Biphobia within the queer community

TRANSCRIPT

Well, and certainly through then, through the 80s, I think mostly hanging out. Like I really still didn't know any bisexual women. It was, you know, I’d hang out in queer spaces but it was lesbians you'd hang out with in the in the more sort of feminist lesbian spaces. There used to be women's discos monthly in Leeds in the 80s.

But I think I often felt really like that I couldn't really be out… there. I felt that I mean certainly over the, I mean it's awful isn't it that you get biphobia from the queer community, but I certainly did much more than I did from the straight community. So a lot of criticism, a lot of ... stuff around, you know, I can be very positive as well. But you know, I'll just tell you the negative bits [laughs] but it's you know, stuff about using lesbian energy and sleeping with the enemy and like just being: "Well, haven't you made up your mind up yet?" All those sort of, you know normal bi slurs, really. Like, “How can you possibly be attracted to men in any way or even want them as part of your life?” Because I think it was a very it was a more separatist feminist space then so it made me hide, it made me not say... like I'd been in spaces but I would just wouldn't say anything and then I feel like that I shouldn't be there really, a bit like an imposter because you couldn't... yeah, I found it really difficult to be out from having so many, you know, such a negative response... such consistent negative response, I think. That... um I think yeah.

So I probably didn't even go to that many queer spaces because I felt it wasn't my space but then now and again, you know, I'd be like yes, but it is. It is. And because of course it didn't wasn't LGBT then; it was just lesbian and gay so the B wasn't there at all.