Last week HuffPost Gay Voices, a division of the Huffington Post, sent out a tweet asking for people who identify as bisexual to post photos of themselves and share with the world using the hashtag #WhatBiLooksLike. People from all over the world, of all different ages and gender identities, took to Twitter to erase stereotypes and generate a wider understanding of who bisexual people are.
Though queer people are gaining more and more visibility in mainstream media and society, that doesn't mean that the images we're presented with are always accurate or representative of who we really are and how we live our lives. And sometimes we're still disappointingly absent, especially when it comes to certain subsections of our community.
Case in point: The dearth of images that authentically capture what it means to be bisexual. All too often bisexual people see themselves, their lives and their experiences questioned, invalidated and erased, both by mainstream society and also by other queers. Bi people are told that they "don't really exist" or that they're "greedy" or "just can't make up their minds." But we know none of that is true.
Take a look at some of these tweets and photos, and tweer your own!
@huffpostgay#whatbilookslikepic.twitter.com/yg4oPee1d2
— Sarah W. (@pandalover263) August 12, 2014
@huffpostgay#whatbilookslikepic.twitter.com/XnM8cvL3YQ
— simonie (@skprincess33) August 12, 2014
@huffpostgay#whatbilookslikepic.twitter.com/x7h4bMSHer
— mrdandrewporter (@dandrewporter) August 12, 2014
@huffpostgay A mother of 2 who loves playing with her children #whatbilookslikepic.twitter.com/0JoW4eG8xg
— Lou Mimzy (@lou_mimzy) August 12, 2014
#WhatBiLooksLikepic.twitter.com/XHsLr9G0IN
— Patrick RichardsFink (@Fliponymous) August 12, 2014
.@huffpostgay#whatbilookslike me raging against erasure and biphobia. pic.twitter.com/JFHBNz31G2
— ELIEL CRUZ (@elielcruz) August 12, 2014
#whatbilookslikepic.twitter.com/mxU8n5MGeF
— tanner (@tannermuro) August 11, 2014
@huffpostphoto@huffpostgay#whatbilookslike (or, more accurately, #whatqueerlookslike) pic.twitter.com/kNhuutWKz8
— Ann Marie (@annmariebrok) August 19, 2014
#whatbilookslikepic.twitter.com/pZoSHVm4Eh
— eriq anderson (@Writetothesky) August 18, 2014
#whatbilookslike aka pretty freaking normal, man. pic.twitter.com/vntpzD76J6
— Raechl! (@raechla) August 18, 2014
This Is What Bi Looks Like (I mean the cat,I'm actually pansexual ;)http://t.co/CjP2DoGFcq#whatbilookslike#bisexualpic.twitter.com/sjAq71hlT4
— Jayrôme C. Robinet (@JayromeRobinet) August 18, 2014
@huffpostgay#whatbilookslike Happy, free & proud to be <3 pic.twitter.com/gXzVXk0a5c
— Wiktoria Borowiecka (@Hevielen) August 19, 2014
#whatbutchlookslike#whatbilookslikepic.twitter.com/cdFDHMU1QT
— authentic paint (@authenticpaint) August 12, 2014
This is what bi solidarity looks like @huffpostgay. @BRC_Central volunteer night for community! #whatbilookslikepic.twitter.com/F4pe9JOJVd
— Bi Resource Center (@BRC_Central) August 14, 2014
#whatbilookslike Putting some #trans visibility into the hashtag. Remember, bi is not always cis <3 pic.twitter.com/RLTsQ5eYkB
— Wiktor Dynarski (@wiktordynarski) August 18, 2014