From: Albert-Lunde@nwu.edu (Albert Lunde)
Subject: Re: Life does funny things sometimes
Followup-To: soc.bi
Originator: lunde@casbah.acns.nwu.edu
Reply-To: Albert-Lunde@nwu.edu (Albert Lunde)
Organization: Ministry of Silly Walks
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 10:27:36 GMT

In article <1992Jul24.221824.28920@midway.uchicago.edu> h431@midway.uchicago.edu writes:
>In article <1992Jul22.150841.3472@HQ.Ileaf.COM> mhk@HQ.Ileaf.COM (Mark Kaepplein x1517) writes:
>>
>[In a discussion of bi women in the lesbian community]
>>For such a community of aware, caring, loving, supportive... to reject,
>>ostricise, and harrass bi-women seems contridictory. Most of the biwomen
>>I know have talked about bad experiences they've had.
>I'm still reading "Closer to Home" (Iseult - when I'm done, I'll tell you
>what I think), but the problem of being ostracized from feminist communities
>is an old one - remember the "trashing" of the early 70's, where a woman
>could be expelled for not being a proper participant in the "consensus
>process".  This meant if a woman spoke as an individual to the press, or
>something like that, she might be booted.  Bi-phobia seems to be a variant
>on that theme.

Lesbian attitudes toward Bi-women vary widely, but as you and others have
suggested, have some definite ideological roots in the "theory" and practice
of lesbian-feminism.  One thing I think was influential was the existence
of "political lesbians" -- which meant several things, but particularly
in this context, could mean women with a prior history of heterosexual
relationships who renounced their past and allied themselves with lesbians
(with or without a sexual relationship).  There was a double-think here
since the emphasis was on choice, but because of the stress on turning away
from heterosexuality, bisexuality became almost unthinkable.  (Then too,
bis were popularly associated with "swingers" and the not-particularly-feminist
"sexual revolution".)  Converts to lesbianism seem to have been especially
prone to religious zeal.

It is worth noting that lesbians were once outcasts at the fringes of
the feminist movement instead of being assigned mythic status as the
ideal feminist. (Actually I'm not sure if N.O.W. has sorted this issue
out *yet*, though I thought they'd had this all out 20 years ago)

We should give credit to the creators lesbian/"women's" space for making it
possible to see what a lesbian-centered community could be like.

A political exercise for bisexuals is how to adopt queer-positive, feminist,
queer-centric values, without putting as much energy "defending our
boundaries" as some forms of lesbian-feminism did.  

The problem with holding up lesbianism as an ideal is the seduction of
turning it into "one-true-way" -- knocking the rough edges off everyone's
sexual histories and sweeping under the rug details that don't fit.

This is not a uniquely lesbian problem.  Bisexuals are in a different
position with respect to the "boundaries" of our community because
people's notions of a "pure" bisexual (equal attraction to both sexes,
two relationships at once, shuns monosexuals), run up against immediate
practical difficulties and are less likely to be held up as an ideal.

As a bi man who's spent years around the fringes of the lesbian-feminist
community, I have on one hand internalized what I feel are some
positive values and on the other hand internalized and had to work
to re-examine some negative views of men and bisexuality.

There is no way, as a man, I can satisfy the most extreme forms of
lesbian seperatism.  (This should have been evident from the onset,
but it didn't keep me from spending some time trying.)

It was easier to hide my bisexuality than my maleness, but I was ultimately
led to the same conclusion.  I haven't abandoned my sense of affinity to
lesbian-feminism, but I am clearly looking for more inclusive formulations
that can encompass the realities of feminist men and bi men and women.

(One way my experience differs from bi women is that I wasn't being told
the women's community was for me -- I've always been on the fringes --
not first taken in, then turned out.) 

-- 
 Albert Lunde         | Interfaith  |     *Y*Y*      "A branch on the
 Albert-Lunde@nwu.edu |  Bisexual   |      *Y*        tree of life"
 alunde@nuacvm.bitnet |  Feminist   |.......|.........................
Newsgroups: soc.bi