Compiled by Dylan Fee
In September, Thailand became the first country in Southeast Asia and the third Asian country to legalize same-sex unions after their king signed a marriage equality law. The other two countries in Asia with marriage equality are Taiwan & Nepal.
Disney has slowly been making strides in recent years to diversify the characters within their programs. In the past, characters that identify as bi+ have ranged from guest star to side character. However, The Owl House, a show that ran from 2020 to 2023, had the first-ever bisexual main character in a Disney series. Luz Noceda, the 14-year-old girl-turned-witch, may contain the magic to inspire future bi+ leads.
Bisexual athlete Sha’Carri Richardson became a gold-medalist for the 4×100-meter relay at the summer 2024 Olympic games. The Texas-born, 5’2” track star was raised by her aunt and grandmother and is known for racing with vibrant hair and nails. She is one of the fastest women of all time with a 100-meter time of 10.65 seconds. (USA Today)
October is LGBT History Month. Every day during the month of October, lgbthistorymonth.com picks an LGBT icon to feature, posting a video and short written biography about them. This past October, they featured athletes, politicians, entertainers, and activists, including our very own BWQ Editor, Robyn Ochs. Other bi+ icons featured this year included philanthropist and activist Ron Ansin, and social justice activist Robt Martin Seda-Schreiber. A full list of featured bicons can be found here: lgbthistorymonth.com/category/icon-tags/bisexual
Shawn Mendez, the popular singer-songwriter of songs such as “Stitches” and “Mercy,” talked about his sexuality at a recent concert. He said “sexuality is such a beautifully complex thing, and it’s so hard to just put into boxes…I’m just figuring it out like everyone.” He emphasized the constant pressure that surrounds people when it comes to labeling themselves and his hopes for overcoming it. (Pink News)
Marielle Franco was a Brazilian politician and human rights activist. Franco served as a city councilor of the Municipal Chamber of Rio de Janeiro for the Socialism and Liberty Party up until her assassination on March 14, 2018. After a long six years the two perpetrators were finally caught, tried, and convicted, leaving them with over decade-long prison sentences. The Associated Press reports, “The verdict, although expected, comes as a measure of solace to the many who saw the martyrdom of the Black, bisexual woman as an attack on democracy, and worried that the crime would go unpunished.”
The Trevor Project conducted a study that found that anti-transgender laws “cause up to 72% increase in suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary youth.” There have been 48 anti-transgender laws enacted in the U.S. from 2018 to 2022. Dr. Ronita Nath, Vice President of Research at The Trevor Project, said, “This groundbreaking study offers robust and indisputable evidence to support what we have already known: the recent wave of anti-transgender laws in the United States is quite literally risking the lives of young people across the country.”
Dylan Fee is a bisexual junior at Tufts University in Medford, MA, U.S., majoring in Math and Latin. She also writes for her student publication: The Tufts Daily.
Source links can be found in the online version of this article at BiWomenQuarterly.com.