By Lila Hartelius “. . . Tu viens d’où?” (. . . Where are you from?) This was not the first time I’d gotten the question. “Près de San Francisco” (Near San Francisco.) After the wave of initial excitement that predictably lit up my interlocutor’s face (does nobody in France know about the actual weather in San Francisco?) came the…
Advice from A Rose Bi: Nonbinary x2 (or more)
A. Rose Bi proudly identifies as a bisexual woman. She currently lives in New England with her cats who love to sleep on her lap while she spends most of her time watching TV and playing video games while her partner cooks amazing food. In addition to being an out bi woman, A. has a…
REVIEW: Incisions and Sutures: Like Flesh Covers Bone by Jan Steckel
Reviewed by Robin Renée When you read Jan Steckel’s Like Flesh Covers Bone (Zeitgeist Press, 2018), be prepared. This, however, is a trick prescription. To be prepared for this journey is to be prepared for turns of phrase and jagged edges you will never quite see coming. The book is arranged into sections that mirror…
REVIEW: “The King was pregnant”: Gender and Politics in The Left Hand of Darkness
Review by Casey Lawrence No discussion of gender in science fiction is complete without Ursula K. Le Guin’s ground-breaking 1969 novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, just as no review of The Left Hand of Darkness would be complete without a discussion of gender. Le Guin’s novel is many things: a thought experiment (“What would…
Bisexual Haiku (#biku)
By Tania Israel I am biracial Chinese American Jew And bisexual Tania Israel is a Professor of Counseling Psychology at UCSB who embraces bisexuality in her research, community service, public speaking, creative work (#biku), teaching, and fashion. TaniaIsrael.com.
Natalie Morales Represents
By Robyn Ochs NBC’s sitcom, Abby’s, has an out bisexual lead character played by Natalie Morales—herself an out bi Latina, just like the lead character. (Is anyone else seeing a pattern of out bi-fabulous Latinas playing out bi Latinas? Think: Sara Ramirez in Gray’s Anatomy and Madam Secretary; Stephanie Beatriz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine.) The character…
Boy Child
By Carole Spearin McCauley I birthed you because I wanted you. They said, how odd in an age of abortion I helped you outgrow diapers, crayons, dayglo guns, baseball bats, pre-algebra, hair mousse, magic cards, Dungeons and Dragons, the Indiana Jones fan club, your first cell phone. Yesterday you told me I’m weird because I’m…
Janika Saul, Estonia
Robyn Ochs: Janika, please tell us about yourself. Janika Saul: I am 25 years old and happy. I live in Estonia, a small Eastern European country. We Estonians would like to think our country is as developed as Western Europe, though in reality in some important ways it is not. I was born in a…
From the Editor: Firsts
Dear Reader, The theme of this issue is “Firsts.” We asked: “What ‘firsts’ have been significant to you? A first awareness, first kiss, first relationship, first sexual experience? A first with someone of a particular gender? A first coming out? Tell us a story about a ‘first’ time, or about the ‘firsts’ you hope to…
Facing the Fear Dragon
By Becca Flintham — When did you first know? (That I was bisexual. Queer. Attracted to women, to men, to people of all genders.) Coming out isn’t a one-time process. We do it not just for the first time, but over and over, and to different people, at different points in our lives. We come…