Twitter Banned Bisexual, But We've Won This Before (receipts within)

Thank you to The Daily Beast for covering the continuing saga that is the blocking of the word bisexual on the internet. For those without memories like mine, a look back on previous bans of the word bisexual online.


GOOGLE BANS BISEXUAL (2009 - 2014)

We aimed for #badbisexualface here, me and Tara Avery, longtime bi trans advocate, cartoonist and publisher. This image was used by Pasadena Star News in 2014 as part of their story.

"Google’s Bisexual Problem", HuffingtonPost.com (by me, Faith Cheltenham)

"Google restricts ‘bisexual’ from autocomplete because of correlation to pornography", Pasadena Star News

"Google Autocomplete Still Blocking ‘Bisexual’: LGBT Advocates Fight For Fair Treatment Of Search Terms", International Business Times (with a helpful quote from Jeff Hermes, director of the Digital Media Law Project at Harvard University).

"Google still blocking the word ‘bisexual’ from autocomplete", PinkNews


APPLE BRIEFLY BANS BISEXUAL (2013)
(see Sarah Prager, Quist co-founder's petition)
"App maker petitions Apple to remove 'bisexual' from flagged list", Baltimore Sun

"Apple Discourages Educational App From Using The Term "Bisexual", BuzzFeed


TWITTER BANS BISEXUAL (2017)
"Twitter Is Still Making ‘Bisexual’ Invisible, and Won’t Say Why", The Daily Beast

"Twitter apologises for 'technical issue' that blocked searches for 'bisexual'", The Guardian

"Twitter is fixing an error that removed ‘bisexual’ from news and photo search results", The Verge

"Search for 'Bisexual' on Twitter Right Now, and No News, Photos, or Videos Show Up [Updated]",


WHAT I CONSIDER THE GOOD NEWS FOR THE MOMENT
Huge massive response led by @stillbisexual, @binetusa, and many others! News articles aplenty! AND, THE BEST NEWS? Prior images from bisexuals are still on the Twitter media server as evidenced by the media links from #biweek still serving beautiful bi, pan, fluid and queerness.

Like 2016's most popular image, our home page for bisexualweek.com, which takes on new meaning today:

I've embedded the spreadsheet below and you can download this sheet here in case you delight in bisexual images of proud bi people and their cats, owls, and kids as much as I do.

 

Don't Forget...the Bisexuals
Millions of bisexuals await the opportunity to be seen using their name, so please sign the petition to Twitter as created by bi trans non binary rock star Jen Yockney, MBE, the longtime bi organizer who runs bivisibilityday.com.

Here's hoping this is the last time we'll have to scream and plan protests to reclaim the very use of our name!

#EndBiBans

Petition: LA's DA Lacey needs to start prosecuting killer cops

The petition: bit.ly/BLMLA

 

3 things: 1. Call @MayorOfLA & tell him 2 #FireBeck 213-978-0600. 2. Sign petition 2 prosecute killer cops. https://t.co/X31CZ0eSlb 3. SHARE

— #BlackLivesMatter-LA (@BLMLA) September 11, 2017

The comment I just made after signing the petition:

In the history of LA policing there has never been as much right to murder Black men, women and children by police of ANY COLOR. It's important to identify that the anti-Blackness of LAPD is not just white, it's also Latino, it's South Asian, it's also in some sad cases I may or may not be related to Black...but that doesn't mean we can't all come out the other side of this. First step? #FireBeck and have DA Lacey start prosecuting police officers who shoot community residents. Next step start listening to Black Lives Matter: Los Angeles, and start attending events they encourage you to attend and start changing the policies they recommend you do. All while overhauling and changing from top to bottom the way LAPD polices, the community input it needs to stop ignoring and the amazing officers it needs to re-train in diversity and inclusion that's representative of an understanding of anti-Blackness, white supremacy and policings role in upholding it. Then? I feel like we might be able to really start talking about getting to space and saving the galaxy, but that's just me. Start with the basics first? #FireBeck.

