Creating Change 2010

Hello Everyone,

Creating Change 2010 is over, and the Bi's have left the Sheraton Dallas. Now, I need to talk and express my thoughts about the last five days. This was a historical Creating Change for the Bi Community. Never before have we seen a Bi/Pan/Omni/Fluid Institute at Creating Change or a Bi Hospitality Suite. Two events I was heavily involved in...

The first ever bi suite is empty... The Bi Pride Flags are down... and I'm not there watching our home anymore. For five days, Dallas was home to the National Bi Community. We had a place to call our own, to bond, connect and build a community. It was simply incredible to be in a safe space that was open to everyone. The space that became our home will always be a warm place in my heart. I was fortunate to see the magic it had. We educated people... became friends... then we became a family. I would personally like to thank Sue Hyde and Rea Carey with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. In my views, they are our biggest allies. I look forward to seeing them stop by next year in the Bi Hospitality Suite at the next Creating Change.

The BI/Pan/Omni/Fluid Institute was monumental (first ever paid by Creating Change, although we think there was one at Creating Change Oakland paid by BiPol). People from all walks of life were there discussing where they think the Bi/Pan/Omni/Fluid Movement should, no MUST go from here. In that room on the 37th floor, overlooking my hometown on a foggy day, I think the people assembled charged the Bi Community with the following mission: to increase Bi Visibility and rid the world of Bi Erasure.

I hope that those who attended and found a home with us in Dallas continue being inspired and work to build a better world for all. I for one am an Agent of Change.


With much love,

Matt Goodman
Treasurer
BiNet USA

President
Bisexual Community of North Texas

Academic Bi: New International Mailing List/Yahoo Group

We are very excited to help announce Academic Bi an International (English-language) Mailing List/Yahoo Group, started by a Bi-identified Israeli Academic and Activist for the Discussion of and the Exchange of Information and Ideas about Topics related to Bisexual/Pansexual Theory, Queer Theory and the Academic Study of Bisexuality, Pansexuality, Fluidity, et. al. Other things that would be appropriate to Post to the Group include but are not limited to:

o Calls for Submissions
o Internships
o Scholarships
o Requests for Participants in Studies
o RFP's (Request For Proposals)
o Announcements of Publications of Works pertaining to the subject(s)

To join click on this link: Academic Bi or send and email to academic_bi-subscribe (at) yahoogroups (dot) com

We see this List as an important "Also" rather than as an "Instead of" some of the older more established Academic LGBT Lists (such as QStudies) where it is Very Important to ALSO keep Bisexual, Fluid, Pansexual & Queer-identified Voices and we all hope that there will be MUCH Cross-pollination.

Additionally, it is hoped that many in the new group will consider attending BiReCon (Bisexual Research Conference) which will take place at the University of East London, Docklands, UK on 26th August 2010. BiReCon will be the first day of the 10th International Conference on Bisexuality (10 ICB) in 2010 and is the second one-day academic conference on research into bisexuality, pansexuality, fluidity, et. al..

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Even if you find that this List is not a good fit for you personally, could we also ask all of you to Please Circulate This Information Widely to ALL LGBT & "Straight-But-Not-Narrow" venues and people who might be interested and would find this Additional Venue to be a useful tool.

Thank you

[BiNet USA]: Buju Banton? Bye Bye!

Media Advisory

Date: 01/19/2010 07:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time Contact: press@binetusa.org 1-800-585-9368

The Board of Directors and Members of BiNet USA are proud to stand with the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and many other LGBT and Progressive organizations and people in expressing our profound disappointment with the Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Awards for honoring dancehall artist Buju Banton.

Ms. Faith Cheltenham BiNet USA's Vice-president and Liaison to the African-American/Native American Community(s) stated,

"While BiNet USA will always continue to fight against even the smallest limitation of anyone's First Amendment Rights, in this case we're not asking that his freedom of speech be abridged. We simply object to praising someone for calling for murder, violence and discrimination to be practiced against LGBT People."

