Journalist needs bi sources

[WashBlade]

Greetings, all. I'm a reporter for the Washington Blade (http://www.washblade.com) newspaper in Washington, D.C. The Blade publishes GLBT news and features.

I'm working on an article about the term "party bisexual," which I see has been discussed elsewhere on this forum. My article looks at whether the term is insensitive, or new recognition that bisexuals and bisexual feelings are more prevalent than some people believe.

If anyone is interested in being interviewed (either by phone or e-mail) for this article, send an e-mail to Josh at jlynsen@washblade.com before July 3. I promise the interviews will be brief and painless.

It's important that people who contact me are comfortable with having their full name, age, place of residence, and sexual orientation printed in the paper.

I look forward to hearing from you. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Thanks!

[JohnnyV]

Hey,

As one the website's leading extroverts, I'm always up for media. I'm curious to know more about the jist of the article, but hit me up at my email if you need someone to interview.

J

[Flounder1967]

I would be be willing to answer some questions.

[jedinudist]

Well....

I e-mailed him. Curious as to the goal of the article- never heard the term "party-bisexual" before.

[biecnal]

It's important that people who contact me are comfortable with having their full name, age, place of residence, and sexual orientation printed in the paper.

Sounds interesting, however, I question why someones "full name" must be printed for an article? :eek:

Perhaps I am reading too much into this statement, but I fail to see why it is necessary to print full names.

Thanks,

Lance :bipride:

[BiDallasCouple]

"Party Bisexual?" Sounds like a bisexual person's way of making their behavior "ok" to a straight person. "I only play with other men/women when its recreationally expected of me. I would NEVER do that normally." STILL sounds bisexual to me. On the other hand, it may be that the bisexual person doesnt actually have sex with the "same sex partner" other than at parties when they are "juiced up" lol Just MY opinion. JD

[glantern954]

Maybe so the people interviewed sound like "real" people and are unashamed of who they are? I can see where the opinions of those people might be more meaningful, or credible, to some readers, and writers too for that matter.

It is the same reason that I try to post sources, authors, and dates, etc when I post articles that I am sharing with others.

Which statement has more meaning to you?

"There will be no new taxes this year"
George Bush

"There will be no new taxes this year"
George
-or-
John Doe

I apologize if this message comes off as an attack or sMaRmy. I honestly don't intend it that way.



Sounds interesting, however, I question why someones "full name" must be printed for an article? :eek:

Perhaps I am reading too much into this statement, but I fail to see why it is necessary to print full names.

Thanks,

Lance :bipride:

[jedinudist]

Sounds interesting, however, I question why someones "full name" must be printed for an article? :eek:

Perhaps I am reading too much into this statement, but I fail to see why it is necessary to print full names.

Thanks,

Lance :bipride:
Full names = credibility. It gives the opportunity for critics to check his sources to insure he was telling the truth and didn't make people up to support his point of view.

It is a major pain in the rear sometimes when writing a paper- it's easy to find people with opinions. Much harder sometimes to find people willing to publicly stand behind them.

[Driver 8]

Overall, the Washington Blade is pretty good about bisexual issues (for a gay paper.) But they're far from perfect.

Remember the Bailey study, the one that claimed there are no bisexual men? The Blade's headline read:

Report on bisexuality study angers gay activists (http://www.washblade.com/2005/7-15/news/national/report.cfm)

It describes "several gay advocacy groups" objecting, but the Blade didn't see fit to interview ANY bisexuals. Not one bisexual activist, not one bisexual researcher, not one bisexual person. (Some researchers listed specialize in bisexuality, but the Blade doesn't mention their sexual orientations, and as far as I know neither Fox nor Rodriguez Rust is out as bisexual. Note, though, that elsewhere the Blade was careful to identify gay and transgender individuals, even researchers, as gay and transgender.)

I'm glad that the Blade ran a factual article that got at the problems with the study - but, really, what the fuck? Did not one editor look at this article and say "Gee, do you think maybe bisexuals have an opinion about this too?"

[Driver 8]

Y'know, although I stand by every word I wrote criticizing the Blade, I should add some other articles for balance. (The names on the links are my summaries, not the headlines.)

Fritz Klein's obituary (http://www.washblade.com/2006/6-2/news/national/klein.cfm)

Brokeback Mountain and bisexuality (http://www.washblade.com/2006/1-20/arts/feature/broke-syndrome.cfm)

Bisexual musicians & allies' CD (http://www.washblade.com/2003/10-17/arts/music/music.cfm)

Dr. Ruth makes idiotic anti-bi remarks (http://www.washblade.com/2005/11-4/view/actionalert/bi-ruth.cfm)

Basic Instinct II loses power to annoy bisexuals (http://www.washblade.com/2006/3-31/arts/feature/basically.cfm)

My impression of their coverage is that it's overall fair and accurate; it's strikingly in contrast with what you used to see in the gay press, oh, fifteen years ago, when every article that even mentioned bisexuals had to be "balanced" with quotes from ten gays and lesbians calling us names. I do feel there's some room for improvement in things like the Bailey article, but I can feel that while appreciating what's good about their journalism overall.

[JohnnyV]

I think a good way to approach this journalist's request is for us to be transparent with each other, and carefully watch what ends up getting printed in the Blade. If the author interviews a good number of people and only prints a few comments that don't represent a broad sampling, then we can rightfully hold the paper accountable for bias. But the only way to do that check on them is if everyone who gets interviewed posts a little note on this thread saying "I answered a few questions, let's wait and see..."

Then, when the interview comes out, if it's something problematic we have a stronger base from which to complain to the editors.

If the article comes out and it's fair, then all the better! We send the guy a thank you note.

Love,
J

[WashBlade]

I'd like to thank the people who have e-mailed me, or expressed their willingness for me to contact them. Everyone is being sent the same set of questions.

For the sake of the integrity of my article, and for competitive reasons, I would ask that the questions not be reposted here. I would like everyone to respond as freely, openly and truthfully as they deem appropriate, and I fear reposting the questions in a forum environment might influence the responses I receive.

Also, as the Blade is but one of many gay publications, I would ask the questions be kept private. Neither I nor my editors want to tip our hand to our competitors.

If anyone has any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me, Josh, directly at jlynsen@washblade.com. Thank you again for your interest and willingness to participate!

[Driver 8]

Also, as the Blade is but one of many gay publications
Notice how he calls it a "gay" publication, not a GLBT publication?

[JohnnyV]

I'd like to thank the people who have e-mailed me, or expressed their willingness for me to contact them. Everyone is being sent the same set of questions.

For the sake of the integrity of my article, and for competitive reasons, I would ask that the questions not be reposted here. I would like everyone to respond as freely, openly and truthfully as they deem appropriate, and I fear reposting the questions in a forum environment might influence the responses I receive.

Also, as the Blade is but one of many gay publications, I would ask the questions be kept private. Neither I nor my editors want to tip our hand to our competitors.

If anyone has any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me, Josh, directly at jlynsen@washblade.com. Thank you again for your interest and willingness to participate!

Josh,

There's something inconsistent in what you've written here. You want your informants to go public with their name and personal information, in order that your article is more credible. But you don't want to go public with the methods or the style of your questioning. Also, you want to pick and choose which of their responses go into your article, while effectively trying to hide part of the sample from which you're going to be implying some conclusions.

What would be more "free, open, and truthful" than the people you question discussing the interview on our forum? You ask us to contact you directly at your email, but I prefer to post my thoughts here on the forum for everyone to see.

It does not seem that you are going to be doing a statistically grounded study, of the kind that reveals its questions in entirety, the number of respondents, and the standard deviations, etc. Instead it seems that you are using your status as a writer with a publication to canvass a handful of people and pick the quotes that sound good to the impressions you take away.

If that's the case, then I think people's postings on our forum are equal in validity to the article that you will publish. And why should we care about your competitors, when you aren't paying people to answer questions? Shouldn't your competitors also be privvy to the information that your article is addressing?

Lol... I assume that I won't be getting a call from you for an interview, since I'm into the transparency that you don't seem to feel comfortable with. It's worth it for all of us to reflect on that, so we understand where all these articles get their sources from.

Best,
J

[WashBlade]

Notice how he calls it a "gay" publication, not a GLBT publication?

In my office environment, straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Blade employees shorthand GLBT to "gay." We also shorthand the inclusive grouping of lesbians and bisexuals with gays to "gays." These semantics took some getting used to, myself, but it's just the office lingo. I certainly don't mean to offend anyone with my phrasing, and I apologize.

