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TIMELINE: THE BISEXUAL HEALTH MOVEMENT IN THE US

No submissions at this time. Guidelines are still being determined

 
1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

 

Initial Data compiled by Lani Ka'ahumanu

This timeline is a work in progress and only a sample of what has been collected. These bisexual individuals have contributed to the mental and physical health and well being of bisexual identified people and/or have promoted a better understanding of sexuality and sexual health as it relates to LGBT people. 

Note: In the 1960s to mid-1970s the word “gay” was a generally accepted umbrella term that included lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

1966 

Stephen Donaldson (nee Robert Martin, 1946-1996) founds the Student Homophile League at Columbia University and New York University; in 1967 Columbia University is first in United States to officially recognize a gay student group.

1967  

Margo Rila and Frank Esposito facilitate a Sexual Freedom League bisexual rap group in San Francisco.

1968

Bi Alliance begins at the University of Minnesota. It offers groups for women, for men, and a newsletter

1969

Maggi Rubenstein, RN, comes out during a staff meeting at a San Francisco mental health facility serving lesbian, gay, transgender and heterosexual people; bisexuals then included in programming.

Brenda Howard (1946-2005) conceives and coordinates a one-month Stonewall Rebellion anniversary rally, and later, a one year march and celebration. This became the annual New York City Pride March that, in turn, spawned Pride Marches around the country and the world.

1972

Don Fass founds the National Bisexual Liberation group in New York City. The group’s goal is social and consciousness-raising. It publishes a pamphlet, “Bi-Sexual Expression.”

Maggi Rubenstein, RN provides bisexual content for the University of California’s San Francisco Sex Counseling Program.

Bill Beasley, veteran of black civil rights movement, is core organizer of first Los Angeles Gay Pride March and active with Gay Liberation Front.

1973

Woody Glenn is interviewed as an out bi activist on a National Organization for Women radio program on WICC in Bridgeport, Conn.

1974

Dr. Fritz Klein and bi activist Chuck, co-found Bi Forum in New York City.

Time and Newsweek magazines run stories on “bisexual chic.”

1975

Jeff Davidson founds the Bisexual Group in Philadelphia, Pa.

Activist Carol Queen comes out bi and organizes GAYouth in Eugene, Ore.

1976 (-1984)

Harriet Levi and Maggi Rubenstein found the San Francisco Bisexual Center. The Center offers social events, counseling services, newsletter, speaker’s bureau and sponsors a bisexual contingent in the annual San Francisco Gay Pride March.

1977

 

 Alexei Guren

Alexei Guren founds the Gay Teen Task Force in Miami, Fla., in response to Anita Bryant’s antigay “Save Our Children” campaign. 

Dr. Marvin Colter, founds ARETE, a support and social group in Visalia, Calif., which marches in Los Angeles Gay Pride and has a newsletter.

1978

A. Billy S. Jones co-founds the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays in Washington, D.C. Bisexual and transgender people are included in bylaws, mission and outreach.

Dr. Fritz Klein introduces the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid in his book The bisexual option: A concept of one-hundred percent intimacy.

1978 - 1979

Scott Bartell and Gary Lingen found the group One to Five, a social and support group in Minneapolis/St.Paul, Minn.

Grassroots bisexual communities grow with Midwest support groups, including Bi Married Men (Detroit suburbs) and Chicago’s Bi Ways.

1979 

A. Billy S. Jones is key organizer for both “Third world conference: When will the ignorance end?” the first national gay and lesbian people of color conference, and the first Gay and Lesbian March on Washington.

Jessica Xavier, M.P.H, (below), bisexual transsexual woman, LGBT and HIV healthcare researcher, activist, singer-songwriter with her band Femme Messiah

 

1981

Gay and bisexual men begin to get sick and die in a matter of weeks. Gay Related Immune Disease (GRID) hits the health radar screen. David Lourea (1945-1992) and Cynthia Slater present safer-sex education in bathhouses and BDSM clubs in San Francisco.

1982

Gay Related Immune Disease (GRID) is identified as AIDS and HIV discovered as the virus that causes AIDS.

Alexei Guren founding board of the Health Crisis Network (now CareResource) in Miami, Fla.; begins outreach and advocacy for Latino married men who have sex with men.

1983

David Lourea is appointed to SF Mayor Dianne Feinstein’s AIDS Education Advisory Committee. 

Autumn Courtney, Lani Ka’ahumanu, Arlene Krantz, David Lourea, Bill Mack, Alan Rockway (1944-1987) and Maggi Rubenstein organize BiPOL (a bisexual feminist political action group)to build a visible bisexual community and viable political movement to counter “bisexual as ‘typhoid Mary’/scapegoat” stereotype.

1984

A. Billy S. Jones (with G. Gerald and Craig Harris) organizes first federally funded national “AIDS in the Black Community Conference” in Washington, D.C.

