It ain't over til the bisexual speaks...

The March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Equal Rights and Liberation took place on the 25th of April 1993 in Washington, D.C. An estimated 80,000 to over 1 million people attended.

The 1993 March was the first March on Washington to include bisexuals in the title. Out of 18 chosen speakers, only one was bisexual: Lani Ka'ahumanu.

Afterwards, she wrote an article for bisexual magazine Anything That Moves about her experience entitled "How I Spent My Two Week Vacation Being a Token Bisexual", which can be read on her website here.

The webpage also contains a transcript of the speech she made at the event, which has been copied below the cut:

Aloha, my name is Lani Ka’ahumanu, and it ain’t over til the bisexual speaks...

I am a token, and a symbol. Today there is no difference. I am the token out bisexual asked to speak, and I am a symbol of how powerful the bisexual pride movement is and how far we have come.

I came here in 1979 for the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

I returned in 1987 for the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

I stand here today on the stage of the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equal Rights and Liberation.

In 1987 I wrote an article on bisexuality for the Civil Disobedience Handbook titled, “Are we visible yet?”

Bisexual activists organized on the local, regional and national levels to make this March a reality.

Are bisexuals visible yet? Are bisexuals organized yet? Are bisexuals accountable yet?

You bet your sweet ass we are!

Bisexuals are here, and we’re queer.

Bisexual pride speaks to the truth of behavior and identity.

No simple either/or divisions fluid – ambiguous – subversive bisexual pride challenges both the heterosexual and the homosexual assumption.

Society is based on the denial of diversity, on the denial of complexity.

Like multiculturalism, mixed heritage and bi-racial relationships, both the bisexual and transgender movements expose and politicize the middle ground.

Each show there is no separation, that each and everyone of us is part of a fluid social, sexual and gender dynamic.

Each signals a change, a fundamental change in the way our society is organized.

Remember today.

Remember we are family, and like a large extended family, we don’t always agree, don’t always see eye to eye.

However, as a family under attack we must recognize the importance of what each and every one of us brings to our movement.

There is strength in our numbers and diversity. We are every race, class, culture, age, ability, religion, gender identity and sexual orientation.

Our visibility is a sign of revolt.

Recognition of bisexual orientation and transgender issues presents a challenge to assumptions not previously explored within the politics of gay liberation.

What will it take for the gayristocracy to realize that bisexual, lesbian, transgender, and gay people are in this together, and together we can and will move the agenda forward.

But this will not happen until public recognition of our common issues is made, and a sincere effort to confront biphobia and transphobia is made by the established gay and lesbian leadership in this country.

The broader movement for our civil rights and liberation is being held back.

Who gains when we ostracize whole parts of our family? Who gains from exclusionary politics?

Certainly not us...

Being treated as if I am less oppressed than thou is not only insulting, it feeds right in to the hands of the right wing fundamentalists who see all of us as queer.

What is the difficulty in seeing how my struggle as a mixed race bisexual woman of color is intimately related to the bigger struggle for lesbian and gay rights the rights of people of color and the rights of all women?

What is the problem?

This is not a competition.

I will not play by rules that pit me against any oppressed group.

Has the gayristocracy bought so far in to the either/or structure, invested so much in being the opposite of heterosexual that they cannot remove themselves that they can’t imagine being free of the whole oppressive heterosexist system that keeps us all down?

Bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people who are out of the closet, who are not passing for anything other than who and what we are all have our necks and our lives on the line.

All our visibility is a sign of revolt.

Bisexuals are here to challenge the bigots who have denied lesbian, gay and bisexual people basic civil rights in Colorado.

Yes, Amendment 2 includes bisexual orientation.

Yes, the religious right recognizes bisexuals as a threat to “so called” family values.

Bisexuals are here to protest the military ban against lesbians, gays and bisexuals.

Yes, the Department of Defense defines bisexuals separately as a reason to be dishonorably discharged.

And yes, out bisexuals are not allowed to be foster or adoptive parents,

And yes, we lose our jobs, our children, get beaten and killed for loving women and for loving men.

Bisexuals are queer, just as queer as queer can be.

Each of us here today represents many people who could not make the trip.

Our civil rights and liberation movement has reached critical mass.