[WashBlade]

I appreciate and understand the concerns that are being expressed here. If I may, I'd like to respond.

1. My article is not a scholarly study compiling quantitative results, nor will it make any such claims. My article will represent the individual thoughts, opinions and experiences of the people who answer my questions.

2. My article will fairly and accurately represent the thoughts, opinions and experiences that are provided to me. One does not obtain employment at the Washington Blade without a solid background and reputation in journalism. I would ask that you trust me to convey the truth in the article I write, just as I trust you to convey the truth in the responses you provide.

3. If you choose to discuss my questions, I cannot stop you. I am no moderator. But I would ask, as a professional courtesy, you wait to do so until my article is published. I am not trying to stymie discussion. I am trying to maintain the Blade's competitive edge.

4. If you visit our newspaper's archives, you may notice a lack of articles about bisexual-specific issues, and a general lack of bisexual voices in our publication. I am working to rectify that omission, and this article is one step in that direction.

5. I asked the members and visitors of this forum to participate in this article because I want it to be inclusive and interesting. I don't want to exclusively quote experts and spokespeople. I want to also quote normal people, whose thoughts, opinions and experiences are just as valid.

6. To be clear, the Blade does not, under any circumstances, pay its sources for information.

I will be logging off momentarily. Again, I would ask that any questions or concerns be sent to me, Josh, directly at jlynsen@washblade.com.

Thank you, everyone, for allowing me to be heard. I wish you all well.

[Rhuth]

*giggles* Poor Josh. If you had introduced yourself as a bi guy, I'm sure we would have been much more welcoming! I suppose journalists are used to being vilified though. You have been very diplomatic with our concerns!

Of course Josh has to pick and choose amongst our responses. Some of us just aren't as eloquent, and he needs to make your story readable. For that purpose, JohnnyV, I am willing to bet you will be included. Look how much the rest of us rely on quoting you to eloquently illustrate a point!

Forum discussions are excellent ways for all of us to gather our viewpoints. I had never thought of it as a resource for research, but I suppose it would be an excellent tool for that! It would be too small of a sample for valid research, but it could be one component of a larger study. When we get a good topic going, we can keep it up near the top of the list, and go on for days! And recently we have been bumping up old "blasts from the past" for the new members. *giggles* Ya got time for that, Josh?

The day they give journalists enough time and money to conduct their own statistically grounded studies is the day I switch my major back to communications! If I were writing this article, I would rely on respected scientists who have already done research, and use our quotes to colorfully support those findings. Is there an editor in existence delaying deadlines for a journalist to pursue the quotes that do not support scientific findings? Who would fund the research? Maybe when Josh gets wooed by 60 minutes or something he will be allowed more time and money.

With the deadline Josh does have, it will all be moot if we list his questions here. Another journalist will easily be able to see the outline of his story, and print the exact same article before him. With his sources. Us. He has done the work to contact us, endured our stabs at him and his paper, and found respectful polite ways to respond to them. That took time that a competitor simply reading our posts did not bother to do. Lets keep our discussion of the broad topic of party bisexuals to the thread glantern started. Josh showed that he is keeping an eye out there too. That way we don't sabotage a potential ally in the media.

/Rhuth

[Brian]

I appreciate and understand the concerns that are being expressed here. If I may, I'd like to respond.

1. My article is not a scholarly study compiling quantitative results, nor will it make any such claims. My article will represent the individual thoughts, opinions and experiences of the people who answer my questions.

2. My article will fairly and accurately represent the thoughts, opinions and experiences that are provided to me. One does not obtain employment at the Washington Blade without a solid background and reputation in journalism. I would ask that you trust me to convey the truth in the article I write, just as I trust you to convey the truth in the responses you provide.

3. If you choose to discuss my questions, I cannot stop you. I am no moderator. But I would ask, as a professional courtesy, you wait to do so until my article is published. I am not trying to stymie discussion. I am trying to maintain the Blade's competitive edge.

4. If you visit our newspaper's archives, you may notice a lack of articles about bisexual-specific issues, and a general lack of bisexual voices in our publication. I am working to rectify that omission, and this article is one step in that direction.

5. I asked the members and visitors of this forum to participate in this article because I want it to be inclusive and interesting. I don't want to exclusively quote experts and spokespeople. I want to also quote normal people, whose thoughts, opinions and experiences are just as valid.

6. To be clear, the Blade does not, under any circumstances, pay its sources for information.

I will be logging off momentarily. Again, I would ask that any questions or concerns be sent to me, Josh, directly at jlynsen@washblade.com.

Thank you, everyone, for allowing me to be heard. I wish you all well. Welcome Josh!

I appreciate everything you have said above.

I think this is an opportunity for all of us who identify as bisexual - a chance to do our part to help bridge the gap that exists between the gay and bi communities.

So, for what it's worth, as the owner/operator of this site, I want to say that I support Josh and the Washington Blade in this specific endeavour, and the wider endeavour Josh outlines in point number 4. I would ask that, in the spirit of this site, which is one of showing respect for one another while communicating openly, honestly and sometimes bluntly, that we all respect Josh's wishes as he outlined above.

- Drew :paw:

ps. Nothing to do with your current article Josh (as far as I know) but for future articles, these threads offer a bi perspective on the gap that most bisexuals (including me) feel exists between the bi community and the gay community. It helps explain the "suspicion" that many of us in the bi world have toward the gay community and "gay press":
http://main.bisexual.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1292
http://main.bisexual.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1282
http://main.bisexual.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1180
http://main.bisexual.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1023
http://main.bisexual.com/forum/showthread.php?t=213
http://main.bisexual.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1012

[BI BOYTOY]

Greetings, all. I'm a reporter for the Washington Blade (http://www.washblade.com) newspaper in Washington, D.C. The Blade publishes GLBT news and features.

I'm working on an article about the term "party bisexual," which I see has been discussed elsewhere on this forum. My article looks at whether the term is insensitive, or new recognition that bisexuals and bisexual feelings are more prevalent than some people believe.

If anyone is interested in being interviewed (either by phone or e-mail) for this article, send an e-mail to Josh at jlynsen@washblade.com before July 3. I promise the interviews will be brief and painless.

It's important that people who contact me are comfortable with having their full name, age, place of residence, and sexual orientation printed in the paper.
hello i would like to know what you mean by party bisexual then i would be glad to talk :bigrin: :bibounce:
I look forward to hearing from you. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Thanks! hello im glad somebody is writing about bisexuals in a posative light i hope. that is your intention right? well i would like to know what you mean in party bisexual. i have never heard the term before. if i knew what it was i would love to talk :bigrin: :bigrin: :eek: :three:

[Driver 8]

5. I asked the members and visitors of this forum to participate in this article because I want it to be inclusive and interesting. I don't want to exclusively quote experts and spokespeople. I want to also quote normal people, whose thoughts, opinions and experiences are just as valid.
I don't think there's an issue with including people who aren't experts. My concern is that there wasn't any sign of including people who were.

Frankly, I think the "party bisexual" designation is one more variant of "Bisexuality - that's trendy right now." I'll be surprised - pleasantly surprised, but still surprised - if articles about it are any different from the "OMG girls kissing" articles that turned up when Britney and Madonna pulled their little publicity stunt, or any of the other "that's trendy right now" articles that we've been seeing for years and years.

These phenomena may well be newsworthy. But when they're written about without recognition of the way bisexuality has been covered by the media, the coverage becomes misleading. Imagine a world where a source saying "Bisexuality is trendy right now" was followed up by another source who could say "This claim has been made for decades."

[WashBlade]

I wanted to again thank the many people who are responding to my request. I've sent questions to 11 people, and three people have already responded. I truly appreciate the interest people are demonstrating. All the responses I'm receiving are very helpful. I look forward to reading them all.

I also wanted to thank Drew for his welcoming words, and vote of support. Your endorsement in this endeavor is appreciated. Also, I do plan to review the discussion links you provided. Thank you.

Finally, as Rhuth suggested, it's my hope that this instance is the start of a meaningful relationship between the people here and the Washington Blade. I visit here when I can, but I would encourage anyone to e-mail me directly if you think we're lacking coverage of an important and timely issue.

Again, my e-mail address is jlynsen@washblade.com. Have a great holiday weekend!

