To celebrate Bi Awareness Week and Bi Visibility Day on Wednesday 23rd September, we caught up with the Liverpool Bi+ Group to talk bi space, lockdown Facebook chats and looking forward to creating a bigger “Bi block” at next year’s March with Pride.
First of all, tell us a bit about the Liverpool Bi+ Group…
We started in the summer of 2015 so we have just turned five. It was simply some bis coming together and sharing frustration that there wasn’t any kind of bi space in the city and wanting to change that.
So what was your intention in forming the group?
We wanted to have a space to make new bi friends! The only place bis were meeting in the whole North West then was the BiPhoria group in Manchester and we thought surely there must be enough of us in and around Liverpool. Along the way we also hoped it would give us a space to help champion bi voices too, as sometimes LGBT stuff can feel a bit GGGG.
What kind of events/activities do you run?
Mainly it’s coffee shop social meetups and getting together to celebrate Pride – this year’s been kinda different of course! We welcome people from all over the Liverpool City Region and beyond, as there just aren’t that many bi groups. In the whole North West there’s us and Manchester.
Our last in-person social was in February as a meetup at the Liverpool Museum LGBT History Month festival, but with COVID-19 we’ve retreated to Facebook mostly and the occasional Zoom.
Some of us have also joined the BiPhoria Zoom meets, without all that travelling to Manchester that would normally entail, but it’s our Facebook group that has kept chat going during lockdown. We also held a virtual meet on Zoom ahead of Bi Visibility Day.
We’re sad that we can’t have an in-person meeting this time, but we want people to join us, make some bi-mates and hopefully next summer we can be a bigger “bi block” at the March with Pride and at Pride in Liverpool next year!
You use Bi+ rather than Bi – what was the reason for this choice when naming the group?
We wanted to emphasise that this is for everyone under the big purple bi umbrella – bi, pan, omni, and whether your attractions are sexual, romantic or both.
What are the main challenges faced by the bi+ community in the Liverpool City Region?
Like anywhere else in the UK it’s isolation and erasure really. It can be hard to spot other bis and so you can feel more like it’s “just you”. While the media is improving there is still so much airbrushing bisexuality out – like how many times have you seen Lady Gaga called an “LGBT ally”!
This year our theme is ‘Young At Heart’, which promotes the right for LGBT+ people to live happy, healthy and carefree lives, regardless of how they identify. Research has highlighted that bisexual people are more likely to experience mental health problems, how important are groups like yours to the general wellbeing of the community?
We think hugely important – but there’s very limited research on it! But we and every other bi group have people joining who have faced prejudice from both gay and straight people so for some people we are creating a unique space.
Sadly that “best of both worlds” cliche does not always apply. While things have changed a lot, especially for younger people, many folk come to discover their bisexuality – or being brave enough to name it at last – later in life. But it’s still a whole new you and a journey of self-discovery whenever you get there!
Where can people go to find out more about getting involved?
You can come and find us on Facebook at facebook.com/liverpoolbis or drop an email to liverpoolbis@outlook.com
