, and this anthology is the best example of bi history from that era I have encountered.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who's curious about bi+ history/how bi+ folks navigated the 70s-early 90s.

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