[jedinudist]

I wanted to again thank the many people who are responding to my request. I've sent questions to 11 people, and three people have already responded. I truly appreciate the interest people are demonstrating. All the responses I'm receiving are very helpful. I look forward to reading them all.

I also wanted to thank Drew for his welcoming words, and vote of support. Your endorsement in this endeavor is appreciated. Also, I do plan to review the discussion links you provided. Thank you.

Finally, as Rhuth suggested, it's my hope that this instance is the start of a meaningful relationship between the people here and the Washington Blade. I visit here when I can, but I would encourage anyone to e-mail me directly if you think we're lacking coverage of an important and timely issue.

Again, my e-mail address is jlynsen@washblade.com. Have a great holiday weekend!


Josh -

either my e-mail isn't getting through (I am having issues with the SMTP server) or something is wrong.

I only have 1 question - you ask that we send a high resolution photograph of ourselves. Is this absolutely necessay? I'm an artist and am rather controlling of my likeness until I am certain how it will be used.

I can receive mail at the same address you sent the interview to.

[WashBlade]

I only have 1 question - you ask that we send a high resolution photograph of ourselves. Is this absolutely necessay?
The pictures are greatly appreciated, as I must have some to accompany the article, but they are not absolutely necessary.

[jedinudist]

For what it's worth -

I went ahead (with my wife's support :) ), answered the questions, and even attached a photograph.

Yikes! Talk about out of the closet!! LOL

I only hope this will be a positive portrayal of Bisexuals.

If anyone lives where they can get a copy of the Blade, please let me know if you would be willing to grab a copy that contains the article in question and mail it to us. We'd be happy to pay for the paper and the postage, envelope, etc.

I'll even throw in a buck and change for a soda :)

Remeber - I'm an artist (though not starving), so it'll be a cheap soda - LOL!

[jedinudist]

In my office environment, straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Blade employees shorthand GLBT to "gay." We also shorthand the inclusive grouping of lesbians and bisexuals with gays to "gays." These semantics took some getting used to, myself, but it's just the office lingo. I certainly don't mean to offend anyone with my phrasing, and I apologize.


I can certainly understand that. Having to say all four words every single time would be a major pain in the rear. To keep folks from feeling left out, I usally say the whole thing the first time, then shorten it to a single word.

[arana]

For what it's worth -

I went ahead (with my wife's support :) ), answered the questions, and even attached a photograph.

Yikes! Talk about out of the closet!! LOL

I only hope this will be a positive portrayal of Bisexuals.

If anyone lives where they can get a copy of the Blade, please let me know if you would be willing to grab a copy that contains the article in question and mail it to us. We'd be happy to pay for the paper and the postage, envelope, etc.

I'll even throw in a buck and change for a soda :)

Remeber - I'm an artist (though not starving), so it'll be a cheap soda - LOL!
I hope it will be viewable for all of us to read.

So you're springing for Shasta or Sam's club soda's huh? lol

[WashBlade]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have an adequate number of participants, and I won't be sending out any more questionnaires.

Some questionnaires have not yet been returned. If those could be returned as soon as possible, I'd greatly appreciate it. I have started writing the article, as my editor wants it finished today. Responses received any later than 3 p.m. cannot be incorporated.

Thank you again to everyone for your interest in this subject, and your willingness to be interviewed. I will post a link to the article once it publishes.

[jedinudist]

I hope it will be viewable for all of us to read.

So you're springing for Shasta or Sam's club soda's huh? lol


Shasta honey... Shasta :)

Of course, you may choose the flavor of your choice :bigrin:

[jedinudist]

Thank you again to everyone for your interest in this subject, and your willingness to be interviewed. I will post a link to the article once it publishes.


Thanks- I'm sure you can understand how eager we all are to read it :)

I would also like to secure a paper copy if any of my responses are used. Anyone willing to grab a copy and mail it?? There's a free Shasta at stake here!

[nyabn_webmaster]

We've been asking around about this phrase which was new to us and to everyone we knew, and got this interesting quote from a bi grad student, "I haven't really heard the term "party bisexual" so much as "PTL" or "party trick lesbian,"

So maybe we're a wee bit cynical here but . . .

. . . . how come the mainstream LGBT Press isn't dashing about interviewing young lesbian women and asking THEM if that term is insensitive, or new recognition that lesbians and lesbian feelings are more prevalent than some people believe, yadda, yadda, yadda.

It sounds to us like yet another stupid "trying to show bisexual people don't REALLY exist" type thing. You know, like we are a 'phase' a 'thing people do when they are drunk' but an actual orientation like Lesbian, Gay or Straight?

Perish the thought!

[WashBlade]

As promised, here is a link to the article:

http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=7909

The web site is structured to introduce articles in a section we call The Latest. After some time, articles are removed from that section and given a permanent link elsewhere. So if you click the above link, and it doesn't work, try searching for it elsewhere on the site.

Thank you to the many who responded to my requests for comment. I was only able to incorporate a fraction of the comments I received, but I plan to retain all names and e-mail addresses I received. The next time I write about a bisexual issue, or need a bisexual voice in another article, I'll be in touch.

As I said earlier in this thread, it's my hope that this instance is the start of a meaningful relationship between the people here and the Washington Blade. I would encourage anyone to e-mail me directly if you think we're lacking coverage of an important and timely issue.

Again, my e-mail address is jlynsen@washblade.com. Thanks!

[Brian]

An interesting and, I think, well-balanced article Josh.

I have to confess to being a little defensive about the term "party bisexual" myself. These quotes from your interviewees sum up my concerns on it: "[It] is a way of discrediting [bisexuality]" and "It seems to stigmatize the bisexual orientation as an irresponsible, party-based orientation".

But on the positive side, party bisexual behaviour reinforces what is obvious to me, which is that sexual attraction is not a black or white, binary 0 or 1, thing. In otherwords it's yet more evidence that bisexuality, in one form or another, exists.

And it's just nice to see the word "bisexual" so many times in a balanced article in a major GLBT publication! Visibility is good! :flag1: :rainbow:

Thanks for sharing it, and thanks for inviting our members to give their thoughts during it's creation.

- Drew :paw:

[jedinudist]

As promised, here is a link to the article:

http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=7909

The web site is structured to introduce articles in a section we call The Latest. After some time, articles are removed from that section and given a permanent link elsewhere. So if you click the above link, and it doesn't work, try searching for it elsewhere on the site.

Thank you to the many who responded to my requests for comment. I was only able to incorporate a fraction of the comments I received, but I plan to retain all names and e-mail addresses I received. The next time I write about a bisexual issue, or need a bisexual voice in another article, I'll be in touch.

As I said earlier in this thread, it's my hope that this instance is the start of a meaningful relationship between the people here and the Washington Blade. I would encourage anyone to e-mail me directly if you think we're lacking coverage of an important and timely issue.

Again, my e-mail address is jlynsen@washblade.com. Thanks!

An excellent article! Thanks for the way you chose to present the views of Bisexual people who don't consider themselves party bisexuals.

[Driver 8]

I can certainly understand that. Having to say all four words every single time would be a major pain in the rear. To keep folks from feeling left out, I usally say the whole thing the first time, then shorten it to a single word.
I think that's understandable in casual conversation. However, when someone's speaking on behalf of an organization, I expect them to make the extra effort - and when they don't, I've often found it to be representative of how important inclusivity really is to them (i.e., "not very").

[jedinudist]

I think that's understandable in casual conversation. However, when someone's speaking on behalf of an organization, I expect them to make the extra effort - and when they don't, I've often found it to be representative of how important inclusivity really is to them (i.e., "not very").

I agree. I have to remind myself not to become offended sometimes, because bridges are better built by open arms than closed fists.

[glantern954]

I thought it might be helpful for others here to see what questions were asked of the people interviewed. Maybe even answer them themselves, or here. Here is the message and questions I received:



Thanks for responding to my post. I appreciate your help, and your taking the time to answer these questions.

I’m writing an article about the term “party bisexual,” which is used to describe someone who expresses bisexual feelings after becoming intoxicated. For example, a guy who normally acts straight yet hits on men after a few drinks would qualify as a party bisexual.


I’m hoping to talk with several people about this, and appreciate your contribution to the discussion. Please answer the questions as thoughtfully as possible. Your responses are needed on or before Monday, July 3.


What do you think about the term “party bisexual,” as described above?


