Bisexuality and College Students

[glantern954]

A local university here in South Florida contacted our bisexual support group at the Ft. Lauderdale GLCC in search of a bisexual representative to sit on a panel for a sexuality discussion.

Everyone else was either busy or not interested, so I volunteered to do it. I am printing information on the Kinsey Scale, the Klein Grid, and several of the pamphlets from Biresource.org.

My question is, If YOU had the opportunity to talk to college students about bisexuality, what would you want to say?

[Herbwoman39]

Since it's a new audience to the topic, I'd stick with telling them the basic info and work on debunking stereotypes. Try to keep it simple.

I take it the panel will be open for questions after the intial presentation?

[DiamondDog]

I just graduated from a university almost a year ago and I'd probably tell them that it's a personal choice to be out and that they don't have to be out to everyone, and that their true friends will just see this as an aspect of them.

Also tell them that if they need a role model for bisexuality they should look no further than into the mirror. :)

[glantern954]

Yes. There will be questions.


Since it's a new audience to the topic, I'd stick with telling them the basic info and work on debunking stereotypes. Try to keep it simple.

I take it the panel will be open for questions after the intial presentation?

[DiamondDog]

Yes. There will be questions.
Please let us know how it goes, and what sort of questions people ask.

[JohnnyV]

Follow the students' lead and go in with very few expectations. Also, speak in very broad timelines, so they can start to understand how long their lives last and how many ways their decisions might change. Lots of college students get very wrapped up in the immediate things facing them, at the expense of the bigger picture. (Didn't we all think we knew everything when we were 20?)

J

[shameless agitator]

I'd probably tell them that it's a personal choice to be out and that they don't have to be out to everyoneI would make a point at the same time that bisexuality itself is not a choice. That we're born this way.

[DiamondDog]

I would make a point at the same time that bisexuality itself is not a choice. That we're born this way.
good point.
on this point you could also say how you can't really think of it in terms of the binary (gay/het) way of thinking about sexuality that most people think of.

[canuckotter]

Here are some questions for you... :) Do they have a gay/lesbian group at the university already, and are looking at adding "bisexual" to the group's mandate? Do they have no queer support group at all? Or do they have a group that includes bisexuals and just want extra opinions from people outside the university? What's the purpose of the presentation? Is it "sensitivity training" of some sort? Educational? Part of a course? If you find out what they want out of it, you can probably tailor your presentation to suit that.

[glantern954]

Thanks to the people who responded here. I had to miss this because of an emergency Dr. Appointment, but my wife filled in for me and said it was a very positive experience. It was only an hour, so only a portion of it was bisexual related. We may plan on doing one with the university just on bisexuality.