What makes a book bisexual?

[curriedspam]

In October 2006, the bi community cheered at Lambda Literary Foundation's addition of a bisexual category.  Since "Bi Any Other Name" was forced to compete as a lesbian anthology back in 1991, bisexuals authors and readers have yearned for a category where our best can be judged against similar books.  

Comments

BI Charactyers

[anonymous]

This is a topic I've been seriously digging into for the past year. I've been looking for bi characters in films and books and finding I'm usually not happy with the results. I do understand that it's difficult or almost impossible to depict "biness" because, as you pointed out, it can change so much within our own lives. For myself, I'm married to an opposite sex partner and a father. I've been with Angela for 10 years, monogamously. To the observer, even one who knows me well, it might appear that I am "gone straight". But I still identify as bi, strongly and with confidence (as much as any human is allowed, I guess).
And that is what I seek in characters in books in films. Even if the experience of a character is bi in behavior, I am less than satisfied. Lots of people I know have bi behavior or bi experiences, but they are not, and never have been bi. I would love to see a character who identifies as bi, does so with assurance, is not depicted as a slut or flake or a freak or a joke, and as such is a model to follow, like most of the transsexuals I've seen in films lately. I appreciate they are often flawed characters and thus more human, but I always feel they are heroic and brave. Most of the "bi" characters I find are identified as bi by the audience not the character themselves, which is important to me. Me claiming that a character is bi when they do not claim it themselves is no better, in my opinion, than people sticking a straight label on me. Also, the "bi" characters are often there as one dimensional joke, are dismissed on screen as a slut or a fraud, are depicted as confused, or worse yet, are negated as having an identity other than gay or straight.
I suppose in some ways I'm asking my literature to be ideal, for a moment, and champion a cause first, and worry about the reality of such character later. As stated, seen in a certain light, one could depict my own life as bisexual trendiness, confusion, of a phase, but I like to think that one could also show someone claiming bisexuality boldly, never wavering in that identification for almost two decades, and constantly confronting bi invisibility and bi phobia where ever he finds it.

magicone@insightbb.com