Banton has a long history of advocating violent discrimination against LGBT people up to and including murder in his music including the infamous song "Boom Bye Bye"; in his actions including a widely reported 2004 incident when he was part of a group of young men that forced their way into a private house in downtown Kingston and badly beat the occupants causing one to lose use of an eye, simply on the grounds that he believed them to be gay men; and as recently as October 2009 in his speech when he said "This is a fight, and as I said in one of my songs, 'there is no end to the war between me and faggot' and it's clear."

Additionally Banton has further shown himself to be an untrustworthy person of low morals who is not the type of person society should hold up and honor, especially in front of youth since he has on the one hand signed agreements as late as 2007 repudiating violence as a method for working out social differences in an attempt to appease Western European/American audiences while at the same time running back and laughing behind their backs to his hometown crowd loudly stating that his violent views remain the same. And then just in December he further showed his bad judgment in involving himself with some fast-buck artists that has resulted in him having USA Federal charges for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute several keys of cocaine.

All in all Banton has continued to show himself to be a disappointing young man who has not yet learned from experience and instead wastes his considerable talent in selfish and anti-social endeavors. This activity harms himself most of all in addition to his fans.

We also find that it is short-sighted and irresponsible for the Recording Academy to encourage and reward someone who has the potential to be such a fine artist and a good example for his culture and community to continue in this childish self-destructive behavior simply so the music industry can garner free publicity and make money off of his sad public folly.

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To be of real assistance to the LGBT people of Jamaica, please support their national LGBT group, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians All-sexuals and Gays J-FLAG.

Additionally please take the time to sign this on-line petition: Act Now: Protest Buju Banton's Grammy Nomination.
# # #
For more information, please visit BiNet USA on the Web at:

www.binetusa.org
binetusa.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/binetusa
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44503625428

and for press inquiries, please call 1-800-585-9368 or email press@binetusa.org

Tags: Anti-violence, National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Recording Academy, GRAMMY Awards, Murder Music, Dancehall, Buju Banton

[USA]: Robyn Ochs Issues a Donation Challenge in support of BiNet USA

We have a Donation Challenge from Robyn Ochs who has sent a note to BiNet USA President Garry North saying:

Hi Gary,

I just sent a donation of $100.00.

And if you can send me the names of 5 more people who make a donation to BiNet USA between now and midnight on Wednesday, December 30th, I'll double the size of my donation.

And those of you who are reading this: consider being one of the five by making a donation.

Robyn Ochs

So what do you say people? WE NOW HAVE ONLY ABOUT 6 HOURS LEFT To Match (Or Even Exceed!) Robyn's Generous Offer! Can We Do It? YES WE CAN!

If you are on Facebook you can Donate via the BiNet USA "Cause" Page here:

Or you can go to the main BiNet USA Home-page or the "BiNet News & Opinion Blog" and Donate via our PayPal Button:

and remember BiNet USA is an American 501(c)3 Non-profit Charity so that your generous gift is also tax-deductible.

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BiNet USA is America's umbrella organization and voice for bisexual, fluid, pansexual, queer-identified and all other of us "somewhere in between" people as well as our lesbian, gay, transgender, "straight but not narrow" and questioning friends and allies. For the past 19 years BiNet USA has facilitated the development of a cohesive network of independent bisexual/pansexual as well as friendly and inclusive communities; promoted bisexual, queer-identified, pansexual and inclusive visibility; and collected and distribute educational information regarding sexual orientation and gender identity with an emphasis on the bisexual, fluid, pansexual, queer-identified and allied communities.

[Bi Women]: Call For Submission - Spring 2010 issue will be BI YOUTH

ATTENTION Bisexual, Pansexual, Fluid + Queer-identified Youth: Robyn Ochs says "I am writing to invite you to write for the next issue of Bi Women", which is a quarterly newsletter produced in Boston for women everywhere.

The theme for the Spring 2010 issue of Bi Women will be "BI YOUTH". If you are a young bi-identified LGBT person, 25 or under, tell us your story.

What is it like to be you?

How did you come to identify as bisexual? Or, if you have a non-binary identity but use a different word than bisexual to describe yourself — tell us what, and why.

Where did you learn about bisexuality? Is/was there a Gay-Straight Alliance in your Junior High/High School?

Are your friends accepting of your bisexuality/pansexuality? What about your family?