Have you ever seen someone exhibit this type of behavior? If so, please describe the person, the circumstances, and your reaction.

In your opinion, should someone who exhibits “party bisexual” behavior be considered a bisexual? Why or why not?


Does the term “party bisexual” strike you as insensitive, insulting or stereotypical in any way? Why?


There are many terms that are used to describe people with conditional orientations. (Consider “gay for pay,” for straight actors in gay porn, or “lesbian until graduation,” for lesbians or bisexual women who marry a man after college.) Do you think it’s fair to group “party bisexual” together with these terms? Why or why not?


I know some people oppose the use of sexual labels -- whether those labels are “gay” or “party bisexual” -- because they divide the GLBT community. What are your thoughts on this?


In your opinion, is it in any way good that people are using the “party bisexual” term? Is it an indication that bisexuals, or bisexual feelings, are more common than people generally acknowledge?


Do you think the term will do harm or good for bisexuals? Why do you think that?


In your experience, what preconceived notions do people have about bisexuals? As a bisexual, how does your life contradict (or affirm) these stereotypes?


What do you think people most need to understand about bisexuality and being bisexual?


Is there anything I did not ask that you would like to mention?

[DareMe]

I have to agree with GreenLantern here.

How long did it take to find out who deep throat was?

His identity was protected...Why can't mine be?

I can't speak for other bisexuals here. But for myself, I am not out with my bisexuality. Excluding this category of people may skew the upcoming article.

I would argue that some persons that are a party bisexuals (defined as someone adopting "gay" behaviours in a hetero situation) may not want to be outed to the world that way.

Cheers,

DM




Maybe so the people interviewed sound like "real" people and are unashamed of who they are? I can see where the opinions of those people might be more meaningful, or credible, to some readers, and writers too for that matter.

It is the same reason that I try to post sources, authors, and dates, etc when I post articles that I am sharing with others.

Which statement has more meaning to you?

"There will be no new taxes this year"
George Bush

"There will be no new taxes this year"
George
-or-
John Doe

I apologize if this message comes off as an attack or sMaRmy. I honestly don't intend it that way.

[JohnnyV]

I thought it might be helpful for others here to see what questions were asked of the people interviewed. Maybe even answer them themselves, or here. Here is the message and questions I received:



Thanks for responding to my post. I appreciate your help, and your taking the time to answer these questions.

I’m writing an article about the term “party bisexual,” which is used to describe someone who expresses bisexual feelings after becoming intoxicated. For example, a guy who normally acts straight yet hits on men after a few drinks would qualify as a party bisexual.


I’m hoping to talk with several people about this, and appreciate your contribution to the discussion. Please answer the questions as thoughtfully as possible. Your responses are needed on or before Monday, July 3.


What do you think about the term “party bisexual,” as described above?


Have you ever seen someone exhibit this type of behavior? If so, please describe the person, the circumstances, and your reaction.

In your opinion, should someone who exhibits “party bisexual” behavior be considered a bisexual? Why or why not?


Does the term “party bisexual” strike you as insensitive, insulting or stereotypical in any way? Why?


There are many terms that are used to describe people with conditional orientations. (Consider “gay for pay,” for straight actors in gay porn, or “lesbian until graduation,” for lesbians or bisexual women who marry a man after college.) Do you think it’s fair to group “party bisexual” together with these terms? Why or why not?


I know some people oppose the use of sexual labels -- whether those labels are “gay” or “party bisexual” -- because they divide the GLBT community. What are your thoughts on this?


In your opinion, is it in any way good that people are using the “party bisexual” term? Is it an indication that bisexuals, or bisexual feelings, are more common than people generally acknowledge?


Do you think the term will do harm or good for bisexuals? Why do you think that?


In your experience, what preconceived notions do people have about bisexuals? As a bisexual, how does your life contradict (or affirm) these stereotypes?


What do you think people most need to understand about bisexuality and being bisexual?


Is there anything I did not ask that you would like to mention?

Just as a quick aside, I also responded to the journalist's questions with my real name. Although he did not quote me, I felt that he represented my viewpoint fairly, because I was close to Brad from Memphis' view. My responses were extremely different from the responses from Mike from Ft Lauderdale as quoted.

The article was very fair and I would like to thank Mr. Lynsen for being thorough. I would also encourage people on our site to discuss the questions that GLantern posted and continue debating the issues, since the issues don't end merely where one career journalist's word limit stops.

J

PS. I am not really on the forum posting anything..... I really am on my Hiatus.... If you blink, you'll see... I'm gone! This doesn't even count as me coming on the forum since it's an old thread. :)

[arana]

PS. I am not really on the forum posting anything..... I really am on my Hiatus.... If you blink, you'll see... I'm gone! This doesn't even count as me coming on the forum since it's an old thread. :)
I'm sorry but I think this DOES count....You're Aquaman, not the Flash so we saw you and your little bubble trail.

[Driver 8]

His identity was protected...Why can't mine be?

I can't speak for other bisexuals here. But for myself, I am not out with my bisexuality. Excluding this category of people may skew the upcoming article.
You're quite right - I've often noticed that people who are relatively out, and people who aren't, have very different perspectives. Furthermore, lots of studies of bisexuals show wildly different results depending on where they found their sources. People involved in bi activism (for example) can be a very different demographic from bisexuals placing discreet-encounter ads ... even if a few of them are the same people.

At the same time, though, it's worth noting that there have been some very high-profile GLBT news stories that relied on anonymous sources, and were later discredited. (I'm thinking in particular of the "gay men deliberately contracting HIV" story which was based on, what, one anonymous interview, some forum postings, and no fact-checking, IIRC.)

[JohnnyV]

Hi all,

This article turned up on the gay.com website as one of its headlines, and was cross-posted to PlanetOut and tons of different other press outlets, from what I can tell.

I have to say, I'm mad. Gay.com never seems to run any article about bisexuality at all, and only runs a piece on "party bisexuals." The picture they ran with it was a photo of two drunken women on a floor groping each other.

While I do think Josh Lynsen did a good job with the content of the article, even quoting some respected studies, it's upsetting that we have to appeal to "party" terms in order to get any attention at all. And given how broadly the article is circulating, I wish there could have been more information about our marriages, our home life, our internal decisions, instead of that one story about Mike from Fort Lauderdale's game of "spin the bottle" with a drunken straight friend.

This is depressing. Not the article itself, which was good. But the lack of anything else on outlets like gay.com. And on PlanetOut there was just more glib dismissive commentary framing the whole piece.

While I think it's good that we show Josh Lynsen our appreciation for how balanced his piece was, we also have to demand that gay publications like his employer publish more about us than merely pieces that deal with partying. When I replied to Josh's questions, I said I thought the term was immature and kept us too focused on a night club drinking scene restricted, for most of us, to our 20s. Think of all the people on this site who are in their 30s and 40s and 50s.

Why can't they cover us more broadly? Are the settled down, articulate bisexuals not "marketable" enough for their f******* advertisers?

J

[Brian]

I agree with you JohnnyV. I think the article was reasonably well-balanced. But the blog comments on PlanetOut as linked to from gay.com just confirm, in my mind, what you articulated, namely that this is our token bisexual article for the year in the big gay press and and the other more-interesting aspects of bisexuality continue to go undiscussed. (And by 'more-interesting' I mean other aspects of bisexuality that tell us something about the human condition)

I'm going to compose a "letter to the editor", and if I feel it makes sense then I will post it here.

- Drew :paw:

[Brian]

Well I sent a letter to the editor at the Blade. I realize now that I shouldn't reprint it here at this time, since Letters to the Editor at most papers require a condition that they must be previously unpublished.

Hopefully it helps in a small way. Letter-writing must work, look at how the religious-right has used to it cowtow politicians and the mainstream press. :rolleyes:

- Drew :paw:

Useful Links:
The article (http://www.washblade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=7909)
Submission page for letters to the editor (http://washblade.com/editor/index.cfm?content_id2=8644)

[glantern954]

This article was not about bisuality, it was about the term party bisexual.I would have liked to have seen more examples of "party bisexual" behavior and a tie in to how it fits in with "gay for pay" and "lesbian until college"

This article has been picked up by several other publications. Today a friend who did not know about the article forwarded me a link to express gay news to this article that included my pic.

Its not a perfect article, but I don't feel bad about my photo being attached to it.

