Bi+ Awareness Week and Bi+ Visibility Day
Bi+ Awareness Week and Bi+ Visibility Day: 25th Anniversary
Bi+ Awareness Week runs from Saturday 16 September up to Saturday 23 September, which marks the 25th annual Bi Visibility Day, recognised to promote the visibility of the Bi+ community. Bi Visibility Day was first officially observed in 1999 at the International Lesbian and Gay Association Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Bi+ is an umbrella term used to describe identities that have romantic and/or sexual attraction to one or more genders, and there are a wide variety of terms Bi+ people may use, including, but not limited to, bisexual, pan, poly and queer.
Why is Bi+ Awareness Week and Bi+ Visibility Day important?
Bi+ Awareness Week gives view to a sometimes less visible, but equally valid, part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Biphobia and bisexual erasure are common experiences for Bi+ people, with a 2018 Stonewall study finding that 27% of Bi women and 18% of Bi men had experienced discrimination from others within the community. Additionally, 43% of Bi people reported that they had never attended an LGBT space or event. Bi Visibility Day aims in part to raise awareness of this and highlight the validity of a Bi+ identity in the LGBTQ+ community.
Bi+ people also have to deal with common myths and misconceptions about their identity - for example, being indecisive, promiscuous, attention-seeking, or simply "going through a phase"! You can step up as a Bi+ ally by challenging these misconceptions, and challenging assumptions about a person's identity as they happen. A common assumption for Bi+ people is others assuming their identity based on their current partner's gender. A Bi+ person's identity is valid regardless of their partner's gender.
Bi+ Role Models
Staff members Charlie Dickinson (she/her), Course Administrator and Sarah Spencer (she/her), Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer share their Bi+ Role Model Profiles below:
Charlie Dickinson (she/her)
What drew you towards working at the University of Huddersfield?
When I was young, I grew up in Huddersfield and my dad would drive around Shorehead roundabout and past the University, and I always liked looking at the buildings. Sounds daft, but that really is what got me interested to begin with!
Then, I studied at the University of Plymouth, and whilst I loved the experience it was too far away from home. And it was a simple as that! I wanted to keep a hold of that campus-feel experience. Since working here, something which I’ve noticed is that you really are an individual person, and not a ‘cog in the wheel’, what you do truly has positive actions within the University.
What has been your experience of the University of Huddersfield as a Bi+ staff member, and what more do you feel the University could do to support our LGBTQI+ community?
We have an LGBTQI+ staff network, and I love to see that we get asked for our input in any relevant topics being addressed across the University. The University are always looking at ways to improve the staff and student experience.
Why did you want to become an LGBTQI+ role model?
I’m aware that this is becoming slightly more of a ‘generational thing’, but sexuality and gender was considered VERY binary when I was young and in my highly impressionable stage. Only when I came to University did I first properly encounter the scale of the LGBTQI+ community, and it was exactly what I needed to see. I want to make sure that other students get that possibly much-needed representation too. And if it’s not to provide the representation to those who need it, it’s to bring awareness, to show that there’s more to the LGBTQI+ community than the dated binary system.
How can allies support the LGBTQI+ community? If there was one thing you wanted allies to know, what would it be?
Promote a less heteronormative language set – we live in a heteronormative society, and sometimes phrases are used without realising they’re so.
For example, see if you can get into the habit of introducing yourself with your pronouns, or addressing someone with neutral pronouns (they/them) until you’re certain on what that person’s pronouns are. If someone is in a relationship, don’t assume that it’s with someone of the opposite sex, ask them for the name of the person and don’t be afraid to ask for their partner’s pronouns. This is a good start to break the heteronormative habit.
How does being Bi+ relate to the rest of your identity?
It’s a hard question to answer. I’ve always been very ambiguous about my identity, and I’ve always been true to who I am, as from a young age I’ve always been told I’m a bit different from others, so it’s hard to gauge what parts of my Bi+ identity moulds my whole identity. Recently, I’ve been identifying as Queer or Fluid, as it currently feels most suited to me – but honestly, it changes frequently. This time last year, I couldn’t even put a name to my identity, and that’s okay. Everybody’s identity is ever-changing, and that’s not limited to just your sexual or gender identity.
In a social setting, I’m always assumed as being a straight woman, due to how I look. When a person then finds out that I’m engaged to a woman, a lot of personal questions get raised about my sexuality and I find them hard to answer, mostly because to me, being in a relationship with a woman doesn’t feel ‘different’ (as it can get treated as such), so then the additional questions feel jarring.
