http://www.meetup.com/Southern-Nevada-Bisexuals/

Local Photographer Tearing Down Stereotypes

Local Southern Nevada photographer, Linda Quackenboss is attempting to tear down LGBT stereotypes by showing that they are no different than anyone else. She does this by doing photo shoots of LGBT people in a comfortable setting in her studio or on a location of their choice. She is showing some of her work at the Gay & Lesbian Center of Southern Nevada. Her work will be shown at the Center until June 16th. She will have a meet & greet session at the Center on June 12th from 6 pm to 8 pm. If you are in the Las Vegas area, stop in and say hi to Linda. Tell her Bisexual News and Views sent you.   Here is the concept in Linda's words:   Laughter In The Lens and other locations in Las Vegas area

I'm working on a personal project photographing individuals, couples, families and groups in the LGBTQ community in Las Vegas. My goal is to show everyone how typical the LGBTQ community is alongside the straight community. I want to photograph you in my studio or on location just enjoying life. Does that mean having a barbeque at your home? Is it frisbee with your dog? Is it a stroll or a bike ride in a park? Is it chilling in my studio and giggling at my silly jokes? Here's the deal: you let me photograph you (or your friends!) with your/their partner, family or just you yourself, include your pet if you like, you choose your favorite pose and I'll give you an 11x14 mounted print of your favorite. If you want additional prints, I'll have very special pricing for participating in this project.   Then when I have about 125 portraits with short bio info on you as well, I'll be creating a book! I'll inviting the media, all of you who participated and anyone else who wants to see for themselves that life is a participation sport for everyone! The initial showing for this project is going to be at The Center, June 6-16 as part of Artrageous by Yelp. Time is of the essence. You need to jump on board quickly as this project needs to be soon so we can produce and go to print with the book for holiday season this year! So, questions? comments? Ready to participate? Great!!! Call me at 702-575-1150 to set up a time for your exclusive session. You may also message me here.   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laughter-In-The-Lens/112839098815413

A Forum Response

The following thread was taken from a forum I belong to. It is in response to "My Take on Bisexuality" that can be found on this blog.

Forum member:

Thanks.
The entire aspect of stereotypes for bisexuals is a hornets nest imo. Not all bisexuals live in a cross orientation relationship and are as happy doing so. Some of us really are promiscuous and proud to be so. Some of us do not agree with you that non monogamy as far as gender is a choice for some bisexuals. There is more in your OP that is pure subjectivity. Remember that please when you are educating. Other than that aspect I like your black box comment and agree.

BNAV:

We are speaking to the identity of bisexuality in an attempt to build a community within the LGBTQ. We want to put the "B" in LGBTQ. By opening the invitations to all, we are hoping to engage others to have a dialog with us. We hope these dialogs will show those who doubt our existence that we really do exist and function just like they do. We also seek to break the stereotypical views that others may have.

Forum member:

To demonstrate my support of bisexual activism I offer the following for your edification.
.................................

Here is an article from February, 2013 about the lack of bisexual inclusiveness in GLBTQ organizations. I'm happy for the OP organization offering space but I wonder how the organization would do on the survey below.

This shows the need for removing bisexuals from these groups and demanding funding for the majority in the non hetero world ..that is bisexuals.
Or as this report shows, demanding inclusiveness

“Given the overwhelming evidence in the past few years showing that bisexual persons exist in greater numbers than the combined gay male, lesbian and transgender populations, we must ask whether some of the national queer organizations are themselves paying attention to the particular needs of bisexual folks, not merely as lip service, not just as an afterthought, but in any sort of tangible way.”
The questionnaire:

1. Does the organization have full-time personnel solely dedicated to the advancement of bisexual issues or advocacy for bisexual clients and/or members?
2. How does the organization provide services for or market to bisexual persons?
3. Does the organization have out bisexual persons on its board of directors, executive board or foundation board?
4. Are bisexuals specifically mentioned in the organization's mission statement?
5. Does the organization recruit bisexuals among its members?
6. Does the organization include bisexual persons on its staff and among its volunteers?
7. Does the organization educate its staff and volunteers on bisexuality and biphobia?
8. Does the organization's website have the word "bisexual" or "bisexuality" listed among its topics or tabs (not just including the letter "B" in the acronym)?