[Polybear]

It would be interesting to know now if other websites and companies beyond the Blade and its group of papers were to receive this article after its publication, as some kind of affiliate to the Blade, or if they purchased the article after its Blade publication and then re-ran it.

Unless I'm missing something, I thought it was supposed to run only in publications directly related to the Blade. Personally speaking, if I was being interviewed for any BGLT publication (which happened several times this past spring), I would like to know where my words may be going. If, for example, I was to find quotes of mine somewhere on 365gay.com or PlanetOut or somewhere else to whom I did not speak directly, I don't think I would be terribly amused.

[nyabn_webmaster]

:2cents: And we are tired, annoyed and disgusted too.

Hey there Ms. Lesbian and Mr. Gay [and Mr. & Ms. Straight] America, who exactly do you THINK bisexual people are having relationships with anyway? Are you under some odd impressions that bisexual people only date other bisexual people? No, we are YOUR friends, YOUR lovers, YOUR partners. If there was no you, for the most part, there would be no us.

So why are you all treating us like some sort of joke or dirty little secret?

At a time when the LGBT Community is under attack by a broad coalition of right-wing/fundamentalist forces, to watch various national, local and regional LGBT Organizations/Leaders egged on by the mainstream LGBT Media Outlets doing the equivalent of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic [while snippily telling Bisexual people that 'you can't sit in OUR section'] is completely idiotic.

Yo people, in case you didn't notice it, the good ship 'US Queers' just hit an iceberg and is taking on water. Telling some of the only people who are helping to pass out the life preservers and bail out the boat "we don't want your help - you aren't 'ideologically pure' enough to keep company with us" is COMPLETELY counterproductive.

I wonder if the current problems facing the LGBT Community seem to some members to be so frightening and overwhelming that they just don't want to deal with them.

So instead in some sort of weird psychological disconnect, instead of getting organized and fighting back against the real enemy they've turned on what they perceived to be the weaker members of their own community and attacked them instead?

[JohnnyV]

This article was not about bisuality, it was about the term party bisexual.I would have liked to have seen more examples of "party bisexual" behavior and a tie in to how it fits in with "gay for pay" and "lesbian until college"

This article has been picked up by several other publications. Today a friend who did not know about the article forwarded me a link to express gay news to this article that included my pic.

Its not a perfect article, but I don't feel bad about my photo being attached to it.

No, the article was not only about the term. It went beyond that and discussed the state of bisexuality in general.

Also, Glantern, my and Drew's concern is not about this article. It is about the fact that this is the only article dealing with bisexuality, published in several important queer outlets. The problem is the lack of other things to balance the focus of this piece. As I said and Drew said, we feel Joshua Lynsen did a good job -- but the people who disseminated the article did a very bad job of framing it and contextualizing it. The way the article came across in PlanetOut was very objectionable in my opinion.

I would like to thank Drew for drafting the letter to the editor. I also wrote a letter to the Blade urging them to produce more articles about us and to circulate such articles aggressively, so outlets like gay.com don't reduce us to a party topic.

I don't think you should feel bad about your photo being attached to it, but I would like it if you showed support to other bisexuals like Drew who will point out that such an article is not enough.

J

[Brian]

It would be interesting to know now if other websites and companies beyond the Blade and its group of papers were to receive this article after its publication, as some kind of affiliate to the Blade, or if they purchased the article after its Blade publication and then re-ran it.

Unless I'm missing something, I thought it was supposed to run only in publications directly related to the Blade. Personally speaking, if I was being interviewed for any BGLT publication (which happened several times this past spring), I would like to know where my words may be going. If, for example, I was to find quotes of mine somewhere on 365gay.com or PlanetOut or somewhere else to whom I did not speak directly, I don't think I would be terribly amused. Check out www.gay.com, the main page. As of this writing there is a headline-like link ("Blog: Party Bisexual...") which went to a page on planetout.com called a "blog page" which had a link to the article in the NY Blade (the page: http://blogs.planetout.com/personalitymachine/2006/07/uh_i_could_slee.html?from=homepage (http://blogs.planetout.com/personalitymachine/2006/07/uh_i_could_slee.html?from=homepage)), and an uncreditted blurb about the article and then sound-off style comments from surfers about the article. I don't know how the GLBT press is interlinked together either, but the article I saw was only on the Blade, and there were only links to it from gay.com and PlanetOut.


And we are tired, annoyed and disgusted too.

Hey there Ms. Lesbian and Mr. Gay [and Mr. & Ms. Straight] America, who exactly do you THINK bisexual people are having relationships with anyway? Are you under some odd impressions that bisexual people only date other bisexual people? No, we are YOUR friends, YOUR lovers, YOUR partners. If there was no you, for the most part, there would be no us.

So why are you all treating us like some sort of joke or dirty little secret?

At a time when the LGBT Community is under attack by a broad coalition of right-wing/fundamentalist forces, to watch various national, local and regional LGBT Organizations/Leaders egged on by the mainstream LGBT Media Outlets doing the equivalent of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic [while snippily telling Bisexual people that 'you can't sit in OUR section'] is completely idiotic.

Yo people, in case you didn't notice it, the good ship 'US Queers' just hit an iceberg and is taking on water. Telling some of the only people who are helping to pass out the life preservers and bail out the boat "we don't want your help - you aren't 'ideologically pure' enough to keep company with us" is COMPLETELY counterproductive.

I wonder if the current problems facing the LGBT Community seem to some members to be so frightening and overwhelming that they just don't want to deal with them.

So instead in some sort of weird psychological disconnect, instead of getting organized and fighting back against the real enemy they've turned on what they perceived to be the weaker members of their own community and attacked them instead? In my opinion the article was not an attack on bisexuals or bisexuality. It was simply an examination of one very narrow form of bisexuality - namely, deeply-buried bisexuality/homosexuality that only comes out when one is euphoric due to the influence of drugs. That is a form of bisexuality - it's just a very narrow and specific form, the examination of which does only very little to help us better understand bisexuality and the human condition. I believe the article was careful to point out that there are many manifestations of bisexuality and "party bisexuality" was not representative of bisexuality as a whole - in that sense I think the article was well-balanced.

I think the harm against bisexuals goes back to what JohnnyV said - that this might be our token article on bisexuality for the year, and that would be a shame. But the author Josh, also acknowledged in his post in this thread that he hopes that will not be the case.

That's basically what I said in my letter to the editor - with emphasis on the need for the Blade to now have articles covering other aspects of bisexuality that are more enlightening than what some people do when they are drunk.

I really don't see the article, or any balanced discussion of the behaviour of "party bisexuality", as a smear or an attack against bisexuals. But that's just my read on it.

- Drew :paw:

[JohnnyV]

:2cents: And we are tired, annoyed and disgusted too.

Hey there Ms. Lesbian and Mr. Gay [and Mr. & Ms. Straight] America, who exactly do you THINK bisexual people are having relationships with anyway? Are you under some odd impressions that bisexual people only date other bisexual people? No, we are YOUR friends, YOUR lovers, YOUR partners. If there was no you, for the most part, there would be no us.

So why are you all treating us like some sort of joke or dirty little secret?

At a time when the LGBT Community is under attack by a broad coalition of right-wing/fundamentalist forces, to watch various national, local and regional LGBT Organizations/Leaders egged on by the mainstream LGBT Media Outlets doing the equivalent of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic [while snippily telling Bisexual people that 'you can't sit in OUR section'] is completely idiotic.

Yo people, in case you didn't notice it, the good ship 'US Queers' just hit an iceberg and is taking on water. Telling some of the only people who are helping to pass out the life preservers and bail out the boat "we don't want your help - you aren't 'ideologically pure' enough to keep company with us" is COMPLETELY counterproductive.

I wonder if the current problems facing the LGBT Community seem to some members to be so frightening and overwhelming that they just don't want to deal with them.

So instead in some sort of weird psychological disconnect, instead of getting organized and fighting back against the real enemy they've turned on what they perceived to be the weaker members of their own community and attacked them instead?

I feel for you and understand where you're coming from.

This last week has been a train wreck for the advocates of gay marriage. A Georgia court upheld the referendum that allowed voters to nix gay marriage statewide. And on the same day, something even worse happened:

New York state, one of the most liberal states in the country, also upheld a ban on state marriage. The state's highest court decided that, for the sake of preserving the welfare of children, the legislature had the right to restrict marriages to only heterosexual models. Now the state legislature has the prerogative to define marriage. It will undoubtedly not define it broadly enough to give gays marriage equality rights.