Do you have any pansexual/bisexual role models? Where do you get support? What advice would you give to other young people who think they might be bisexual/pansexual?

o Deadline: February 5th 2010 -- Let me know right away if you're planning on writing
o Interested in being published in Bi Women? Here are the Submission guidelines
o Send your submissions to BiWomenEditor(at) gmail (dot) com

TIPS FOR A HAPPY HOLIDAY

If you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, fluid, pansexual, queer-identified, transgender, genderqueer . . .

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This information was liberally adapted from the holiday guide compiled by the good people at PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays)

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Don't assume you know how somebody will react to news of your sexual orientation or gender identity — you may be surprised.

Realize that your family's reaction to you may not be because you are LGBT, (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual/Pansexual, Transgender/Genderqueer). The hectic holiday pace may cause family members to act differently than they would under less stressful conditions.

Remember that “coming out” is a continuous process. You may have to “come out” many times.

Don't wait for your family's attitude to change to have a special holiday.

Recognize that your parents need time to acknowledge and accept that they have a LGBT child. It took you time to come to terms with who you are; now it is your family's turn. Let your family's judgments be theirs to work on, as long as they are kind to you.

If it is too difficult to be with your family, create your own holiday gathering with friends and loved ones.

If you are transgender, be gentle with your family's pronoun “slips.” Let them know you know how difficult it is.

Before the visit . . .
Make a decision about being “out” to each family member before you visit.

If you are partnered . . .
Discuss in advance how you will talk about your relationship, or show affection with one another, if you plan to make the visit together.

If you bring your partner home, don't wait until late into the holiday evening to raise the issue of sleeping arrangements. Make plans in advance. Have alternate plans if the situation becomes difficult at home.

Find out about local LGBT resources . . .
If you do plan to “come out” to your family over the holidays, have support available, including PFLAG publications and the number of a local PFLAG chapter.

During the visit . . .
Focus on common interests. Reassure family members that you are still the same

If you are partnered, be sensitive to his or her needs as well as your own. Be wary of the possible desire to shock your family.

Remember to affirm yourself. Realize that you don't need your family's approval.

Connect with someone else who is LGBT — by phone or in person — who understands what you are going through and will affirm you along the way.

Please CLICK HERE to read some more suggestions


Celebrate the Season In Bi Style!

Support Your Community Buy Some Bi Gifts for the Holidays!

[LGBT Youth]: Just Not Quite Gay Enough

an Essay by Tony Meyer Jr. Harvard 2011
1 December 2009 in Campus Pride Blog X-Posted with permission

In the eighth grade, I “came out” as gay when I professed my love for Billy H. in an invitation to be my date to our homecoming dance. My girl friends celebrated their new gay friend, excited by the prospect of adding a fashionista to their clique; despite owning a closet of jeans and ratty t-shirts, being “gay” evidently meant a lot more than kissing boys.

In the tenth grade, I discovered (or rather, finally admitted to myself) that I was also into the female form, breasts no longer simply fun pillows at girls’ night sleepovers. I waited until senior year to come out (again), this time as bisexual.

As a wrestler at 6’4’’, 230 pounds, I don’t conform to mainstream conceptions of the gay/queer/non-straight male. Bisexuals are stereotyped as fence-sitters, straddling the divide between queer and straight culture; instead of trying to pass between the two, I too often clash them together (I love blasting Lady Gaga while practicing my shot with a .222 in the Arizona desert). Bisexuality is about contradictions, simultaneously orthodox and heterodox in its practice of sexuality. I, however, find myself bisexual in most every aspect of my identity: a Democrat in the National Rifle Association, a sexually liberal moral traditionalist, a Christian Darwinist, a romantic sybarite caught between intellectualism and frisson’s appeal.

For me, bisexuality is about more than a sexual identity – bisexuality is a philosophy, a method of thought that characterizes how I approach the world and the way in which I lead my life.

