Comments on: Breaking the Silence: Including the ‘B’ and ‘T’ in the Black LG Community

By: Aaron Anson

Aaron Anson — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 22:07:56 +0000

Great article as we are all on the same team. Keep speaking your truth.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-anson/resistant-homophobia-in-t_b_997328.html

By: Amy Andre

Amy Andre — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:22:18 +0000

Thank you for writing this! As the co-author of Bisexual Health: An Introduction (published by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force), and as a black bisexual woman, I agree that we don’t know much about the bisexual population. What we do know is this:
* Studies show that 50% of those who identify as either lesbian or gay or bisexual, identify as bisexual. This percentage is higher among people of color. That means that more than half of LGB POC are bi-identified.
* Bisexual people have poorer health than lesbians and gays, who tend to have poorer health than straight people.
* Examples of these health disparities are: higher rates of smoking among bisexuals compared to LG people; bisexuals drink more than LG; bisexuals are more likely to be depressed or have other mental health issues, compared to LG; bisexual women are more likely than straight women and lesbians to be victims of domestic violence.
* Bisexuals make less money than LG people.
* Straight people stigmatize bisexuals more than LG (and bisexuals face biphobia _within_ the LG(b)T community, too) — and stigma has a direct correlation to all of the above health and economic disparities I mentioned.

The intersection of race and bisexuality runs deep, and I’m glad that you are “breaking the silence” about the state of bi and trans issues in the black LGBT community. Thanks again!

Best regards,
Amy Andre

By: Oliver Martin

Oliver Martin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 12:19:12 +0000

Sexual Minorities in the USA — It seems that Hurt People still tend to Hurt People.
Labels, Labels and more Labels, while I agree I too have been at .many functions where the “L” and “G” are prominent and the “B” and “T” are virtually invisible. I am also amazed that many Black / African American advocacy group has not added “Same Gender Loving” SGL and or Pansexual “P “to its official information. It would seem that SGL terminology is being used by a large number of its constituency however it not being readily adopted into mainstream culture. It also seems to me that all LG groups are slow to adopt “P” into their statements… This seems to be true in both the secular and faith movements in the USA.
Until we move away from using those labels and decided to use one word that relates to the entire group (such “Affirming People” my personal pledge is to honor all who fall under the Labels of LGBTPQQ, SGL (Lesbian Gay, Bi-sexual, Trans – Transgendered, Pansexual, Queer, Questioning, Same Gender Loving), and I will use this acronym and keep adding to it with all my personal writings.