Bisexual Issues: July 2008 Archives

The women who made it out for the event were Charlene, Alex, Bathilda, and Davonee. (No Robin or Sayeh, and no mention of them either...) Charlene (photo at right) spoke of newfound pseudo-celebrity, and being confused when people on the street say hello as to whether she really knows them ("Did I meet them when I was drunk?") or if they know her from the show. Bathilda talked about getting used to being filmed, and how easy it is to forget that a microphone is on you and the crew can hear everything you are saying.

The full group discussed their hesitancy or lack thereof about participating in the show, revealing that Alex (photo at left) was actually the only one initially unsure about opening up her life to the cameras.  Alex, the sole bisexual in the cast, said that she decided to do it after thinking about how much she wished there were more images in the media for her "to look at and say, hey, that's me." She says she has been overwhelmed by letters from girls in response to the show, thanking her for participating, making any potential negative repercussions of reality show participation not matter.

Production of a second season has not been announced, but was hoped for by those in attendance. Contact Logo to voice your interest in Gimme Sugar 2!

Dr. Eric Anderson, Professor of Sociology at the University of Bath (United Kingdom), commented on what he sees as changing scripts of masculinity in a time of decreasing homophobia. He brought the most optimistic/idealistic voice to the panel, suggesting that identities -- bisexual and otherwise -- don't have to be political.  This inspired some blow-back from Kyle Schickner, whose film Steam played at OUTFEST this year. Kyle, the openly bi founder of FenceSitterFilms, argued that although things have changed tremendously, we still have a ways to go. He bemoaned what he called the older generation dropping the ball with the younger generation, neglecting to teach them the need for political action. He suggested that after achieving a certain level of acceptance for the LGBTQ community, a more relaxed attitude toward politics has became pervasive, causing the younger generation to forget that there is more left to do. He likened the situation to that of first and second-wave feminists versus the third-wave feminists and anti-feminists of the younger generation, or of older black activists versus younger blacks "throwing around the n-word."

Dan Dumont, Program Director at LifeWorks, spoke about the younger generation's disinclination to label themselves, particularly given the permanency of labels. He additionally mentioned the role of increasing visibility for transgender people, and the complications that brings about for sexuality labels defined by gender (as Dan asked, what do you call yourself when interested in a pre-operative transperson?). If kids don't have to identify themselves with the same urgency as the older generation did, then why should they? Dan, who works with the younger generation in his daily job, also told of a game "No Homo" played in a local high school. In this homoerotic game, the objective is to show that you are not homophobic by allowing the other [same-sex] player to push your physical boundaries. The player who flinches first is the loser. Dan suggested that this indicated changing norms, though acknowledged -- at Kyle's prodding -- that there are many places that don't play the "No Homo" game (or if they do it's a very different kind of game...).

Brittany Blockman and Josephine Decker, directors of Bi the Way, spoke about the decision to include the issue of monogamy in the film, given cheating is one of the most prevalent stereotypes of bisexual people. Meredith Chivers, a psychologist based in Canada who studies women's sexuality (and who appeared in Bi the Way), added that the stereotype is particularly unfortunate given people across the board have issues with monogamy. For instance, the "seven year itch" is a universal phenomenon, as all cultures have some sort of reference to it. Josephine mentioned that two of their interviewees (a husband and wife, actually!) co-wrote the book The Myth of Monogamy, which talks about how most traditional examples of monogamy in nature have actually been disproven, such as birds that were so good at hiding their cheating the researchers only discovered it once they started DNA testing the eggs instead of just observing overt behavior. Kyle summarized with his typical no-nonsense bluntness, "Until there is monogamy across the board, in the gay world, the lesbian world, the straight world, get the f*** out of my business."

Journalist Mike Szymanski, co-author of The Bisexual's Guide to the Universe, also contributed to the panel. He acknowledged the difficulty of presenting bisexuals on film, commenting that when you emphasize the fun stuff you risk emphasizing the stereotype. Kyle, responding to an allusion toward criticism he's received for the bi character Niala in Steam, stated that he has a responsibility to present positive models but also to tell the truth, and that there are people like Niala out there. He clearly felt unfairly attacked, adding, "Don't preach to me about what I've been doing for 15 years."

Additional OUTFEST panel events remain, including "Directing the Sex Scene" (July 19, 3 PM, DGA 2), and "Sordid Lives: The Series" (July 19, 7 PM, DGA 1). Click here for more information.

The project, though most worthy in effort, is prevented from reaching its full potential by (a) a persistent drive to paint bisexuality as being undeniably visible and accepted [as evidenced in Ms. Blockman's aforementioned discussion of the kiss on The OC], leading to an over-idealism about the cultural situation, and (b) a difficulty maintaining focus

or a clear narrative, jumping hastily between questions of labeling, questions of monogamy, family support, experiences of a child, experiences of a "swingers" couple (a label placed upon them by the directors but denied by the couple during Q&A), and so on. The latter issue is undoubtedly due to the fact that this is the first film from these directors, making the sometimes indulgent editing more understandable. And, of course, the unwieldy dimension of the subject at hand must be acknowledged, as both the diverse realities of bi experience and the stereotypes surrounding bi identities require attention.

For more information about the film, click here.