Remember today.

Remember that we are more powerful than all the hate, ignorance and violence directed at us.

Remember what a profound difference our visibility makes upon the world in which we live.

The momentum of this day can carry us well into the 21st century if we come out where ever and when ever we can.

Remember assimilation is a lie. It is spiritual erasure.

I want to challenge those lesbian and gay leaders who have come out to me privately over the years as bisexual to take the next step, come out now.

What is the sexual liberation movement about if not about the freedom to love whom we choose?

I want to encourage bisexuals in the lesbian, gay and heterosexual communities to come out now.

Remember there is nothing wrong with love. Defend the freedom to express it.

Our visibility is a sign of revolt. We cannot be stopped. We are everywhere. We are bisexual, lesbian, gay and transgender people.

We will not rest until we are all free;

We will not rest until our basic human rights are protected under federal law;

We will not rest until our relationships and families are not just tolerated but recognized, respected and valued;

We will not rest until we have a national health care system; We will not rest until there are cures for AIDS and cancer.

We deserve nothing less. Remember we have every right to be in the world exactly as we are.

Celebrate that simply and fiercely.

I love you.

Mahalo and aloha.

- Lani Ka'ahumanu 1993

"Bisexuals: The neglected stepchild of the LGBTQ rights movement?"

Cliff Arneson, Lani Ka'ahumanu, ABilly S Jones-Hennin, Fiona Dawson, & I are among those interviewed.

And there's a lovely photo of Cliff and ABilly that was taken on my living room sofa.

I love this so very much

From Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Ka'ahumanu

BaB's lionization of *Anything that Moves* is both hilarious and infuriating. On one hand, the zine and its publisher (y'know the Bay Area Bi+ and *PAN* Network) are blatantly pro-pan, and it's really weird that they think it's not. On the other hand, it seems like they've kind of succeeded in associating AtM with their movement, and it really sucks bc it's such an important piece of bi history and they stole from the large bi community *again* like they did with the armory.

controversial opinion but i don't think the bi manifesto is as important as people make it out to be.

before anyone clutches their pearls, let me explain. (this is a long rant that honestly has little to do with your message anon, so i'm sorry about that lmao)

there are bi texts from the same time and even before the bi manifesto was published that say the same thing, and even say things that are more nuanced, detailed, and explicit in inclusivity and solidarity. so why is the manifesto held to such a high regard, while literally all other bi texts are ignored?

and it's not because it became integral to bi activism or whatever. because it only became A Thing in very recent years, largely when panphobes started spreading a section of it around because they thought it supported their panphobia. (and i'm not gonna lie, the vast majority, if not the entirety of, the bi texts/quotes i see spread around a lot are because people think they "prove" something against pansexuality.)

(sometimes i think it's because someone had slapped the word "manifesto" on it and people think that makes it mean something big. but if that were the case, then other bi texts titled "bi manifesto" would be held in the same regard. and besides, it's really the magazine's manifesto more than it is bisexuality's.)

and like. i've seen so much misinformation about the bi manifesto, because people just repeat what they heard someone else say, who heard from someone else, who heard it from someone else, and so on. it's become a horrible game of mspecphobic telephone.

people who praise the bi manifesto have said: it's a book. it was written in the 70s. it states bi has always been defined as all genders or regardless of gender. it shows that bi has always included nonbinary genders. it holds The Definition of bi. it proves pan is redundant and biphobic. they act like it is and always has been widespread and universally known.

none of those things are true. and like, it does suck that there is so much hatred and lies surrounding the bi manifesto now. because the people who wrote it don't deserve it being used as a tool of vitriol against people they support. (kinda similar to how panphobes used lani ka'ahumanu as a tool for panphobia even though she supports us.)

and another big aspect is that it just really bothers me anytime people hold one single queer text above all others, and when people act like one single queer text needs to be The Most Important to every queer person. because that's utter nonsense.

there is no reason why the bi manifesto has to mean anything to anyone, even bi people, beyond being a way of learning more about bi history. the way people outright say it's biphobic to not care about it or to criticize it or anything beyond mindless praise is wild to me.

that's not why we learn queer history, that's not why queer people write texts on queerness. the bi manifesto itself says it is not representative of all bi people, not all bi people will agree with everything in the magazine.