David Lourea convinces SF Dep’t of Public Health to include bisexual men in weekly “New AIDS cases and mortality statistics” report. This model is then used by other department of public health offices around the country.

1984 - 1986

Veneita Porter, of the Prostitute’s Union of Massachusetts and COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics), advocates for women, transgender people and injection drug users in growing AIDS epidemic.

1985

Cynthia Slater (1945-1989), early outspoken HIVpositive woman, organizes first Women’s HIV/AIDS Information Switchboard.

Test for HIV antibodies is developed and available to the public.

1986

Carol Leigh (a.k.a. Scarlot Harlot) joins Citizens for Medical Justice, and commits civil disobedience at AIDS funding sit-ins at California governor’s office. She also advocates for prisoners and sex workers who are marginalized in AIDS crisis.

1987

Newsweek portrays bisexual men as “the ultimate pariahs” of AIDS epidemic, bi activist and person with AIDS Alan Rockway of BiPOL is quoted speaking against the stereotype.

Veneita Porter, director of the New York State Office of AIDS Discrimination, helps design first educational projects and trainings for state workers, hearing judges and legal staff.

Denise Penn founding board of AIDS Walk in Orange County a Southern California conservative stronghold represented by Sen. William Dannemeyer. Dannemeyer sends letters to editors and elected officials demanding they pull support for the walk.

1989

The East Coast Bisexual Network establishes the Bisexual History Archives with Robyn Ochs initial collection; archivist Clare Morton hosts researchers. The group becomes Bisexual Resource Center in 1993.

Robyn Ochs

BiPAC New York successfully challenges Hetrick-Martin Gay and Lesbian Health Clinic to remove a “Bisexual men: Fact or fiction?” workshop from curriculum.

 Cliff Arneson

Cliff Arneson, first non-heterosexual veteran invited to testify on gay, lesbian and bisexual veteran’s health issues including HIV/AIDS, Agent Orange, post traumatic stress and homelessness before U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

1990

BiPOL San Francisco produces the first National Bisexual Conference, with bisexual health one of eight workshop tracks. “NAMES Project” quilt displayed with bisexual quilt pieces; 465 people attend representing 20 states and five countries.

Carol Leigh, “a.k.a. Scarlot Harlot,” arrested at 6th International AIDS Conference in full flag regalia during women’s protest against scapegoating of prostitutes in AIDS crisis.

1991

Ron Fox

 

Psychologists Sari Dworkin and Ron Fox are founding co-chairs Task Force on Bisexual Issues of Division 44, the gay and lesbian group in the American Psychological Association.

Liz Highleyman co-founds Boston ACT UP IV League needle exchange, one of the first in US

Elias Farajaje-Jones of ACT UP/D.C., leads sit-in occupying the mayor’s office when no action was taken after meetings and reassurances with mayor on D.C. and federal HIV/AIDS funding issues.

1992

Elias Farajaje-Jones founds Moving Violations, a men of color HIV/ AIDS focused direct political action group, in Washington, D.C.

1992 - 1994

Lani Ka’ahumanu serves as project coordinator for an American Foundation for AIDS Research grant awarded to Lyon-Martin Women’s Health Services. This is the first grant in U.S. to target young high risk lesbian and bi women for HIV/AIDS prevention/education research. She creates “Peer Safer Sex Slut Team” with Cianna  Stewart.

1992 - 1997

Naomi Tucker, secretary of National Coalition Against Domestic Violence board and Jewish Women’s Caucus member, leads extended bi/trans education effort in the domestic violence movement and the board. The Lesbian Caucus eventually becomes Lesbian, Bisexual Trans Women’s Caucus.

1993

Ron Fox authors first large scale research study on bisexual identity, establishes and maintains comprehensive bibliography on bi research.

Hap Stewart, M.S.W. (1934-1996), early outspoken advocate for alternative holistic HIV/AIDS care and treatment with ACT UP  San Francisco, is appointed to Marin County (California) AIDS Commission.

1994

 

Laura Perez 

 

Elias Farajaje-Jones, Lani Ka’ahumanu, Laura Perez and Victor Raymond, The Indigenous Queers/Bisexual Caucus, present “Preaching to the Perverted or Fluid Desire” at the National HIV Prevention/Education Summit held by the Association of Physicians for Human Rights (now the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association).

1995

BiNET USA Bisexual Youth Initiative, Fayetteville, N.C., develops and mails survey to LGBT youth programs. National survey published and sent back to agencies, offering assistance to improve services to bisexual youth.

1995 - 1998

Cianna Stewart, of the Living Well Project and San Francisco Asian Pacific Islander AIDS Services, develops sexual/gender diversity and HIV/AIDS awareness handbook and videos in five languages.

