Every year, from September 21st to September 27th, members of the LGBT+ community come together to observe Bisexual Awareness Week. The day is spent with a mass amount of events and activities that take place in several countries, including speeches from prominent members of the LGBT+ community.

Bisexual Awareness Week was founded in order to promote visibility of bisexual people in modern day media and in the LGBT+ community. Bisexuality is defined as “a romantic attraction or sexual attraction toward both males and females, and/or to people of any gender identity”. Bisexuality is celebrated in particular because of the prejudice people have towards it, claiming that “it doesn’t exist” or that “you have to choose one gender”. This “bi-erasure” is common in the media but also very common in the LGBT+ community. The prejudice against bisexuals in the LGBT community comes from the opinion that bisexual people are “confused” and “experimenting”, instead of allowing bisexuality to be an identity. The day also serves the purpose of educating people and trying to close the divide between gay and bisexual people in order for everyone to unite for one purpose: equality.

This year, many people participated in the events, including bisexual celebrities Angelina Jolie and Channing Tatum. In Los Angeles, celebrating Bisexual Awareness Week, an art gallery opened up called “Bi: Life on the Spectrum”, featuring numerous bisexual artists from around the country. Forums were held in San Francisco and San Jose to discuss how to make bisexuals visible, and how silence due to mislabeling is no longer an option. Key speakers from GLAAD and BiNet USA came together to spread awareness. Many radio talk shows such as 90.4 in Portland held call-in discussions over representation and erasure, and group picnics were held around the world. Thousands of people came to these events, and discussed the future and goals the bisexual community had in mind in order to create a more accepting world. Other topics went over what sexualities are in the bisexual “umbrella”, and bisexuals in the media. These events all had one goal: to spread awareness of bisexuality.

This year, with hundreds of events, Bisexuality Awareness Week was a huge success. For more information on bisexuality and future Bisexual Awareness Weeks, check out Binetusa.org or bisexualweek.com. Hopefully one day we can foster a culture in which no one is judged on account of their sexuality.