“According to the responses, it appears that there is nobody devoted specifically to bisexual issues or bisexual advocacy in these groups.”
“Any national LGBTQ organization that does not specifically commit itself to bisexual inclusion should know it is targeting less than half of the LGBTQ population. “- Lauren Beach, former BOP chairperson
"

With several of the major LGBT organizations not even taking the time to respond to this questionnaire, it's evident that the concerns of the largest segment of the LGBT population, bisexuals, are being neglected and ignored." Ellyn Ruthstrom, president of the Bisexual Resource Center of Boston

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ron-su...b_2748342.html

BNAV:

I appreciate your well thought out responses. Some of the points you make are well founded. I agree with several. The questionnaire you posted, while extremely narrow in its focus, does have some merit. In my opinion a national LGBT organization should have all the elements of its acronym built into its mission statement with a corresponding support structure within the organization. Those organizations that choose to incorporate the all-encompassing “LGBT” or “LGBTQ” acronyms should indeed have the personnel on staff dedicated to the advocacy of that group. One of the reasons I chose to meet at the Gay & Lesbian Center of Southern Nevada is to give the “B” in their “LGBTQ Center” a bisexual voice. As for the promiscuity factor I say to each their own. I personally do not agree with promiscuity in any community including the bisexuals. I feel that what we write, discuss and act out under the guise of anonymity of the internet tarnishes the communities that exercise this practice.

In Summary:

Even those within our bisexual community doubt our true existence mainly because we are routinely dismissed as confused lesbians or closeted gays looking for a quick "no-strings-attached" sexual liaison. We are routinely dismissed as cheaters, or promiscuous individuals who are not capable of loving  another individual purely on the qualities of that person regardless of their gender stereotypes. I will say that there is a portion of our community who are promiscuous, cheating no-strings-attached individuals who are quite the presence on bisexual oriented websites throughout the internet. I don't believe that these people are the heart and soul of our community. I believe that we need to peel back the seedy partitions that appear in forums and chat rooms and reveal the true identity of the bisexual community. We need to shadow our brothers and sisters in their respective communities under the "LGBTQ" banner and present ourselves as caring families, loving parents, and the good people that we truly are in spite of current perception.

Winners of 25th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Announced

The following article was gleaned from Bimagazine.org in its entirety:

http://bimagazine.org/index.php/news/winners-of-25th-annual-lambda-literary-awards-announced/

 

Winners of 25th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Announced

Written by Staff Writer June 04, 2013 at 11:46 AM

The winners of the 25th Annual Lambda Literary Awards were announced on Monday night, June 3rd 2013 in a sold-out gala ceremony hosted by comedienne Kate Clinton with special guest performer Janice Ian at the Great Hall at Cooper Union in New York City. The ceremony was followed by a VIP After Party at the The Sky Room at the New Museum.  The event brought together almost 500 attendees, sponsors, and celebrities to celebrate excellence in LGBT literature and 25 years of the groundbreaking literary awards. “I’ve never been more proud of our community of writers.” said Tony Valenzuela, Lambda Literary Foundation Executive Director.  “I can’t wait to see what the next 25 years brings.”
The Bisexual category was announced by feminist sex educator and adult film actress Nina Hartley. This year there was a tie with both "In One Person" by John Irving and "My Awesome Place: The Autobiography of Cheryl B" the posthumous memoirs of avant-garde performance artist Cheryl Burke taking pride of place in a small but extremely competitive list.