Most of my work within the queer community has actually been fighting against it. For all of our efforts to break down gender stereotypes, homophobia and traditionalist understandings of sexuality, the queer community can be incredibly oppressive of members of its collective who are “too straight,” too conservative or just not quite gay enough. The most pernicious discrimination I have faced has been at the hands of my queer friends - while the queer community fights against the mythologization of the gay male as promiscuous, amoral, neurotic and a bastion of venereal disease, we far too often perpetuate that mythologization against the bisexual.

Here at Harvard, I concentrate (major) in History, specializing in military history and sexual history. My senior thesis will concentrate my focus in sexual history, with my current track of study the issue of situational homosexuality (in short, how isolation and containment in a homosocial space produces homosexual desire or behavior, particularly in the military, prison, prostitution, pornography, sports teams and education). My academic interests also include the history and evolution of sexual practices, particularly those with crossover between the straight and queer communities (i.e. circumcision, masturbation, the kiss, monogamy/polygamy and BDSM).

As I continue to blog, I hope to address issues concerning the bi-community, sexuality and its practices and the ways in which homosocial spaces deserve room in a queer community. Sexual history is as deserving of historical attention as the history of nations, militaries and empire, particularly in an age when sex screams to be let out of the closet. The study of the prurient is not itself pornographic. Too often the queer community is chained by sexual mythology (and bisexuals two-fold) – an open discussion and appreciation of the libido, the sex drive, is crucial for any campaign of queer empowerment.

After all, Martin Luther did not simply nail ninety-five theses to a church door in Wittenburg – he placed the sex drive at the core of man’s existence, as necessary as food and water, and launched a Reformation that exploded Christianity in its embrace of the power of sex.

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Campus Pride is an American national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2001 which serves LGBT and Ally Student Leaders and/or Campus Organizations in the areas of leadership development, support programs and services to create safer, more inclusive LGBT-friendly colleges and universities. The organization is a volunteer-driven network "for" and "by" student leaders. Campus Pride envisions campuses and a society free of LGBT prejudice, bigotry and hate. It works to develop student leaders, campus networks and future actions to create such positive change.

[Boston MA USA]: New Phelps-A-Thon

Fred Phelps' clan is coming to Boston to spread their Anti-Gay {Lesbian, Bisexual/Pansexual and Transgender}, Anti-Semitic message at Schools and Temples across the city.

You can help turn their awful message into positive change!

The "God Hates Fags" Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is planning at least four pickets on Tuesday, December 1st 2009. They will protest the World AIDS Day conference at the University of Massachusetts, then taunt the students at Brookline High School, next they will head over to the Hillel House at Boston University, and then to Temple Israel to attack openly-gay, Jewish, Congressman Barney Frank.

However, when the Phelps group comes to Boston to protest LGBT equality and spread their anti-Semitic message, they will actually be raising money to promote LGBT equality, raise AIDS awareness, and fund Jewish community centers.

We are hosting a Phelps-A-Thon to counter Fred Phelps' hateful message. For every minute the "God Hates Fags" clan is protesting, we will be collecting donations for each of the organizations the clan is protesting against!

Visit www.Phelps-A-Thon.com to chose the location you'd like to support. You can pledge any amount you chose, whether it be 25¢, 50¢, $1 or even $2 for every minute they protest. You can even pledge a flat rate for the entire time the group will be demonstrating.

The point of this Phelps-A-Thon is two-fold. First, we are using Phelps' own hateful message to raise funds for a good cause, one that will help counter the lies that are being spread by WBC. Second, after the event, we will send Phelps a thank you card, telling him how much money he raised. This will certainly upset the group and it is possible that they will stop protesting in order to stop our fundraising.

During a three-month trek across the United States in an effort to promote LGBT equality, Chris Mason, Founder of Phelps-A-Thon, stopped in Topeka, Kansas to visit the Westboro Baptist Church. He sat down for a conversation with Shirley Phelps, the daughter of Fred Phelps and new leader of the group to get a better understanding of why the groups feels the need to spread hate.


On the "God Hates Fags" website, Phelps has this to say about the upcoming protest at one of the schools, "University of Massachusetts - Thank God For AIDS, stupid! 100 William T Morrissey Blvd That is what WBC has been saying since back in the day when AIDs was the event d'jure. Now we say, that is sooooo last century. How's that defying AIDs going for you hypocrites? You whose parents told us in Washington D.C. "you say don't f***, we say F*** YOU!" That's right, now you have put your friends children on the job, huh? Lot's of luck. Deuteronomy 28:27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. God warned you through his prophet, Moses of this day. You did not heed, so you get the curse. Tah dah! That is how Our God rolls, and he is YOUR GOD! Praise Him! AMEN!"