In a work setting, I talk about my fiancée a lot and I love how interested my colleagues are to know about my personal life – my office was so excited when they found out that we got engaged, they wanted to hear all about it and the plans we have for our future. The School of Computing and Engineering have made me feel like I can be comfortable being me.
Would you like to share anything else about yourself – hobbies, interesting facts, or projects you are working on?
I love acting – I’m in each year’s community production at the Lawrence Batley Theatre, anyone can get involved so keep your eye out on their website!
Sarah Spencer (she/her)
What drew you towards working at the University of Huddersfield?
I’ve worked in Higher Education for most of my career so far and working within Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) feels like the right path to me - I love getting to do something that I care about so much for my job, so when the opportunity arose at Huddersfield I was really keen to go for it! Especially as Huddersfield is close to where I grew up. In my first role at the University of York, I remember meeting with their EDI team and being really intrigued as to what they did – I joined the staff equality networks shortly after and moved on to HR, EDI and staff/student wellbeing work the following year.
What has been your experience of the University of Huddersfield as a Bi+ staff member, and do you feel there is more the University could do to support our LGBTQI+ community?
It's really nice to come into a new workplace and see there's an active LGBTQI+ society!
Thinking from the perspective of my role, I think there’s always more we can do as an employer, and the nature of the EDI landscape means things are always evolving and changing – keeping an open mind to this is key. I think we have to commit to knowing there will be continual change, and that there likely won’t be an ‘end point’ for LGBTQI+ inclusion, or any type of inclusion for that matter.
In my team, we're currently working on the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index 2023 submission, hoping to improve upon our 2022 score - it's really useful to have that benchmark to refer back to and Stonewall's guidance to know exactly what we can improve upon, and what we're already doing well.
Why did you want to become an LGBTQI+ role model?
It’s not a part of my identity that I talk about very much, so part of me wanted to come out of my comfort zone! I want to be a role model for people who might feel like I do, that they might not be 'gay enough' to be in LGBTQI+ spaces. I’ve had comments from friends that I’m ‘not gay anymore’ after I ended a relationship with a woman, or for ‘switching back to men after trying it out’. Even if they are meant as a joke, ultimately it can contribute toward a self-belief that I don’t belong in this community, or that others believe my identity is 'just a phase'.
How can allies support the LGBTQI+ community? If there was one thing you wanted allies to know, what would it be?
If there was one thing I wanted allies to know, it would be that you don't have to know everything, be an expert, or understand every acronym - that's okay! If mistakes are made, for example around assumptions of identity, then as long as there is no ill-intent behind it, people do understand that it happens. The most important thing is to learn from it going forward, and to listen and accept non-judgmentally.
How does being Bi+ relate to the rest of your identity?
Most of my friends are also LGBTQI+, so it's definitely a big part of my social life! I live in Manchester which has a really great queer social scene and I have met some of my best friends there. Those spaces are amazing, but they can be difficult to navigate as a Bi+ person as biphobia can be common - some of my Bi+ friends and I have had experiences where we haven't felt welcome in those spaces, which is unfortunate. I'm often mistaken to be straight and it can feel awkward correcting someone, though I hope it does remind people that you don't have to 'look' a certain way to be part of the LGBTQI+ community. I also have ADHD, which is largely a hidden condition, and the experiences are parallel in some ways. I often feel like I have to ‘prove’ my neurodivergence, having gone so long with it masked and learning to appear as neurotypical as possible, and it is similar to feeling that I have to prove myself in the LGBTQI+ community too.
Would you like to share anything else about yourself – hobbies, interesting facts, or projects you are working on?
Outside of work, my main hobbies are knitting and yoga. I taught myself to knit during the pandemic and I’m so glad I did – I’m not sure I ever would’ve been able to sit down in my house for long enough to learn if it hadn’t been for the pandemic!
LGBTQI+ Staff Network
The University of Huddersfield’s Lesbian, Gay, Bi+, Trans*, Queer and Intersex + (LGBTQI+) Staff Network was set up in April 2018, and is intended as a supportive space for colleagues to access peer support and share information.
To find out more about this network including future meeting dates, please email lgbt@hud.ac.uk, or please feel free to contact Carson McCombe (Chair).