1996

Gary Wolverton, HIV prevention counselor and Jon Spinner, founds Bisexuals of Greater Kansas City, Missouri, which meets at Kansas City Free Health Clinic.

Angel Fabian co-organizes National Task Force on AIDS Prevention’s first Gay/Bisexual Young Men of Color Summit at Gay Men of Color Conference, Miami Fla.

 

Angel Fabian

 

“What’s bisexuality got to do with it?” training held in conjunction with California’s Lesbian, Gay and AIDS LIFE Lobby and Institute. Coordinated by Stephanie Berger, Elias Farajaje-Jones, Lani Ka’ahumanu, Felicia Park-Rogers, Brandon Taylor, Roland Sintos Coloma and Cianna Stewart.

Sheela Lambert produces a Bisexual Health Care Report for the NYC Dept. of Health examining barriers to service for bisexual people accessing health and mental health services.  Two focus groups were conducted separately with bisexual men and bisexual women in NYC to identify issues.

1997

Psychologist Pat Ashbrook pioneers national model for LGBT support groups within the Veteran’s Administration Hospital system.

American Psychological Association (APA) Division 44 adds “bisexual” to mission, changes name to Society for Psychological Study of LGB Issues due to efforts of Pat Ashbrook, Marge Charmoli, Sari Dworkin and Ron Fox.

1998

BiNet USA hosts National Institute on Bisexuality HIV/AIDS Summit with the National Gay Lesbian Health Association Conference, Lynda Doll of the Center for Disease Control, with Elias Farajaje-Jones, Luigi Ferrer, Ron Fox, Lani Ka’ahumanu, Fritz Klein, Marshall Miller, Cianna Stewart and Joe Wright.

1999

Center for Disease Control/UCLA School of Nursing hosts a Bisexual People of Color HIV Prevention and Education Summit that was conceived by Bill Wedin, co-coordinated by Lani Ka’ahumanu with, Elias Farajaje-Jones, Ron Fox, Karl Hamner, Dominique RosaNegra Leslie and Cianna Stewart.

Dr. Fritz Klein founds Journal of Bisexuality, the first academic, quarterly journal on bisexuality. 

Marshall Miller founds BiHealth Program at Fenway Community Health, the first funded bisexual-specific program targeting bisexual people and MSMW (men who have sex with men and women) and WSWM (women who have sex with men and women) who don’t identify as bisexual. Program publishes “Safer sex for bisexuals and their partners” brochures.

 

1999 - 2002

Luigi Ferrer serves on the National Association of Persons with AIDS board of directors.

2000

Alan Hamilton and Bobbi Keppel present “Bisexuality and aging” at SAGE’s (Senior Action in a Gay Environment) “Out of closet into the future: Midlife and aging in gay America” conference. 

Alexei Guren begins as program director of the Bi Men’s Conference, targeting bi-identified men and men who have sex with men and women (MSMW).

2001

American Psychological Association (APA)’s “Guidelines on psychotherapy with lesbian, gay and bisexual clients” states “homosexuality and bisexuality are not a mental illness.”

Ron Fox serves on task force that produces guidelines. 

Alexei Guren establishes and moderates BiHealth discussion group

2002

Loraine Hutchins

Pete Chvany, Luigi Ferrer, James Green, Loraine Hutchins and Monica McLemore present at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Health Summit, held in Boulder Colo. This is the first time bisexual people, transgender people, and intersex people are recognized as co-equal partners on national level rather than gay and lesbian “allies” or tokens.

Monica McLemore

 

Robyn Ochs delivers first bi-focused keynote during National Association of Lesbian and Gay Addiction Professionals.

2003

North American Conference on Bisexuality hosts Bi Health Summit organized by Cheryl Dobinson, Luigi Ferrer and Ron Fox , and the first Bi People of Color Summit is coordinated by Angel Fabian and Penelope Williams.

Center for Sex and Culture, founded by Carol Queen and Robert Lawrence in 1994, opens archive and sexuality research library, becoming the first public non-profit community-based space designed for adult sex education, including continuing professional education.

Loraine Hutchins and Linda Poelzl graduate from The Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality’s first California Sexological Bodyworkers Certification Training as part of new movement of somatic erotic educators.

2004

Lani Ka’ahumanu, Bobbi Keppel and the Safer Sex Sluts present first Safer Sex Workshop given at a joint national conference with American Society on Aging and National Association on Aging.

Julie Ebin founds “Boundless: Bi women and lesbian’s wellness workshop series” at Fenway Community Health, Boston, Mass.

2005

Bi scholars and activists mobilized with The Task Force, GLAAD and BiNetUSA to meet with New York Times science section editor and researcher Brian Dodge to respond to misinformation the paper had published on a study about bisexual men.

2006

Cheryl Dobinson and Julie Ebin organize “The Future of The Bisexual Health Movement” roundtable at 9th International Bisexual Conference, Toronto, Canada.

 

 

 


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