i've read a lot of queer texts and very little of them mean something to me personally. and that's okay and actually just fucking normal??? i just. have no patience for queer people grasping onto a few queer texts to the neglect of every single other text.

people who say "read the bi manifesto" over and over.....i have, now what? do you want to have a conversation about what it says? about what it means? do you have recs for bi texts that expands on it? like what are you doing. people share a screenshot or tell someone to read it then pat themselves on the back for doing a good activism. and i just...what?

anyways. again i'm sorry my response was sparked by one tiny thing you said anon. (i'm not directing any of this annoyance at you anon). but yeah. it's both funny and annoying because the holy grail text they cite for their panphobia explicitly supports us but also doing so is blatantly misrepresenting bi history. but what else do you expect from panphobes?

yoooo I am working on making some of my many infodumps, over the years, into youtube videos. i realized it's bi+ visibility month, so I should hustle and put together some videos on bi history/representation/politics???

plus also, sept 6th is my birthday and i kinda wanna use some of it to Make Cool Shit

if anyone has requests for (1) posts/topics you remember me going off about, or (2) ones you wish i would, please lmk!

off the top of my head, • I definitely have a lot of bi+ newsletters from different orgs in the 80s and 90s, and it might be fun to go through specific ones to see what was going on in Bi Chicago of the 1980s or w/e;

• i would happily Go Off about shit like how all the bi+ rates of poverty, disability, sexual assault, etc, are neck and neck with the trans+ rates;

• i remember digging up some cool stuff about a bi+ dude in... Wisconsin??? 1950s and 60s Wisconsin??? I want to say August Derleth???? who wrote sci-fi and was the whole reason anyone knew Cthulu existed???? that would be fun to talk about

• oh god i need to get lani ka'ahumanu on zoom and make her tell the story of when BiPol broke into the Democratic National Convention's hotel HQ

• i kind of want to see if I can also get Maggi Rubenstein on zoom and have her explain that/how the bi movement, istg, arose from the safer sex movement that she basically started

• ummmm what else? there's a really interesting book called Bisexual Spaces that I low-key just want to read chapters from. oh yeah: there's an entire chapter in there on how terfs kicked bisexuals out of Northampton Pride in 1990, I have plenty of material on that! soooo much fucking material honestly. cause they turned it into a national goddamn debate.

• brenda howard's widow, Larry Nelson (I think that's right) is on the bi history group on facebook and he's very devoted to her still. it would be fucking fascinating to get HIM on a zoom.

• i guess my biggest question is what would you want to see first? what's your heart's desire, in terms of youtube video essays? also what are your totally frivolous ideas that don't qualify as your heart's desire but seem like a pretty good time

Randos on Tumblr: Bisexuals were transphobes

Co-founder of the Bay Area Bisexual Network at the Gay and Lesbian March on Washington in 1993: Trans rights!

In fact, despite the text on the screen, 1993 was actually called “March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation”, the first time the march had included “bi” in the title. Lani was the only bisexual to speak that year, and she marched up there and started talking about bi and trans people! They put her last and told her to cut her speech short for time.