Faith Cheltenham Bio

Faith Cheltenham, July 2017

Faith Cheltenham

activist/writer/speaker

There are so many different aspects of Faith Cheltenham’s life and career––writer, community organizer, advocate, activist, lecturer, poet, social media expert, digital strategist––that she is currently working to develop a single unifying “theory of Faith.” (It might be easier if you keep in mind Faith lives with hyperthymesia, or the inability to forget her own memories.) Then you too might be able to “keep thefayth” and learn to live in a future where gender and sexuality quite easily bend and every single Black life matters. 

Faith got her start in LGBT advocacy as a Human Rights Campaign intern on the Gore 2000 campaign, and in 2002, she co-founded UCLA’s BlaQue for LGBT/SGL students of African descent. In 2006, she appeared in the Emmy winning reality series on race in America, “Black. White.” produced by Ice Cube. 

After spending time working in corporate America doing digital strategy for Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York and co-creating and launching tor.com for Macmillan Books, she began to focus full-time on bisexual advocacy. 

In 2012, she was named one of The Advocate’s "Forty Under 40" and was appointed to the University of California's LGBT Task Force. In 2013, Faith was the Co-organizer of the first Bisexual Community Issues Roundtable at the White House & in 2014, was honored to be a stage participant alongside President Obama as he signed the Executive Order protecting LGBT employees of federal contractors from discrimination. 

Between 2015 and 2016, Faith co-organized four meetings with the Obama White House including the first livestreamed Bisexual Community Briefing at the White House in 2016. Every year, together with GLAAD, BiNet USA co-sponsors Bisexual Awareness Week (#biweek), a social media experience seen by millions that Faith co-created in 2014.

As a lecturer, Faith has spoken at locations as varied as San Diego Comic Con, Netroots Nation, Case Western University, UCLA & Yale University, on topics like the histories of pre-colonial African sexuality and bisexual intersectionality. 

An award winning journalist and writer who has had her poetry featured on Genius, Faith won her first writing acknowledgment from Parade Magazine for her musings on the racism she experienced as a Black Star Wars cosplaying kid in her native San Luis Obispo, California. 

Faith has been published widely in Washington Blade, South Florida Gay News, Advocate, Huffington Post, and her personal blog, thefayth.net. She has also been featured in various publications and outlets, including CNN’s Headline News, LA Times and New York Magazine. 

Faith identifies herself as a “Black bisexual intersex queer woman of color who came up transracial.” 

She is also the proud mom of a gender expansive child, Storm (age 5). 

Like my Facebook Page for more weight loss gifs!

 fb.com/thefayth. 

Faith Cheltenham, July 2014 with President Barack Obama in the White House prior to witnessing President Obama sign an executive order protecting LGBT federal contractors from discrimination and enshrining transgender protections at the same time for same workers, 'cause that's the kinda President that he was.

2017 CREDITS

Makeup by Hannah Cha / StyleBee.com

Hair by Kiara Tobin / Candyland Beauty Bar

Photography by ChloeJackman.com 

2014 CREDITS

This photograph is provided by THE WHITE HOUSE as a courtesy and may be printed by the subject(s) in the photograph for personal use only. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not otherwise be reproduced, disseminated or broadcast, without the written permission of the White House Photo Office. This photograph may not be used in any commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House. 

#thefayth

#blackindependence

Happy #blackindependence day! 

Enjoy some good #BlackArt Today.

Bi History Moments: Anything That Moves, Spring 1994 (bisexual manifesto and cover)

Anything That Moves was a literary, journalistic, and topical magazine published in the United States from 1990 to 2002.^[1] It was created as an expansion of the San Francisco Bay Area Bisexual Network (BABN) newsletter by BABN member, Karla Rossi, in collaboration with bisexual and bi-friendly editors, writers, and artists to become a full 64-page magazine with an international subscriber base. The complete title of the magazine, Anything That Moves: Beyond the Myths of Bisexuality, was purposely chosen for its controversial nature, while its tag line indicated a clear intent to challenge stereotypes of bisexual identities and behaviors. The magazine took its name from the stereotype depicting bisexuals as willing to have sex with "anything that moves".^[2]

The magazine's mission was to confront and redefine concepts of sexuality and gender, to defy stereotypes and broad definitions of bisexuals and to combat biphobia.