We can turn these hateful words into positive change.

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X-Posted from Chris Mason www.phelps-a-thon.com email: Chris (at) Phelps-A-Thon (dot) com

Epic win

by Josh Lysen, News Editor DC Agenda

If someone had told me Monday that my Thursday would culminate with wrapping a new publication's first issue, I would have laughed. Or cried. I'm really not sure which.

But that's the beauty of knowing such wonderful, dedicated and relentless people. If there was despair among the Washington Blade's employees, advertisers and readers when Window Media (ed. note. due to financial & legal difficulties suffered by its parent corporation Avalon Equity Partners) shuttered the publication, it didn't last long. Even as the staff was packing boxes and making some final calls, we were making plans to gather the next day. It wasn't particularly clear what was next for any of us, let alone all of us, but we didn't want our downcast faces to be the last we remembered of each other. So we set a time, identified a place and avoided saying "goodbye." Instead, the common departure line became, like any other day, "See you tomorrow."

Truth be told, though, I had trouble sleeping that night. The realization that I'd joined what seems like legions of unemployed journalists was frightening. I kept myself calm with the knowledge that I had many friends and professional contacts locally upon whom I could call for help. But my mind reeled and sleep was evasive. Eventually, I decided to get up and start working on moving myself forward. I applied for unemployment benefits. I mailed my final paycheck. I started networking. And I got ready for my meeting with the people I previously called my coworkers.

As I stood at the Silver Spring Metro platform, waiting for the train, I tweeted that I was "headed to an important meeting. May the fates smile upon this gathering."

We convened at the National Press Building's Corner Bakery, a restaurant at which I'd often bought dinner when I worked upstairs in the Washington Blade's offices. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about returning to the building with wounds that were still fresh, but I needn't have worried. It felt good to see my friends again so soon — and even better to quickly begin discussing how we could go about launching a new publication. Across the ensuing three hours, we took stock, made plans and forged ahead.

Naming names
Most things went smoothly, but there were some hiccups. Choosing our publication's name proved among the greater challenges. We knew that we wanted "Washington" or "DC" in the title. But usage of the word "Blade" was inadvisable for many reasons, none the least of which was to avoid any perceived legal association with a company engulfed in some rather messy bankruptcy proceedings. Did we want to use the word "gay" in our name? I and others quickly and firmly spoke against the notion. The name should be inclusive, not limiting. So how would we convey that we're an LGBT community publication? One person suggested "pride" as an option. Not bad, but perhaps too closely tied to the seasonal celebration. Perhaps the word "proud" was an option? I suggested Proud DC, but it didn't stick.

It was Kevin Naff, the Blade's former editor, who suggested using the word "agenda" in our name. This, he said, would be an attempt to reclaim a word that's been used against the community. There were some reservations, but we decided to pause and consider the suggestion. Keying the idea to the Blade staff's award-winning reporting on national issues, ideas such as Capitol Agenda and Washington Agenda were offered. But both permutations were already in use and not available to be trademarked. How about DC Agenda? A quick check showed the DCAgenda.com domain was available. And nobody had registered it on Twitter or Facebook (ed. note. or YouTube). We quickly grabbed all three, settled on using DC Agenda as our working name and left the trademarking duties in the hands of our volunteer attorney.

With such heady discussions behind us, we broke into advertising and editorial groups. Assignments were made. Deadlines were set. People were excited. It was then we decided to publish our first issue in three days. Yes, we were crazy. But there was momentum. We had to capitalize on that and the outpouring of support we'd received from people locally and across the nation.

"To say that meeting was epic would be an understatement," was the quick and intentionally vague summary I tweeted Tuesday. "Epic meetings lead to epic work. But epic work could lead to epic win."

