Well, bisexuals, it's been FOUR WHOLE YEARS that we have been meeting at Q Center for the monthly bi/pansexual conversation group in Portland. This group has consistently given our community a safe space to meet and greet and laugh and learn and heal and grow. Many of us met each other at this event. It's where Bi Brigade was born, and every bi community event in Portland today owes its origins to this modest monthly meet-up.
We started on the fourth Tuesday of January, 2012 in one Q Center's smallest conference rooms. Our first group had 4 attendees, myself included. We had no idea what kind of crowd a "bisexual meeting" would attract, and we all felt a sense of relief to find that those who found ourselves in that room had plenty to say. We were all fed-up with feeling like we weren't queer enough or straight enough. We were all frustrated with a lack of visibility, the prominence of harmful stereotypes, and that the health/safety concerns of the bisexual population went virtually unaddressed.
For the first time, we were in a room of like-minded people--we no longer felt like we had to experience our orientations in isolation. The group has met every single month since.
We started to attract more and more people. 6 one month, then 8, then we finally broke 10. They moved us to the largest conference room, and then that wasn't even big enough. We have been meeting in the Library for over two years, but now even that room is too small! We find ourselves with members squeezed into corners or standing, and for the past 6 months our average turn out has been 15-25 attendees!
Yes, bisexuals, we are definitely no longer alone.
This is why, for the first time in our discussion groups history, we are changing our date so that we can meet in Q Center's largest meeting space, The Aaron Hall Gallery. Starting in January of 2016 (1/21/16), the bi/pansexual discussion group will be every third Thursday of the month!
Q Center is allowing us to retain our fourth Tuesday slot in the Library so that Bi Brigade organizers can get together every month for a planning meeting. Bi Brigade has big plans for the new year, so if you haven't yet, like Bi Brigade on Facebook to stay up-to-date with our communities rapid expansion!
We started on the fourth Tuesday of January, 2012 in one Q Center's smallest conference rooms. Our first group had 4 attendees, myself included. We had no idea what kind of crowd a "bisexual meeting" would attract, and we all felt a sense of relief to find that those who found ourselves in that room had plenty to say. We were all fed-up with feeling like we weren't queer enough or straight enough. We were all frustrated with a lack of visibility, the prominence of harmful stereotypes, and that the health/safety concerns of the bisexual population went virtually unaddressed.
For the first time, we were in a room of like-minded people--we no longer felt like we had to experience our orientations in isolation. The group has met every single month since.
We started to attract more and more people. 6 one month, then 8, then we finally broke 10. They moved us to the largest conference room, and then that wasn't even big enough. We have been meeting in the Library for over two years, but now even that room is too small! We find ourselves with members squeezed into corners or standing, and for the past 6 months our average turn out has been 15-25 attendees!
Yes, bisexuals, we are definitely no longer alone.
This is why, for the first time in our discussion groups history, we are changing our date so that we can meet in Q Center's largest meeting space, The Aaron Hall Gallery. Starting in January of 2016 (1/21/16), the bi/pansexual discussion group will be every third Thursday of the month!
Q Center is allowing us to retain our fourth Tuesday slot in the Library so that Bi Brigade organizers can get together every month for a planning meeting. Bi Brigade has big plans for the new year, so if you haven't yet, like Bi Brigade on Facebook to stay up-to-date with our communities rapid expansion!
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