We need to be supportive of the gay rights movement now more than ever. But you are right that the gay rights movement is going into panic mode and making a lot of bad decisions. Wayne Besen on gay.com reacted to recent events by forming an organization to fight and expose "ex-gays." How sad. I don't like ex-gays, but I also can't see how it's going to benefit anybody for gays to go bashing ex-gays (a smaller and even more defenseless group) when the Big Bad Wolf is really American homophobia among straight people.

The New York decision is particularly catastrophic because it's NOT based on fundamentalism or any of the forms of logic so easy to dismiss as medieval. The judges' decision rested, instead, on a refutation point by point of the gay marriage advocates' claims about the welfare of children. It was also essentially a philosophical statement about the correct relationship between legislatures and official titles like marriage.

In a sense, the New York decision lays waste to the strongest arguments that came from the gay marriage camp. It means that gay and lesbian advocates need to rethink all their rhetoric and find a new approach. With a similar battle approaching in California it does not look good, if they can't articulate a new argument.

In this gloomy climate, I think gays need to reach out to us more than ever, rather than sidelining us with trivial pieces about party bisexuals. The gay.com headline about party bisexuals ran next to serious articles dealing with gay marriage, and made bi people look like frivolous hedons compared to the weighty questions facing gay America.

We, too, bear the burden in these times, of reaching out to gay America. We have to make it clear that bisexual people married to the opposite sex SUPPORT the right of gays and lesbians to have marriages of their own. I plan to submit essays to a few places in the next month to try to get that rolling in my own small way. Let's stay the course with it.

Blessings to all,
J

[glantern954]

No, the article was not only about the term. It went beyond that and discussed the state of bisexuality in general.

Hey Johnny. I'm Sorry, but I respectfully disagree.

As far as this being a token bisexul article, I guess that remains to be seen. I am not suprised that other sources have posted this article or put their slant on the article. I am also not suprised that some of them disagree or are negative.

[JohnnyV]

Hey Johnny. I'm Sorry, but I respectfully disagree.

As far as this being a token bisexul article, I guess that remains to be seen. I am not suprised that other sources have posted this article or put their slant on the article. I am also not suprised that some of them disagree or are negative.

You can disagree, but you should read the rest of the article, Glant. The article went on to quote statistics about bisexuals in general. And the questions that the journalist posed, and which you reposted, asked questions about bisexuality in general and what we thought people needed to know about bisexuals. Objectively speaking, the article was not only about the term party bisexuals. I consider it a GOOD THING that the article wasn't only about that term.

"It remains to be seen" if it's a token article, but the point is that sitting around passively waiting for broader coverage of a topic is not going to do much to help people get a better handle on bisexuality. Writing a letter, as Drew did (and I did), thanking Josh for his work but also asking that they do more for us, is a way of taking an active role in the discourse. If you don't speak up -- respectfully, of course -- you let the discussion happen without being an active part of it.

I don't care if other press outlets disagree or are negative, but they should be fair. And if I have learned one thing in life, people don't treat you fairly usually, unless you do something active to make it necessary for them to do so. I think Josh's article was probably fairer and more balanced, as a result of the discussion that took place in this thread, then it would have been, had we simply sent him answers and let him pick and choose without any checks and balances.

As someone with a continuing involvement in the gay press and gay and lesbian issues, I do think it matters how much and how diversely bisexuality is discussed. We are a big part of the community that those press outlets claim to represent. We have a right to ask for more than a few pieces here and there.

Peace and love, my brother.

[nyabn_webmaster]

I feel for you and understand where you're coming from.

This last week has been a train wreck for the advocates of gay marriage. A Georgia court upheld the referendum that allowed voters to nix gay marriage statewide. And on the same day, something even worse happened:

New York state, one of the most liberal states in the country, also upheld a ban on state marriage. The state's highest court decided that, for the sake of preserving the welfare of children, the legislature had the right to restrict marriages to only heterosexual models. Now the state legislature has the prerogative to define marriage. It will undoubtedly not define it broadly enough to give gays marriage equality rights.

We need to be supportive of the gay rights movement now more than ever. But you are right that the gay rights movement is going into panic mode and making a lot of bad decisions. Wayne Besen on gay.com reacted to recent events by forming an organization to fight and expose "ex-gays." How sad. I don't like ex-gays, but I also can't see how it's going to benefit anybody for gays to go bashing ex-gays (a smaller and even more defenseless group) when the Big Bad Wolf is really American homophobia among straight people.

Yes you are correct. Please pardon us for our rant. We did not give the context clearly.

It wasn't so much THIS one poor little article but an entire accumulation of things culminating in signing onto bisexual.com and finding this:


Hi all,

This article turned up on the gay.com website as one of its headlines, and was cross-posted to PlanetOut and tons of different other press outlets, from what I can tell.

I have to say, I'm mad. Gay.com never seems to run any article about bisexuality at all, and only runs a piece on "party bisexuals." The picture they ran with it was a photo of two drunken women on a floor groping each other.

While I do think Josh Lynsen did a good job with the content of the article, even quoting some respected studies, it's upsetting that we have to appeal to "party" terms in order to get any attention at all. And given how broadly the article is circulating, I wish there could have been more information about our marriages, our home life, our internal decisions, instead of that one story about Mike from Fort Lauderdale's game of "spin the bottle" with a drunken straight friend.

This is depressing. Not the article itself, which was good. But the lack of anything else on outlets like gay.com. And on PlanetOut there was just more glib dismissive commentary framing the whole piece.

While I think it's good that we show Josh Lynsen our appreciation for how balanced his piece was, we also have to demand that gay publications like his employer publish more about us than merely pieces that deal with partying. When I replied to Josh's questions, I said I thought the term was immature and kept us too focused on a night club drinking scene restricted, for most of us, to our 20s. Think of all the people on this site who are in their 30s and 40s and 50s.

Why can't they cover us more broadly? Are the settled down, articulate bisexuals not "marketable" enough for their f******* advertisers?

J

This was after, (among other things):

(1) Spreading the word and then spending a lot of time "talking" to a lot of people about this subject via various new media outlets [Yahoo Groups, Live Journal Communities, MySpace, etc.] and finding out that most people had never HEARD of that term. But what they had heard of was equivalent behaviors but it was called "Party Trick Lesbian" or PTL.

But I can't really see the Mainstream LGBT Media Outlets running around asking "Does the term "Party Trick Lesbian" strike you as insensitive, insulting or stereotypical in any way? Why?", can you?

(2) Getting the word that The New York Court of Appeals (predictable IMHO since I watched the Orals on TV . . but that's another story) had denied same-sex marriage rights to New Yorkers. Dropping everything that was planned and spending the entire day and well into the evening getting the word out (http://bialogue.livejournal.com/3637.html) thru every means conceivable regarding the Rallies held in various parts of the state to protest the decision and organize for the upcoming fight in the legislature.

:eek: During which time BTW, we were amazed to find that, other than a couple of Lesbian Groups, we, a Bisexual Group, were the FIRST (and in many cases ONLY) people to post to a large number of fairly obvious and public sites that would alert not only the Bisexual Community but the entire LGBT Community as well as Straight Supporters, (college students, other progressive groups, etc., etc.).

(3) Finding out thru reading the subsequent press releases and other documents put out by Mainstream NY State LGBT Groups as well as the written report from Ms. Sheela Lambert (http://bialogue.livejournal.com/3849.html) a veteran bi activist and organizer for Bialogue, that most of our "allies" in the LGBT Community used non-inclusive language as a mater of course, [whereas many of the non-LGBT allies used inclusive language!?!].

This is all so frustrating, especially piled on top of some of the amazingly bigoted comments made in the Advocate poll, etc.

[jedinudist]

I responded with my full name and sent a photo as well. No going back into the closet for me now :)

Here are the questions and how I answered them:

1- What do you think about the term “party bisexual,” as described above?



I think it’s likely a term created in an attempt to more easily describe the behavior of a person who identifies him or herself as heterosexual (or predominately heterosexual) that, for whatever reason, can not address any curiosity, interest, or desires they may have for intimacy with someone of the same sex while sober and thus does so only after imbibing alcohol.



2- Have you ever seen someone exhibit this type of behavior? If so, please describe the person, the circumstances, and your reaction.



Yes I have. Back in high school, I was at a party where a guy who normally acted purely heterosexual and indeed even verbally bashed gays started coming on to a few other guys after consuming enormous amounts of beer.