- Wikipedia

Anything That Moves 1994 manifesto. Online version (undated): http://atm.silmemar.org/manifesto.html

Anything That Moves Issue #7 Spring 1994 cover with Starhawk

Anything That Moves and other bisexual media experiences like LARKER offer bi communities important space to be themselves and see themselves. I've been grateful to snag several copies of Anything That Moves throughout the years, but the one with Starhawk on the cover is a personal favorite!

Today in Faith Playlists: 061417

1. Bear's Den - Above The Clouds Of Pompeii (04:39)
2. Janet Jackson - Again (03:47)
3. Monica - Ain't Gonna Cry No More (04:10)
4. U2 - All I Want Is You (06:29)
5. Janet Jackson - All My Love to You (05:46)
6. Beyonce - All Night (05:20)
7. Tori Amos - All Through The Night (04:30)
8. Taylor Swift - All Too Well (05:29)
9. Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way (03:32)
10. Chris Cornell - Billie Jean (04:41)
11. Chris Cornell - Can't Change Me (03:23)
12. Climbing Up The Walls.m4a ( 4:50)
13. Janet Jackson - Control (05:53)
14. Janet Jackson - Every Time (04:17)
15. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (03:44)
16. Fiona Apple - Fast As You Can (04:40)
17. Demi Lovato - Fix A Heart (03:13)
18. Adele - Hello (04:55)
19. Adele - I Miss You (05:48)
20. Taylor Swift - I Wish You Would (03:27)
21. Bruce Springsteen - I'm On Fire (02:41)
22. U2 - In A Little While (03:40)
23. Coldplay - Life In Technicolor (02:30)
24. Tori Amos - Livin' On A Prayer (05:52)
25. Beyoncé - Love on Top (04:27)
26. U2 - Mysterious Ways (04:03)
27. Taylor Swift - Out Of The Woods (03:55)
28. Coldplay - Paradise (04:37)
29. The Fugees - Ready Or Not (03:46)
30. Snow Patrol - Run (05:57)
31. Fiona Apple - Sleep to Dream (04:10)
32. Tori Amos - Sleeps Wit Butterflies (03:36)
33. U2 - Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own (05:08)
34. U2 - Song for Someone (03:46)
35. Taylor Swift - State of Grace (04:55)
36. Monica - Street Symphony (05:34)
37. U2 - Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of (04:33)
38. Marilyn Manson - The Beautiful People (03:38)
39. Taylor Swift/Gary Lightbody - The Last Time (04:59)
40. The Mephistopheles Of Los Angeles.m4a ( 4:57)
41. Bloc Party - The Prayer (03:45)
42. David Bowie - Thursday's Child (05:23)
43. U2 - Walk On (04:56)
44. Bruce Springsteen - We Take Care Of Our Own (03:53)
45. Janet Jackson - What About (04:24)
46. Coldplay - What If (04:57)
47. Monica - What My Heart Says (04:01)
48. Bloc Party - Where Is Home? (04:54)
49. U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name (05:39)
50. Coldplay - White Shadows (05:28)
51. Taylor Swift - You Are In Love (04:27)
52. Chris Cornell - You Know My Name (04:01)
53. ZAYN - rEaR vIeW (03:21)

Bisexual White House History Links

2009
http://binetusa.blogspot.com/2009/06/binet-usa-bisexual-activist-robyn-ochs.html

2010
http://www.binetusa.org/bisexuals/bisexuals-in-the-white-house-pics

2011
http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=5803
http://nyabn.livejournal.com/19584.html

