Thread by @LGBTfdn

"Today is my first #BiVisibilityDay as a bi person who is out publicly. I am fortunate to come from a family that is very supportive of the LGBTQ communtity, and indeed I have two family members who are out and blazed the way. [1/13]

So I grew up knowing that if I came out as gay, I would be loved. Despite this, it still took until I was in my 30s for me to understand that I am bi. This is mostly because as a young cis woman, I knew I was attracted to men. [2/13]

Any feelings I had towards women, I put down to admiration. In addition, I didn’t know anyone who was bi, so I didn’t really question it. There were a few important moments in the TV shows I watched as a teenager that could that could have helped me... [3/13]

...to understand what being bi meant, such as Willow (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) falling in love with a woman after a relationship with a man, but they didn’t talk about it that way. Willow was now a lesbian. It was an either / or. I did not hear the word bisexual. [4/13]

When I did start to hear the term, it was coupled with many damaging ideas: bi people are greedy, they can’t make up their minds, they’re going through a phase, they cheat. [5/13]

Indeed, I was at a party when I was starting to consider telling people, and out of the blue, someone exclaimed that “bisexual people are just greedy, why can’t they just pick a side!”. I went back into the closet. [6/13]

I didn’t want to be called that, and since I was in a long term relationship, I was worried that it would sound like I wasn’t happy. I was. But even in happy, committed relationships, you still appreciate that there are people who are attractive to you. [7/13]

For me, I was starting to understand that I wasn’t feeling that way only towards men. It took time for me to understand that and to understand myself. I also worried that I had to prove it. That I had to have been in a relationship with a woman to ‘qualify’. [8/13]

With more people talking about what it means to be bi, especially people in the public eye, I have been able to process it. I had nothing to prove. When the actress Stephanie Beatriz, from Brooklyn Nine Nine, spoke about being bi, there was a lot that resonated with me. [9/13]

I must have listened to Janelle Monáe’s “That’s just the way you make me feel” a hundred times when it was released. It was a bi anthem. I felt content. I knew who I was, and I was happy with my own place. I am bi. [10/13]

There are many different ways bisexual people live their lives and all are valid. For me, knowing that I’m bi is about being honest with myself. [11/13]

And since I am in this very fortunate position that I know my family and my partner support me, I want to be out publicly so that the next generation hear about bi people. That it might apply to them too. We are here. [12/13]

So, happy Bi Visibility Day!

For those who are still working it out, there’s no rush. We’re here to welcome you when you need us."
- Clara

#BiVisibilityDay [13/13]