Less than 24 hours later, I was editing the first articles slated for DC Agenda's inaugural issue. Our working plan Wednesday morning was to parallel the Washington Blade's first issue in 1969 and publish one letter-sized page crammed with as much news as we could fit onto its front and back. But as the day progressed, we realized that the plan wouldn't work. Too many people wanted to advertise in our debut issue! The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, Whitman-Walker Clinic, Human Rights Campaign and Universal Gear all wanted full-page ads! We expanded to four pages — then to eight! I was truly touched by the votes of confidence we had received. But the best was yet to come.

Rocking out
We had made it known that many of the Blade's former staffers would gather Wednesday evening at the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Washington. What had been blissfully scheduled days before the Blade's closure as just another promotional event had become something much more. On Monday, it seemed the event might be an informal wake for the publication. But on Tuesday, we realized that we could use the gathering as the launch event forDC Agenda. I teased the event on the Blade's old Twitter account, promising that it would be "worth the trip." Later, I noted the event would include "Free food! Awesome people! Cash bar! And … more!" Finally, with the event just hours away, I let the cat out of the bag: "What was once @WashingtonBlade is now @DCAgenda. Confused? Come to Hard Rock Cafe at 6 p.m. tonight!"

The teases and the free publicity the event got from the Washington Examiner, numerous blogs and many Twitter users drew 100 or more people to the gathering. It was great to see some key players in the local LGBT community, our biggest fans on Twitter and many new faces at the event. The show of support was so heartening that it was almost overwhelming. Hard Rock Cafe, which hosted the event and provided free food despite our inability to repay them, let me address the crowd at one point. I thanked everyone for their continued support and revealed to any who hadn't yet heard that the Blade's former staff was now hard at work at producing DC Agenda.

Lynne Brown, the former Blade publisher who'd taken the same role at DC Agenda, also thanked the crowd. It was then that she was given what I believe was the first revenue to line the DC Agenda coffers: The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington presented her a check to pay for their ad on the back page of our first issue. Lynne, who'd run herself ragged during the preceding 48 hours to establish the DC Agenda name, teared up at the gesture. It was a special moment for us and affirmed to us that with the community's love and support, this crazy idea of ours is viable.

Of course, there was one small problem. We still had to finish our first issue. So three of us grabbed a cab and headed to our art director's apartment.

Finish line
It was almost comically crowded in Rob Boeger's apartment. In addition to him and myself, Kevin, reporter Chris Johnson, photographer Michael Key and online mastermind Aram Vartian were trying to find places to sit. Kevin hadn't yet seen any copy beyond the publication's introductory letter that he wrote. Chris had only just finished covering a congressional hearing and had yet to write his story. Michael had photos from the hearing to upload. And Aram joined the crowd to get some direction on the DC Agenda web site he and others would soon be creating.

It was a surprisingly high amount of work for an eight-page publication, but then again, we were creating it from scratch. Rob had a nameplate to design and we had columns to title. (My favorites? The opinion page columns are Personal Agenda and our online polls are tentatively titled Your Agenda.) Also, because there were so many ads, we had to figure out how to best trim the articles. But slowly, everything started coming together. By midnight, the editorial work was done and our crowd had dispersed. I decided to stick through the night so I could help Rob finish the issue in the morning.

I grabbed about five hours of sleep before Rob, I and the advertising department made one last sprint for the finish line. The last few ads arrived by e-mail, including the Gay Men's Chorus ad, which notably named DC Agenda as the "media sponsor" of its upcoming holiday show. The recognition caught me off guard and brought a tear to my eye. So quickly and so fully had the DC Agenda name been embraced by our advertisers and supporters that I was flabbergasted.

Lynne joined Rob and I for the walk to our printer and soon the files were in their hands. Upon our request, they printed a proof of the publication we'd collect from them mid-morning Friday. Seeing it in print — just holding it our hands — somehow made the exhausting craziness of the last 72 hours worth it. I suddenly couldn't wait to collect the 5,000 copies we were slated to obtain and distribute them for all to see! Sure, it was just eight black-and-white pages, but they were among the most meaningful eight pages to which I've ever attached my name. I consider it an epic win, personally and professionally, that my name and picture appear on the issue's cover.