3- In your opinion, should someone who exhibits “party bisexual” behavior be considered a bisexual? Why or why not?



No. I believe the person in question is the only one qualified to make that determination. They may merely be expressing curiosity or exploring the idea, but in fact may not be bisexual in nature. Just as everyone who may have tried cigarettes is not a smoker; they were curious, tried it, and moved on.



4- Does the term “party bisexual” strike you as insensitive, insulting or stereotypical in any way? Why?



It seems a tad derogatory and stereotypical. Calling someone a “party bisexual” appears to be labeling that person as a Bisexual-period. Again, this may not be the case. It also seems to stigmatize the bisexual orientation as an irresponsible, party-based orientation. I can assure people from personal experience that being bisexual does not equal being promiscuous or make one more likely to party. However, I do see circumstances where the term is appropriate to a degree. If a person is indeed bisexual but is only willing or able to address that part of their sexuality while under the influence, then this term would be somewhat appropriate.



5- There are many terms that are used to describe people with conditional orientations. (Consider “gay for pay,” for straight actors in gay porn, or “lesbian until graduation,” for lesbians or bisexual women who marry a man after college.) Do you think it’s fair to group “party bisexual” together with these terms? Why or why not?



No. Nobody other than the individual in question knows if he or she is actually bisexual (unless that person willingly acknowledges their orientation while sober). Sometimes, even that person is not sure about their own orientation. Being labeled a “party bisexual” when one is merely curious or interested could be damaging to that person in many ways. Labels can be good, but they can also be destructive. If that person is just curious and is actually heterosexual or homosexual, then labeling him or her as bisexual is inappropriate and could cause issues for everyone involved.



6- I know some people oppose the use of sexual labels -- whether those labels are “gay” or “party bisexual” -- because they divide the GLBT community. What are your thoughts on this?



It depends greatly on their usage. Face it; labels are a necessary thing today. One can not determine the orientation of another person simply by looking at him or her, or after a few minutes of conversation unless the person in question is taking steps to make their orientation known. So being able to express your own orientation with an appropriate “label” is a good thing. The drawback is all the connotations that may be tagging along with that label, such as the stereotypes and misperceptions that lead people to believe the wrong things about a person simply because they associate those things with that person’s particular orientation.



I just recently came out with the love and support of my wonderful wife. But I have long wondered why a group of people (Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgendered) who are all seeking the same basic things would be so divisive within their own overall group. Everyone in this group has the same basic issues with acceptance, legal rights, etc., yet some of them allow the same stereotypes and misconceptions used against them by intolerant heterosexuals to taint their own beliefs and behavior in regards to their fellow GLBT people. I think allot of that comes from using labels the wrong way, i.e.- a Gay man couldn’t possibly understand what I’m going through as a Bisexual man because he’s gay. This kind of belief is destructive to everyone.





7- In your opinion, is it in any way good that people are using the “party bisexual” term? Is it an indication that bisexuals, or bisexual feelings, are more common than people generally acknowledge?



I’ll likely catch allot of flak for this, but … yes; I think it could be good for this term to be out there. I believe that all mammals are inherently bisexual to one degree or another, even though individuals may be at an extreme end of the “scale” (exclusively a particular orientation). Too many people don’t believe that bisexuality is genuinely its own orientation. They labor under the misconception that bisexuals are homosexuals in denial or heterosexuals that are just experimenting.



If the term “party bisexual” brings the subject of bisexuality up more often, then perhaps more people will recognize that it’s an orientation of its own.



8- Do you think the term will do harm or good for bisexuals? Why do you think that?



I think the harm it can do is to create the connotation that bisexuals are promiscuous and irresponsible by the inclusion of the “party” term.



9- In your experience, what preconceived notions do people have about bisexuals? As a bisexual, how does your life contradict (or affirm) these stereotypes?



Unfortunately, when many people learn that I am bisexual, they seem to think I’m ready to hop into bed with anyone that comes along. I’ve been asked for sex immediately after identifying myself as a bisexual man only to have the requesting person get upset because I turn him or her down. Frequently, they will protest “But you’re Bi” as if that means I should be automatically ready to go.



A person’s sexual orientation does not indicate their promiscuity level. Their personal behavior does.



10- What do you think people most need to understand about bisexuality and being bisexual?



We’re normal. Just like Gays, Lesbians, and Transgendered people. You can not assume anything about our personality, behavior, intelligence, etc. based on our orientation. There are good and bad folks who are bisexual. Just like there are good and bad people in every orientation.



11- Is there anything I did not ask that you would like to mention?

I did not answer this last question.

There it is. :)

[JohnnyV]

Hello NYABN,

Can I applaud you for your persistence and dedication? Big hug. I know how hard it is. I'm glad you showed your support for the marriage movement at the critical hour when it was needed.

Let me know, via private message, if there is any way that I can help. I understand your frustration because I was recently crushed to hear from a gay activist friend that my help wasn't welcome in his struggle. It made me want to scream! Which is probably why our posts on threads like this one can seem raving and harsh.

Big hugs, my fellow New Yorkers! :)

J


Yes you are correct. Please pardon us for our rant. We did not give the context clearly.

It wasn't so much THIS one poor little article but an entire accumulation of things culminating in signing onto bisexual.com and finding this:



This was after, (among other things):

(1) Spreading the word and then spending a lot of time "talking" to a lot of people about this subject via various new media outlets [Yahoo Groups, Live Journal Communities, MySpace, etc.] and finding out that most people had never HEARD of that term. But what they had heard of was equivalent behaviors but it was called "Party Trick Lesbian" or PTL.

But I can't really see the Mainstream LGBT Media Outlets running around asking "Does the term "Party Trick Lesbian" strike you as insensitive, insulting or stereotypical in any way? Why?", can you?

(2) Getting the word that The New York Court of Appeals (predictable IMHO since I watched the Orals on TV . . but that's another story) had denied same-sex marriage rights to New Yorkers. Dropping everything that was planned and spending the entire day and well into the evening getting the word out (http://bialogue.livejournal.com/3637.html) thru every means conceivable regarding the Rallies held in various parts of the state to protest the decision and organize for the upcoming fight in the legislature.

:eek: During which time BTW, we were amazed to find that, other than a couple of Lesbian Groups, we, a Bisexual Group, were the FIRST (and in many cases ONLY) people to post to a large number of fairly obvious and public sites that would alert not only the Bisexual Community but the entire LGBT Community as well as Straight Supporters, (college students, other progressive groups, etc., etc.).

(3) Finding out thru reading the subsequent press releases and other documents put out by Mainstream NY State LGBT Groups as well as the written report from Ms. Sheela Lambert (http://bialogue.livejournal.com/3849.html) a veteran bi activist and organizer for Bialogue, that most of our "allies" in the LGBT Community used non-inclusive language as a mater of course, [whereas many of the non-LGBT allies used inclusive language!?!].

This is all so frustrating, especially piled on top of some of the amazingly bigoted comments made in the Advocate poll, etc.

[nyabn_webmaster]

Wow. I think what you actually wrote is great.

I wish they could have gone with what you wrote rather than "cherry picking" out the more salacious and silly.

This could actually have been a good article that casued people to think and brought them together . . instead while it was not libelous it was fluffy and sophomoric [no offense to the author who was probably assigned to write a "light" piece]

Here are some of my favorite things that you said:


No. I believe the person in question is the only one qualified to make that determination. They may merely be expressing curiosity or exploring the idea, but in fact may not be bisexual in nature. Just as everyone who may have tried cigarettes is not a smoker; they were curious, tried it, and moved on.
.
.
.
It also seems to stigmatize the bisexual orientation as an irresponsible, party-based orientation. I can assure people from personal experience that being bisexual does not equal being promiscuous or make one more likely to party.
.
.
.
No. Nobody other than the individual in question knows if he or she is actually bisexual (unless that person willingly acknowledges their orientation while sober).
.
.
.
I just recently came out with the love and support of my wonderful wife. But I have long wondered why a group of people (Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgendered) who are all seeking the same basic things would be so divisive within their own overall group. Everyone in this group has the same basic issues with acceptance, legal rights, etc., yet some of them allow the same stereotypes and misconceptions used against them by intolerant heterosexuals to taint their own beliefs and behavior in regards to their fellow GLBT people. I think allot of that comes from using labels the wrong way, i.e.- a Gay man couldn’t possibly understand what I’m going through as a Bisexual man because he’s gay. This kind of belief is destructive to everyone.
.
.
.
I think the harm it can do is to create the connotation that bisexuals are promiscuous and irresponsible by the inclusion of the “party” term.
.
.
.
Unfortunately, when many people learn that I am bisexual, they seem to think I’m ready to hop into bed with anyone that comes along. I’ve been asked for sex immediately after identifying myself as a bisexual man only to have the requesting person get upset because I turn him or her down. Frequently, they will protest “But you’re Bi” as if that means I should be automatically ready to go.