Lani Ka’ahumanu

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Bisexual

DOB: 5 October 1943

Ethnicity: Native Hawaiian

Occupation: Feminist, activist, writer

Aloha, my name is Lani Ka’ahumanu, and it ain’t over til the bisexual speaks... I am a token, and a symbol. Today there is no difference. I am the token out bisexual asked to speak, and I am a symbol of how powerful the bisexual pride movement is and how far we have come. I came here in 1979 for the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights I returned in 1987 for the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights I stand here today on the stage of the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equal Rights and Liberation. In 1987 I wrote an article on bisexuality for the Civil Disobedience Handbook titled, “Are we visible yet?” Bisexual activists organized on the local, regional and national levels to make this March a reality. Are bisexuals visible yet? Are bisexuals organized yet? Are bisexuals accountable yet? You bet your sweet ass we are! Bisexuals are here, and we’re queer. Bisexual pride speaks to the truth of behavior and identity. No simple either/or divisions fluid – ambiguous – subversive bisexual pride challenges both the heterosexual and the homosexual assumption. Society is based on the denial of diversity, on the denial of complexity. Like multiculturalism, mixed heritage and bi-racial relationships, both the bisexual and transgender movements expose and politicize the middle ground. Each show there is no separation, that each and everyone of us is part of a fluid social, sexual and gender dynamic. Each signals a change, a fundamental change in the way our society is organized. Remember today. Remember we are family, and like a large extended family, we don’t always agree, don’t always see eye to eye. However, as a family under attack we must recognize the importance of what each and every one of us brings to our movement. There is strength in our numbers and diversity. We are every race, class, culture, age, ability, religion, gender identity and sexual orientation. Our visibility is a sign of revolt. Recognition of bisexual orientation and transgender issues presents a challenge to assumptions not previously explored within the politics of gay liberation. What will it take for the gayristocracy to realize that bisexual, lesbian, transgender, and gay people are in this together, and together we can and will move the agenda forward. But this will not happen until public recognition of our common issues is made, and a sincere effort to confront biphobia and transphobia is made by the established gay and lesbian leadership in this country. The broader movement for our civil rights and liberation is being held back. Who gains when we ostracize whole parts of our family? Who gains from exclusionary politics? Certainly not us... Being treated as if I am less oppressed than thou is not only insulting, it feeds right in to the hands of the right wing fundamentalists who see all of us as queer. What is the difficulty in seeing how my struggle as a mixed race bisexual woman of color is intimately related to the bigger struggle for lesbian and gay rights the rights of people of color and the rights of all women? What is the problem? This is not a competition. I will not play by rules that pit me against any oppressed group. Has the gayristocracy bought so far in to the either/or structure, invested so much in being the opposite of heterosexual that they cannot remove themselves that they can’t imagine being free of the whole oppressive heterosexist system that keeps us all down? Bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people who are out of the closet, who are not passing for anything other than who and what we are all have our necks and our lives on the line. All our visibility is a sign of revolt. Bisexuals are here to challenge the bigots who have denied lesbian, gay and bisexual people basic civil rights in Colorado. Yes, Amendment 2 includes bisexual orientation. Yes, the religious right recognizes bisexuals as a threat to “so called” family values. Bisexuals are here to protest the military ban against lesbians, gays and bisexuals. Yes, the Department of Defense defines bisexuals separately as a reason to be dishonorably discharged. And yes, out bisexuals are not allowed to be foster or adoptive parents, And yes, we lose our jobs, our children, get beaten and killed for loving women and for loving men. Bisexuals are queer, just as queer as queer can be. Each of us here today represents many people who could not make the trip. Our civil rights and liberation movement has reached critical mass. Remember today. Remember that we are more powerful than all the hate, ignorance and violence directed at us. Remember what a profound difference our visibility makes upon the world in which we live. The momentum of this day can carry us well into the 21st century if we come out where ever and when ever we can. Remember assimilation is a lie. It is spiritual erasure. I want to challenge those lesbian and gay leaders who have come out to me privately over the years as bisexual to take the next step, come out now. What is the sexual liberation movement about if not about the freedom to love whom we choose? I want to encourage bisexuals in the lesbian, gay and heterosexual communities to come out now. Remember there is nothing wrong with love. Defend the freedom to express it. Our visibility is a sign of revolt. We cannot be stopped. We are everywhere. We are bisexual, lesbian, gay and transgender people. We will not rest until we are all free; We will not rest until our basic human rights are protected under federal law; We will not rest until our relationships and families are not just tolerated but recognized, respected and valued; We will not rest until we have a national health care system; We will not rest until there are cures for AIDS and cancer. We deserve nothing less. Remember we have every right to be in the world exactly as we are. Celebrate that simply and fiercely. I love you. Mahalo and aloha.

Lani Ka‘ahumanu’s speech the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation full article here

BiPOL: Educate ▾ Advocate ▾ Agitate! (via Lani Ka’ahumanu’s website)

Transcription:

“BiPOL is an independant Bisexual/Lesbian/Gay political action group founded in 1983 which supports Bisexual identity and rights. While BiPOL works in tandem with the more personal, social and support Bisexual groups, BiPOL is a progressive, feminist, political organization. We believe in fighting to end the oppression of all people regardless of sexual or gender orientation, different abilities, race, age, culture, ethnicity, class or religion.

