By Robyn Ochs Robyn Ochs: Shiri, please tell us about yourself Shiri Eisner: I am a 27-year-old female gender queer. I am a feminist, anarchist, vegan, polyamorous, bisexual/ pansexual and a sex radical. I do a lot of stuff in general, such as grassroots organizing, academics, journalist writing, and art. I started (and currently organize)…
Category: Around the World
Yemisi Ilesanmi, (Abuja), Nigeria
By Robyn Ochs In July 2009 I attended a three-day LGBT human rights conference in Copenhagen associated with the World Out Games. There were over a thousand human rights activists present, from many countries. In an attempt by the organizers to insert some “B” into the program, I was invited to moderate a plenary panel…
“Paula”: the Portuguese Word for Bi Activist?
By Robyn Ochs From July 16 through August 4, 2009, I did a European book tour to promote the new second edition of Getting Bi. In Oporto, Portugal, I was warmly welcomed into the home of Paula Antunes, Sofia Fonseca and their daughter Mariana. Of the first three Portuguese bi activists I had met, two…
Hilde Vossen, The Hague, Netherlands
by Robyn Ochs It is an honor to feature Hilde Vossen, a long-time activist who has had a major impact on both the Dutch and international bi movements. Robyn: Please tell us about yourself. Hilde: Hallo! Ik heet Hilde Vossen… Hi! My name is Hilde Vossen and I live in The Hague. My twin brother…
Apphia K. in Pune, India
Apphia is one of the amazing individuals who responded to a call for writing for the second edition of Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World. If, after reading this interview, you are as impressed by Apphia as I am, you can read more about her in Getting Bi. Robyn Ochs: Apphia, please tell…
Eva Lee in Beijing, China
Robyn Ochs: Eva, what a pleasure it is to speak with you! Please tell us about yourself. Eva Lee: I was born and raised in Macau, a former colony of Portugal in eastern China that was returned to China in 1999. It’s a small town with a population of only 200,000. In 2000, when I…
Bis Around the World: Myriam Brito, Mexico City
Myriam, 35, was born and raised in Mexico City, where she has lived her entire life. Her life partner is a “wonderful” man with whom she has been involved since she was fifteen; they married six years ago. They have no human children, but they do have canine ones: Coco, a Schnauzer, and Camila, a…
Around the World: Christine Gangstad Johansen, Oslo, Norway
Interview by Robyn Ochs Christine Gandstad Johansen is a co-founder of Visible, a group for bisexual/pansexual people in Oslo, Norway operating under the umbrella of Fri, Norway’s national LGBTQ+ organization. I met Christine in June, when she arranged to have Fri bring me to Oslo to speak at Pride week events. Oslo has quite an impressive Pride, with…
Around the World: Anne Müller, Hamburg, Germany
By Anne Müller I grew up in the northern part of Germany in a large farm house far away from other children except my three much older siblings and was rather lonesome. I liked being with animals and with my books and was not prepared for puberty and its effects on me. From books and magazines…
Around the World: The First Ever Bi Pre-Conference at ILGA Asia
By Soudeh Rad The seventh ILGA Asia conference was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from December 4th through 8th, 2017. ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association is the largest worldwide LGBTQIA+ rights association and has members from all over the globe. ILGA activities are organized through six different geographic regions: North…