Dear Reader,
This issue is devoted to Coming Out Stories. I have identified as bi for more than 40 years (also, more recently, as pansexual and queer). I can attest that coming out is not something done once and, once done, complete. Rather, it is a complex and multifaceted process. We come out to ourselves, and we come out to others. Sometimes it is necessary to come out multiple times to the same person before the information “sets.” On this theme, we present poetry and prose by numerous writers; a painting by Jo-Anne Carlson; and a comic by Why Not Both Co. In our Around the World column, María de las Mercedes Rodríguez Puzo discusses media silence about bisexuality in Cuba. Soudeh Rad describes a recent research study on bisexuality in France. We also offer our usual staples: Advice from A Rose Bi and our Fall Calendar.
It is notable that this may be our most international issue. Contributors this time hail from Canada, Cuba, US/Egypt, France/Iran, New Zealand, Switzerland, the UK, Venezuela/US, and the US.
To our knowledge, Bi Women Quarterly is the only bi women’s publication in the world, and it is a lifeline for some. We are a grassroots, all-volunteer publication. Please help us out by spreading the word about our existence, by supporting us financially (if you can), and by sending in your own writing and/or artwork. If you have suggestions for future themes, please let us know. We want to hear from you.