As an active and vital part of the Lesbian and Gay communities we believe the fight to end the oppression of all sexual minorities will be assisted, not slowed, by the mass coming out of Bisexuals in these communities.

We strongly support sexual freedom: the freedom of all people, regardless of age, gender or different abilities to explore and define openly their own sexual styles - Bisexual, Homosexual, Heterosexual, Selfsexual, Celibate, Monogamous, Promiscuous, and non-Monogamous - with others who share the same freedom, responsability and consent. This includes the right to refuse sexual contact with anyone for any reason and the rights of women and men to take responsability for and to control their own fertility.

OUR GOALS ARE TO:

Give Bisexual orientation a strong, valid identity within the Lesbian and Gay liberation movement in particular, and society in general. In order to achieve this we must work as Bisexuals within the movement both autonomously and collectively.

Strive to assure that all those whose lives are affected by AIDS/ARC/HIV infection will receive compassionate, non-judgemental respect, care, support, love, and assistance.

Create a positive image of differing sexualities and sexual attitudes within the media. This necessitates representative and participatory community control of the media, and create a media and culture of our own.

Actively work for the self organization of Bisexual people and the coordination of existing Bisexual groups, and to form alliances with other progessive forces nationaly and internationally.”

"Remember today. Remember that we are more powerful than all the hate, ignorance and violence directed at us. Remember what a profound difference our visibility makes upon the world in which we live. The momentum of this day can carry us well into the 21st century if we come out wherever and whenever we can."

- Lani Ka'ahumani, 1993

June's bisexual mood was Lani Ka'ahumanu

I spent my pride month celebrating my bisexuality and remembering those brave souls who paved the way. ❤️🏳️‍🌈

Writer Lani Ka'ahumanu raises her shield: "Bi-phobia Shield," c. 1980. Ka'ahumanu is often regarded as the strategic political architect of the U.S. bisexual movement. In the 1970's she came out of the closet as a lesbian feminist student at SFSU and helped establish the Women Studies Department, then she came out as bisexual in 1980. photo credit: Arlene Krantz. Does anyone know where this image was taken?

I'm happy that Autostraddle has an article about Lani Ka'ahumanu's powerful and moving speech at the 1993 March on Washington.

Lani spoke at the very end of the event. I was there. It was a powerful moment for me, and for many.

Happy #BiVisibilityWeek

OCTOBER 5: Lani Ka'ahumanu (1943-)

Happy 74th birthday to Lani Ka'ahumanu! The bisexual activist, editor of Bi Any Other Name, and the only bisexual speaker to speak at the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation was born on this day in 1943.

Lani photographed for The Out Words Archive (x). 

Lani was born on October 5, 1943 in Edmonton, Canada to a white mother and a Japanese father. She grew up to marry her childhood sweetheart, a man with whom she had two children. Lani describes herself in the 1960s as having been “a full-time suburban housewife, Little League mom, and Another Mother for Peace.” That all changed in 1974 when Lani and her husband divorced and she left the suburbs for San Francisco, California. In those first few years in San Francisco, she came out as a lesbian, became the first member of her family to graduate from college, and became active in the social justice movements of the day. In 1980, her life changed once again when she realized she was bisexual and came out for a second time.

Lani marching in San Francisco’s 1984 Lesbian and Gay Freedom Day Parade holding signs that read “Biphobia Shield” and “Bi and Large” (x).

During the 1980s, Lani started creating a substantial bisexual community from the ground up with organizations such as BiPOL, BiNet USA and the San Francisco Bay Area Bisexual Network (BABN). In 1991, she co-edited the groundbreaking bisexual anthology Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out along with Loraine Hutchins, and in 1993 she led a successful campaign to get bisexual people included in the title of the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation, of which she was also the only bisexual activist to speak. Lani was the very first bisexual person to be invited to join  the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force board of directors. She is currently a member of the editorial board for The Journal of Bisexuality and is working on her next two books, My Grassroots Are Showing: Stories, Speeches, and Special Affections and Passing For Other: Primal Creams and Forbidden Dreams – Poetry, Prose, and Performance Pieces.

-LC