From: woodhous@latcs2.lat.oz.au (Joe P Woodhouse)
Newsgroups: soc.bi,alt.polyamory
Subject: Re: Bi pamphlet - enough already! 8->
Date: 2 Sep 92 06:29:10 GMT
Followup-To: soc.bi,alt.polyamory
Organization: Comp Sci, La Trobe Uni, Australia

cjmchale@dsg.cs.tcd.ie (Ciaran McHale) writes:
>asuccop@milton.u.washington.edu
>>	nice pamphlet!
>Seconded.

   Aw, you'll turn my head... 8->


>I especially like the way each question seems to follow-on
>naturally from the previous answer. This gives a sense of continuity
>which aids readability.

   That was deliberately done. What's also not obvious from the plain
text format is that in many cases there was a page break between a
question and its answer - hopefully the reader will keep reading to
find out. It was also printed on some lovely brilliant azure paper,
too. 8->


>1. Some linguists cringe when they see the word "gender" misused. The
>correct word is "sex". However, in this case I think it is valid to say
>"fuck the linguists (especially the cute ones:-)!" and continue to
>misuse "gender" since using "sex" might confuse people.

   Damn right. If the linguists want a Bi pamphlet too, I might make
one for them if they ask nicely. 8->

   But this was for the average Uni student walking past the GL table.


>2. You said that there are no local bi groups which could have been
>mentioned in the leaflet. How about mentioning national ones?

   No national ones either. 8-<

   I've had reports of a group in Perth, but that's it.

   (Although another Uni in our state recently inaugurated a GL*B*
group, first I've ever heard of in Australia).

>(Some
>closetted bifolk might be willing to make a long-distance phonecall.)
>You might also give the phone number for the nearest les/gay
>information line.

   Maybe, but I had qualms about how Bi-friendly they'd be. Not 4 years
ago a major GL counsellor said in a national magazine that "There's no
such thing as bisexuality. When a man says he's bisexual, he's really
gay". I'm not exaggerating, either.

>Lastly, you might consider listing a few bi books
>("Bi Any Other Name" etc) and mentioning which, if any, local bookshops
>stock them. Try to give enough details (author, publisher, ISBN, price)
>so that the person will be able to ask a bookshop to order it for them.

   This *is* a good idea - but I don't know how available they are here
in Australia. None of the Uni libraries I've checked have had anything more
recent than "Bisexual Lives" - and most didn't even have that.

>(Of course, being able to squeeze in all this information is highly
>dependent on how much space you have left on the pamphlet.)

   Virtually none! 8->


>>>Q. Doesn't being interested in both genders mean they're only half 
>>>as interested in either?
>>>
>>>A. Most Bisexuals will probably say that when they're interested 
>>>in someone, they're interested in them 100%. Just like you & I.
>>
>>	'just like people who are exclusively interested in one gender' might
>>	make more sense here; not *everyone* who reads this pamphlet is
>>	bisexual; why assume so here?
>
>Actually, I read it that the pamphlet is assuming that the reader is
>straight (and strangely enough, that the person who wrote the
>pamphlet is also straight).

   As I said to Annemarie, I *was* trying to give that impression - I
was trying to make it seem less remote & alien to the reader. Karina &
I had a minor controversy over this point - she wasn't sure how much of
a good idea it was, but didn't really feel it was a terribly bad one
either, so we left it in.


>>>Q. Suppose I have - does that mean I'm bisexual too?
>>>
>>>A. Strictly speaking, maybe. [...]
>
>I *love* this one. Hilarious!

   Heh heh heh...

Joe.

  / Joe Woodhouse        / I'm just a sweet bisexual...   / Hello, there.
 / Latrobe University   /    (think - Rocky Horror)      / Threesomes are fun.
/ Melbourne, Australia / Music. Magic. Mathematics. Me. / I like cats! (miaow!)