A person’s sexual orientation does not indicate their promiscuity level. Their personal behavior does.
.
.
.

We’re normal. Just like Gays, Lesbians, and Transgendered people. You can not assume anything about our personality, behavior, intelligence, etc. based on our orientation. There are good and bad folks who are bisexual. Just like there are good and bad people in every orientation.

:2cents: They left out most of the thoughtful and actually really interesting stuff.

[WashBlade]

Given the current course of conversation, I feel compelled to add some thoughts. I am posting from home, and during the wee hours of the morning, so I apologize in advance if my thoughts are jumbled.

1. Thank you to those who noted my article was fair and balanced. It's my hope that this article shows that I can be trusted, and I mean no harm.

2. That so many sites reprinted, discussed or linked to the article is generally a good thing. It indicates a broad interest in articles about bisexual issues. This helps me demonstrate to my editors an interest for additional articles about bisexual issues.

3. There are some negatives associated with the perpetuation of my article, none the least of which is potential copyright infringement. This article was written exclusively for the Washington Blade and its sister publications in Atlanta, New York and elsewhere. Any other outlets that printed the article may have infringed on that copyright. This is something that our corporation will review.

4. To those who noted the article offered only one example of party bisexual behavior, I would reply that the length of my articles is beyond my control.

5. Regarding the excess material I did not use from the e-mail interviews: I have retained many of the completed questionnaires. I hope to use some of those responses in future articles, where and when it's appropriate. For instance, a general article about bisexuality would benefit greatly from many of the responses I received.

6. Finally, to those who expressed concern that this article may be the so-called token bisexual story for the year, I will reiterate what I've said in previous posts. Send me story ideas. Is there news that uniquely affects the bisexual community? Tell me. Is something happening among bisexuals that the broader GLBT community should know about? Tell me. The burden to share these stories is on you as much as it is on me. My e-mail address is jlynsen@washblade.com. Put me in your address book. Do it now.

Again, thank you for helping me write a great article. Overall, I had a good experience coming here, and I look forward to the day I post "So I'm doing another article..."

Hopefully that post will come soon. With your help, I know it will.

[Brian]

6. Finally, to those who expressed concern that this article may be the so-called token bisexual story for the year, I will reiterate what I've said in previous posts. Send me story ideas. Is there news that uniquely affects the bisexual community? Tell me. Is something happening among bisexuals that the broader GLBT community should know about? Tell me. The burden to share these stories is on you as much as it is on me. My e-mail address is jlynsen@washblade.com. Put me in your address book. Do it now. Josh, you have mail! :)

- Drew :paw:

[jedinudist]

Given the current course of conversation, I feel compelled to add some thoughts. I am posting from home, and during the wee hours of the morning, so I apologize in advance if my thoughts are jumbled.

1. Thank you to those who noted my article was fair and balanced. It's my hope that this article shows that I can be trusted, and I mean no harm.

2. That so many sites reprinted, discussed or linked to the article is generally a good thing. It indicates a broad interest in articles about bisexual issues. This helps me demonstrate to my editors an interest for additional articles about bisexual issues.

3. There are some negatives associated with the perpetuation of my article, none the least of which is potential copyright infringement. This article was written exclusively for the Washington Blade and its sister publications in Atlanta, New York and elsewhere. Any other outlets that printed the article may have infringed on that copyright. This is something that our corporation will review.

4. To those who noted the article offered only one example of party bisexual behavior, I would reply that the length of my articles is beyond my control.

5. Regarding the excess material I did not use from the e-mail interviews: I have retained many of the completed questionnaires. I hope to use some of those responses in future articles, where and when it's appropriate. For instance, a general article about bisexuality would benefit greatly from many of the responses I received.

6. Finally, to those who expressed concern that this article may be the so-called token bisexual story for the year, I will reiterate what I've said in previous posts. Send me story ideas. Is there news that uniquely affects the bisexual community? Tell me. Is something happening among bisexuals that the broader GLBT community should know about? Tell me. The burden to share these stories is on you as much as it is on me. My e-mail address is jlynsen@washblade.com. Put me in your address book. Do it now.

Again, thank you for helping me write a great article. Overall, I had a good experience coming here, and I look forward to the day I post "So I'm doing another article..."

Hopefully that post will come soon. With your help, I know it will.

Feel free to let me know if there is any way I can help. I want the GLBT community to accept each other and then I want the world to accept itself. If I can help... I will. :)

Of course you can't merely reprint the answers to the questions you sent out. And... you will never please everyone- I wish somethings about the article were different myself. However, I still think it was a great article as it addresses bisexuality from the Bisexual's point of view.

I'll be sending a few ideas as well. I look forward to our community learning to accept each other and work together :)

[JohnnyV]

Thank you for being responsive and responsible. It's nice to see that in a journalist.

I remember I wrote an essay for a journal once, a freelance piece that involved some interviews with voters, prior to the 2004 election. I had the same overwhelmed feeling when, within three days, I found it all over the internet. It's hard to control how your ideas and words are presented by third parties; it's also hard when you're stuck, as you say, within a word limit that means your thoughts aren't always fully conveyed. I feel for you.

Like Drew, I sent you a few emails with ideas. I'll also discuss them here:

--What about something on "the new bisexual"? On this site, we are overwhelmingly of a different sort from the old stereotype of the experimenting bi person in his/her early 20s. We have a different model of bisexuality, I think -- we came to terms with ourselves later in life, after a level of maturity and stability. Our bisexuality was largely a carefully reasoned choice. A general profile piece about this new trend would be nice.

--Another idea would be a solid piece on people who go from gay to bi. I'm one of those, and I often find that we are the most misunderstood of any creature in the queer community. It would be nice to discuss how we differ from ex-gays or self-hating closet cases; we still retain a sense of queer identity but we simply want to have meaningful relationships with the opposite sex.

J


Given the current course of conversation, I feel compelled to add some thoughts. I am posting from home, and during the wee hours of the morning, so I apologize in advance if my thoughts are jumbled.

1. Thank you to those who noted my article was fair and balanced. It's my hope that this article shows that I can be trusted, and I mean no harm.

2. That so many sites reprinted, discussed or linked to the article is generally a good thing. It indicates a broad interest in articles about bisexual issues. This helps me demonstrate to my editors an interest for additional articles about bisexual issues.

3. There are some negatives associated with the perpetuation of my article, none the least of which is potential copyright infringement. This article was written exclusively for the Washington Blade and its sister publications in Atlanta, New York and elsewhere. Any other outlets that printed the article may have infringed on that copyright. This is something that our corporation will review.

4. To those who noted the article offered only one example of party bisexual behavior, I would reply that the length of my articles is beyond my control.

5. Regarding the excess material I did not use from the e-mail interviews: I have retained many of the completed questionnaires. I hope to use some of those responses in future articles, where and when it's appropriate. For instance, a general article about bisexuality would benefit greatly from many of the responses I received.

6. Finally, to those who expressed concern that this article may be the so-called token bisexual story for the year, I will reiterate what I've said in previous posts. Send me story ideas. Is there news that uniquely affects the bisexual community? Tell me. Is something happening among bisexuals that the broader GLBT community should know about? Tell me. The burden to share these stories is on you as much as it is on me. My e-mail address is jlynsen@washblade.com. Put me in your address book. Do it now.

Again, thank you for helping me write a great article. Overall, I had a good experience coming here, and I look forward to the day I post "So I'm doing another article..."

Hopefully that post will come soon. With your help, I know it will.

[glantern954]

You can disagree, but you should read the rest of the article, Glant.

Believe me when I tell you that I HAVE read the full article at the link provided by the Washington Blade, and understand it. Just because the interview questions included some about bisexuality in general, they don't have to be included. He was quite clear what the article was about.

So we disagree. Let's move on. We can talk about it more one day in chat.