Berkshire resident joins ‘I Am Visible’ campaign to end biphobia

 

Berkshire resident and Gay Berkshire member, Stephanie Smith-Browne, will be a 2011 contributing writer for the year-long public service campaign for bisexual visibility and an end to biphobia in the media, schools, the workplace and the community.

I Am Visible, an international effort, is the brainchild of Chicago-based journalist Adrienne Williams. Williams says the campaign “is for the many who have been bullied, called out for not being real, or hated for speaking on bisexual rights and regarding key issues on equality.” Bisexuals have been involved in fighting for causes such as the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and other discriminatory laws, the approval of marriage rights, and an end to workplace discrimination. “All causes that for which our allies in all communities seek justice,” Williams adds. Causes for which bi community members have always worked hard, though sadly their efforts are often made ‘invisible’ to the wider community due to long-standing habits of biphobia and bi-erasure, particularly in the media.

It’s time to work towards an end to biphobia in our communities.

Gay Berkshire—The LGBT Network is committed to doing our part to tackle biphobia, homophobia and transphobia in Berkshire.

Aiming to strengthen the voice of Berkshire’s LGBT community: on hate crime

Gay Berkshire aims to bring together the voices of Berkshire's LGBT community.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people who are victims of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crimes and bigoted incidents can feel extremely vulnerable. When someone suffers an incident committed out of ignorance, prejudice or hatred because of their sexual orientation or a misapprehension of their gender, they can be left feeling exposed and often voiceless.

Many LGBT people can be reluctant to speak about what happened to anyone, particularly authorities in their workplace or the police. There is often a fear of being outed to workmates, friends or family, if the incident becomes known. They may fear the incident will not be taken seriously, that they will be judged to have not suffered any ‘real’ loss or threat, or they may fear reprisals and repeat victimisation. Some remain silent due to a lack of confidence that their supervisors at work or the police will be sensitive to their situation or act appropriately on their behalf.

Gay Berkshire is a county-wide group that aims to strengthen the voice of Berkshire's LGBT community on a variety of issues. We work towards community cohesion by liaising with local councils and other bodies, such as the police, to challenge homophobia, transphobia, biphobia and to oppose prevalent misconceptions of the LGBT community.

If you feel you have been a victim of a hate crime, please review the Gay Berkshire homepage for information on how to report it and how to get support.

If you would like to volunteer with Gay Berkshire to help us achieve our aims, we’d be very pleased to hear from you.

Seeking keen campaigners to further group's aims

As fragmented as the Berkshire Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Trans community appears, it is still a community and one which deserves co-ordinated support for issues such as homophobia, transphobia & biphobia.

Gay Berkshire is an informal group of people who meet every 6-8 weeks in varying locations across Berkshire.  It is made up of volunteers from a variety of backgrounds, who meet to discuss issues or events relevant to the LGBT community.   Some of what we do can be found on www.gayberkshire.org

As a person of action, I and others within the group would like to see Gay Berkshire evolve into a more productive and dynamic cohort, sharing ideas and working to develop projects benefiting the LGBT community of Berkshire. This will happen if we get a few more committed members.... hence this blog is a plea to those of you with an interest in our agenda. 

If you would like to discuss this further then let me know and I'll get in touch.   

Kelly Reed