Accepting for the late Ms. Burke was her partner, Kelli Dunham who delivered a heatfelt and heartbreaking thank you saying "Every day when Cheryl was her sickest, I prayed to a god I no longer believe in for a miracle. Perhaps this book is the miracle" saying about the book, "knowing that there is an artsy freak teenager trying to escape New Jersey, a women somewhere struggling with sobriety, and a smarty pants bisexual girl living on Staten Island, all who think they are alone, and who will read My Awesome Place and know that they are not."
This year’s trio of major LLF award recipients included John Irving who received Lambda Literary Foundation's (LLF) Bridge Builder Award presented to him by his good friend and fellow author Edmund White.  Also Augusten Burroughs recieved the Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Literature presented by New York Times columnist and author Frank Bruni and Cherrie Moraga, Chicana writer, feminist, activist, poet, essayist, and playwright, accepted Lambda Literary’s Pioneer Award. The Dr. James Duggins Mid-Career Novelist Prizes went to Nicola Griffith and Trebor Healey. The Dr. Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Awards went to Sassafras Lowrey and Carter Sickels.
Lending it's support as a Patron of this important event was the American Institute of Bisexuality (AIB). AIB is an American charitable foundation originally endowed by pioneering bisexual rights activist, author and therapist the late Dr. Fritz Klein to encourage, support and assists research and education about bisexuality, through programs likely to make a material difference and enhance public knowledge, awareness and understanding about bisexuality.  Recently LLF further signaled it's long-terms comitment to fully supporting Bisexual Literature when it named AIB Board-member and current Vice-president Denise Penn, MSW to the LLF Board of Trustees.
In addition to Ms. Penn also in attendance representing the American Institute of Bisexuality (AIB) were: bisexual activist Estraven, from the New York Area Bisexual Network (NYABN); bisexual author and editor Dr. Aih Djehuti Herukhuti; Lammy award-winning author Author Barbara Browning; author Astrid Fiano; film-maker, author & popular Bi Magazine Media Critic Anil Vora; as well as the Brooklyn based photographer and author Efrain John Gonzalez. Also attending were several well know bisexual writers and publishers including Ron Suresha and Cecilia Tan.

We do exist!

We are speaking to the identity of bisexuality in an attempt to build a community within the LGBTQ. We want to put the "B" in LGBTQ. By opening the invitations to all, we are hoping to engage others to have a dialog with us. We hope these dialogs will show those who doubt our existence that we really do exist and function just like they do. We also seek to break the stereotypical views that others may have. We are the Southern Nevada Bisexuals. Please take a moment to check out the Meetup site and Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Southern-Nevada-Bisexuals/202333853249337

http://www.meetup.com/Southern-Nevada-Bisexuals/

 

 

My intro

Hiya folks, Here's my take on Bisexuality... A bisexual identity speaks to the potential, not the requirement, for involvement with more than one gender/sex. This involvement may mean sexually, emotionally, in reality, or in fantasy. Monogamy and non-monogamy are relationship choices made independently of sexual identity. Some bisexuals are monogamous, some may have concurrent partners, others may relate to different genders/sexes during different times of their lives. Most bisexuals do not have to be involved with more than one person at a time in order to feel fulfilled. We see the person not the gender. My take on Polyamory borrowed From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Polyamory (from Greek πολύ [poly], meaning "many" or "several", and Latin amor, "love") is the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved. It is distinct from both swinging (which emphasizes sex with others as merely recreational) and polysexuality (which is attraction towards multiple genders and/or sexes). Polyamory, often abbreviated as poly, is often described as "consensual, ethical, and responsible non-monogamy." The word is sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to sexual or romantic relationships that are not sexually exclusive, though there is disagreement on how broadly it applies; an emphasis on ethics, honesty, and transparency all around is widely regarded as the crucial defining characteristic. With that said... We arrived in Las Vegas a few years ago. We moved from Phoenix, Arizona. We are settled in. The job is going well. We are having trouble finding like minded folks who live near us. Allow me introduce the family; My wife +Laura Benedict brings a level of intellect, love, and structure to my life. She loves math, going to college, learning new things, riding her Harley, and shooting (she has a concealed carry permit). She is also a wonderful wife/partner, mother, lover (yes she is bisexual), and a great friend. I enjoy NASCAR, photography, shooting (yes, I have a concealed carry permit as well), writing, traveling, and storm chasing. I will be attending a university next fall to pursue a masters in Earth science. I am a bisexual male and proud of it. We do consider our family as Poly friendly. So if you're from the Las Vegas valley, drop us a note and maybe we can do coffee. Join our meet-up group. http://www.meetup.com/Southern-Nevada-Bisexuals/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Southern-Nevada-Bisexuals/202333853249337?hc_location=stream Thanks John & Laura