2012
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2012/06/20/faith-and-pride
http://bimagazine.org/eight-bisexual-activists-to-attend-white-house-reception/
https://es.pinterest.com/pin/307933693240957565/

2013
http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/09/21/bisexual-roundtable/
https://baltimore.edgemedianetwork.com/news/local/features/142104/first-ever_bisexual_leadership_roundtable_bolsters_binet_usa
http://www.lorainehutchins.com/2013/10/07/bisexuals-were-visible-and-vocal-at-invitation-only-white-house-meeting/

2014
http://bilerico.lgbtqnation.com/2014/08/bisexuals_at_the_gates.php

2015
http://www.thefayth.net/2015/06/standing-bi-jennicet-gutierrez.html

2016
http://www.weeklystandard.com/white-house-bisexual-briefing-you-put-the-b-in-lgbt/article/2004733 (gah weekly standard and their demons)

What A Bisexual Letter Of Recommendation Can Look Like: Lynnette McFadzen for Equality March for Unity & Pride

Somewhere out there, bisexual organizers are still hoping against hope to be included in the organizing for the new National LGBT Pride March. May the Lord Goddess bless and keep them!

One of my favs, Lynnette McFadzen, both a friend and colleague, asked for a letter of recommendation and this is what I came up with and just sent along.

Here's hoping that bi+ organizers organizing for bi+ communities also get tapped to be part of the organizing team! Feel free to use a template like this below for your own bisexual letters of recommendation! I honestly just copied Lynnette's approach when she submitted her own letter of recommendation for longtime bi advocate and new BiNet USA board member Ron Suresha.

What can I say? Bisexuals love to share!

XOXO,

Faith

Dear David Bruinooge and Members of Equality March Leadership,

I would like to strongly recommend Lynnette McFadzen, new President of BiNet USA and creator/producer of The BiCast as a National Co-Chair of The Equality March for Unity & Pride.  One of the strongest and openly active bi advocates in the country today, Lynnette first came to prominence in the bisexual, pansexual, fluid, queer (bi+) community when she began The BiCast, the first podcast for the bi+ community.  Visit the archives here. https://archive.org/details/@the_bicast

In the last 4 years, Lynnette McFadzen, has put nearly 200 interviews onto iTunes covering topics from A-Z of the bisexual community inluding critically important interviews with bi thought leaders and celebrities like gender/sexuality expert Robyn Ochs, Korean-American comic and advocate Margaret Cho, bi trans icon Julia Serano, BiNet USA co-founders Lani Ka’ahumanu and Loraine Hutchins and me!

In the last 3 years, Lynnette helped me organize 3 different conferences and meetings at President Barak Obama’s White House including the 2016 Rural LGBT America Summit at the White House, the 2016 Bisexual Community Briefing at the White House, and the 2015 Bisexual Community Briefing at the White House.

In the last 2 years, Lynnette has also co-organized several high profile events for bi and LGBT communities including day long institutes for the Task Force’s Creating Change conference and BiNet USA’s panel at the 2016 Comic Con in San Diego, CA which was called one of the most affirming moments of Comic Con by BleedingCool.com, one of the comic industries biggest blogs. Last year, Lynnette was also instrumental in generating over 200 million impressions for #biweek and bisexuality related social media content working alongside GLAAD and other LGBT organizations on Bisexual Awareness Week, a social media event I co-created that’s led to an inspiring amount of new bisexual activists just like Lynnette.

In any portion of the LGBTQIA community, I have found our newest members to be the most active, but what truly makes Lynnette a legend in the making, is how much she’s gotten done while also being a disabled bisexual demisexual asexual elder who lives below the poverty line. BiNet USA has proposed 2 different co-chairs to you from our organization and I urge you to consider all applications from bi+ organizers working for bi+ communities with the care and respect they have long deserved, and have yet to find, from national LGBT Pride Marches. Change must start with someone, so let it be you David!

Best,Faith Cheltenham