All too often, the many deadlines and printed pages of my profession blur together. But the story behind this issue was so special that I'll remember it always. I just had to share it with you. Thank you for reading.

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X-Posted with permission from Think Lynsen by Josh Lynsen an out bisexual journalist and newspaper editor. Lynsen was the News Editor of the USA's Flagship LGBT Publication the Washington Blade at the time of it's abrupt closure due to financial irregularities within a Money Management Fund that had bought the Washington Blade's parent company Window Media. On November 20th 2009 Lynsen was among members of the Blade's editorial staff as well as others who formed the core of the voluntary staff that relaunched a new LGBT Publication the DC Agenda to take the place of the Washington Blade. He has given BiNet USA permission to X-Post his chronicle of his "as it happens" view of these important events in the life of the LGBT Community.

Coming Out is a Fad. Coming Into Is All the Rage!

As a Hispanic person, I sometimes don't understand "Coming Out". I mean people never come out as a people of color and I, for one, have never come out as a Hispanic.

Comedienne Wanda Sykes jokes in her latest stand-up act, "It’s harder being gay than being black. There’s some things that I had to do as gay that I didn’t have to do as black. I didn’t have to come out black. I didn’t have to sit my parents down and tell them about my blackness. 'Mom, dad I have to tell ya’ll something . . . I hope you still love me. Mom ... dad ... I’m black.'"

Now don't get the wrong idea, I'm NOT denying the good that's apparent in "Coming Out", like moving from non-acceptance to self-acceptance, being honest with yourself and others, being visible instead of invisible, or experiencing freedom that comes from being "Out".

I just don't understand the other part of "Coming Out". The part that involves continuously telling everyone, "I'm gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, queer, trans, asexual . . ." The part that involves telling and then being assigned a letter of the alphabet. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if the only reason why "Coming Out" exists is because culture segregated people into genophobic closets. (I'm using the term "genophobia" here to not only include the fear of sexual intercourse, but also of sex and of sexuality, in general).

In the recent past, I've met others who do not understand "Coming Out", as well. It's not that they are ashamed of who they are, that they live in culturally imposed closets, or that they're not living in tune with their sexuality. Rather, shockingly, they don't believe there's a need to "Come Out" with a bold confession of their sexual identity anymore and I can relate. "Coming Out" is a fad. Where we once needed people to "Come Out", maybe a day is quickly approaching when future generations won't even know what "Coming Out" means anymore.

Heterosexuals do not come out as Straight. As the cultural mainstream, Heterosexuals are free to "Come Into" their sexuality just like people of race are free to "Come Into" their racial and ethnic identities.

Sometimes people of race have to deny that they are not of one race or another. I often have to refute that I am not Indian, Persian, Middle Eastern, etc. It would be absurd to say that by admitting I'm actually Mexican that I've "Come Out", since I've never had an experience where I've had to hide my Hispanic'ness.

I doubt most of us are any good at hiding what's apparent anyways. In fact, hang around me long enough and the essence of my racial identity is apparent - true also with my sexuality. I have "Come Into" both quite honestly, quite naturally.

"Coming Into" sexual identity seems more genuine to the human experience than "Coming Out".

I've said once that being brown is not defined by the way I speak, the food I eat or the music I choose to listen to. Being brown, by its very nature, cannot be identified solely by the mind and is continual, spiritual and beyond the restrictions of any classification. Likewise, being straight, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, or whatever sexual identity we subscribe to is not defined by how we speak, or what we choose to wear, or who we socialize with.

It is in essence – intangible and constant, ethereal and beyond the boundaries of human stereotyping.

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Aaron Florence is a writer and speaker (his day job is in Geekery and Organizational Development). He has been a Speaker and Keynoter at various colleges, universities, and conferences throughout the US playing the role of provocateur. He enjoys flirting with the topics of religion/spirituality, culture, marriage and sexuality, amongst other things. He lives in the Washington, DC area and is an architect of the Bisexual Men's Alliance of DC (BIMA DC). About BIMA DC, he says, "I believe in the power of fringe communities. How much closer to the edge can one get than Bisexuals? It's this group that will push our understanding of sexuality and relationships in the 21st Century."