From: h431@quads.uchicago.edu (heather e blair)
Subject: Re: BEGINNING BI GROUPS -- INPUT REQUESTED
Reply-To: h431@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 23:02:31 GMT

In article <1992Aug28.012400.42617@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> jimdb@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes:
>Hey all, hope all is well in your corner of queerville, mine's
>fine (that would be in Lawrence, KS, if you're ever in the 
>neighborhood).  Our semester just started this week, and as a result,
>our LG(B) organization had our first meeting tonight.  As usual, a
>great deal of lip service was paid to Bisexual concerns and
>activities, but our name still isn't in the name of the group and
>those of us who lable ourselves as bi are not understood (at best) and
>even hostilly (is that a word?) received.  Soooo..... I am thinking
>about starting a bisexual group, preferably one that is primarily
>discussion and political action oriented.  Although I'm sure that
>there will be those who join only because they are in need of a date
>and think that this would be the place (the old "anything that walks,
>anytime it walks" routine).  
>
Our group at UChicago is three years old now.  We decided to start a
separate group, just so we'd have more control over what was happening
than if we tried to combine with the Gay and Lesbian group here.  It's
been a good decision since our group is support-social oriented rather
than political-oriented.  Members who get political do it with the Gay
and Lesbian group, or Queer Nation.

>What I'd like to know from you all is a number of things:
>	1. If you've started such a group in your town/campus, what
>	have been some of the major pratfalls that we could try to
>	avoid -- that is if we are able to avoid them.
>
We just advertised via the student newspaper, posters and Student
Activities Night that we were having a first meeting.  We had a flyer with
a vague statement of purpose cribbed from another bi group, and we just
waited to see if any people would show up.  We had 30!!!!

>	2. what are some of the best places to advertise to try to 
>	attract bi folks to such a meeting.  I'm particularly 
>	interested in trying to involve as many women as possible
>	as GLSOK (gay and lesbian services of kansas, that's the
>	university of kansas group) has been experiencing a great 
>	deal of dissention between the gay boys and the lesbians.
>	
How about also in the local lesbian-gay paper, (is there one in Lawrence)
or feminist paper.  Also contact feminist groups about your group.

>	3. Which leads me to the third and most important point,
>	how does one avoid the male-female conflicts in such a group?
>	I believe that intersexual contact is essential for the 
>	healthy functioning of any group and that both genders have
>	a lot to learn from each other -- although I am more 
>	inclined to believe that more of the learning end should be
>	placed toward the male end of things.
>
Wow.  We decided to be a mixed group, just to see if it would work.  And
for the most part it has.  There were slightly more women than men at first.
We tried to be welcoming to token monosexuals.  Some felt welcomed and some
didn't.  One thing to watch out for are obnoxious chicken hawks, especially
mostly het men looking for women.  This can also be a problem in gay men's
groups.

>	4. Do you have any other comments, suggestions, or warnings
>	for such a group?  
>
Hey, keep in touch.  You might also want to contact the national BiNet
groups.  There's a midwest one meeting in chicago, oct. 24 or so (if they
get their act together and get space.)

>Thanks for your help, I hope a discussion centered around these issues
>will be productive and beneficial for everyone on this board, as
>discussion is the first step toward normalization and political
>progress.
>
>Queerly,
>Jim
>
>P.S.  Is it just me or does it seem like G.H.W.Bush has a wire wrapped
>around his larynx?
>
Maybe it's just that bum thyroid.
>-- 
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>Jim Danoff-Burg     (Snow Museum, Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045)
>Bitnet: JIMDB@UKANVAX                Internet:jimdb@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
>"Myrmecophiles-R-Us"


-- 

- Heather Blair       h431@midway.uchicago.edu
Newsgroups: soc.bi